Ceramic coating suggestions

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RowdyAudi01

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Hey all,

Fathers day is coming up and my dad got his first new vehicle in 20 years! I was going to polish and ceramic coat it. I haven't used ceramics yet because I'm old school and have been waxing for so long but this seems like the time to turn the corner.

It is a black honda ridgeline. I have a black jeep grand cherokee I will probably do after. Does anyone reccomend a specific product? It seems they all have different life spans and some have been around a lot longer than others. I have been on a griots kick because it matches my pretty g9 but I am not a loyalist to any particular brand. I just want to give my dad the best finished product that will give him a good year of protection in the northeast!
 
Your question is like asking what is your favorite color/brand of underwear, I personally like the easy of use of Ethos Graphene cause I can do it in my garage on a warm day, I am two years in with no visible signs of deterioration. I had Adams and Renny Doyle professionally applied and they both held up well. I think next time I was going to try a GTechinq EXO kit. I bought the C4 for plastic and love the results.
 
dpevans I know haha My problem is always having too many options and i get stuck in the wormhole of not making a decision and proceeding
 
I think the good thing to know is that if you go with a quality one, you’ll be good. I think your main decision is a 1+ year coating (lite and easy) or 2+ year coating. Gyeon CanCoat and CQuartz Lite are both very good lite coatings that will easily get you a year if the vehicle is maintained properly. Then for full coatings there are many, many options though the most popular (not necessarily best) is CQuartz UK 3.0. I ended up going with Gyeon CanCoat for a lite coating and liked it. And then went with CQuartz UK 3.0 with SiC on top. Can’t go wrong with those or many others.
 
I don't think ethos graphene has even been out 2 years. Most of the US manufacturers have been out for almost a year. That is either here nor there.

Mike Phillips like to say pick an established brand and go with that. With that said there are many good coatings available to the consumer today. A majority of them are much user friendly. Sometimes a coating lite is a good option for those looking to get into coatings. The two I typically recommend are Gyeon CanCoat and Cquartz Lite as in my experience they have both performed very well and are more durable than their claims. Both are apply and wipe off with no need to worry about flash times. Both are more forgiving when it comes to high spots which will happen but it is not the end of the world.

Also don't focus to much on the number of year claims. Durability is all over the place as it takes too many factors to consider. Most of these claims are lab claims and mother nature is the true tester.

You always have the option to purchase one of the Autogeek house brand of coatings. I am putting this out there but the application of the DP GR4 graphene is easy and it is slick. Poorboys is also nice and one of the slickest coatings I have used. Even slicker than Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light and Cquartz SiC.
 
The Guz said:
Mike Phillips like to say pick an established brand and go with that.
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Yep and I'm sticking to that answer. It's worked well for years.


The Guz said:
You always have the option to purchase one of the Autogeek house brand of coatings. I am putting this out there but the application of the DP GR4 graphene is easy and it is slick.
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I'm packing right now for SDC. I'm taking the DP GR4 Graphene Coating to show in my wetsanding class. First I'll wetsand, then cut and polish then panel wipe and instal the GR4.

Who's going? Southern Detailer's Conference - June 5th & 6th - Lexington, Kentucky


Most coatings leave the paint feeling rubbery and most people don't like this when it comes to their car's finish. Thing is, most people don't know they don't like their car's paint to feel rubbery until AFTER they apply a rubbery feeling coating and then go to wash it and DRY it for the first time. That's when I discovered this characteristic on my own car.

Microfiber towels also do not slide over rubbery feeling paint surfaces, a real negative if you want to use a spray and wipe product.



:)
 
I am thinking I like the Cquartz UK edition.

The directions listed on the product page of autogeek

Wash and dry vehicle. Use CarPro Iron X to decontaminate the paint.
Remove any polishing oils with CarPro Eraser.
Apply Cquartz UK Edition with the supplied applicator.
Spread Cquartz UK Edition in a criss-cross or circular motion until surface feels dry.
Buff off using a CarPro Suede Microfiber Cloth.
Use CarPro Reload after 30 minutes to prevent water spotting during dry time.
Full hardness is achieved in 24 hours.


Not sure if their directions just mention their products pretty heavily or if there is a reason for it.

My impression was

Wash (heavy soap wash to cut)
Clay bar
Polish
Polish oils should come off with microfiber rag as i go?
then take over on the ceramic coating directions

Is that the wrong idea? Is the reload something they are saying to use during ceramic dry time or during maintenance washes?
 
No real reason for it. Generally speaking, people like to stick with products from their coatings brands because it is the same brand. Perhaps there may be some formulation that makes their products work better, but a lot of these products are pretty interchangeable. CarPro will mention Iron X and Eraser, Gtechniq mentions W6 and panel wipe, truth is either of the recommendations work lol. From a maintenance perspective, you do want to make sure you are using ph neutral products.

Prep:
-Decontamination wash: Foam (if you have it), Shampoo, Iron/Fallout spray and clay. For claying I would definitely recommend a Nano Skin fine grade mitt or pad. Way quicker than traditional clay.
-Correct the paint: Ideally use a buffer. This step is dependant on the condition of your body work, could be one or multiple steps. You will end up most likely using a compound like M105, or at the very least a polish that has some cut.
-Rinse off any dust/residue, dry and final inspection to make sure you are free of etching and any marks that can be corrected.
-Panel Wipe/Eraser
-Apply coating: I do recommend CarPro's method of application. I also do it for Gtechniq, it is efficient in time and product application. Should be working in nothing larger than a 2ftx2ft box and buff. You will want to have two stacks of microfiber buffing towels. One to buff the box area-to just outside, and a second stack for buffing just inside the box area to way outside.
-Once done with application let dry in a garage, undisturbed for 24 hours. Try to avoid washing your car for 2 weeks.

