Coating Recommendation

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Blackdevil77

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I'm thinking about going with a coating, but want more information than I can find through a search before I choose which one I go with. I've used Cquartz UK before and while I do like it's appearance and slight resistance to wash induced marring, I'm not particularly impressed with it's hydrophobic properties. Water doesn't sling off the way I was expecting or the way Cquartz Finest did when I had that on my previous car. What coating is at least as hard as Cquartz, but offers more hydrophobic characteristics?

Also, I have Meguiars M105/M205 as well as Menzerna FG400 and SF3500. I made another thread about scratches and haze on my car after washing the car twice. I thought I had very soft paint, but a few responses were basically telling me it was because the Menzerna products hide the imperfections and after a few washes, they unveil the true finish. So I'm guessing Menzerna wouldn't be the ideal polish to use to prep a car for a coating. The detailer that applied Cquartz finest to my car uses M205 almost exclusively. Do you experienced guys out there recommend using M205 for paint prep before applying a coating, or some other compound/polish?
 
Blackdevil77 said:
I'm thinking about going with a coating, but want more information than I can find through a search before I choose which one I go with. I've used Cquartz UK before and while I do like it's appearance and slight resistance to wash induced marring, I'm not particularly impressed with it's hydrophobic properties. Water doesn't sling off the way I was expecting or the way Cquartz Finest did when I had that on my previous car. What coating is at least as hard as Cquartz, but offers more hydrophobic characteristics?

Also, I have Meguiars M105/M205 as well as Menzerna FG400 and SF3500. I made another thread about scratches and haze on my car after washing the car twice. I thought I had very soft paint, but a few responses were basically telling me it was because the Menzerna products hide the imperfections and after a few washes, they unveil the true finish. So I'm guessing Menzerna wouldn't be the ideal polish to use to prep a car for a coating. The detailer that applied Cquartz finest to my car uses M205 almost exclusively. Do you experienced guys out there recommend using M205 for paint prep before applying a coating, or some other compound/polish?
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You can use anything, just do an IPA wipe down after, because the coating will not like the oils or silcon they have in those polish/compounds. So you can use one with fillers just make sure to remove the oils after. Even if I used a water based compound/polish with no fillers I would still do an IPA wipe down anyway to be on the safe side. So the coating can bond properly. Don't skip that step. I have no experience with coatings, but I personally wouldn't skip that step if I was doing this. I will let someone else suggest what coating to get. Usuallky when I am doing paint correction. I will use IPA after each section I do. or at the very least when the panel is done to confirm the damage was removed. Once the whole car is done. I will do another full IPA wipe down to then inspect the paint. I do this before putting a wax or sealant. So I would do this for sure if I was doing a coating. It's 10minutes of prep work. So it's really not a big deal, and a really important part to getting proper bonding.

I use IPA at 50/50 mix with water. but if your using a 90% IPA then you can probably cut it back to 25/75 ratio. 25% IPA 75% water.
 
Pm me and I'll give you a coating. As far as prep, you need to clean the car with the product the coating manufacturer recommended
 
srpurdy said:
You can use anything, just do an IPA wipe down after, because the coating will not like the oils or silcon they have in those polish/compounds. So you can use one with fillers just make sure to remove the oils after. Even if I used a water based compound/polish with no fillers I would still do an IPA wipe down anyway to be on the safe side. So the coating can bond properly. Don't skip that step. I have no experience with coatings, but I personally wouldn't skip that step if I was doing this. I will let someone else suggest what coating to get. Usuallky when I am doing paint correction. I will use IPA after each section I do. or at the very least when the panel is done to confirm the damage was removed. Once the whole car is done. I will do another full IPA wipe down to then inspect the paint. I do this before putting a wax or sealant. So I would do this for sure if I was doing a coating. It's 10minutes of prep work. So it's really not a big deal, and a really important part to getting proper bonding.

