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      05-03-2020, 12:36 AM   #17
waldrops
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Drives: BMW M2 Competition
Join Date: Jun 2019
Location: California

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UPDATE: Thanks for all the replies everyone!

I ended up trying two products: CarPro Reload and P&S Beadmaker.

Disclaimer: My car has 5 layers of ceramic coating already applied to it via the Ceramic Pro gold package. I'm looking for a topper to increase shine/slickness/overall aesthetic appeal. If I was looking for a further paint protectant my opinion might be different.

Reload worked well, provided a decent shine, and average slickness. It did not play well with my black 3M wrapped roof or clear bra'd front bumper, but I made it work. It was applied to a clean and dry car liberally using a 500 GSM The Rag Company towel.

Reload is quite expensive for the small bottle provided. While some say it can be diluted, the bottle didn't say to, which resulted in me using about 1/4th of the bottle after one wash.

Overall, I'd give reload a 3/5 for my intended use. Please consider that Reload is an SiO2 compound, which claims higher paint protection properties. I did notice the slickness would last longer than one wash and the beading was on par with the ceramic coating alone.


Beadmaker was quite a different experience. To start, it's much cheaper, I was able to get about a gallon of Beadmaker for the price of a small bottle of Reload. I applied it to a clean and dry car using The Rag Companies recommenced towel(I think is 500GSM? - It's Orange).

It's a polymer based product and goes on quite easily to the regular paint. Beadmaker still didn't play too nicely with the 3M black wrap, but did fine with the clear bra PPF. You easily go through a boatload of this product - using about twice as much as Reload.

After the application I went over the car with a clean microfiber towel and buffed out any streaking and let it sit per their recommendations. Upon returning I was extremely impressed. The slickness and shine were comparable to none. It feels like someone coated your car in lube and I found myself making all my friends touch the paint lol.

Sadly, good things don't come without flaws. Beadmaker's hydrophobic properties are far worse than anything ceramic or SiO2 based. In addition, I didn't find it to last longer than a weekly wash.

In conclusion, Beadmaker was exactly what I was looking for. It's all the gloss, shine, and slickness you'd ever want, but it's not a long term protectant. I'll continue using it as a weekly after wash shine enhancer in the coming future!

I didn't take all too many pictures, but here is one with beadmaker applied the day prior.
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