Ceramic coating on lights - First time experience

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rover137

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Hi all

I finally got around to applying my first ceramic coat - CarPro lite.

In all the detail took me around 25 hrs. I feel so slow compared to some ppl but to me it felt like I was hustling.

I did my wheels and all painted surfaces but didn’t do the lights. Can you coat the lights? I did the coating about 12 hrs ago now so not sure I can go back.

Also, the Lite bottle is huge and for two coats I reckon I used around 1/5 - 1/6... feels like I should have used more.

The experience went well but lighting was an issue in a cramped workspace. Once I pulled the car out in the sun I couldn’t see any high spots. About 4 hrs later it was cloudy so I had another look. I found maybe 3-4 tiny high spots under the doors and just applied a little more product and they came off easy. All in all I’d say lite is pretty easy to use. Does gloss enhance once it cures?

it took me around 2hrs per coat though, just wheels and paint. I feel like this is a long time. How long should one coat take?
 
To answer the main question, yes, you can coat your lights. I always do when coating my vehicles. I'm very careful when applying it since I won't be able to polish off any high spots, but I do coat them. I find it helps keep the headlights more clear in bad weather when there is salt and grime being sprayed all over the place and the tail lights are just easier to keep clean.

The bottles of products like CanCoat and CarPro Lite are meant for multiple applications to multiple cars. When I used CanCoat I think I did my three family cars at least once, and a couple twice with the provided product.

Every product is a little different, but I've found most coatings do get a bit more glossy in the first 24hrs as they cure.

25hrs might not be that long depending on the vehicle and amount of work being accomplished. Since you aren't a business, I wouldn't worry about it. Everyone works at their own pace and according to their abilities. I can do most of the detail steps pretty rapidly, but I go very slowly when applying coatings to make sure it is perfect. It will take me at least two hours to coat a mid-size SUV.
 
Thanks for replying.

I might coat my lights in a few weeks once every has cured. If I don’t get around to it, I will definitely make sure to cover them with Elixir during maintenance washes so they have something.

I had read the bottles go a long way but it just felt odd after two coats looking at a nearly full bottle still. Definitely good value!

In 25hrs I did a decon snow and wash, cleaned all trims and badges etc with a brush - btw I just couldn’t kill the existing product on there which was Megs hybrid ceramic wax. Tar remover to all wheel arches etc, thoroughly cleaned wheels. Then used iron x and clay barred. The next day I taped up, did a polish and in some places a 2 step. That was an entire day of around 13 hrs. The next day I did a quick light wash to remove some polish dust and other dust that was on the paint from overnight, then an IPA wipe down and two coats of CarPro Lite.

Is that 2 hrs per coat or two hrs for two coats?
 
For the amount of work you did, I can see why it took about 25 hours total. You did quite a bit of work. I know many people like to do the wheel arches, but I just can't. On my wife's car she often drives down rural roads for her work and the wheel wells stay clean for less than 24 hours. On my car, it sits so low you can't even see into the wheel arches so I don't bother. In both vehicles I'll blast them out with the hose to knock off any mud or salt but that's about it.

Are you able to keep your vehicle in a garage? If you can it will save you having to do the second wash, unless you live in a really dusty environment. My workflow starts with my vehicle being deep cleaned the afternoon of day one, and then I let it sit in the garage overnight. Next morning I start with the polishing and don't stop until the coating is applied.

For a mid-size SUV it will take me about 2 hours for a single coat of something like CQuartz UK. My car will take about 1.5 hours. When I used CanCoat (very similar to CarPro Lite), It would still take me about an hour because I was always afraid of leaving high...probably defeated the one of the key advantages of a product like that.
 
