Whiplash Willy
New member
- Jun 30, 2010
- 77
- 0
Here is my 2016 WRX Limited 6MT in Ice Silver Metallic. I factory ordered it, and when it arrived, it came with 4.5 miles, and I asked all of the plastic wrap to stay intact, and not have the dealer touch it!
Here it is at the dealer, the day of pickup!
About 2 weeks after I picked her up, I took a week off work to do a new car prep/coating.
Before the car arrived, I wanted to make sure that I never would have water spotting issues like I did with my past cars. After a lot of research, I decided to build my own CR Spotless System, which ended up costing less then $100.
It is basically 2 Pentex Big Blue 10” housings (CR Spotless uses generic Pentex knockoffs), some PVC/Brass Fittings, a HM Digital DM-1 In Line TDS Monitor, Some Refillable Cartridges, and Resintech MAG-MB Mixed Bed Resin. This is the resin that CR Spotless uses.
https://www.resintech.com/products/ion-exchange-resins/mixed-bed/magmb
If you do it yourself you can save a ton on the initial unit and Resin!
For the Coating, I decided to give Optimum Gloss Coat a shot. I have had good experience with Optimum products. Several years ago I applied Opti-Coat 2.0 to my 2012 VW Golf. About 2 years ago, I had Opti-Guard Applied to my 2013 4Runner.
I only kept my Golf for about 1 year after it was coated, but the coating held up well. I had the Opti-Guard on my 4Runner for about 2.5 years. It was very similar to the Opti-Coat 2.0, but after about 1 year the sides and rear of my 4Runner lost it’s sheeting/beading properties. I tried doing some OPC washes, and clay barring, but it was never restored. I never wanted to polish it, because I was more interested in the protection, then the properties, and didn’t want to pay to have it re-applied again.
After reading up on Opti-Gloss, I figured it would be a good fit for me. It should be easy to apply, and can be layered. It also has good properties. I was initially turned off by it not being a permanent coating, but I figure that every year after the coating, I will do a complete maintenance on it, decon, polish any scratches, and apply another coat. This should both provide protection, and keep it looking good.
On to the New Car Prep/Coating:
First I did a thorough wash with a pressure washer using DI water for everything. After drying, I did notice some light scratches around the boarders of the plastic protective wrap, but other then that the paint was in really good shape.
Next I used Iron-X to remove any embedded particles. It was hot out (90*F) so I couldn’t let it dwell long. I just did a panel at a time, and made sure to rinse
well I did the whole car, even though it didn’t appear to have much or any iron in the paint. I am not sure if it is because there wasn’t any, or I didn’t let it dwell long enough. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to schedule around the weather.
I followed it up with another DI wash, and then Clayed the car using a Nano Skin bar, and ONR diluted to a QD Ratio.
I then took care of the minor scratches using Menzerna Final Polish, and a White CCS Pad on my PC 7424. It made quick work of the minor scratches. I only polished the scratches out. The rest of the paint was so good, I ended up just leaving it.
Following that I used Optimum’s Paint Prep, because I figured product synergy would be a good thing!
After that I was ready for the Coating! I got the 20ccs figuring it would be enough to put 2 coats on the car, do the wheels, and have some left over.
I applied it using the provided blue foam pad. I tried using the Carpro Suede cloths, but I found it really hard to tell it was being applied, and when more product needed to be added. The Provided Blue Foam Applicator makes it really easy to apply, and it starts to grab when more product is needed.
Having a Silver car made the application process very difficult though. It is almost impossible to see the product going on, flashing, or any high spots. I felt like I had to apply it blindly. Because of this, I probley ended up using a lot more product then I needed, because I couldn’t really see the product wiping on, so I applied the product to the pad more frequently, and heavier. After wiping it in to a section with 3 passes, I would wait for several min, then do a very light wiping pass of the area with the provided microfiber towel. I ended up using all 20 ccs, however I was able to put 2 full coats on all painted surfaces (I even did door jams), the Headlights & Tail Lights, and the rear black bumper trim, the Front Cowl, and the wiper blade arms. I will have to get some more and do my wheels at a future date.
I also used Ultima Tire and Trim on my rubber window trim, and some of the black plastics under the hood:
Here are some pictures a few days after the coating:
So far, I am really liking the properties of the coating. It is very slick to the touch, and it does seem glossier then the Opti-Guard or Opti-Coat 2.0. I have yet to wash it, but I believe it will shed dirt and water very well. It has rained a few times since the coat, and water beads up very well on the flat horizontal surfaces, and sheets off the angled surfaces. Also after driving it home in the rain, when I pulled into the garage, the car was almost dry! Just the wind from driving had blown off most of the water! I am excited to see how it holds up!
