Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

[Ryan Dodd]

This is my review from my personal experience of Gold Class Quik Detailer.

First off, I am a bit dissapointed with this product. I see little to no darkening on my '12 Metallic Black Cruze or my '08 Wine-colored Torrent. I see a little more reflectivity (I think) but little darkening. It is a great detailer, don't get me wrong, but I didn't see darkening. For me, UQD is better. It is like GCQD except it beads water. GCQD is a great Detailer though. The surface is smooth and it removes dust like a pro. If you have ever used UQD, this is basically the same, except that it doesn't bead water. I don't know if I am supposed to, but I used this as a clay lube and it worked wonderfully.

Overall, this is a great product but I just can't justify buying this over Ultimate Quik Detailer at this time because I don't see much darkening. After using all of the Quik Detailers, I have concluded that UQD is the best and most advanced, GCQD is second best and good for a little reflectivity, and QD is last place but is great for beginners or people who just need the basics (or for clay lube).

GCQD got 5/10 because I didn't see much darkening and that was the most advertised feature of it.

Thanks for reading.
Ryan

[ethereal45]

Re: Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

I'm not suggesting this is what is happening here, but I think often times people hear "darkening effect" and they think their paint is going to go several shades darker and look like it's an entirely different color. When we talk about detailing, I think we often (purposefully) exaggerate the subtle differences between products for the purpose of making them easier to talk about and compare.

[Ryan Dodd]

Re: Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

Lol thanks for the reply. I'm not seeing darker reflections like others have. Not a shade darker. I do see some clarity in the reflections though. I guess clarity could make it look darker though depending on the background, so that might be why I thought I was seeing a bit of darkening when I wasn't.
Thanks again for the reply,
Ryan

[mswerb]

Re: Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

Let's be real. There is no way any product could darken your paint. The paint will "pop" and become more reflective. I have a Granite Gray Metallic Equinox and this stuff is amazing. I prefer it over the Ultimate Detailer anyday.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

Let's be real. There is no way any product could darken your paint.

Oh, they sure can! Try applying M07 to a dark colored car and the paint will look darker in color. The same will happen with Gold Class Quik Wax and to a lesser degree NXT Tech Wax, Ultimate Wax and even M06 Cleaner Wax. If you do a test on a black or other dark colored hood where you correct it to darn near perfection then give it a good IPA wipe down, then tape it off into multiple sections and apply different LSPs to those areas you will see varying degrees of darkness in the paint. The darker the color the more noticeable these differences are.

Obviously we aren't saying that this or any other product will turn a silver car to dark gray or red to maroon, but there is a noticeable darkening of the paint with some products. When we take a test panel and section it into three areas, coating each section with Quik Wax, Gold Class Quik Wax and Ultimate Quik Wax you can see an unmistakable difference in darkness between the three sections, with the GCQW giving the darkest look. If we then spray water onto the panels, the greatest water shedding (with the panel sitting vertical) is on the UQW section due to the level of hydrophobic polymers in the product.

Edit to add: Take a look at the side by side differences between Gold Class Carnauba Plus and Ultimate Wax on a black hood. I know there's a picture around here somewhere showing a half & half shot of the Victory Red paint on my wife's car after using Ultimate Quik Wax (IIRC) on it, and the difference was equally noticeable. Gold Class Carnauba Plus & Ultimate Paste Wax compared side by side.

[BrightonRT]

Re: Gold Class Premium Quik Detailer

I think there tends to be a little bit of ambiguity of what people look for when they say darkening, or wet, or whatever. I find the two produce two completely different looks that are can more be decribed as a synthetic vs. carnauba look than anything else. Let me see if I can get this right with my experiences on my black metallic and dark blue metallic vehicles:

UQD/M135 - This absolutely gives better water shedding and beading. I use this and UQW/D156 on top of ULW and barely have to use a single water magnet to dry my car after a wash and a drying with the leaf blower. It is also more durable. The best way I can describe the look it leaves behind is shiny. The reflections are simply incredibly and my car looks like a mirror. The downside to this is that all I see are reflections, I don't see past those into the true color and character of the paint.

GCQD/GCQW - Water beading isn't as good but still more than adequate, still works well when washing and drying the car. The words to describe this are deep. By that I mean unlike the shine I get with UQD, where all I see is the shine and the reflection, I see past the clear into the depth of the black base coat, which makes the car appear darker and also REALLY makes the flake in my car pop like crazy. If you had a custom paint job with painted or airbrushed graphics or stripes, would you want people to see the artwork beneath or just the reflections from the clear coat.

There is no right or wrong here, just preference. I use the Gold Class line on my black car because I love the look and don't need the durability since it is driven seasonally and garage kept. I use the ultimate line on my daily drivers for durability and there's nothing wrong with the shine that they get.

I should have time in the next 2 weeks to polish and rewax my car, I'll try and do a quick 50/50 and see if I can capture what I mean...