I use IPA at 50/50 mix with water. but if your using a 90% IPA then you can probably cut it back to 25/75 ratio. 25% IPA 75% water.
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That's exactly what I did when I used SF3500 on my car. I did an IPA wipe down after each section to assure I got out the defects. That was after each section. After each panel, I wiped down the whole panel with Carpro eraser. Car still looked flawless. I Did the whole car this way and the car looked great. Used Collinite 845 as an LSP and went to a car show the next morning. Car looked fantastic but got rather dirty at the show so I washed the car and dried it with a leaf blower. No towel at all. All the water slung off quite easily. I then dropped off the car for a header/exhaust install and dyno tune. Got the car back and it had finger prints on it, some smudges, dust etc. Basically what is expected after having something like that done. No scratches or dings or anything so of course I won't complain. I cleaned the car again. Low and behold, the whole car has light marring, very light scratches and haze all over it. I don't think they attempted to wash the car, so unless I did that when I washed the car, I have no idea how that could of happened. Either the Menzerna stuff hide the defects enough to hold up through 2 IPA wipe downs and car pro eraser as well as a wash, or my paint is super soft and scratches when you look at it too long. It was very frustrating to say the least, I spent 14 hours going over the whole car.
 
Blackdevil77 said:
That's exactly what I did when I used SF3500 on my car. I did an IPA wipe down after each section to assure I got out the defects. That was after each section. After each panel, I wiped down the whole panel with Carpro eraser. Car still looked flawless. I Did the whole car this way and the car looked great. Used Collinite 845 as an LSP and went to a car show the next morning. Car looked fantastic but got rather dirty at the show so I washed the car and dried it with a leaf blower. No towel at all. All the water slung off quite easily. I then dropped off the car for a header/exhaust install and dyno tune. Got the car back and it had finger prints on it, some smudges, dust etc. Basically what is expected after having something like that done. No scratches or dings or anything so of course I won't complain. I cleaned the car again. Low and behold, the whole car has light marring, very light scratches and haze all over it. I don't think they attempted to wash the car, so unless I did that when I washed the car, I have no idea how that could of happened. Either the Menzerna stuff hide the defects enough to hold up through 2 IPA wipe downs and car pro eraser as well as a wash, or my paint is super soft and scratches when you look at it too long. It was very frustrating to say the least, I spent 14 hours going over the whole car.
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That sounds like the 845 wax. It's very easy to think this is actually haze and scatches. I use this wax also, and usually after 2-3days in some areas of the car you can see that haze. This happens for 2 reasons.

1) You put too much wax
2) you didn't let it cure long enough before removing it.
3) Both reasons

This is why people say use it super thin, because even when you think you're using it super thin, it's too much! LOL I did 4 cars recently and used like 3oz of it (IN TOTAL) so less than 1oz per car, and in some areas it was too much!

Eitherway the solution to get rid of that haze is either spray it down with water and try to buff it off, or to use another wax layer to help remove it. or 3 polish those parts with a light polish and re-apply wax. If it's the whole car than 3 is probably not an option. What happens is the wax cures over a couple days and the excess wax will cause that hazing. So the good news is your car is probably not scratched. I will say removing that haze is a (paint) in the ass, because 845 is very strong so removing it is diffcult. Even heavy cleaners don't seem to hurt it.

You could also try using a detail spray/spray wax as a way to remove that haze. All hazing is not created equal haha. ?I have had success removing it though with just water, but you have to act quickly, and buff pretty agressively. (Make sure the suface is clean) Moving up to more aggressive methods if you are not successful. After I did buffing though I re-applied another layer of 845 very thin. So you may want to do that after.
 
The Guz said:
I will leave this here for you to read.

Autopia Forum - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum
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Thank you. I guess I'm in the same boat as that guy. None of the coatings really blew me away like that. I did like Cquartz Finest. Unfortunately, that's not an option.

srpurdy said:
That sounds like the 845 wax. It's very easy to think this is actually haze and scatches. I use this wax also, and usually after 2-3days in some areas of the car you can see that haze. This happens for 2 reasons.