It felt like I did quite a bit as the next day I was very very sore! I do feel that I am on the slower side though. Yeah, I know what you mean with those areas that you can’t see or get dirty again within 24hrs. My wheel wells get pretty dirty within a day or so and we have pretty good roads here. I think that is the approach I will take with wheel wells going forward as well. I have some good tire cleaner (shine supply - wise guy) that I spray on the wells and pressure wash off and it cleans 90% of the grime. I think a lot of my time goes into working in such a cramped space. I have various lights plugged in and my 3 and 5 inch both also plugged in and I spent a lot of time moving all the various cords and equipment around, untangling them etc. I don’t have much space between the sides of the garage and side of the car - maybe 1.5 feet or so.

I’m trying to decide if I should polish my wife’s new SUV before applying some CarPro lite. I will definitely do the decon stage but it doesn’t fit well in the garage and juggling the sun is difficult. She also needs access to her car often for work so it’s hard for me to block a full couple days to do the process and if I’m doing it outside with her car I might only get a couple hrs either side of the day where the sun can be avoided so it might take me a few weeks to complete it juggling all of that... as well as having to wash it before I start each time as it lives outside.

Makes me feel better I’m not the only one taking 2 hrs haha although your 2 hrs is with UK and mine Lite. I was the same as you and negated the ease of use advantage as I was afraid of high spots too. I think I probably wiped too much and installed a few un-needed defects back into the paint.

I can keep it in a garage but it still gets a bit dusty. On day 2 when I polished I would wipe down each panel with a lot of QD, (should prob get a good waterless wash for this) then hit it with Eraser to try kill any polymers the QD put on the panel, then polish. I spent a day cleaning the garage out before the detail and the car still collects dust over night.
 
rover137 said:
Hi all

I finally got around to applying my first ceramic coat - CarPro lite.

In all the detail took me around 25 hrs. I feel so slow compared to some ppl but to me it felt like I was hustling.

I did my wheels and all painted surfaces but didn’t do the lights. Can you coat the lights? I did the coating about 12 hrs ago now so not sure I can go back.

Also, the Lite bottle is huge and for two coats I reckon I used around 1/5 - 1/6... feels like I should have used more.

The experience went well but lighting was an issue in a cramped workspace. Once I pulled the car out in the sun I couldn’t see any high spots. About 4 hrs later it was cloudy so I had another look. I found maybe 3-4 tiny high spots under the doors and just applied a little more product and they came off easy. All in all I’d say lite is pretty easy to use. Does gloss enhance once it cures?

it took me around 2hrs per coat though, just wheels and paint. I feel like this is a long time. How long should one coat take?
Click to expand...

Don't feel bad about taking 25 hours. That's about what it takes me to do a full correction. Wash and inspection, Tar and bug remover, Iron X, Clay, Wash and dry, Then I hit it with Yellow pad and whatever is needed to get major swirls out where needed, then I hit it with micro fiber pad and 105, Then White pad and 205, IPA, then two coats of coating. G4 on the trim and plastic. Rims included. Figure you take it to a pro thats about $1000-$1200 so that's about $50 an hour.
 
dpevans said:
Don't feel bad about taking 25 hours. That's about what it takes me to do a full correction. Wash and inspection, Tar and bug remover, Iron X, Clay, Wash and dry, Then I hit it with Yellow pad and whatever is needed to get major swirls out where needed, then I hit it with micro fiber pad and 105, Then White pad and 205, IPA, then two coats of coating. G4 on the trim and plastic. Rims included. Figure you take it to a pro thats about $1000-$1200 so that's about $50 an hour.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that! Although, it seems you do a two stage polish whereas I basically just did a one stage with a finishing polish and I didn’t coat any trim. It does feel good knowing that the work I did would cost a fair bit if done professionally.. I have however spent $2-3k on all this gear haha...
 
rover137 said:
I finally got around to applying my first ceramic coat - CarPro lite.
Click to expand...

First off we need photos lol.

rover137 said:
I did my wheels and all painted surfaces but didn’t do the lights. Can you coat the lights?
Click to expand...

