ssmith96
11-19-2015, 11:07 PM
I am a detailing nut, and I am very serious about keeping my cars paint scratch and swirl free.
My issue has always been that my car is parked outside 24/7 therefore waxes are not really going to protect me or last (I also think wax is useless for everyday cars, shine comes from proper prep), because of this I looked into sealants. I found Sonax Polymer Net Shield and loved it, but unfortunately it seems like fallout from parking underneath a tree just really kills its beading and sheeting properties. Usually a wash brings it back, but recently that hasn't been happening, I'm not sure if it has to do with the fact that I foam now and use Honey Dew or not, but either way its just not working out. I applied PNS to surgically clean paint a little less than a month ago, fast forward to last week, heavy rain, lots of leave failing, when I washed the car the hood barely had any beading properties left.
I need my paint to be able to bead up nicely so that my washes and specifically drying the car is easier, I needed something that wouldn't go away with some bad fallout.
In comes GTechniq EXO V2, a paint protection coating that should last the duration of my lease...
That was a no go, after attempting to apply it on my trunk I kept getting hazing that I could not prevent, even got the GTechniq USA reps involved and they were just not sure what the issue was.
Here comes the next product, Car Pro's CQuartz UK. The UK version is similar to the classic CQuartz but its application process is more forgiving in colder temperatures.
I went ahead and clayed, TRIX'd, compounded, and polished my hood to get started:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5692/23170448551_7756932250_z.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/718/23170450701_50fa75dcfc_z.jpg
After removing all oil's using Car Pro Eraser and IPA I went ahead to apply the coating. For whatever reason it went on my hood incredibly easy and buffed off properly with no streaking or hazing. The drivers side of the car not so much.... My only theory on this is because that side of the car was facing the sun and even though the panel wasn't really hot the sun was causing the coating to flash too quickly before it was actually adhered to the paint.
Either way, at the end of the day, it was applied and with no streaking that I could find either by sunlight or LED flashlight.
The reflections really are amazing:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/609/23108408646_111661fbed_z.jpg
Here is that same first picture with some editing:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/692/22740369887_d468df9657_c.jpg
But as you can see here, even with no editing, the paint looks amazing:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5755/22838693380_30e2cae4cf_z.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5776/22838702640_d8ba520f2e_z.jpg
My issue has always been that my car is parked outside 24/7 therefore waxes are not really going to protect me or last (I also think wax is useless for everyday cars, shine comes from proper prep), because of this I looked into sealants. I found Sonax Polymer Net Shield and loved it, but unfortunately it seems like fallout from parking underneath a tree just really kills its beading and sheeting properties. Usually a wash brings it back, but recently that hasn't been happening, I'm not sure if it has to do with the fact that I foam now and use Honey Dew or not, but either way its just not working out. I applied PNS to surgically clean paint a little less than a month ago, fast forward to last week, heavy rain, lots of leave failing, when I washed the car the hood barely had any beading properties left.
I need my paint to be able to bead up nicely so that my washes and specifically drying the car is easier, I needed something that wouldn't go away with some bad fallout.
In comes GTechniq EXO V2, a paint protection coating that should last the duration of my lease...
That was a no go, after attempting to apply it on my trunk I kept getting hazing that I could not prevent, even got the GTechniq USA reps involved and they were just not sure what the issue was.
Here comes the next product, Car Pro's CQuartz UK. The UK version is similar to the classic CQuartz but its application process is more forgiving in colder temperatures.
I went ahead and clayed, TRIX'd, compounded, and polished my hood to get started:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5692/23170448551_7756932250_z.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/718/23170450701_50fa75dcfc_z.jpg
After removing all oil's using Car Pro Eraser and IPA I went ahead to apply the coating. For whatever reason it went on my hood incredibly easy and buffed off properly with no streaking or hazing. The drivers side of the car not so much.... My only theory on this is because that side of the car was facing the sun and even though the panel wasn't really hot the sun was causing the coating to flash too quickly before it was actually adhered to the paint.
Either way, at the end of the day, it was applied and with no streaking that I could find either by sunlight or LED flashlight.
The reflections really are amazing:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/609/23108408646_111661fbed_z.jpg
Here is that same first picture with some editing:
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/692/22740369887_d468df9657_c.jpg
But as you can see here, even with no editing, the paint looks amazing:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5755/22838693380_30e2cae4cf_z.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5776/22838702640_d8ba520f2e_z.jpg