How to remove a Ceramic Paint Coating High Spot by Mike Phillips

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

How to remove a Ceramic Paint Coating High Spot by Mike Phillips


When applying a ceramic paint coating if you do not remove 100% of the excess coating, what is left is referred to has a high spot. While technically the coating material is higher than the rest of the underlying coating and the paint itself, in all practicality what a high spot means is too much leftover product or excess coating.

In the days of using a car wax, we would call this a streak or smear.

The primary difference is when it comes to quality ceramic paint coatings, the coating is semi-permanent after application so if you leave excess coating on the paint it will be both visible to the naked eye, (an eyesore), and it will require some form or mechanical abrading to fully remove.

Having to go back over a car you have coated and mechanically abrade the paint to remove excess product i.e. a high spots or high spots is not only time consuming it's also working backwards in the process as now you're removing both the coating and a some level of paint.


Note: In this example I was able to remove a high spot that had fully dried and cured after a couple of weeks using nothing but a high quality one-step cleaner/wax by hand.

For some coatings it might require less work and a less aggressive product and approach and for other coatings it might require a more aggressive product and approach. The only way to know is to do some testing and close inspection.


At a recent class, we coated a 1962 Chevy Impala Streetrod. A class is a LEARNING experience where the students are learning proper technique so it is normal to make a mistake. The key is to find the mistake and fix it before sticking a fork in the project and calling it done.


99.9% of the car came out perfect, I did find one small area with excess coating or a high spot by inspecting the paint using a SCANGRIP Sunmatch Swirl Finder Light.


Here's the pictures...


A ceramic coating high spot

See the rainbow looking patch on the paint?

Here through the wonders of Photoshop I've cropped out the pertinent section - see it?

Here through the wonders of MS Paint I've drawn a line around the high spot - Now do you see it?

And now it's gone...

I kept it simple, I used a soft foam finger pocket and gently applied a one-step cleaner/wax and with a little massaging, I removed the high spot or excess coating.

Try to learn from this example of not fully removing all the coating after the initial installation. The KEY thing with applying a ceramic paint coating is to ONLY apply to an area you can focus on at one time. Don't try to apply a coating to an entire large panel but instead, apply to a section of the panel and then after the recommended waiting time, carefully wipe off the high spots (if any) BEFORE moving on.

It is so much better to take your time and avoid high spots than it is to have to come back and try to remove them.

You also don't want to find out from a CUSTOMER that you left high spots because this means YOU did not do a good enough job inspecting the panel you were applying and removing to before moving on. Your fault.

Slow down. Avoid mistakes.

 

[The Guz]

Excellent visual and explanation of a coating high spot.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Excellent visual and explanation of a coating high spot.

Thanks Michael....


It's so important to have good lighting when wiping off a ceramic paint coating. I do find a good swirl finder light does a great job of revealing high spots on vertical panels. With overhead lights you can move yourself and thus your eyes around the panels and look for high spots using overhead lights, but this doesn't work for side panels.

 

[machz]

Should you re apply the ceramic to the area after fixing the high spot ? For a person not used to fixing a spot like this I would think there would be a risk of removing too much of the ceramic.

Thank you

 

[Aaryn NZ]

Thanks Michael....


It's so important to have good lighting when wiping off a ceramic paint coating. I do find a good swirl finder light does a great job of revealing high spots on vertical panels. With overhead lights you can move yourself and thus your eyes around the panels and look for high spots using overhead lights, but this doesn't work for side panels.

Fantastic write up Mike. rops:

Your above statement is golden! Really good advice. For example - Over the weekend I applied CQuartz FINEST to a Yellow 2016 Camaro. Apart from doing my contortionist impersonation when wiping products off of a lighter colour, I always have my Scan Grip for "insurance".


Aaryn NZ, :dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Should you re apply the ceramic to the area after fixing the high spot ?

For a person not used to fixing a spot like this I would think there would be a risk of removing too much of the ceramic.

Thank you

Yes.

This is where all you can do is to "guess" and then do your best.

For example,

Step 1: Remove the high spot so that that section of paint looks uniform.

Step 2: Chemically strip that section of paint. I would suggest chemically stripping a few inches out from the area you worked too.

Step 3: Apply the ceramic paint coating originally used following manufactures directions.

Step 4: Wait the recommended time and then buff the section with a clean microfiber towel and then INSPECT for high spots. If discovered remove while you still can.


This is not an exact science unless you want to mechanically abrade an entire panel. For example, mechanically abrade an entire hood or fender, whatever panel had the high spot. Then after removing the coating from that entire panel, re-coat as per manufactures directions. This is probably the most accurate repair, that is to abrade and recoat an entire panel. Otherwise... just include some safety margin...


Also note, I used the One-Step because it was next to the car, as in the closest thing at hand.

If you're going to do a proper coating removal and then re-install the coating, DON'T use a cleaner/wax, use a body shop safe polish or compound. Bodyshop safe compounds and polishes are universally water soluble, that is they don't offer any long term "wax" protection and thus the remaining polishing oils on the paint are a lot easier to chemically strip off the surface than a wax or sealant of any type.