Yes. You can pretty much coat any surface.

rover137 said:
The experience went well but lighting was an issue in a cramped workspace. Once I pulled the car out in the sun I couldn’t see any high spots. About 4 hrs later it was cloudy so I had another look. I found maybe 3-4 tiny high spots under the doors and just applied a little more product and they came off easy. All in all I’d say lite is pretty easy to use. Does gloss enhance once it cures?
Click to expand...

High spots are to be expect. Not the end of the world. CQ Lite has a forgiving window to remove them.

Gloss will pick up. A majority of it comes from polishing. If it is a lighter color then sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but they just don't have that wow factor like black.

rover137 said:
it took me around 2hrs per coat though, just wheels and paint. I feel like this is a long time. How long should one coat take?
Click to expand...

It takes as long as it takes. No need to rush it if you are not doing this for a living. Plus it is the first time so to be expected.

rover137 said:
I might coat my lights in a few weeks once every has cured. If I don’t get around to it, I will definitely make sure to cover them with Elixir during maintenance washes so they have something.
Click to expand...

If you are going to coat the lights after the first wash then don't use Elixir on the lights. No sense in working backwards. I would actually consider adding PPF to the lights.

rover137 said:
In 25hrs I did a decon snow and wash, cleaned all trims and badges etc with a brush - btw I just couldn’t kill the existing product on there which was Megs hybrid ceramic wax. Tar remover to all wheel arches etc, thoroughly cleaned wheels. Then used iron x and clay barred. The next day I taped up, did a polish and in some places a 2 step. That was an entire day of around 13 hrs. The next day I did a quick light wash to remove some polish dust and other dust that was on the paint from overnight, then an IPA wipe down and two coats of CarPro Lite.
Click to expand...

The added wash step definitely added time. I never wash prior to a coating. I will just use a panel wipe (not IPA) to pick up any light dust.

rover137 said:
IÂ’m trying to decide if I should polish my wifeÂ’s new SUV before applying some CarPro lite. I will definitely do the decon stage but it doesnÂ’t fit well in the garage and juggling the sun is difficult. She also needs access to her car often for work so itÂ’s hard for me to block a full couple days to do the process and if IÂ’m doing it outside with her car I might only get a couple hrs either side of the day where the sun can be avoided so it might take me a few weeks to complete it juggling all of that... as well as having to wash it before I start each time as it lives outside.
Click to expand...

You should not even be "trying" to decide. Just do it lol. Go around with Essence and follow up with CQ Lite. Essence will save you the panel wipe process but as a sanity check it would not hurt to pick up any light dust before laying down the coating. And you don't have to put 2 coats. One is fine.

rover137 said:
Makes me feel better IÂ’m not the only one taking 2 hrs haha although your 2 hrs is with UK and mine Lite. I was the same as you and negated the ease of use advantage as I was afraid of high spots too. I think I probably wiped too much and installed a few un-needed defects back into the paint.
Click to expand...

People overthink high spots too much that they end up with them. As I mentioned a high spot is not the end of the world. It is an easy fix.

rover137 said:
I can keep it in a garage but it still gets a bit dusty. On day 2 when I polished I would wipe down each panel with a lot of QD, (should prob get a good waterless wash for this) then hit it with Eraser to try kill any polymers the QD put on the panel, then polish. I spent a day cleaning the garage out before the detail and the car still collects dust over night.
Click to expand...

Get yourself some Eraser pr something equivalent. They have better lubrication and you won't need to wash or use a QD.

Again we need photos lol.

Also Corey gave the thumbs up on using EcH20 on a coated surface without affecting the coating. He said he never heard of EcH20 impacting a coating negatively.
 
The Guz said:
First off we need photos lol.



Yes. You can pretty much coat any surface.



High spots are to be expect. Not the end of the world. CQ Lite has a forgiving window to remove them.

Gloss will pick up. A majority of it comes from polishing. If it is a lighter color then sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but they just don't have that wow factor like black.



It takes as long as it takes. No need to rush it if you are not doing this for a living. Plus it is the first time so to be expected.



