I have found that after washing, laying down an initial layer of HydrO2 Lite and finishing with the HydrO2 Foam seems to be a great combination that seems to actually layer and be a bit more durable.
Hey Sandro, so glad you included the Bowden's Own in this latest video. Please, please, please review/compare their After Glow product when you're able to. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Still love your videos. Like how you are not a advertiser for brands, but an adviser. Just spent the last couple hours comparing OPT Gloss Coat vs Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0 for a buddies car that wants everything for his daily. Carpro won out for us on overall durability, and compatibility with their product line. Excited for the temps to drop below 40*C so I can embark on this adventure.
I always find your videos very well done from the recording process, editing and final production. Not having the readily availability of a most of the Aussie products where I live, well I cannot testify to their quality, however I find your product reviews to be fair and unbias. Anyone that would have a negative comment on this or most all your posted videos would definitely be one microfiber towel short of a full bag. Keep up the great work and screw the haters!
Sandro, forget those people who question how you do things when reviewing products, WHY, you might ask, well mate those people who question your review of products properly never heard of any of those products you have reviewed, PLus for me, you're still the best Detailing u tube channel barr nun, all the others going on when doing a review, but never test other products art the same time and especially when it comes to making life easier if they really care about their cars? So forget the rest mate you're the best. Cheers :)
Awesome video again Sandro. I'd be interested to hear if using Bowden's or Carpro, over a top notch sealant like Nova Jet, would prolong the length of time before Jet needed to be reapplied. I would also love to see you include the Products country of origin in your descriptions, as I think people love to support Aussie companies where possible. Keep up the excellent work mate.
Hi Sandro, I have never used Hydrophobic Snow Foam, did not know they existed until your testing. In the past I have only used Car Pro Hydro as a normal spray then hose off immediately, and found it very effective on a 20 year old Toyota Camry Wagon. The paint on both the roof and bonnet had lost its clear coat, but what I found was after applying the Car Pro Hydro even onto these areas with no clear coat, it still gave a coating that beaded fairly well, not as well as the side panels that still had clear coat. But what it also did to the roof and bonnet, was give it a overall satin look that was pleasing to the eye. Thanks for your time in testing and using your own money and materials to complete the testing. Cheers.
I have been using Bowden's Own for 18 years now love their products great to see they can hold their own again the big boys thanks so much for comparison Cheers.
Great video! Very informative and no biases, only content and content thats very understandable, have to say one of the best if not the best car paint care video I’ve seen 👍🏽 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Great review as usual Sandro. I have never applied HydrO2 by foam cannon. Always with a spray bottle and then high pressure off. I think these type of products provide a great finish for short periods even on neglected cars where the water beads off and looks glossier. Surprised by Happy Ending. Haven't used many of Bowden's products as I think they are too expensive for high volume detailing but the ones I have used seem to work pretty well.
Another neat demonstration! I guess I've always seen this product category as another way for manufacturers to not just make a little money but to also get their product name on the shelf. I don't know that I would ever use something like this when I can always just use Graphene Flex wax or Sonax BSD as a quick drying aid that probably doesn't take me more than 15 minutes to do. Thank you for covering this topic. It is informative just as it always is!
You're adding static when you do that. I've changed over to foam as a finish then rinse with di water, so my only contact is with the contact wash on a wet car.
Great video Sandro..plz though try to save on the water used in your demos..we believe you and sometimes you go overboard with the amount of water used. Your channel is the best out there!!!
AHHH yes once again a great test of products. I have been using the Car Pro Hydro in the way you demonstrate as a layer on a layer. It really works well. I have been a fan of this stuff and I use it after I do a proper wash. I find after a couple months it still works. And when you layer it comes back to life. Still would not be as good as Nova Pro, Evo, UK, Kamikaze or other top-notch coatings but still pretty dam god for such a quick application. But I am thinking I might need a Happy Ending now after watching this.
Nice video. I’ve used polar seal but I had very good results. My results looked as good as the other three products. Very high contact angles and superb beading.
Nice video but the polar seal was diluted way too much, you only need 200ml of water per 40ml recommend product, it appeared you had a full 1L Lance bottle of solution so unless you used 200ml of polar seal solution then that's the reason the results were poor
Thanks for the comparison. Strange on autoglym polar seal. I find that sheets / beads really well when I use it but I think I may use a little more foam per panel that you did. I do like these products for ease of use / speed
yes I have an acquaintance that swears by Polar Seal. One shouldn't take any review as definitive. Helpful often to limit the products one needs to acquire to do one's own experimenting though.
The Autoglym Polar Seal was at 50% strength. The correct recommended mixture ratio was not used so how can you compare a products performance when you don’t use the correct mixing ratio.
If I may add however that I find Polar Seal doesnt last long on my daily driver. I probably get 3 weeks of performance before its gone and it can only be applied once a month. So I moved onto other sealants.
I love Aussie made Bowdens Own. They’re great products and readily available at my local Repco, Supercheap Auto and Autobarn stores. So they’re available 7 days a week and just minutes away.
