Quite an Epic Shine

[skitelluride531]

Well, I am becoming more and more annoyed with Meguiars these days, and I am always open to trying new products. My Meguiars backing plate for my PC broke in half a few weeks ago (what a POS ) so I ordered the Edge2000 Pad system, which is incredible . No more backing plates!


More recently, I placed my first order from Detailers Paradie. It contained:

Prima Epic
Prima Amigo
Prima Clarity Bundle
Prima Slick
Prima Hydro
9 Monster Fluffies (well, actually, I have 9 total now, three were ordered at an earlier date)
Some new Leather conditioner for me to try out
This tool: http://detailersparadise.com/View.as...20061202175731
A few other small things



I have been using these products for a few weeks now, and I must say I am VERY impressed.

I use Hydro after every wash on my MINI, and on a few of my "special" weekly clients cars. It is amazing how much easier this product makes drying the car, not to mention the amount of gloss it adds to the paint. I am ordering a gallon of this stuff as soon I run out.

The Prima Clarity has also exceeded my expectations. So much that it has replaced my previous glass cleaner of choice (made by Meguiars).

As far as Prima Slick goes, I love it! I probably won't be using it as my Clay lubricant simply because it is not very cost effective for me to do so. Howver, for a quick detailer it is absolutely perfect. I will also be ordering a gallon of this stuff soon .

Last but least, the Epic. Previously, as far as sealants go, I have used the Klasse Twins as well as Meguiars #21. After using Epic on about 7 different cars now, I definitely prefer it over any of the previous products used.

I have yet to try out my Prima Amigo so no comments on that.

The Monster Fluffy's are great as always. They have now completely replaced my old Meguiars buffing towels. The Meguiars towels are now in my utility towel bag which are used for the interior, wheels, and just general cleaning. Monster Fluffy's are for paint only of course .


I almost forgot the tire dressing tool that I bought. Although it does work semi-decently, to be honest, I used it once on my MINI, and it has been sitting in a bag on the shelf every since. I detail cars part-time, and it is a lot easier just using my tire applicator pad, and spray bottle. The main problem with the OXO tool is the capacity is very limited. It is not a bad product, I just find the traditional method for dressing tires a bit easier.


One final note: one minor detail that really sells me on a product is the smell. Prima did a wonderful job with this as ALL of their products smell absolutely wonderful; especially slick. I hate having to deal with that nasty chemical smell that comes with a lot of low end detailing stuff. The nice "exotic", for lack of a better word, smell of Prima products is perfect!


Here are some pictures, Epic was applied a few weeks ago. The MINI has been washed 4 times since then, Hydro used after each wash. The last wash was on Friday afternoon.

[MiniMaybee]

ooooo aha ...
It really looks fantastic. I agree with all you wrote with the exception of the Slick for use with clay. I talked with Heather about this and she said that if you mix Slick half and half with water you can use it for clay lube. That would make it at least, if not more economical than other lubes.
I'm totally hooked on Hydro the shine is nice, but how it helps with drying the MINI is worth the price alone.
Looks great, I would love to see some of your other work.

[skitelluride531]

Originally Posted by MiniMaybee

ooooo aha ...
It really looks fantastic. I agree with all you wrote with the exception of the Slick for use with clay. I talked with Heather about this and she said that if you mix Slick half and half with water you can use it for clay lube.

That's good to know! I will give that shot.

[skitelluride531]

Here is a MINI I worked on last weekend. Epic was used, of course. I will post the whole writeup later, too lazy now :

[Xman]

Man, the more I read about Prima the more impressed I am with the stuff.
Besides Kenchan, anyone else switched from Zaino to Prima? and what was the difference?
When I'm done with my Zaino I think I will have to try Prima...

[MiniMaybee]

Originally Posted by Xman

Man, the more I read about Prima the more impressed I am with the stuff.
Besides Kenchman, anyone else switched from Zaino to Prima? and what was the difference?
When I'm done with my Zaino I think I will have to try Prima...

When I first got my MINI last July I had bought the Zaino kit. First thing I did after I got my new MINI home was clay and do the Zaino process; Z-5 Pro, Z-2 w/Z-FX and Z-6. I did not have a PC at the time. Then on October 13th (it was a Friday) still w/o a PC, I clayed the MINI and did the Prima process; Amigo, Epic and Slick. It was a night and day difference.
I really like Zaino; easy on/off, smells great, protects well, good endurance and no worries with trim. Epic is all that (well except for the trim part) plus when you're done it looks fantastically wet. It is almost as if you put a thick film of clear coat on you paint. The one downside with Epic is having to avoid the trim, but IMO this is far outweighed by the appearance.
Praise be to kenchan, his Bears may suck but he sure did find a great detailing line with Prima! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! (that was three cheers for Ken ).