If you are going to coat the lights after the first wash then don't use Elixir on the lights. No sense in working backwards. I would actually consider adding PPF to the lights.



The added wash step definitely added time. I never wash prior to a coating. I will just use a panel wipe (not IPA) to pick up any light dust.



You should not even be "trying" to decide. Just do it lol. Go around with Essence and follow up with CQ Lite. Essence will save you the panel wipe process but as a sanity check it would not hurt to pick up any light dust before laying down the coating. And you don't have to put 2 coats. One is fine.



People overthink high spots too much that they end up with them. As I mentioned a high spot is not the end of the world. It is an easy fix.



Get yourself some Eraser pr something equivalent. They have better lubrication and you won't need to wash or use a QD.

Again we need photos lol.

Also Corey gave the thumbs up on using EcH20 on a coated surface without affecting the coating. He said he never heard of EcH20 impacting a coating negatively.
Click to expand...



Trying to upload some photos now haha see how I go! I did manage to remove the few little high spots with relative ease which was good. I found that the gloss has since picked up now it's been about 3 days. I think I was expecting a huge difference from the last full polish i did when i just used an Sio2 sealant to finish with... which is a bit unrealistic. It is certainly more glassy.

Good point about the lights and elixir - I was thinking of waiting 14 days for Elixir anyway so i could do the lights and trim after my first wash after 7 days i guess. Any issues with getting Eraser on the paint which has Lite on it during prep for the trim/lights 7 days after? Probably not ideal?

Yeah, i feel i needed that additional wash as even over night my car had collected a lot of dust and there was also polishing dust in various places. I could have just wiped with Eraser but i didn't want to risk marring.

Yeah i know it's not much of a decision haha It is just an unfortunate set of circumstances where i don't get much time with the car to hit it with 8-10hrs at once with a polish. I have looked into Essence and i am still confused if you need a wipe down or not? I would also have to buy Essence and some more pads (gloss pads) when i just bought about 10 SDO pads and a few bottles of Scholl polishes - no biggie i guess. Would Essence save me some time apart from the wipe down stage? I have been trying to work out practicalities like work area size, number of passes etc? If i'm investing in one coat, i'm going to do two coats haha just the way i am.

I have some Eraser... well i did... I used near a litre on this job haha Wipe down after polishing each area, wipe down after using a QD to remove dust to remove polymers and a full wipe down after washing before coating.

Oh nice, good to know! Looks like i will be putting in another order!
 
Get yourself tapatalk to upload photos. Super easy to do that.

You are probably noticing the darkening effect of the coating. But it does look great.

You can use Essence with any pad. Does not have to be a gloss pad. So those HDO's will work just fine. Does it need a panel wipe or not is debatable. I always let it sit overnight and come back the next morning and panel wipe it with Eraser to remove any residual oils that Essence may leave behind. But if worked with a polisher it does not need an Eraser wipe down per CarPro's FAQ. It works great on soft paints.

About the panel wipe damaging the coating, it will not. Spray it into your towel and wipe those areas down.
 
I've been meaning to get that app.

Thanks for that!

No issues with Essence hardening the pads? assuming you just soak and wash after use as usual and all is fine? Just one slow pass enough for essence? I've seen videos where people have done 3-4, have read info where people say just one slow pass is enough.

I will only get 1-4hrs at a time with the SUV and it will be outside 100% of time during the process - If polishing in stages with Essence (I will do a big decon on the whole car at once, then wash each panel as i polish it on the day... ideally i can get at it 2 weekends in a row and have it polished in 7 days), once finished the whole car - ok to then coat with Lite? Noting that some of the panels will have been polished 1-2 weeks prior to the coating. Will do a wash and light Eraser wipe down on the day of coating i am thinking.
 
No issue. Toss them in the bucket and soak them and clean them out. You want to break Essence down to wipe it off clean. A few section passes and you're good to go.

Polish and coat a few panels each weekend or day. You don't have to do it all in one day.
 
On another note, assume I can wash after 7 days? Keen to test this thing out!


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