[Slowride]

Originally Posted by X-AutoProducts

regarding silicone in car care products...

silicone oil is a cheap way to make car paint very shiny. it's also very slippery. the problem is it is capable of being absorbed into car paint. this happens over a period of time, and over multiple applications. ultimately, it can get absorbed all the way down through the paint to the body panel.

Clearcoat isn't porous. What evidence do you have that silicone oil actually penetrates the surface?

the problem is that it is very difficult to get rid of it in case you need to repaint. the new paint won't stick, causing fish-eyes and other problems for the painter. i've seen comments that the paint shop can add anti-fish eye additives (i'm not a painter, but i seriously doubt that this is possible).

You're not a painter, but you doubt that anti-fish eye additives work? Why? Anti-fisheye additives, by the way, are silicone-based.

the only way to paint over something that's silicone-contaminated is to strip away all the contaminated paint.

No. There are the abovementioned anti-fisheye additives, as well as silicone removers--solvents that dissolve silicone.

as for RejeX, it does not contain silicone oil. it has a proprietary silioxane which does not absorb into paint. it attaches itself physically to the surface of the paint.

Siloxane is silicone. RejeX might not contain silicone oils (silicones that are liquid at "normal" temperatures), but it does contain silicone. Since it "attaches itself physically to the surface of the paint", it presumably also presents a problem when it's time to repaint.

[X-AutoProducts]

Slowride,
this is good information. i hope my responses clear up any misunderstandings.....


as for clearcoat not being porous,
not all cars have clearcoat, nor is all clearcoat in perfect condition for the life of the finish.

as for evidence of silicone oil penetrating the surface of car paint,
i'm not a chemist, so my evidence is based upon the many body shop employees, PPG reps, and other subject matter experts who have told me how silicone oil behaves when applied to car paint.

as for fish-eye additives,
i doubt that adding anything to the new paint will make silicone-contaminated paint less slippery. the analogy is similar to adding something to new paint to make it effective at sticking to an oily surface. there may be some products that will do this, but i've never heard of them except on this board (not that i doubt there existance but i would have thought that professionals in the industry would have told me about them a long time ago).

as for solvents removing silicone,
i agree with you. however, if silicone has absorbed into the deepest layers of the paint, then the process takes more time than if there were no silicone oil present. but, ultimately, experts tell me the best way to ensure that the new paint has no issues is to remove all the old paint if there is any question about achieving flawless results without any chance of having to perform rework. lots of repaints sand down to bare body panels for this reason as well as others.

as for RejeX containing proprietary siloxane, it is the only product on the market with this molecular formulation. it was created specifically to not penetrate into the layers of paint. and as for being an issue when repainting, only the normal paint prep is required to remove it as it does not get absorbed into paint layers (as i mentioned, it physically attaches to the surface). it does not involve the additional measures compared to when existing paint is silicone oil contaminated beneath the surface.

i think we both agree that silicone oils can present a problem when new paint is applied (that's why you mention anti-fisheye additives). and, i agree with you that there a lots of car care products that contain silicone. like is said, i'm neither a chemist nor a body shop professional. however, i deal with them a great deal. silicone oil does give them headaches. i'm simply presenting a product that eliminates this specific problem. plus it gives additional benefits as mentioned in the original post to this thread.

thanks,
barry
X-Auto Products
800-559-1192
www.x-autoproducts.com

[Slowride]

Originally Posted by X-AutoProducts

as for clearcoat not being porous,
not all cars have clearcoat, nor is all clearcoat in perfect condition for the life of the finish.

Since this is an STi forum, it's safe to assume we're talking about clearcoat finishes no more than a couple years old.

as for fish-eye additives,
i doubt that adding anything to the new paint will make silicone-contaminated paint less slippery.

Here's one such product. Google for "fisheye eliminator" for more examples.

http://handsontools.com/store/show_p...uct_id=2577898

i think we both agree that silicone oils can present a problem when new paint is applied (that's why you mention anti-fisheye additives). and, i agree with you that there a lots of car care products that contain silicone. like is said, i'm neither a chemist nor a body shop professional. however, i deal with them a great deal. silicone oil does give them headaches. i'm simply presenting a product that eliminates this specific problem. plus it gives additional benefits as mentioned in the original post to this thread.

I just think the silicone oil issue is being overplayed. As you say, the product has other benefits, and those benefits are the real reason people here should consider using it--not the potential for future problems with repainting that are familiar to professionals who know how to work around them if there's really a problem.

