ceramic coatings vs Zaino

danix said:
OK, decision time.
Lots of recommendations for the McKee's and its on sale for $99 including the prep polish and (apparently crappy) towels.
I like the sound of the Wolfgang Uber and they have a good kit set up for $169.
Polish Angel sounds interesting but there are so many different products to choose from and it's quite a bit more expensive.
Cquartz UK would be interesting as it's the exact same product quoted by one shop.

Choices...
I think I'm going to go with the McKee's. I'm going to upgrade the applicators to the Lake Country ones.

Now, is the polish included there (coating prep polish) going to be enough to remove light scratches or swirl marks? If not, what else should I be using?
This is a 3 week old vehicle so there should be minimal correction needed, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right.

I've got my Porter Cable with a 5" Lake Country backing plate. I think I still have some new pads but will order more.

My initial plan:
  • wash with dawn (to strip all the old wax and grime) and dry.
  • clay bar. I ordered the pinnacle kit though I usually use the Mother's kit I can buy locally.
  • rewash and dry
  • move vehicle indoors
  • possible polish/swirl removal?
  • polish with coating prep polish (not sure which pad - white? orange?)
  • follow directions and apply McKee's 37 coatings
Click to expand...

If you are gonna go with McKee's ceramic coating, get a bottle of their FAST Polish if you don't already have a polish that can remove swirls.

http://www.mckees37.com/car-polish....MIuYfz7bG-1gIVmrXACh0AfAPhEAQYAiABEgI5hvD_BwE


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Would do essence on a car pro gloss pad followed by U.K. Out of what you picked.


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danix said:
OK, decision time.
Lots of recommendations for the McKee's and its on sale for $99 including the prep polish and (apparently crappy) towels.
I like the sound of the Wolfgang Uber and they have a good kit set up for $169.
Polish Angel sounds interesting but there are so many different products to choose from and it's quite a bit more expensive.
Cquartz UK would be interesting as it's the exact same product quoted by one shop.

Choices...
I think I'm going to go with the McKee's. I'm going to upgrade the applicators to the Lake Country ones.

Now, is the polish included there (coating prep polish) going to be enough to remove light scratches or swirl marks? If not, what else should I be using?
This is a 3 week old vehicle so there should be minimal correction needed, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right.

I've got my Porter Cable with a 5" Lake Country backing plate. I think I still have some new pads but will order more.

My initial plan:
  • wash with dawn (to strip all the old wax and grime) and dry.
  • clay bar. I ordered the pinnacle kit though I usually use the Mother's kit I can buy locally.
  • rewash and dry
  • move vehicle indoors
  • possible polish/swirl removal?
  • polish with coating prep polish (not sure which pad - white? orange?)
  • follow directions and apply McKee's 37 coatings
Click to expand...

McKee's 37 Coating Prep Polish is non-abrasive. It will not remove swirls and scatches; what it will do is cleanse the paint of polishing oils left behind by your swirl remover. :xyxthumbs:
 
danix said:
OK, decision time.
Lots of recommendations for the McKee's and its on sale for $99 including the prep polish and (apparently crappy) towels.
I like the sound of the Wolfgang Uber and they have a good kit set up for $169.
Polish Angel sounds interesting but there are so many different products to choose from and it's quite a bit more expensive.
Cquartz UK would be interesting as it's the exact same product quoted by one shop.

Choices...
I think I'm going to go with the McKee's. I'm going to upgrade the applicators to the Lake Country ones.

Now, is the polish included there (coating prep polish) going to be enough to remove light scratches or swirl marks? If not, what else should I be using?
This is a 3 week old vehicle so there should be minimal correction needed, but if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right.

I've got my Porter Cable with a 5" Lake Country backing plate. I think I still have some new pads but will order more.

My initial plan:
  • wash with dawn (to strip all the old wax and grime) and dry.
  • clay bar. I ordered the pinnacle kit though I usually use the Mother's kit I can buy locally.
  • rewash and dry
  • move vehicle indoors
  • possible polish/swirl removal?
  • polish with coating prep polish (not sure which pad - white? orange?)
  • follow directions and apply McKee's 37 coatings
Click to expand...

In addition to all the other great advice, I wouldn't bother with the Dawn. It won't do that much against the wax and you'll remove it all anyway when you polish. I also don't like what dish soap did to all my external rubber and plastic bits, not to mention it doesn't rinse off nearly as well as a normal car shampoo.
 
Desertnate said:
In addition to all the other great advice, I wouldn't bother with the Dawn. It won't do that much against the wax and you'll remove it all anyway when you polish. I also don't like what dish soap did to all my external rubber and plastic bits, not to mention it doesn't rinse off nearly as well as a normal car shampoo.
Click to expand...