Here it is at the dealer, the day of pickup!
About 2 weeks after I picked her up, I took a week off work to do a new car prep/coating.
Before the car arrived, I wanted to make sure that I never would have water spotting issues like I did with my past cars. After a lot of research, I decided to build my own CR Spotless System, which ended up costing less then $100.
It is basically 2 Pentex Big Blue 10” housings (CR Spotless uses generic Pentex knockoffs), some PVC/Brass Fittings, a HM Digital DM-1 In Line TDS Monitor, Some Refillable Cartridges, and Resintech MAG-MB Mixed Bed Resin. This is the resin that CR Spotless uses.
https://www.resintech.com/products/ion-exchange-resins/mixed-bed/magmb
If you do it yourself you can save a ton on the initial unit and Resin!
For the Coating, I decided to give Optimum Gloss Coat a shot. I have had good experience with Optimum products. Several years ago I applied Opti-Coat 2.0 to my 2012 VW Golf. About 2 years ago, I had Opti-Guard Applied to my 2013 4Runner.
I only kept my Golf for about 1 year after it was coated, but the coating held up well. I had the Opti-Guard on my 4Runner for about 2.5 years. It was very similar to the Opti-Coat 2.0, but after about 1 year the sides and rear of my 4Runner lost it’s sheeting/beading properties. I tried doing some OPC washes, and clay barring, but it was never restored. I never wanted to polish it, because I was more interested in the protection, then the properties, and didn’t want to pay to have it re-applied again.
After reading up on Opti-Gloss, I figured it would be a good fit for me. It should be easy to apply, and can be layered. It also has good properties. I was initially turned off by it not being a permanent coating, but I figure that every year after the coating, I will do a complete maintenance on it, decon, polish any scratches, and apply another coat. This should both provide protection, and keep it looking good.
On to the New Car Prep/Coating:
First I did a thorough wash with a pressure washer using DI water for everything. After drying, I did notice some light scratches around the boarders of the plastic protective wrap, but other then that the paint was in really good shape.
Next I used Iron-X to remove any embedded particles. It was hot out (90*F) so I couldn’t let it dwell long. I just did a panel at a time, and made sure to rinse
well I did the whole car, even though it didn’t appear to have much or any iron in the paint. I am not sure if it is because there wasn’t any, or I didn’t let it dwell long enough. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to schedule around the weather.
I followed it up with another DI wash, and then Clayed the car using a Nano Skin bar, and ONR diluted to a QD Ratio.
I then took care of the minor scratches using Menzerna Final Polish, and a White CCS Pad on my PC 7424. It made quick work of the minor scratches. I only polished the scratches out. The rest of the paint was so good, I ended up just leaving it.
Following that I used Optimum’s Paint Prep, because I figured product synergy would be a good thing!
After that I was ready for the Coating! I got the 20ccs figuring it would be enough to put 2 coats on the car, do the wheels, and have some left over.
I applied it using the provided blue foam pad. I tried using the Carpro Suede cloths, but I found it really hard to tell it was being applied, and when more product needed to be added. The Provided Blue Foam Applicator makes it really easy to apply, and it starts to grab when more product is needed.
Having a Silver car made the application process very difficult though. It is almost impossible to see the product going on, flashing, or any high spots. I felt like I had to apply it blindly. Because of this, I probley ended up using a lot more product then I needed, because I couldn’t really see the product wiping on, so I applied the product to the pad more frequently, and heavier. After wiping it in to a section with 3 passes, I would wait for several min, then do a very light wiping pass of the area with the provided microfiber towel. I ended up using all 20 ccs, however I was able to put 2 full coats on all painted surfaces (I even did door jams), the Headlights & Tail Lights, and the rear black bumper trim, the Front Cowl, and the wiper blade arms. I will have to get some more and do my wheels at a future date.
I also used Ultima Tire and Trim on my rubber window trim, and some of the black plastics under the hood:
Here are some pictures a few days after the coating:
So far, I am really liking the properties of the coating. It is very slick to the touch, and it does seem glossier then the Opti-Guard or Opti-Coat 2.0. I have yet to wash it, but I believe it will shed dirt and water very well. It has rained a few times since the coat, and water beads up very well on the flat horizontal surfaces, and sheets off the angled surfaces. Also after driving it home in the rain, when I pulled into the garage, the car was almost dry! Just the wind from driving had blown off most of the water! I am excited to see how it holds up!
