22ple: In-Depth Discussion and Interview
by Zach McGovernI’ve been using 22ple products for the last 4 years. In fact, 22ple VX Pro was the first coating I had ever experimented with and it was on my personal vehicle for almost 3 years.
The 22ple brand has always produced high quality products that were user friendly and performed exceptionally well. I’ve been testing the latest 22ple coatings against many competitors and have been extremely pleased with what I have seen. I asked the creator of the 22ple product line to share some more information about these coatings to help distinguish their enhancements over the previous generation of coatings and to help compare them to other products on the market.
Here is a brief Q&A session that contains a lot of great information about 22ple coatings and their brand.
How do 22ple VX3 and VX PRO2 differ from the first generation of 22ple coatings (VX PRO and VX1)?
22ple VX PRO2 & VX3 both use the latest generation of Ultra High Molecular Weight silica, which is a more advanced version of silica used in the original VX PRO & VX1.
While VX PRO & VX1 can more than hold itself against any other coating product out in the market today, we have decided to invest heavily and incorporate this newer silica into our new products so we could move several steps ahead of the rest and offer these class leading products to our clients today. The “money man” would prefer us to use only the cheapest ingredients to meet a certain cost target, and still market it as the latest and greatest product, but those who have used our products and follow our brand since 2010 would know that we will never adopt this direction.
What is Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Silica?
This is a newly developed grade of silica which is much more advanced, refined and it’s molecules are denser than the common polysiloxane. This will allow us to use a lower percentage of silica by volume, while still achieving, or exceeding, the performance of the previous generation of silica. The utilization of UHMW Silica has allowed us to add other proprietary ingredients to make our coatings perform at an even higher level than before. I like to call it “22ple on steroids”.
How do 22ple VX PRO 2 and VX3 Signature Compare to each other?
With PRO2, we followed the concept of “cost-no-object” mindset to produce a coating that is technically superior to our competitors and also offers much more durability compared to even our best-selling VX PRO. On top of that, the color depth, gloss, chemical resistance, UV protection as well as water beading performance are a couple of levels more advanced.
With VX3, we took a slightly different concept and want to bring a coating with a level of performance not previously found at these prices. We work hard with our raw material suppliers as well as our lab to lower the production cost but we make sure quality are not compromised. Sure there are some products with a lower ticket price but they are technically a much inferior products compared to VX3, and you do need more volume to coat a car…hence they are what we termed as “false economy”.
How does the new 22ple HPC coating compare to VX3 and VX PRO2?
22ple HPC fills the gap between VX3 and PRO2 in terms of pricing and durability. VX PRO2 will last longer (5 or more years) compared to HPC (3-4 years). PRO2 is also more chemical resistant, but HPC will be easier to use, gives a wetter look, and has slightly better water beading characteristics compared to PRO2.
What makes 22ple stand out in this growing coating market?
We have years of formulating and testing glass coating products on a first hand basis, so we have an in-depth knowledge of what works and what does not. Being involved in the detailing industry for nearly 20 years now, we will always adopt a quality first approach with our products. Buying and relabeling off-the-shelf products will not serve this end as they will have no control of the input, quality and usability of their products. Marketing and using big words alone can only get you a certain leverage.
Does 22ple have anything new coming to the market soon?
We are always working hard to produce new and exciting products. We will continue to expand our product line with new offerings, and also to enhance our already excellent products.
Thanks to Shyan for taking the time to provide more information about the 22ple brand.
More information about 22PLE products can be found in these Ask-A-Pro Blog Articles.
Thanks for the most informative article posted on this site.
Terry K
Glad it was helpful.. thanks for reading!
Thanks Zach. You are becoming a “bad influence” LOL! Very tempted to give 22ple coatings, hobbyist version of course, a shot.
Ha, I try to be a “good influence” on vehicle care 🙂 22ple has some great products, and all of the consumer products available through Detailed Image are worth considering.
Thank you Zach…we had our annual Kick-Off conference with our technical team last week and several new and very innovative products has been signed off and will be in production very soon in time for our Spring launch.
2016 will be a very exciting year for detailers and we are super pumped to be able to introduce these to you over at Detailed Image very soon.
Regards,
Shyan // 22PLE
Looking forward to seeing what’s next!
You will love our new Activate and Finitura that we planned to launch in time for this Spring detailing season.
Sounds interesting… can’t wait to find out more about them. Thanks!
Where is 22ple made? Do they have a website?
I’ve read that you can layer 22ple HPC over itself after a proper cure time.
Will it also layer over 22ple HPC that’s been topped with the 22ple VS1 final coat? Or is that wasting my time?
Yes, you can layer HPC… the manufacturer recommends 2-3 layers for maximum gloss and performance. Layers should be applied 12 hours apart. I am not sure how VS1 will effect another layer… I will see if someone from 22ple can help to answer your question. Thanks!
All our products are created to work seamlessly with one another, and VS1 is no exception. You may layer HPC over a VS1 surface
Some brands sourced their products from different vendors from various countries…therefore whether any of their products will synergistically with each other is up in the air, which is why we make sure that ALL our 22PLE products are crafted in-house, spec’ed, custom formulated, and manufactured under one roof under our control. All our products are made in Japan (pads are custom made to our specs by our contractor in Japan, NOT cheap Chinese made stuff) and we believe the safety and quality of our products are very important and we take this responsibility very strongly.
From our test, we do know that certain “spray coating” sold by Manufacture “M” are indeed hazardous to health as well as certain iron cleaner product from unlicensed factory in Taiwan as sold by Manufacture “C”. As a chemical manufacturer, we do test them regularly and we are very sadden by these irresponsible sellers.
At 22PLE, one of our core value is to create safe, user-friendly and high performance products for our users.
Other coating require a respirator when being applied. Is that also recommended for 22ple. Also if applying 2 coats is VS1 still recommended? I will allow for a 2 day full cure on my personal vehicles?
I recently purchased HPC and VS1 from D.I. I am looking forward to using it!
Hi Brian – as far as I know, I have never seen a coating that specifically requires a respirator per the manufacturer’s instructions… however, I would recommend wearing one whenever you are dealing with harmful chemicals.
Products like VS1 are recommended on top of coatings to provide additional benefits and protection to the coating. Since 22ple uses a higher silica content for gloss and protection, the coatings can be susceptible to water spotting. VS1 helps to prevent this.
I am going to coat my 2016 ram 2500 with 22ple vx pro2 wondering how much product I should buy and I also have plenty of car pro reload wondering if it’s ok to use reload as a topper to 22ple
50mL of Pro2 should be just fine. Yes, Reload can be used on top of 22ple.
Can VS1 be used as a topper for CSL?
Certainly – VS1 can be used on a coated vehicle or as a stand alone sealant on a vehicle that does not have a nanocoating applied to it.