CQuartz Finest...Oh Yeah,it's like glossy glass!

[IID]

I received my Finest a couple days ago and thought I would get the hang of the application process because I have a Pontiac G8 next weekend for correction and application of the product.
I purchased the Finest from CarPro USA (Thank You Corey).

I was going to apply it to my TransAm but thought I would use my 300C SRT Design because both vehicles are black but the SRT has flake in it.
My paint was in good condition but used a finishing polish and a green pad(s)then polished off half the vehicle of the OG that was applied prior.
I used Eraser to do a final wipe to ensure there was no oil's left on the paint before application.
One thing I did notice when applying the Finest is the product leaves very little haze and almost seems to melt into the paint.It was 78deg and 57% humidity in my shop so after applying,I very lightly wiped off what little haze was left after about 5min of cure time.
Another thing I noticed is after final buff,the paint felt soooo smooth.I meen SMOOTH.

Oh yeah,did I mention yet the finish after application looked like glass

Excellent reflections:

I will monitor durability,sheeting/cleaning properties,and also scratch/swirl resistance against the other half of the vehicles OG.
But I must say,I'm VERY impressed with the product (initially)! A quick hood shot to showcase the Finest:

Enough of detailing for this evening as it's time to go out on the boat and enjoy some of this gorgous weather

 

[ArkayoDeetayo]

nice work Chris, looking forward to the updates, subscribed!

By the way, can anyone buy it if they went to the said Carpro USA site?

How much was it and how many oz?

 

[IID]

nice work Chris, looking forward to the updates, subscribed!

By the way, can anyone buy it if they went to the said Carpro USA site?

How much was it and how many oz?

Thank You Bud!

You have to be an authorized installer and there are certain terms you need to comply to.There is a level of different pricing from CarPro USA.
The bottle is 50ml.

 

[richy]

Chris, so if I read your thread correctly, you now have both OC and CQF on your 300? If so, that's great as I would love to see side by side comparisons on several different points. The CQF is also considerably more expensive, is it not? I'm wondering what advantages there are to using it over OG/OC?

 

[ArkayoDeetayo]

Chris, is possible

Can you PM me Corey's exact site where he sells it? (since I cannot find it) and also can anyone purchase it directly from Corey?

 

[IID]

Chris, so if I read your thread correctly, you now have both OC and CQF on your 300? If so, that's great as I would love to see side by side comparisons on several different points. The CQF is also considerably more expensive, is it not? I'm wondering what advantages there are to using it over OG/OC?

Good evening Richy,
You are correct,half the vehicle is now CQF and the driver side is still OG.
The CQF is suppose to have EXCELLENT anti-swirl/marr capabilities as it's advertised as a Mohs hardness of 7-9.It's labeled as Extreme hard coat,Anti-scratch,super durable hydrophobic effect,thick and glossy.
Only 24hr to fully harden and no more than 20% loss of gloss for 2-years (Maintance conditions apply).

 

[IID]

Chris, is possible

Can you PM me Corey's exact site where he sells it? (since I cannot find it) and also can anyone purchase it directly from Corey?

PM sent.

 

[Flannigan]

nice work Chris, looking forward to the updates, subscribed!

By the way, can anyone buy it if they went to the said Carpro USA site?

How much was it and how many oz?

You have to have to be a professional (from the business license sense), have a minimum size shop, and buy a minimum quantity of product to purchase Finest.

 

[rider9195]

Looks great Chris!

In the first picture do I see a 2 inch pad or something? Looks tiny.

 

[ArkayoDeetayo]

You have to have to be a professional (from the business license sense), have a minimum size shop, and buy a minimum quantity of product to purchase Finest.

oh okay, thanks! I saw the "distributors" and noticed you are one of them! Hope your business is doing good and your family too!

 

[TroyScherer]

Very nice Chris.


Can you comment on the looks and water shedding abilities compared to the regular CQ?

I look forward to your future updates on CQF. I am looking into becoming an installer as well.

 

[DARK HORSE]

Great job, and thanks for sharing your initial impressions Chris! I will be using CQ Finest tomorrow for the first time (2013 Mustang CS). I'm even more excited to use it now after reading your comments..Im the MAN I'll try to add my thoughts and a couple of pictures to this thread tomorrow night or Sunday:cheers:

 

[IID]

Very nice Chris.


Can you comment on the looks and water shedding abilities compared to the regular CQ?

I look forward to your future updates on CQF. I am looking into becoming an installer as well.

