We had a 2020 explorer for just under three years. In that time it spent almost 9 months at the dealer for warranty work. After the second trip for transmission issues it went carmax as soon as we picked it up. Then over to our local Honda dealer to order a Pilot Elite and were told it would be 6 to 8 weeks, maybe sooner if we had a couple different colors we were willing to go with. 14 weeks later ours in Platinum White Pearl 2nd choice) arrived.
Our first drive in an elite trim was when we did a quick shakedown drive before signing the paperwork. It went from the dealer straight to a PPF shop for a partial front wrap, and to get rid of the random chrome trim. Honda doesn't have a blackout package for the pilot in the US, but they do in Canada.
I washed with Gyeon Foam, then did a decon with DP intense iron remover, a 2 bucket wash and BF medium clay mitt, and a dry with my waffle weaves. First time using a foam cannon and even if it's not adding much, it's fun!
I went around with a light trying to find any spots that I felt needed correction. I couldn't. I also tried a small spot with BF polish and a white thin pro pad on my PC. After wiping I couldn't tell a difference from the rest of the paint. It was in solid shape coming off the truck so I did a wipe down with Gyeon Prep, and went to work. After two coats, here's the results:
White is damn hard to show off in pictures.
I did 2 coats of Gyeon MOHS, and topped with their Ceramic Detailer. I also did a coat on the wheels. I didn't take any pictures during because frankly, I didn't have time. It was close to 90 degrees when I started applying in my garage, and in the low 80s when I finished the first coat at about 11pm. The first coat only used about 1/4 of the bottle. I put a 2nd coat on at 8am the next morning and the temp was about 75 in the garage when I started. I think I may have went "easier" on it than suggested and put a little more product on the applicator each time for the second coat. When I finished, I had a little less than 1/4 of a 50ml bottle left. It was really a toss up between using CQuartz UK and MOHS Evo. I read tons of threads here, spent hours watching videos. Probably spent way too much time worrying about what to do. @Destertnate comments about the applications of the two tipped me to Gyeon. Application was easy. Within a couple seconds of passing over with the applicator it was sweating. Once it was sweating there wasn't much difference between waiting 5 seconds, or 90, but if it stayed any longer it started grabbing. It was enough time to put down the applicator, and pick up the low nap towel to level. I worked 2x2ish sections in this fashion, then wiped the entire panel with a Gyeon soft wipe towel.
I was really happy with the whole process. After the first coat I had one high spot on the hood at a hard to reach spot that I think I missed on the initial wipe. A quick wipe with polish on a hand applicator, and clean up with prep took care of it. It has a nice, glassy appearance now that it's cured and the paint really pops in sunlight. If you can polish a car, apply an AIO, or sealant, you can apply a coating. Happy I took the plunge and did it. Hopefully with proper maintenance washes the new ride won't need much attention for a couple years.
I specifically want to thank The Guz for the informative posts/reviews on coatings, and Desternate for posting his thoughts on them from a consumer perspective. They were really helpful.
Our first drive in an elite trim was when we did a quick shakedown drive before signing the paperwork. It went from the dealer straight to a PPF shop for a partial front wrap, and to get rid of the random chrome trim. Honda doesn't have a blackout package for the pilot in the US, but they do in Canada.
I washed with Gyeon Foam, then did a decon with DP intense iron remover, a 2 bucket wash and BF medium clay mitt, and a dry with my waffle weaves. First time using a foam cannon and even if it's not adding much, it's fun!
I went around with a light trying to find any spots that I felt needed correction. I couldn't. I also tried a small spot with BF polish and a white thin pro pad on my PC. After wiping I couldn't tell a difference from the rest of the paint. It was in solid shape coming off the truck so I did a wipe down with Gyeon Prep, and went to work. After two coats, here's the results:
White is damn hard to show off in pictures.
I did 2 coats of Gyeon MOHS, and topped with their Ceramic Detailer. I also did a coat on the wheels. I didn't take any pictures during because frankly, I didn't have time. It was close to 90 degrees when I started applying in my garage, and in the low 80s when I finished the first coat at about 11pm. The first coat only used about 1/4 of the bottle. I put a 2nd coat on at 8am the next morning and the temp was about 75 in the garage when I started. I think I may have went "easier" on it than suggested and put a little more product on the applicator each time for the second coat. When I finished, I had a little less than 1/4 of a 50ml bottle left. It was really a toss up between using CQuartz UK and MOHS Evo. I read tons of threads here, spent hours watching videos. Probably spent way too much time worrying about what to do. @Destertnate comments about the applications of the two tipped me to Gyeon. Application was easy. Within a couple seconds of passing over with the applicator it was sweating. Once it was sweating there wasn't much difference between waiting 5 seconds, or 90, but if it stayed any longer it started grabbing. It was enough time to put down the applicator, and pick up the low nap towel to level. I worked 2x2ish sections in this fashion, then wiped the entire panel with a Gyeon soft wipe towel.
I was really happy with the whole process. After the first coat I had one high spot on the hood at a hard to reach spot that I think I missed on the initial wipe. A quick wipe with polish on a hand applicator, and clean up with prep took care of it. It has a nice, glassy appearance now that it's cured and the paint really pops in sunlight. If you can polish a car, apply an AIO, or sealant, you can apply a coating. Happy I took the plunge and did it. Hopefully with proper maintenance washes the new ride won't need much attention for a couple years.
I specifically want to thank The Guz for the informative posts/reviews on coatings, and Desternate for posting his thoughts on them from a consumer perspective. They were really helpful.
