Aquapel – This week I finally applied a new coat of Aquapel to my windshield. I had not applied it since the application from my Aquapel vs. Rain-X test back in February! Before doing so, though, I misted the clean car so you could see the evidence:
After over eight months, the difference is still night and day! Aquapel is still working on the driver’s side where it was applied, and the wiper did not remove it. I do think its effectiveness was slightly reduced over time, perhaps requiring an extra 10mph for it to really work, but I bet you could get away with an entire year with one eight-dollar application. That is amazing. The big reason I needed to re-apply aside from the dropping temperatures is the passenger side never had any, and I often received complaints when they couldn’t see out the window in the rain. 🙂 It’s depressing now seeing the thousands of chip marks in the soft mini windshield glass, compared to the day I first applied aquapel when it was brand new.
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Forever Black – It took a few extra weeks before I had the time to apply it to all my trim after Forever Black won my final trim test, but I am so much happier. My trim now looks like it did a few years ago. I have no idea if it will last “forever” but here is the first test patch I made before conducting the comparison tests, this photo taken two months after application. As long as it lasts this long, that is what I was looking for. Of course if you want it to look even better there’s no reason why you can’t add a regular temporary trim dressing over it. |
06 MINI Cooper – I’ve had a good chance to “review” the base mini as I get to drive my girlfriend’s cooper once in a while. Not only around town, but a trip to New Hampshire and the autocross course at the recent MOP event. We’ve all heard it before, but it’s nice to experience the fact that the base mini still has all the go-cart fun factor of a Works S twice its price. Of course without the “go” but it makes you appreciate mini’s wonderful handling. In fact, it feels like it handles even better, no doubt from the lower weight as steering feels easier. The one thing I can’t stand, though, is the transmission. I know they changed it to a Getrag in ’05, but it feels just like a Honda transmission to me: Like a wooden stick in a bucket of rocks. And the horribly loud reverse synchros as well, that you must come to a complete stop to so much as move the stick into reverse. The Space Blue is such a great color, I’ve found times where walking around I could see it change from navy blue to green to purple and almost black in darker light; yet in the sun it is a bright sparkly deep blue.
Thanks for posting this review. I found it helpful and it contributed to the usefulness of the internet.
Comment by john doe — January 22, 2007 @ 6:49 pm
Aww, come one, you got to get more than one comment on all these efforts LOL ;-). Very very nice detailed work j, I know it’s really appreciated but many who come here! I stumbled on your work here while I was checking into Diamon-Fusion. After thoroughly reading Diamon’s web site, you could see what other users like yourself were finding out, a product that works to some degree, but a lot of money that did not match the higher level claims it made. It did work like Rain-X (including lasting 3 months 😉 at beading and such, but the chip resistance is only from making it harder for rocks to dig into the glass surface, instead glancing/sliding off easier, honestly this has some validity, that could be added to a Rain-X and Aquapel claim, I will buy that. Good enough for me, I plan to use your valuable info to find some Aquapel and put it on myself, us dyi’s don’t mind an excuse to be with our wheels ;-). Peace, Jeff M
Comment by Jeff M — February 10, 2008 @ 11:00 pm
Thanks for the write up on the Aquapel. I have been wanting something that lasts longer than Rain-X for a long time and this was exactly the info I needed. Just ordered some today.
Comment by CJ — March 24, 2008 @ 4:13 pm