Well I did a quick rinse down today to check the shedding capabilities and I have to honestly say that water scatters from the CQF side better/faster than the OG side.....I was shocked!
The CQF side does seem a bit glossy than the OG side as well,could just be mind games on the gloss but not the water shedding.

Great job, and thanks for sharing your initial impressions Chris! I will be using CQ Finest tomorrow for the first time (2013 Mustang CS). I'm even more excited to use it now after reading your comments..Im the MAN I'll try to add my thoughts and a couple of pictures to this thread tomorrow night or Sunday:cheers:

Hey Tad,I believe you are going to love applying the CQF and also the rinsing characteristic's of it as well
Please share your thoughts.

 

[Flannigan]

oh okay, thanks! I saw the "distributors" and noticed you are one of them! Hope your business is doing good and your family too!

Thank you very much, and same to you!! :dblthumb2:

 

[Chris Thomas]

...My paint was in good condition but used a finishing polish and a green pad(s)then polished off half the vehicle of the OG that was applied prior...

...One thing I did notice when applying the Finest is the product leaves very little haze and almost seems to melt into the paint.It was 78deg and 57% humidity in my shop so after applying,I very lightly wiped off what little haze was left after about 5min of cure time.
Another thing I noticed is after final buff,the paint felt soooo smooth.I meen SMOOTH.

Oh yeah,did I mention yet the finish after application looked like glass

Hi Chris,

Kudos on taking the time to test two very advanced products head to head...but, you will need a new test bed if you want the tests to accurately reflect the performance of these products.

As you may know, Opti Guard thickness varies between 1-2 microns varying from methods of application. Compounding and polishing to remove wetsanding marks only removes around a .10 of a micron in paint thickness and finishing polish alone, as you've done here, would likely not remove any measureable amount of paint/coating let alone the 1-2 micron thickness of OG. So with this in mind, you won't be able to tell whether the Finest has worn away or even bonded well to begin with on this vehicle.

Opti Guard is polishable and will be significantly smoother to the touch with polishing whether another product is added or not...just like normal clear coat is. I personally polished my BMW with GPS after allowing the OG to cure and the "feel" is significanlty smoother. It has since, been more than long enough for the GPS to have worn away (even if the car wasn't coated), but the smooth feel remains and hasn't required any other maintenance product to boost or retain that attribute.

Some people have commented on different panels beading differently on OG'd and OC'd vehicles. Beading well on all, but differently. I advise them to use a finishing polish or an AIO to "smooth" out their application and it has worked with all reports...not to compromise/remove the coating...but to level any "stroke marks" or other inconsistencies left behind from working the product too long or in varying directions.

I'm sorry for the thread highjack, but I just thought these points were relevant when doing direct comparisons. Both products should be applied to a previously uncoated vehicle that was prepped in the same manner on all panels.

rops:

 

[Perfections]

Hi Chris,

Kudos on taking the time to test two very advanced products head to head...but, you will need a new test bed if you want the tests to accurately reflect the performance of these products.

As you may know, Opti Guard thickness varies between 1-2 microns varying from methods of application. Compounding and polishing to remove wetsanding marks only removes around a .10 of a micron in paint thickness and finishing polish alone, as you've done here, would likely not remove any measureable amount of paint/coating let alone the 1-2 micron thickness of OG. So with this in mind, you won't be able to tell whether the Finest has worn away or even bonded well to begin with on this vehicle.

Opti Guard is polishable and will be significantly smoother to the touch with polishing whether another product is added or not...just like normal clear coat is. I personally polished my BMW with GPS after allowing the OG to cure and the "feel" is significanlty smoother. It has since, been more than long enough for the GPS to have worn away (even if the car wasn't coated), but the smooth feel remains and hasn't required any other maintenance product to boost or retain that attribute.

Some people have commented on different panels beading differently on OG'd and OC'd vehicles. Beading well on all, but differently. I advise them to use a finishing polish or an AIO to "smooth" out their application and it has worked with all reports...not to compromise/remove the coating...but to level any "stroke marks" or other inconsistencies left behind from working the product too long or in varying directions.

I'm sorry for the thread highjack, but I just thought these points were relevant when doing direct comparisons. Both products should be applied to a previously uncoated vehicle that was prepped in the same manner on all panels.

rops:

Chris great thread, and Chris @ optimum that sounds like a good plan, I'll level the paint on my wife's murano and do a side by side mainly to see if there's any gloss difference and the release characteristics of water and dirt. I'll have it done by next weekend, but will give OG a month to fully cure to test water sheeting but will report gloss differences if there are noticeable in a photo.