Exactly what I found with Polar Seal. People are raving about it, but I just can't see it. I tried using it on a freshly decon'd and panel wiped Jag, really didn't impress me and struggled to bond in places. What did bond seemed to last for a while, but Autosmarts equivalent blows it away.
I’ve been using polar seal for a while now, based on my first experience with it. I’ve never seen it behave how it did in your video. I’ve used it on many vehicles some with little to no protection after using polar seal it was identical to bowdens
You definitely need to be extremely careful about applying it in anything remotely resembling sunshine. I had some streaking on both occasions that I've applied it and it wasn't sunny or warm on either day, and I rinsed it immediately and thoroughly. It was subtle but I am picky and had to buff it away with a towel. It gives awesome sheeting and beading as you say but I am not sold on its longevity. They recommend re-applying every three months but re-applied mine after 5 weeks to restore the beading as it had diminished noticeably. I had recently clayed and sealed the car prep for the wash and HE application so I couldn't blame the paint finish. I do like the product but when you consider their After Glow, the two waxes and Fully Slick which can all be layered it starts to look like 'belts and braces' overkill, so I might not buy it again. Was worth a look though. :)
This was useful, thank you! 👍👌✌ Have never tried any of these. The top 3 actually perform better than I expected. Autoglym have mastered making foam soaps with massive amounts of thick foam, but this formula needs tweaking. Even with using higher dilution, you used multiple coats so you still applied more than enough product. How do these do when used as a contact wash soap along with foaming? Any differences?
@8:20, it seems that autoglym polar seal actually seems to be the best product in terms of sheeting. Look at how much water is left on it's respective part of the panel compared to the others. I know that water beading is effectively what markets these products as it just looks cool. But objectively speaking, isn't water sheeting what you genuinely want as it significantly decreases the chance of water spots? The purpose of these sealants is to protect your paint, sometimes you just get busy and you cant exactly get around to drying your car after a morning shower, then gets sunny in the after noon. Would really appreciate some feedback here, only getting into detailing now.
Great video! Gives us a good look at other products. Personally I've been using polar seal monthly on our cars (white and dark grey ) as a top off on hand applied sealants and so far it has been consistent and easy to use. The water at final rinse just beads off and a final dry is dead easy. Whilst I haven't compared it to the others as you have I've found it good enough, for the time being I'll continue using it as that is what I have but definitely keen on buying a bottle of happy ending when polar seal runs out.
In your experience with Carpro products, would Hydro2 Foam mask UK 3.0's behavior? How about Hydro2 Lite? (basically looking for a fast way of protection to go over the UK) P.s: I gotta say as an old subscriber i just love seeing you progress so much through the years with the quality of videos, editing and your shop. love the content as always.
Have always loved your content Sandro thanks for another top notch, detailed review with great commentary. Would love to see you include much more of the Bowden's range in your content as I know that they're good, but have always wanted to see how well they compare with the global big names.
I’d like to throw a different point of view across on Polar Seal, having just this week heard a bit more about it, and in your videos almost backs it up. It was developed more as a rinse aid than as a final coating, and in your video whilst yes it takes a while to sheet, it definitely leaves little to no water on the panel once done. This is definitely something of use as a rinse aid. Unfortunately it seems someone in marketing has possibly got the wrong end of the stick, causing confusion even to myself as I previously purchased this and wasn’t impressed as a sealant. But try laying it down straight after the wash stage and before drying. Let it dwell for a moment then rinse as normal, and it should be entirely possible to dry the car using an open hose despite no existing coatings. Less need for a towel means less chance of marring.... You can definitely tell something different is happening with this product as opposed to the others in your test, and I genuinely think it’s down to bad labelling rather than a poor product. It’s my thoughts on it anyway!
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Although Autoglym did say 1 in 6 dilution on the bottle but here it was 1 in 10. I wonder if the performance would be improved with higher concentration.
Can you test them at the recommended dilution ratios? While I am a fan of Autoglym, I am happy to accept a loss but Autoglym recommends a 5-1 dilution so you're almost at half strength. I understand that may affect cost as you're using twice as much but that's a different review. All that said - Bowden's, very impressive!!!!!! I will give it a go - imagine that at 5-1 dilution!!
I finally bought the Happy Ending and used it today on my friend's car with the ratio of 50ml Happy Ending and 450ml water, but it was bizarre that nothing happened. No beading and water sheeting at all, and I almost sprayed all the 500ml. Unfortunately, there was just nothing. I had to switch back to Hydro 2 lite, and it worked. I don't know which part I did wrong, I adjusted the knob for less thickness foam, and I rinsed immediately. I will try again in my car next time and see how it goes :(.
Informative, helpful video as is very often the case from Sandro. I'm wondering if Sandro considered using CarPro HydrO2 Touchless Sealant for this comparison rather than HydrO2 Foam given that the latter also has a wash function that the other three don't have. Although granted the products chosen have the common application method of using a pressure washer.