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by MiniMaybee

Praise be to kenchan, his Bears may suck but he sure did find a great detailing line with Prima! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! (that was three cheers for Ken ).

ok, i now feel like i made a difference for the community. thanks.

[mini_dreams]

^ that would have been some DP points, i think, but I see those have disappeared?

[UsCoops]

Originally Posted by Xman

Man, the more I read about Prima the more impressed I am with the stuff.
Besides Kenchman, anyone else switched from Zaino to Prima? and what was the difference?
When I'm done with my Zaino I think I will have to try Prima...

I Zaino'd my PW/B as soon as it got home in August... Loved the stuff, smells great and was a great shine, really easy on/off. But somehow I still wasn't satisfied with the look on the PW. PW is great for not showing dirt, but I never get the pure satisfaction of that beautiful deep, liquid shine that I see on all of your darker cars.

So in my quest for at least coming close to that look, I jumped on the bandwagon with Prima... This past weekend I Dawn washed, Amigo'd, then applied Epic. I'm still doing everything by hand (no PC.... yet) and although the thicker Epic was a little harder to get on/off than Zaino, it was still easy enough. The best part... I've come about as close as I think PW can get to having some depth. It really looks great! And I can't wait to put some Hydro on to see if I can get a liitle of the liquid-y look too!

Crazy as it sounds, what I miss most about Zaino is the smell, especially Z-6. But for the trade-off I can live without it!

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by skitelluride531

Here is a MINI I worked on last weekend. Epic was used, of course. I will post the whole writeup later, too lazy now :

this color is a perfect example of where you would want to use
Epic and Slick for that extra punch!

[mini_dreams]

Originally Posted by skitelluride531

Here is a MINI I worked on last weekend. Epic was used, of course. I will post the whole writeup later, too lazy now :

beautiful!

a few questions:
1) what did you use on the black plastic trim?
2) what is your tire dressing?
3) i love epic and hydro and slick, and even though my car looks glossy, it never looks like this... were both these cars buffed out with a PC? if so, i guess that's the difference.

great work on both! your care is amazing looking.

[WannaMini_]

Originally Posted by mini_dreams

3) i love epic and hydro and slick, and even though my car looks glossy, it never looks like this... were both these cars buffed out with a PC? if so, i guess that's the difference.

Oh, come on...I KNOW you want a PC...

[mini_dreams]

Originally Posted by WannaMini_

Oh, come on...I KNOW you want a PC...

of course... just don't know that I'm ready for it yet... that and I don't have a garage, etc. so not a lot of place to store all of this stuff.

[skitelluride531]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by mini_dreams

beautiful!

a few questions:
1) what did you use on the black plastic trim?
2) what is your tire dressing?
3) i love epic and hydro and slick, and even though my car looks glossy, it never looks like this... were both these cars buffed out with a PC? if so, i guess that's the difference.

great work on both! your care is amazing looking.

I use Meguiars Hyper Dressing on the trim on that MINI. Same for the tires.


My MINI (the black one) has been buffed several times with a PC. The Silk green one that I worked on, also pictured, was not buffed with a PC.

[kenchan]

lookin good!!

[everytimeidie027]

slick!

[Mark C.]

Wow, your car looks amazing! It looks like it's made of liquid

And mine is in the garage caked in about an inch of sand and salt after a recent ski trip

[WannaMini_]

WOW - BEAUTIFUL. Like someone before me said, your car looks like it is made out of liquid.

That second MINI - is that the elusive silk green?

[WannaMini_]

I know I know - they had to disappear. :( Those little smilies were probably brought in with IMG codes. Which of course have become illegal in signatures. :(

[kenchan]

yah, i removed my octane and DP points so that i can be compliant to
the new sig rules. im fine with it.

[MLPearson79]

Man that Silk Green is so pretty. SG is my "if you could have a MINI in any color" color...

[200-OK]

Wow, impressive...

I've got a box full of DP goodies and a new PC waiting for some warm weather. Not fair! This kind of post is just a tease... It's -5 (-20 wind chill) as I type this, and the Mini is caked with salt

[MiniMaybee]

UsCoops - Epic needs to be put on as thin as you did Z-2. The thinner the better really. It is hard to remove if it has any thickness to it, but if you encounter a tough spot use a little Slick and it will come right off.
BTW I agree with you on the smell of the Zaino products - but the Prima line has some very pleasant smells as well.
I'm sure we all would love to see some pictures of your PW (even before the Hydro).

[mcdbrendan]

The pictures in this thread are awesome! That is the reason I have fallen in Love with detailing. Thanks for making my day!

[Xman]

Aaahhhhh, I just reloaded on Zaino just a few weeks ago ........Anyone interested in buying a bunch of Zaino stuff ? (and a $25 gift certificate from my Xmas stocking)