Battle of Entry Level Coatings...

Meguiar’s new coating looks to be even more user friendly with virtually no high spots.

I was not a fan of Gyeon One's lack of user-friendliness during the removal process after application. It remains one of the tackiest, hardest wipedowns I've had to give on a coating in order to get a clean wipedown, and because of this I would not recommend it as an entry-level coating. Performance was great, lasted above the 1 year mark before I removed it to test other products, you can read my initial review here: Gyeon Q² ONE - First Impressions & Gyeon Booster Testing

CQuartz Lite was better on application, still has that trademark less than slippery slick surface like the regular CQuartz and CQUK coatings. Great initial performance, but I found something like Blackfire Pro Ceramic Coating was more user friendly in terms of applying and removing it. If you're planning on coating multiple cars, it's tough to beat the value that Lite offers at 150ml, good way to get experience in applying coatings. I don't have long term results with Lite yet, but check out the thorough review that The Guz did on its performance so far here: Review - CarPro Cquartz Lite - The Guz

Moonlight and Can Coat I would say would be more direct competitors to Lite as opposed to a dedicated topper for it. Gyeon seems more to me as a full fledged coating as opposed to a light coating. I recently had great results on many of my coatings running Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer on top of them for maintenance.

Cquartz Lite is a great option. It can be used on all those surfaces you asked about. Maintain with Elixir and you will be set. You can see my review that Loach posted. I have since shifted to this test 2020 Ceramic Coating 1 Year Test

Cquartz Lite has a 1 year claim straight from CarPro.


FYI CanCoat and Moonlight can be used as a stand alone as well.

Loach said:

Moonlight and Can Coat I would say would be more direct competitors to Lite as opposed to a dedicated topper for it.

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My thoughts too. CQuartz Lite's closest competitor would be CanCoat. If you wanted a Gyeon One competitor I'd say it would be CQuartz or maybe GTechniq CSL.

I'm currently using CQuartz UK on two of my vehicles and CanCoat on another. I do realize they are different "levels" of coatings, but have been really pleased with both for what they are. CQ UK is a solid performer that is durable and looks great. CanCoat looks fantastic and punches above it's weight in durability by lasting close to a year, if not a little longer.

So if your hoping to stretch out the "years" why not use a more durable coating? Same prep,same (ish) application and I wouldn't get caught up in how long it lasts. CQUK will outperform these in both short and long term

CQ lite is awesome. Wash it with WG Sio2 wash every 3 wash and it’s all you need. No toppers required. I have it on my DD for about 9 months thru the winter and it’s still going like day one. I have a feeling CQ lite 1 year durability claim is on the very low end of the curve... I can see it lasting much longer.

The two applicators that come in the kit are also really nice.

When I was searching for my first ceramic coating, all of my research was pointing me to McKee's 37 and Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Coating. I chose the PBL kit and was happy with the results and ease of application.

Cancoat seems to be a little underrated and that's a shame. Besides making sure the spray nozzle doesn't clog up after use, it's the easiest LSP to apply that I've ever used, much less coating. I think the ONLY negative about it is making sure when you spray it doesn't spray all over the car and on yourself, so don't spray in windy conditions.

gorillapr said:

Yes Guz, I was wondering if those 2 stand alones can be used as topers, just to increase durability

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It’s the same as putting multiple coats of CQ lite. Probably no to negligible difference. Only benefit would be if you liked apperance better.

All three are coating lites with claimed 6-12 months durability. Two coats better than one doesnt matter which 2. I use as topper on my CQUK3 as that has a 1-2 year durability.

Moonlight i think has been out longest and rumors were Tac systems does or did make Cquartz products....


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gorillapr said:

Really? Interesting!

Talking about 2 coats, does that mean double durability or not necessarily?

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A lot of coating's you'll get better durability with a 2nd coat, but it won't be double, it varies from coating to coating. I've used a few where you can only put 1 layer down. Another thing to think about, if you want to do multiple coatings, a 30ml bottle won't be enough. So you'd need to spend more on a 50ml. Whatever coating's you narrow it down to. Ask on here about what layering will add. IMHO it's not always worth it, but again it varies from brand to brand so there's no exact answer here. And I might be totally wrong here, but my assumption is if a manufacturer claims 24 months of durability, and they recommend you put 2 layers. The claim's for if you do 2 layers. If I'm wrong one of the smart detailers here will correct me.

gorillapr said:

Really? Interesting!

Talking about 2 coats, does that mean double durability or not necessarily?

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I dont think it goes exponentially like that or you’d see people doing 7 coats. I think a second will make it stronger and more durable but not by much. Wild guess maybe 15-20%. I did 3 coats. 2 of UK3 and one of cancoat. Im going to try and “top” this spring


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gorillapr said:

Yes Guz, I was wondering if those 2 stand alones can be used as topers, just to increase durability

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Yes moonlight and cancoat can certainly be used as a stand alone. I have not used moonlight but cancoat is a great product. It is underrated and versatile. Now durability is going to vary from person to person but CanCoat has the potential to get you in the range of 9-15 months again dependent on variables such as environment. Now it will need some help from a product such as Cure along the way. By itself 9-10 months is achievable.

vobro said:

So if your hoping to stretch out the "years" why not use a more durable coating? Same prep,same (ish) application and I wouldn't get caught up in how long it lasts. CQUK will outperform these in both short and long term

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I agree with this.

Dr Oldz said:

CQ lite is awesome. Wash it with WG Sio2 wash every 3 wash and it’s all you need. No toppers required. I have it on my DD for about 9 months thru the winter and it’s still going like day one. I have a feeling CQ lite 1 year durability claim is on the very low end of the curve... I can see it lasting much longer.

The two applicators that come in the kit are also really nice.

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Lets just say you are on the right track with your thought on Lite.

gorillapr said:

True, the only reason is ease of use, Lite supposedly is very hard to get high spots on it.
Is more because it will be the first coat experience

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Here is the thing. Expect a few high spots when learning how to apply a coating. It is not the end of the world if it happens. They are easily fixed. Focus on the task at hand you will be fine. Flash times are not a concern with CanCoat or Lite. CanCoat is the easier of the two to apply. Lite would be more durable in the long term.

RZJZA80 said:

Cancoat seems to be a little underrated and that's a shame. Besides making sure the spray nozzle doesn't clog up after use, it's the easiest LSP to apply that I've ever used, much less coating. I think the ONLY negative about it is making sure when you spray it doesn't spray all over the car and on yourself, so don't spray in windy conditions.

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I agree and good point about pointing the bottle away from the paint. I still have my original nozzle and I just flush it with hot water after each use.

gorillapr said:

Really? Interesting!

Talking about 2 coats, does that mean double durability or not necessarily?

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No it does not. The second coat is going to ensure even coverage for the most part.

One thing about coatings most don’t realize..... coatings are like an egg.... the shell is harder than the underlying surface, thus expansion and contraction are going to crack and weaken them. So those that live in climates where temps vary often will see less durability.

Graphine is flexible but not yet perfected.....

So to prolong a ceramic coating you need to maintain with a “filler” type product.

And to my point.... I feel we reached the point of max durability because eventually every LSP gets stained from road film, gets iron contamination, and has physical blemishes.

Paint will always need some TLC... so untill a diamond clear coat is made, us detailers will still be desired to make vehicles look perfect!