Ok I've had this concept in my head for a few weeks now, and haven't had a chance to test it out until today. While I know that Hydro and Amigo both have swirl filling properties, they never seemed to hide the swirls I wanted to knock out whenever I used them. That didn't inspire much confidence. However, the best way to judge whether they are offering any improvement is a side by side comparison. Like how I do the test spot with a PC.

This time, I'd do the test spot by hand and compare the effects of Hydro and Amigo. Both surfaces of the before and after were cleaned with Slick.


We begin with some neglected paint. Yes this is MY MINI. I QD'd with Slick to remove the dust off the whole area. We can see lots of scratches here.


Next I tape off one section and liberally spray it with Hydro. I wipe it off with a Monster Fluffy Microfiber towel, and repeat this 3 times.


Is it my imagination or does this look pretty good now?


With the tape removed, you can see a pretty dramatic difference. Yes you can still see scratches and swirls, but it's greatly reduced.


Changing angle slightly you can see that it looks even better.


Continuing to change angle, and it looks like a night and day difference.


Ok on to test #2. Let's see how Amigo fares. I had previously QD'd the paint with Slick. Now I've taped one side off, and will apply Amigo with a Meguiar's foam applicator pad.


Prima Car Care Amigo.


My Meguiar's foam applicator pad.


Wow, this looks pretty good too! I also did 3 applications.


From a slightly different angle, I'd say the effect of Amigo has much greater filling/swirl hiding capability over Hydro, but Hydro wins by ease of application.







I'm not certain if part of my dissatisfaction with the results of Amigo were due to being machine applied, but I know that for certain, applying by hand was really pretty easy and the results were definitely better than I've seen in the past.



After this test, I decided to see what would happen on my bonnet if I applied Amigo by hand, then followed with Hydro. It was dark by then, and I really didn't care about how much better it looked. To my own eyes the results were pretty spectacular, and that's all that really matters.

 

Wow - night & day difference. Heather has said that Amigo acts differently depending on how it is applied. Guess this confirms that. It would be interesting to see how long this effect lasts.
Can you stand swirls on your boot for a while in the name of science?

 

I uh, already Hydro'd the whole car.

For the past month, I've only used Hydro on my car, no Epic. In fact, to prep for Hydro, I used my PC and M80 to polish the paint, then I just Hydro'd it and maintain it once a week with it. Hydro is only supposed to last a few weeks I believe. Since it's so easy to use, I just Slick it, then Hydro, and I'm happy.

Richard

 

Darn, now mankind will never know. What a pity, what a loss.
It still is a startling example of the swirl-filling abilities of both products however.

 

In the top pic (& several others you took) it appears that there is mega orange peel. Is that really there or was it just the light hitting it funny? Or does orange peel just stand out more on a black car?

In pic #2, (MBE a dumb question but ) is that your paint rubbing off on the pad?

 

Yep MINI paint has lots of orange peel. My car is a daily driver, and far from being a "show car". As for the pad, no, Amigo is black/grey/charcoal color. I already used the pad a few times, and that's the color of Amigo you see on the pad. Because our paints have a clearcoat, the only paint that could come off would be clear anyways.

 

My Mini is CR & also a daily driver. It shows swirl marks like crazy :impatient but I haven't noticed any orange peel.

Black is one of my favorite colors but it is such a double edged sword...no color comes close to looking as amazing as black when it is detailed but no color shows every little flaw like black Black = alotta work

1 more ???? Since your are using a product that is filling the scratches instead of removing them, won't the scratches reappear quickly after a wash or 2? I am trying to brush up before my next major detail in March because my last major detail made my Mini look amazing but for only about a week & then the swirls reappeared

 

Hey, Richard! Did you use the Amigo on Wanda? Fantastic comparo shots!

 

There are certain parts of the MINI that show orange peel more readily. If you don't have them, then you are lucky. Check out the attached pix, orange peel is evident no matter what the color.

re: Fill scratches.
My belief is that I prefer to remove swirls not hide them. However, the task of removing swirls on a car that shows every flaw requires more time than I have available, so I don't mind removing the deeper swirls and hiding the minor swirls until I can have the time to remove them with the PC. Won't the scratches and swirls reappear after a wash? Of course, but if you maintain your paint with a PC, say once every 2 to 3 months and use Hydro and or Amigo in between, your paint should look almost flawless all the time.

Swirls should never reappear a week later when using the PC--that is, if they reappear, you're doing something wrong in your maintenance process. However if you're using a product with filling properties, then yes, you can't expect it to last long-it's like makeup for your paint.


2002 Jet Black MC


2005 Chili Red MCS


2005 Liquid Yellow MC



I went even better! I used Meguiar's M80 polish and Prima's Epic wax because I wanted to actually remove the swirls off your car, not hide them.

 

If that is Wanda, she is a 2003 MCS. Whatever you used, she sure looks great!

 

I didn't use a PC on my last detail just allotta elbow grease plus I don't think the 2 polishes I used all over the Mini (Sonus 2 & 3) were strong enough to get my swirls out. I shoulda used Sonus #1 all over the Mini 1st.