1) You put too much wax
2) you didn't let it cure long enough before removing it.
3) Both reasons

This is why people say use it super thin, because even when you think you're using it super thin, it's too much! LOL I did 4 cars recently and used like 3oz of it (IN TOTAL) so less than 1oz per car, and in some areas it was too much!

Eitherway the solution to get rid of that haze is either spray it down with water and try to buff it off, or to use another wax layer to help remove it. or 3 polish those parts with a light polish and re-apply wax. If it's the whole car than 3 is probably not an option. What happens is the wax cures over a couple days and the excess wax will cause that hazing. So the good news is your car is probably not scratched. I will say removing that haze is a (paint) in the ass, because 845 is very strong so removing it is diffcult. Even heavy cleaners don't seem to hurt it.

You could also try using a detail spray/spray wax as a way to remove that haze. All hazing is not created equal haha. ?I have had success removing it though with just water, but you have to act quickly, and buff pretty agressively. (Make sure the suface is clean) Moving up to more aggressive methods if you are not successful. After I did buffing though I re-applied another layer of 845 very thin. So you may want to do that after.
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I hope it is the 845. There are some scratches popping up that I know isn't 845, but I certainly hope the haze is 845. I'll polish out the few areas and reapply 845. There was a great thread on here about 845, how to apply it etc. I follow it to a T. Warmed up the product, put it in a squeeze bottle, used 4 dots on the pad, which were good for a large panel, at least. The only thing I might have done is wipe it off a little too soon. I did the whole car, then came back around and started buffing it off, starting with the first panel I applied it to.
 
Blackdevil77 said:
Thank you. I guess I'm in the same boat as that guy. None of the coatings really blew me away like that. I did like Cquartz Finest. Unfortunately, that's not an option.



I hope it is the 845. There are some scratches popping up that I know isn't 845, but I certainly hope the haze is 845. I'll polish out the few areas and reapply 845. There was a great thread on here about 845, how to apply it etc. I follow it to a T. Warmed up the product, put it in a squeeze bottle, used 4 dots on the pad, which were good for a large panel, at least. The only thing I might have done is wipe it off a little too soon. I did the whole car, then came back around and started buffing it off, starting with the first panel I applied it to.
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I'm pretty sure it is the 845. It looks so much like weird scratch marks too in some cases, and other times it looks like a splotchy haze. It shows really bad on black or darker cars. If it was a light car you probably wouldn't even notice it. as for the 4 dots. That is actually probably enough to do the hood and front fenders, maybe add 1 dot every so often. Really don't need a lot. :) You can wait a bit longer to remove it. Longer will not hurt. It's also much easier to put a second coat on later if for whatever reason it wasn't enough. IT's much more work to remove 845. :) but not putting enough 845 seems pretty hard challenge. Almost as hard as removing it LOL, but it's such a great wax. Worth the effort.
 
Hey Blackdevil,

So comparing CQ Finest(pretty much the top coating on the market) against CQ UK will yield some disappointment. CQ UK is nowhere as slick as CQ Finest, and obviously not as great hydrophobic properties. I always top my CQ UK jobs with Reload or Hydr02 when I se them for maintenance. Many say topping a coating is redundant, but it helps to add the slickness many crave.

M205 is a great polish. You can compound(using loosely as sometimes the M100 or Flat Top has to come out) then finish with it as well. The main point is to ensure you fully remove any polish residue. In essence, a good Eraser wipedown or 2 would be recommended.

As for another coating, CQuartz Classic may fit the bill more for you over CQ UK as it has the slickness you desire.
 
srpurdy said:
I'm pretty sure it is the 845. It looks so much like weird scratch marks too in some cases, and other times it looks like a splotchy haze. It shows really bad on black or darker cars. If it was a light car you probably wouldn't even notice it. as for the 4 dots. That is actually probably enough to do the hood and front fenders, maybe add 1 dot every so often. Really don't need a lot. :) You can wait a bit longer to remove it. Longer will not hurt.
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Thanks for the tip. I'll touch her up and see how she looks. It looked flawless when it was done.
 