 

[IID]

Hi Chris,

Kudos on taking the time to test two very advanced products head to head...but, you will need a new test bed if you want the tests to accurately reflect the performance of these products.

As you may know, Opti Guard thickness varies between 1-2 microns varying from methods of application. Compounding and polishing to remove wetsanding marks only removes around a .10 of a micron in paint thickness and finishing polish alone, as you've done here, would likely not remove any measureable amount of paint/coating let alone the 1-2 micron thickness of OG. So with this in mind, you won't be able to tell whether the Finest has worn away or even bonded well to begin with on this vehicle.

Opti Guard is polishable and will be significantly smoother to the touch with polishing whether another product is added or not...just like normal clear coat is. I personally polished my BMW with GPS after allowing the OG to cure and the "feel" is significanlty smoother. It has since, been more than long enough for the GPS to have worn away (even if the car wasn't coated), but the smooth feel remains and hasn't required any other maintenance product to boost or retain that attribute.

Some people have commented on different panels beading differently on OG'd and OC'd vehicles. Beading well on all, but differently. I advise them to use a finishing polish or an AIO to "smooth" out their application and it has worked with all reports...not to compromise/remove the coating...but to level any "stroke marks" or other inconsistencies left behind from working the product too long or in varying directions.

I'm sorry for the thread highjack, but I just thought these points were relevant when doing direct comparisons. Both products should be applied to a previously uncoated vehicle that was prepped in the same manner on all panels.

rops:

Thank you for your feed back Chris.I would of thought Power Finish and the Green polishing pad would of did something to the OG after several section passes,considering the OG is .00004"/.00008" thick?
When I sprayed the Eraser after polishing,I sprayed the panel with mineral free water (I use from my dehumidifier) it did not run from the paint like the normal OG water shedding characteristic's?
That being said,when I applied the CQF it behaved/hazed/cured as it should have (did my research and also talked&emailed to my CarPro-US rep).
But for all fairness I will do another panel(s)again but also do a strip wash with IronX Snow Foam or Citrus Wash after wiping down with Eraser and if I'm confident there is no more OG left,I'll recoat again with CQF.
Thank You again for your input so I can do a fair test Chris :xyxthumbs:

 

[IID]

Chris great thread, and Chris @ optimum that sounds like a good plan, I'll level the paint on my wife's murano and do a side by side mainly to see if there's any gloss difference and the release characteristics of water and dirt. I'll have it done by next weekend, but will give OG a month to fully cure to test water sheeting but will report gloss differences if there are noticeable in a photo.

I have a feeling the coating market is only going to get better and better.
Please share your thoughts when you do your test,look forward to hearing

 

[Robert8194]

Hi Chris,

Kudos on taking the time to test two very advanced products head to head...but, you will need a new test bed if you want the tests to accurately reflect the performance of these products.

As you may know, Opti Guard thickness varies between 1-2 microns varying from methods of application. Compounding and polishing to remove wetsanding marks only removes around a .10 of a micron in paint thickness and finishing polish alone, as you've done here, would likely not remove any measureable amount of paint/coating let alone the 1-2 micron thickness of OG. So with this in mind, you won't be able to tell whether the Finest has worn away or even bonded well to begin with on this vehicle.

Opti Guard is polishable and will be significantly smoother to the touch with polishing whether another product is added or not...just like normal clear coat is. I personally polished my BMW with GPS after allowing the OG to cure and the "feel" is significanlty smoother. It has since, been more than long enough for the GPS to have worn away (even if the car wasn't coated), but the smooth feel remains and hasn't required any other maintenance product to boost or retain that attribute.

Some people have commented on different panels beading differently on OG'd and OC'd vehicles. Beading well on all, but differently. I advise them to use a finishing polish or an AIO to "smooth" out their application and it has worked with all reports...not to compromise/remove the coating...but to level any "stroke marks" or other inconsistencies left behind from working the product too long or in varying directions.

I'm sorry for the thread highjack, but I just thought these points were relevant when doing direct comparisons. Both products should be applied to a previously uncoated vehicle that was prepped in the same manner on all panels.

rops:

Chris

How long does OC2 need to cure before you polish it out with GPS?

 

[Chris Thomas]

Chris

How long does OC2 need to cure before you polish it out with GPS?

I would give it 90 days just to be sure that it's fully hardened. Also, keep in mind that Opti Coat 2.0 (consumer) is not as concentrated as Opti Guard (pro) so it will be easier to remove...so don't go too crazy polishing. Just to add a slick feel you'd only need a couple passes with a finishing pad.