I am planning on buying a PC & using it on my next big detail in Feb or March so hopefully i can actually remove my swirls then & use a filler for touch-ups as you said & yes, yes I bought your DVD for myself at Christmas but I haven't had time to watch it yet but I will before I PC

 

i too noticed Hydo almost being as effective as Epic on my first try
last week. i was amazed at how well it coated the overall wetness.

it's like a liquid version Epic and hides light swirls and hazing very well.

im thinking about doing my car in the warmer months with Epic,
then do Hydro through the winter. it's easy to apply and remove
and no issues with temperature that I could see. I was down in 38F
when i was trying out Hydro with EXCELLENT results!!!

 

this is exactly why i bought Hydro... thought it would allow me to put on some wax protection when I couldn't do a full wax with Epic. Haven't tried it yet, but glad to hear it easy to apply.

Basically you spray it on after a wash while the car is still wet and wipe off, yes?

OctaneGuy... great looking work as always and nice to hear that it will hide some swirls... although I don't have a lot... yet.

 

yep, just spray on while the car is still wet and just wipe off with
your MF drying towel. that's it!

or, after your car is cleaned (ie: slick or any QD) spray Hydro on the dry
paint and buff off. super easy, dries clear. im not sure if my eyes were
playing on me or not, but like Epic, Hydro looked wetter the next day.

so no more NXT for me. it's Epic and Hydro.

you guys know how i rave about Nero... well, Hydro is also my
favorite Prima now.

 

Thanks Clover! Nope, that's a 2002 Jet Black MC that belongs to LAMINI's father, well I think his sister bought it recently from him. But anyhooo, it's a 2002 MC.

Richard

 

octaneguy- quick q' for you... DP advertises their Swirl similar to that
of ScratchX..meaning, the product's grit breaksdown as you work it in
for a one-step polish. "diminishing abrasives."

for a mildly swirled/towel hazed car (like mine) would Swirl be the way
to go, or Amigo? (I have Polish1 through 3 from Griots which is probably
close to Swirl and Finish from Prima). Im running out of ScratchX so was
thinking about getting Swirl and some of those 3" pads they have too.

so which would you get? Swirl or Amigo if you can only get one?

 

Hydro eh? I knew I should have kept out of this thread. I am going to look into getting some of that if the weather ever turns into winter here. Lets hope it doesnt and continues to be like sacramento.

 

im not sure how well it will stick and work on Best of Show, but for
Epic, Hydro is a super enhancer.

 

I'm new to detailing, but I'm just getting ready to place an order for carnauba wax from Detailers Paradise, Am I making a mistake? I have a 2006 MCS Hyper-Blue Total miles: 154, never been waxed before. Please Help!

 

there's nothing wrong with carnauba wax...but we tend to use polymer
wax like Epic from the Prima lineup when ordering from DP.

 

Ken, Thanks for your reply, I noticed on your website that you like [FONT=Arial]Meguiar's NXT Techwax, do you prefer this over the EPIC? also, is there a period I should wait before givingmy mini it's first waxing? (paint curing??) [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial]Thanks again, James[/FONT]

 

yikes, i need to update my site from like 2yrs ago. lol

NXT days are long gone for me. it's Epic + Hydro for me as far as polymer wax.

your factory painted paint is already cured in the oven before it even
leaves the factory...so you can wax right away as long as there has
not been any dealer/port repairs done to your car.

if you have a good eye, you can tell the difference from factory paint just by looking at it.

 

Thanks Ken,
The Paint looks real good, except for a spot on the bonet (about the size of one of your smile faces) I didn't even notice it at first, but know it bothers me-any ideas? P.S. this is going to be a very low mileage car <2k/yr
Once again my thanks,
James

 

I would try ScratchX (available locally) and give it 3-4 apps with light
elbow grease to see if you can polish it out.

afterwards, go over the car with your favorite wax (ie: Epic, etc.) My
MCS is also only driven during the weekends. even so i get some very
minor but consistent contaminant build-up. I treat the car as if it was
a commuter as far as using clay and polish to remove contaminants, toweling
haze, light swirls, but do it at longer intervals (ie: once a year). In the
mean time, i recommend you try some QuickDetailer type sprays (ie: Prima
Slick, Griots SpeedShine) using DP's Platinum MF towels (3packs are on
sale! ). i rarely wash my car...maybe once or twice a year at most
but use QD after each and every drive. I don't drive the car when
it's wet outside or when there's a lot of road salt.

 

Ken, Once again thank you for a ton of good info, and to think I was just getting ready to hit the Submit button at Detailer's Paradise, when I thought to take a look at NAM to see if anyone had an opinion on the subject, Glad I did, I'm still going to order from DP, just a whole diffrent order! Ken, I was looking at your bio, you seem to be quite a unique person: by day you are an international communications executive and on the weekends you remove small dents from automobiles! I wish you lived closer, I have a 99 toyota that could use your help! unfortunatly im stuck here in San Diego....At any rate thanx for the detailing help, Ken, if you have any other words of wisdom not only on Detailing, but also on Business, and life in general, I (and I think many others) would be interested in hearing them!
Have a great New Year, James (gr8broker@sbcglobal.net)