Product Review: P&S Beadmaker Paint Protectant
by Ivan RajicThis review is a long time coming as I’ve been using P&S Beadmaker on and off for about 5-6 months now. First and foremost, Matt wrote a great article (along with taking much better photos here… P&S Bead Maker Review: Best Last Step Product Ever?. I’d recommend going over his review as well for a slightly different perspective. That said, here are some thoughts I had about Beadmaker.
I agree with Matt and many others who have recommended and reviewed this product that it’s very easy to apply. You can spray lightly or liberally on a surface and wipe right off with ease…
It definitely leaves a pretty slick surface and gives it a bit of shine. I have used it on multiple colors as well as on top of paint protection film, bare paint, and coated paint. Overall it performs exactly the same… It’s an easy-on, easy off product that leaves some protection on the surface. That is however where I stopped being impressed by it. Reason being, I saw Beadmaker more as a quick detailer with some durability as opposed to a sealant that’s easy to apply. While I have nothing to bad to say directly about the product, I am simply not a fan of it when compared to many other “quick protection” products on the market. Two of my favorites for a long time have been CarPro HydrO2 (aka “Hydro”) and CarPro Reload and here’s why…
Reload is a go-to for me because it’s one of very few products which I noticed actually improves the paint. If you apply Reload to a swirled paint job, especially on black paint, it will noticeably improve the depth and gloss of the paint. It hides swirls and other defects very well and leaves a really glossy finish. Durability is usually 1.5-2+ months on a daily driver in Chicago weather. I’ve seen 3-3.5 months in the summer time when cars don’t get nearly as dirty. Yes Reload can be a bit finicky to apply/level and is more expensive, but I think it’s well worth the durability and aesthetic enhancement you get out of it.
Hydro is easily my favorite sealant (maybe even product in general) to use. It’s extremely easy and effective that I just don’t see myself ever putting it down. You apply it to a wet car, rinse it off and you get 1-2 months durability. You can apply it to an entire car in less than 10 minutes and it’s diluted 6:1 so the product definitely lasts a while, especially for an enthusiast. Protecting wheels is the simplest thing and aside from a applying a coating I don’t see why anyone would use anything else.
Now I don’t want to make this seem like a review of Reload and Hydro :). I simply want to explain easier why I feel the way I do about Beadmaker. When it comes to waxes or sealants, I believe both professionals and enthusiasts are looking mainly at two things… durability and ease of use. For me, Beadmaker simply didn’t impress in either category. Yes it’s very easy to use, but so are quite a few other spray waxes/sealants out there, especially Hydro as I mentioned already. In terms of durability, it was about 1 month or so on my daily driver. This is when it’s applied to a clean, dried car. When using it as a wet application (like you would Hydro) it didn’t really perform well at all for me. I assume if it’s layered every week or two after a wash it will last longer, but I like to only look at durability of a single application. Regardless, Hydro is more durable and easier to use.
Overall, I simply prefer to use other products that I think perform better, but I really have nothing negative to say about P&S Beadmaker. It’s a very easy to use product, which comes at a great price and leaves gloss and protection. I believe it is a good product for those who want to quickly add a bit of gloss after a wash as well as show cars that need a regular wipedowns.
Hydro sounds like Gyeon Wetcoat. Have you used Wetcoat, and if so why do you like Hydro better? Thanks.
I’ve used Hydrolite (ready to use version of Hydro) and Wetcoat many times. I’ve had issues with streaking with Hydrolite on occasion, but not as bad when using Wetcoat. My bottle of hydrolite was at it’s expo date when I received it.(I didn’t order from DI,) So maybe that was the reason for the occasional streaking issue I ran into.
I will revisit it again when my 4L of Wetcoat runs out. Overall, they both perform about the same in almost all regards. Hydrolite seems a bit more durable, but we’re splitting hairs. But I agree with Ivan, spray and rinse sealants like Hydro and Wetcoat are such a breeze to use! One of the easiest/fastest ways to put a slick layer of protection down. If I’m topping up protection on my personal coated vehicles or a customer’s coated/noncoated car, Wetcoat and Hydro will be my go to.
Yes the concept is the same, but I believe Hydro is a much better product. It’s much more consistent, more durable and lasts longer in terms of shelf-life. I ordered Wetcoat before as it was cheaper than Hydro and performed well when we first tried it, but durability wasn’t the same and it started to clump inside the original bottle (not mixed with water or anything). It may have been a bad batch or something random, but now we simply use Hydro and stick with what works best, at least for us.
Thanks for the reply. I have used Wetcoat recently with no issues. I know they changed the bottle, it used to be clear, now it’s relatively opaque, perhaps wetcoat is not particularly light stable. At any rate I will give Hydro a try when I run out of Wetcoat.
That may be true. As I said, I did no scientific research nor did I test them side by side on same vehicle/panel, etc. I have simply used Hydro since it came out and aside from a bad batch few years back, it has always been great. Wetcoat was pretty good but inconsistent so I just never ordered again. I’m sure it’s a great product.
Hey Ivan great review buddy!!..I appreciate the honest opinion..I as well thought that it fell into a great quick detailer category vs a sealant/wax category…
Excellent review. I will look forward to trying Hydro, esp. on my wheels.
Completely disagree with your review. I applied Beadmaker on my 2012 Chevy Cruze and 2019 Chevy Equinox last fall and the shine and protection are still there. Ease of use coupled with amazing results. What else is there ? So much snake oil out there claiming everything under the sun and 99% of it is pure BS. When you find something that works for you STOP ! You will not find my detailing shelf full of products that did not produce what they claim. As usual your mileage may vary. But for me this stuff is the cat’s meow.
I think considering it to be a Quick Detailer is not the best way to look at it. It doesn’t really provide any lubricity during application to remove light dusting, for example.
To me it is an excellent topper (that can also be a standalone) that you want to use after every maintenance wash. Just using it as a single application isn’t really its ideal purpose. It provides great gloss and excellent hydrophobics, but isn’t some long lasting sealant that is going to get too loaded up on the paint with repeated use. The ease of use and lack of streaking/high spots means it requires almost zero effort and is impossible to mess up. I am a dedicated rinseless wash user. After I wash a panel, a couple sprays of Bead Maker and a quick wipe is all that is required. Hot, cold, humid or dry…it just works and leaves the glossy, protected and extremely slick. And it is cheap enough to be applied regularly.
When used this way, it doesn’t need to be super long lasting. That said, I’ve sometimes had to let my daily driver vehicles go 3-4 weeks without washing in the wintertime, with heavy salt and dirt on the surface. When I go to pressure wash it off, it comes off very easily and you can tell that the Bead Maker is still there and doing its job.
Hi Ivan. Great review. What are your thoughts on Gtechniq C2V3 vs Reload?
Jon – Both of these items are great. I personally find the C2V3 lasts a little longer than the Reload, but again both are great options.
Should you use Car Pro with an existing wax on your car
Janario – You can use something like the CarPro Reload on top of a wax, just not it will only last as long as the wax layer beneath it. For best results I recommend either just using the CarPro Reload, or applying a CarPro coating first and the Reload as a topper.