This 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.