If you want something like CQ Finest, you can purchase Optimum GlossCoat. Lasts about 3 years. Inexpansive and very easy to apply. Glossier than Opti Coat, same properties, but not permanent.
 
because the Menzerna products hide the imperfections and after a few washes, they unveil the true finish.
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What is this sorcery of which you speak? While Menz does seem to be a bit 'greasier' in it's composition/removal it has no fillers that I've heard of.
 
The detailing forum world goes through many cycles over and over through the years it seems. One of them is that very good info gets buried by lots of fluff. The hiding ability of Menzerna is one of them.

I heard this saying once: smart people learn from other people's mistakes, stupid people learn from their own. It is up to us. The great thing about menzerna polishes and how they hide is how very easy it is to replicate. It isn't rocket science. Now, if I needed to do a "correction" in a hurry, that is the polish I'd want to use. It will look great at the time of delivery, but after the first wash, not so much. If years ago, you hung out here or especially on the now gone Autopia.org, you'd know about all this.
 
I don't know. I remember that debate. I've always used panel wipe to remove residue and not IPA mix. Why mess around. I've never noticed the reoccurrence of swirls with Menzerna polishes. And first wash comment seems off too. I used Menzerna almost exclusively for 6-7 years and did not find that be true.
 
CarolinasFinestDetailing said:
Hey Blackdevil,

So comparing CQ Finest(pretty much the top coating on the market) against CQ UK will yield some disappointment. CQ UK is nowhere as slick as CQ Finest, and obviously not as great hydrophobic properties. I always top my CQ UK jobs with Reload or Hydr02 when I se them for maintenance. Many say topping a coating is redundant, but it helps to add the slickness many crave.

M205 is a great polish. You can compound(using loosely as sometimes the M100 or Flat Top has to come out) then finish with it as well. The main point is to ensure you fully remove any polish residue. In essence, a good Eraser wipedown or 2 would be recommended.

As for another coating, CQuartz Classic may fit the bill more for you over CQ UK as it has the slickness you desire.
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Thanks for the info. Finest was fantastic. I wish there was a way I could get my hands on a bottle, but it doesn't seem possible. I'll look into classic, which I think they call TiO2 now.

tdekany said:
If you want something like CQ Finest, you can purchase Optimum GlossCoat. Lasts about 3 years. Inexpansive and very easy to apply. Glossier than Opti Coat, same properties, but not permanent.
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Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into this one as well.
 
I believe the coating is still there, though not as hydrophobic as you'd expect.
Comparing CQuartz UK with Finest is a bit unfair, since UK is an over-the-shelf coating, entry level, with one of the best (and costly) coatings available.
To compare with Finest, only Modesta and maybe Optimum.
Imho, you should top it with Reload, or any sealant with SiO2 content, or Gtechniq C2v3.
Best regards
 
Ya Finest is a pro coating so it's different than cquartz uk or classic. I often wondered though what would happen of you were to mix classic and UK together and then apply it since Finest has SiO and TiO2.
 
WillSports3 said:
Ya Finest is a pro coating so it's different than cquartz uk or classic. I often wondered though what would happen of you were to mix classic and UK together and then apply it since Finest has SiO and TiO2.
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The two would mix into a mixture that would expand and engulf the entire universe in a layer of glossy hard shell that we will forever be frozen in time. (Don't try this at home)
 
I've been trying to look into gloss coat. Every thread I found mentions how easy it is to apply and how glossy it looks. None mention how hydrophobic it is, how durable and how it's resistance to marring compares to other coatings. Anybody have experience with gloss coat that has had it on a vehicle for some time?
 
Blackdevil77 said:
I've been trying to look into gloss coat. Every thread I found mentions how easy it is to apply and how glossy it looks. None mention how hydrophobic it is, how durable and how it's resistance to marring compares to other coatings. Anybody have experience with gloss coat that has had it on a vehicle for some time?
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Anything that is not Permanent like Opti Coat, it is hard to 'guess" but according to Optimum, close to 3 years. Great at resisting marring, like OCP.
 
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