For coating choices I agree with Guz and Mike. Pick a coating brand that has been around. CarPro CQuartz UK and Gtechniq CSL + EXO would be my top two choices.
 
Sounds fair enough whiteshadow.... I have a buffer. since his car is brand new I am hoping a clay and polish will get it where it has to be.. We shall see though
 
I would use the Eraser after polishing to ensure all oils are removed

4 criss-cross passes would be sufficient. I would think if you kept going until it feels dry it has already flashed and removing high spots will be difficult.

Reload is for both applications within 1 hour of applying coating and as a maintenance every couple of months

I used the Cquartz SIC on my 2004 Volvo and had amazing results. People as shocked when I tell them its an 04
 
RowdyAudi01 said:
I am thinking I like the Cquartz UK edition.

The directions listed on the product page of autogeek

Wash and dry vehicle. Use CarPro Iron X to decontaminate the paint.
Remove any polishing oils with CarPro Eraser.
Apply Cquartz UK Edition with the supplied applicator.
Spread Cquartz UK Edition in a criss-cross or circular motion until surface feels dry.
Buff off using a CarPro Suede Microfiber Cloth.
Use CarPro Reload after 30 minutes to prevent water spotting during dry time.
Full hardness is achieved in 24 hours.


Not sure if their directions just mention their products pretty heavily or if there is a reason for it.

My impression was

Wash (heavy soap wash to cut)
Clay bar
Polish
Polish oils should come off with microfiber rag as i go?
then take over on the ceramic coating directions

Is that the wrong idea? Is the reload something they are saying to use during ceramic dry time or during maintenance washes?
Click to expand...

That is because CarPro is the developer and it is product synergy. Best to stick with their synergy and expand at a later date. If you deviate from their directions and the product fails early or it is installer error of some sort, CarPro and any other brand for that fact will say you did not follow the directions.

Polishing oils are not removed just by wiping off with a towel. The oils need to be chemically removed thus Eraser is mentioned. Some polishes are more oily and oils will impact the bonding of a coating to the bare paint.

In short follow the directions for any given coating that you choose. I would still recommend a coating lite because I can already see that you will be asking about high spots and what did I do wrong. Don't underestimate them.
 
RowdyAudi01 said:
Sounds fair enough whiteshadow.... I have a buffer. since his car is brand new I am hoping a clay and polish will get it where it has to be.. We shall see though
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Most likely it will be just a one stepper then, but brand new cars can still come with some nasty stuff that may need something more aggressive to correct. The dealer delivery teams can do some really scary stuff behind the scenes lol.
 
haha fair enough. Thanks for all the input I will order the whole sha bang It's a fathers day gift between the products and the actual detail job so it's worth it. I just have other products already but I understand their line might work better together than mixing and matching
 
Different brands of products often work well with others but sometimes they don’t. You’ll see some results testing on AutogeekOnline but the only real way to assure products work well together is to stay within a brand or product family. Otherwise, you’d be doing the product testing to see if a set of products work well together.
 
Yeah I did UK 3.0 for my first coating and was impressed. Was going strong 20 months in.

I’ve used a few coating lites and to me, if your going to do all that work and go ceramics i just figure why not the little extra work.

Going Nova evo on the daily and probably Kamikaze or CarPros again...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
RowdyAudi01 said:
haha fair enough. Thanks for all the input I will order the whole sha bang It's a fathers day gift between the products and the actual detail job so it's worth it. I just have other products already but I understand their line might work better together than mixing and matching
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If your going the Car Pro route..pick up Essence as your finishing polish. Not only it's a great finishing polish, but it's primer for CQuartz UK 3.0.
 
I decided a while back to coat my wife’s MDX with Gyeon CanCoat and Trim for the trim. I think the feel and the look is great. I did have some high spots that I missed due to poor lighting and the fact I had never done this before so I was not perfect.

What has sold me on trying another Gyeon product was Gyeon’s customer support. I had questions and they got back to me fast. That is a win for me.

I do however plan on trying a recommended combo from another member later this year on one of my other vehicles but for the wife’s car I’ll be sticking with Gyeon. It is beautiful.


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
Rsurfer said:
If your going the Car Pro route..pick up Essence as your finishing polish. Not only it's a great finishing polish, but it's primer for CQuartz UK 3.0.
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Just remember a panel wipe between the two. According to the Guz, CarPro recommends a panel wipe between the two though some primer polishes are advertised as being able to go straight to coating without a panel wipe. The Guz corrected me on this with Essence/UK so I’m passing it along.
 
dgage said:
Just remember a panel wipe between the two. According to the Guz, CarPro recommends a panel wipe between the two though some primer polishes are advertised as being able to go straight to coating without a panel wipe. The Guz corrected me on this with Essence/UK so I’m passing it along.
Click to expand...

Unless you leave it 12 hours for the essence to set up.
 
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