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Thanks a lot. I have just used Hydro2 once, and have about 50mL left. I have also just bought a bottle of Happy Ending (as it seems to be easier to apply). Do you reckon that Hydro2 lasts more than 3 months? And Happy Ending lasts more than 2 months? Since you are the only objective and faithful reviewer I can find in Australia, I would like to know what your results are. So far, it does appear that Happy Ending would be a bit cheaper (at less than $50 when on sale), and that bottle should last me over a year with monthly use [mathematically speaking]. Hydro2 seems to be a bit more expensive in this regard, even if I apply it 3-4 times a year, it would be sitting at around $50-60 (there is really not much discount for CarPro products in Australia as you know). Thanks a lot for answering my naive question. Kind regards, Tony
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Yeah, thanks a lot for your informative advice. I have used Hydro2 for about 2-3 weeks now, and it still appears to be perfect. I am just going to give Happy Ending a go since it had some good reviews and was on sale. I will report back how it goes. I agree and also assume that Hydro2 would outperform Happy Ending, it is just easier for me to foam the whole car once a month (regularly) comparing to spraying Hydro2 (the winds down in Hobart are crazy..). Thank a lot, and I will report back how it goes. Kind regards, Tony
The Bowden family never do things by halves and their products were created to look after one of the best Australian automotive/motor racing collections you will ever see. 👍👍
Great video! Your work is much appreciated. I am wanting to wash my car in a touch less method with pressure cleaner and foam cannon. Would it be possible to do a video on this method? It looks like there are some great products to clean tyres, paint and after this video, protection. Nanolicious and Happy Ending look like a great combo. I am a window cleaner so have access to DI water. Thank you
You must be using Polar Seal wrong as I have used it recently and found it to be really glossy and the water beading was excellent on 2 cars with 6 years between them . I did use it with the blast and wash
I am not that i love with products like this. I used Gyeon Bathe+ for 8 months. I didn't like it at all. They made him for foam and 2 bucket method wash. My car finish was never good when bathe+ was applied (both ways). It was smeared and greasy. Hard to explain. Another thing was water beading. It wast that good. It was there (much better than bare paint) but for example water on the roof stayed in the middle every time it rained. When i open my door i was wet. Now i have black vinyl wrap on the roof and vinyl have some sort of coating that bead water better that bathe+. I dont have problem with water staying on the roof anymore. :) I saw on the forums and fb groups that people are complaining similarly like me about other products like this.
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Shame! I'd have really liked to have seen it put through your testing. It's a great topper, and even stand alone on flat paint it's good for a solid month of good water behavior! I'm a big fan of this type of application, it's so fast and easy.
Hi Sandro, thank you for the review, i really value your opinion on many video reviews you produce. However, Autoglym recommends adding 40ml of product to 200ml water which translates to 1:5 dilution ratio. You used a 1:9 dilution ratio. Perhaps this might the reason why Autoglym Polar seal performed badly compared to other compared products.....what do you think?
A bit of advice. I am consi using turtle wax hybrid solutions ceramic spray coating as a primary protection. And then use bowdens happy ending as my weekly wash to keep the protection topped up. Is this OK or are the potectants different?
That should work fine. Most of these hydrophobic foams will bond to almost anything quite well, you just have to make sure you work quickly in cool environments to avoid streaks.
Really surprised by the polar seals poor performance it's way better then that now. Possibly diluted down too much or changed it the recipe to what's out nowm
Does hydro2 foam really cleans? Or is it just a foaming sealant? I want to use it as this, snow foam first with (not neutral) shampoo and rinse, than hydro2 foam as regular contact shampoo. Will traffic film or simple water spots be removed?
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Bowden's for the win again! I love their cheeky sense of humour too. They're the only brand where I actually read every single word on the packaging just to find all the funny bits.
The Polar Seal was only at 50% strength and was not used as per the direction on the label, the results are incorrect and a comparison can not be made.
I must admit I'm biased against Bowden's Own, as I am massively turned-off by their gimmicky (imo) "she'll be right mate" and "bogan" marketing shtick. I find it cringe-inducing frankly. But the good thing about these tests is that the results speak for themselves, and Happy Ending (ugh) looks to be a great product, congrats to them. That said, I don't see the point of these snow-foam protection products, especially if they're mostly applied to already clean paint. The simple spray-on-pressure-rinse-off products like Hydrolite and Wet Coat work just fine, no "snow foam" additives required. It just seems competely superfluous. I truly believe the only reason to make a snow-foam version of these products is because snow-foam "looks cool".
@@CarCraftAutoDetailing Yes, you're right, simple personal preferences with respect to the "touchy-feely" things does play a part. In any case, please keep up the reviews Sandro, your testing and advice has helped me zero-in and refine my product choices so much. I would love to see some more Bowden's Own products reviewed if they happen to fit with your plans in the future, I would be interested to see if their other offerings are of the same standard.
@@VaingloriousGabagool "your testing and advice has helped me zero-in and refine my product choices" - yes I find that also. I have none of those products but the info is still useful in thinking about what I might expect from similar products eg in my case CarPro HydrO2 Lite and Bowden's Own Wet Dreams.
I LOVE BOWDENS and they are great quality. Green sucker is brilliant. South Korean made. And I actually love their Aussie way of marketing. Quite refreshing is a world of PC. Anyway I use Hydro currently after a proper wash and it does work well. But maybe I need a HAPPY ENDING!!!!