I would still do a wash with Dawn. Personally, for the cost in time to wash the vehicle it will reduce the risk of introducing any additional contaminants to the mix. Again, that's my opinion.

Just my $0.04 (yep, worth every penny)
 
mdbenge said:
I would still do a wash with Dawn. Personally, for the cost in time to wash the vehicle it will reduce the risk of introducing any additional contaminants to the mix. Again, that's my opinion.

Just my $0.04 (yep, worth every penny)
Click to expand...

I personally would never use dawn or any other dish detergent to wash any vehicle I own or a customers vehicle.

Dawn is for washing dishes, not vehicles. The are many better choices and they aren't expenisve either.

Just my opionion.
 
custmsprty said:
I personally would never use dawn or any other dish detergent to wash any vehicle I own or a customers vehicle.

Dawn is for washing dishes, not vehicles. The are many better choices and they aren't expenisve either.

Just my opionion.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct (no pun intended)!! I was not adding a true $0.04 worth...maybe $0.01....never, ever use Dawn on a car. I should have caught that myself.

Thanks!
 
mdbenge said:
Absolutely correct (no pun intended)!! I was not adding a true $0.04 worth...maybe $0.01....never, ever use Dawn on a car. I should have caught that myself.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I probably wasn't very clear either! I wasn't saying NOT to wash the car before doing the work. I meant he should wash the car with a car shampoo instead. Phew...glad we cleared that up!
 
To the OP, have we convinced you enough to tackle this job yourself yet, LOL?
 
I'm definitely doing it, only challenge is going to be getting product before the weekend if this stuff ships from FL...
 
I'm going to surprise you. I'm going to apply product, show you the results, and only then tell you what I ordered :)
 
I'm subscribed and can't wait to see what you chose, should be interesting!
 
I'm excited for you! It took me a year to work up to applying a coating, afterwards I realized *all* the hard work is in the prep stage - applying the coating was easier than I ever imagined. Anxious to see your results and find out which product you chose!
 
Going to "live post" this thing and keep editing.

Step 1. Washed the car with Reset shampoo.
Step 2. Claybar with Mother's clay bar kit (its what I had on hand and was new in the box so...)

Paint was overall pretty smooth but I did see some spots in the clear coat and a small scratch on the hood. So much for the theory that its a new car and shouldn't need any correcting.

On to step 3. I need to polish up a bit. My PC is a 7336 with 6" counterweight. I've got a LC 5.5" backing plate so I should be good to go. The current plan is to use Carpro Essence with a Carpro gloss pad, but I'm not sure it will do the job. From previous orders I've got on hand new LC white and red pads, and a 6.5" purple wool pad that came in the same kit for some reason. Of those, I'm thinking the white would be the way to go but I may hit up the local bodyshop supply place and see if they have any MF pads if I can't get those marks out.

View attachment 60348View attachment 60349View attachment 60350

Tried Essence with the gloss pad. I'm not getting the cleaning power I expected. Better but I still see some marks and light scratches. Started PC at 2-3 and went up to 5. Perhaps need more pressure but I've always heard to let the machine do the work. I'm going to run out and look for a MF pad and perhaps pick up some Griots correcting cream.

Got Griots MF pads and both Correcting and Fast Correcting creams.
Tried MF pad with essence, not great. Switched to other pad with Correcting, better but still seeing some spots in the clear coat.
Switched to Fast Correcting and getting the results I want but it's taking a long time. I'm wondering if I need to use more speed, more pressure, or what. Reviewing some videos.

I pretty much knew I needed to a) work smaller areas, b) use more speed, c) use some pressure. Getting good results but not the "oh wow look at that" I expected. All but the worst scratch are gone and a few things I swear are defects below the clearcoat. I'm assuming the hood has the worst of it, and the sides should be easier.

Now that the whole car is done with Correcting (hood with fast correcting):
View attachment 60363
View attachment 60364

Dang scratch is still there. I probably need an aggressive compound but I'm running out of time (I need the next layer to sit overnight and my wife needs the car Monday).

Next step - back to Essence and gloss pad.
 
Can't rush perfection, your dialing it in and remember your working on hard, German paint. Prep is key and remember, the coating is easy, can't wait to see and hear what you'll be using!

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk
 
Arg, I've hit a roadblock. I'm not sure why but Essence is clouding up on me. It's hotter (and more humid) than earlier and I'm wondering if that's why.
I checked the bottle and lowered my speed to medium, same problem. Could be humidity or an issue going from Griots to Essence, but it sucks and I can't seem to get the haze off.

I'm using Essence as prep for Cquartz UK, but I'm not comfortable coating it this way.
BTW, yes, that's wiped clean with microfiber.
I tried going back to the MF pad with Essence and it seems better but still cloudy. Really disappointing, it looked perfect after the Griots.
View attachment 60365
 
Keep going, your doing fine!

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