[strfish7]

I just applied the Rejex to my baby (including the wheels), so I can't testify as to much beyond that it looks great, but a thumbs up to Barry for great customer service. My first bottle of Rejex arrived partially opened (and stuff leaking all over the packaging) and a call to Barry resulted in a quick shipment of a new bottle, with no hassle or whining. At this price, I'm hoping for great results...thanks again Barry.

[Slowride]

Well, I'm disappointed with the long-term performance of RejeX. After a couple of careful, hand washes with quality car wash (not dish detergent) it'd stopped beading on the sides. That's about what I'd been getting with Meguiar's NXT, and a far cry from the purported six months.

It also hasn't made the wheels noticeably easier to clean.

Anyone else had better luck?

[crypsatir]

I just ordered a bottle and look forward to testing it out. My car has a TON of swirls on it from the dealership "cleaning" it before I picked it up. What should I use to get these swirls out and make the paint look better before I apply this product. Should I clay bar or what?
TIA

[crypsatir]

So I just put in an order for a bottle of this stuff and I am wondering what I should do to prepare my car before I apply it. The car is Black sti and has a TON of swirlmarks and scratches on it that the dealership gave me as a "free upgrade" as I like to refer to it. Should I clay bar it or ....? Not really sure how to take good care of the paint on my car since I never took care of any previous automobiles. I figure this is a good time to start.
TIA

[MKIVSupra]

I highly recommended a clay job before any major detailing since it will clean all the embeded fallout and crap out of your paint and make it smooth as glass. For swirls, only thing you can do is cover them up with a polish or buff them out with a good cleaner or compound and buffer. It depends on what you trust yourself more doing or take to a pro and have them buff it out.

[Slowride]

Clay won't do diddly for swirl. It's great for getting the surface super clean, though.

For swirl, use a swirl remover or polish. See:

http://www.autogeek.net/swreandpo.html

Autogeek has lots of great info for newbies to serious cosmetic car care.

[2xtreme]

I ordered it too. I live in las vegas where cars are like dust magnets. i generaly like to use a spray detailer and a duster or microfiber cloth as a wipe down and dust off when i pull her in the garage. Meguiar’s and prestone sprays seem to work well without leaveing a film. I have a black s-10 xtreme and Meguiar’s is about the only thing ive found that works great on black. so my question is can you use a carnuba or synthetic spray over the rejex? I know the dust will wipe off easy but the spray helps get rid of the static that holds the dust to the car.

or did i mis the answer in the long post someplace?

[bah14]

gents.

yes, rejex is awesome and i swear by it. And i 2nd what slow says about swirls. I suggest a swirl remover from 3M innovations. Especially if you absolutly want to avoid any silicone oil messing with your rejex.

I initially applied rejex in 3 coats to both the car and the wheels. I've been through several washes using Meguiar's Gold Shampoo and the Rejex appears to still be going strong.

Brett

[bah14]

Originally Posted by 2xtreme

so my question is can you use a carnuba or synthetic spray over the rejex? I know the dust will wipe off easy but the spray helps get rid of the static that holds the dust to the car.
or did i mis the answer in the long post someplace?

although i am not entirely sure, i don't see it as a problem. My only concern would be it interferring with subsequent applications of REJEX. Then again, the spary may have worn off by the time you reapply rejex. Even the people at rejex say that you can use their product with a wax ... they simply point out that the results will NOT be a good.

hope this helps,

Brett

[donmei]

I've read this thread from the begining. Interesting. I've been using Rejex for several years now on my airplane. Even since Aviation Consumer said it was far superior to all other waxes intended for aircraft use. (the premise of this is a farce. plane paint is no different from car paint)

I haven't done my car yet, but can report positively on its use on my wheels.

My sti is my daily driver. I don't fixate on cleaning it. Its probably one of the less pampered STi's out there. So anything to keep the brake dust from sticking between those monthly car washes is great. So last fall I stripped all the crap off my wheels and applied a coat of rejex. Amazing what a difference it makes. Most of the dust just hoses off.

Don

[bah14]

I se it for the same reason. I also use PS2 to clean the wheels. being that it so strong, I'm thinking reappying rejex to the wheels every so often is a good idea.

[AK_2005_STi]

anyone care to update us on their cars? is the protection still going strong? and does the glossy look last awhile?