Make sense?

 

[Ronin47]

What scares me is that a cleaner wax by hand can remove coatings.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What scares me is that a cleaner wax by hand can remove coatings.[

/QUOTE]

I did have to rub some...


I don't think all cleaner/waxes can do this.... the BLACKFIRE One-Step uses some amazing abrasive technology. I also think some coatings are more stout than others. One thing for sure, rubbing with JUST a microfiber towel did absolutely nothing.



For anyone reading this into the future, check out the results I achieved using only BLACKFIRE One Step to an old 2-door Chevy here,


Review: BLACKFIRE One-Step Cleaner/Wax by Mike Phillips

Note the stack of pads behind the polisher...

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Excellent visual and explanation of a coating high spot.

I also wrote a lot of information and explanations about the terms used for coatings in my review below.

Lots of info on how to chemically strip paint, apply the coating and do the initial buff after the coating has been installed.


Review: GYEON Q2 ONE Enthusiast Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips


I'm pretty confident everything I wrote in the above review (which is really a how-to article), is accurate and applies to the majority of paint coatings on the market today.


Here's just ONE small portion of what I wrote and captured with my camera in the above article,

High Spots
When I first heard the term high spot I wondered what the heck they were talking about? As a word-guy, (I have 5 published books so I guess I'm a write and thus a word-guy), I would have used one of these words or terms.

1. Streak
2. Smear
3. Excess residue

But once the Genie is out of the bottle it's impossible to put him back in.

The term high spot simply means excess product. It will look like a streak or smear. No problem... simply wipe this high spot carefully to remove the excess product. With this enthusiast level product this is easy to do as the product is very forgiving. With some pro-grade products, the difficulty increases especially if not remove fast enough as the solids that are the coating will start to cure and solidify onto the paint. It's very important to remove the high spots, don't ask me how I know.

Through the magic of photography, using the overhead lights, here are some high spots or in common lingo, smears of coating...

 

[TTQ B4U]

Should you re apply the ceramic to the area after fixing the high spot ? For a person not used to fixing a spot like this I would think there would be a risk of removing too much of the ceramic.

don't over-think it. just use a soft foam pad, some polish and hit the high spot area. wipe the entire area with eraser. on dark colors you'll clearly see the lighter area where you removed the coating. Then just simply re-apply the coating to the area going a bit larger than the spot you wiped free. it will blend fine.

 

[Kamakaz1961]

Thank you again for this information!

 

[RDZL1]

Thank you.

 

[machz]

Yes.

This is where all you can do is to "guess" and then do your best.

For example,

Step 1: Remove the high spot so that that section of paint looks uniform.

Step 2: Chemically strip that section of paint. I would suggest chemically stripping a few inches out from the area you worked too.

Step 3: Apply the ceramic paint coating originally used following manufactures directions.

Step 4: Wait the recommended time and then buff the section with a clean microfiber towel and then INSPECT for high spots. If discovered remove while you still can.


This is not an exact science unless you want to mechanically abrade an entire panel. For example, mechanically abrade an entire hood or fender, whatever panel had the high spot. Then after removing the coating from that entire panel, re-coat as per manufactures directions. This is probably the most accurate repair, that is to abrade and recoat an entire panel. Otherwise... just include some safety margin...


Also note, I used the One-Step because it was next to the car, as in the closest thing at hand.

If you're going to do a proper coating removal and then re-install the coating, DON'T use a cleaner/wax, use a body shop safe polish or compound. Bodyshop safe compounds and polishes are universally water soluble, that is they don't offer any long term "wax" protection and thus the remaining polishing oils on the paint are a lot easier to chemically strip off the surface than a wax or sealant of any type.

Make sense?

It does and as always thank you for the information.

 

[JSFM35x]

Mike great write up and visual. Depending on how long the high spot has been there and what ceramic coating you used may make a difference but I’ve had great Sucess going over a high spot with the same coating and wiping off immediately. The solvent that keeps it from hardening in the bottle allows for removal of light high spots.

 

[fightnews]

People who are worried about removing to much coating could use essence or essence plus by car pro

 

[frag2]

People who are worried about removing to much coating could use essence or essence plus by car pro

Does essence+ actually work for leveling out a high spot? Figured that since it doesn't contain any abrasives (as per the bottle), it wouldn't really "level" it out.

 

[S550_GT]

I had my Mustang Ceramic Coated a couple years ago. I took my car back to the detailer for the coating annual inspection and they noticed streaks on my car. They had no explanation because the car looked perfect when I picked it up after the initial application. My clear bra installer noticed it and said they were high spots from the coating which I was clueless about. The detailer wants to charge me $300 to polish my car and put a layer of ceramic coating sealant. How long does it take for high spots to develop and are they noticeable right away?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I had my Mustang Ceramic Coated a couple years ago.

I took my car back to the detailer for the coating annual inspection and they noticed streaks on my car. They had no explanation because the car looked perfect when I picked it up after the initial application.

My clear bra installer noticed it and said they were high spots from the coating which I was clueless about.

The detailer wants to charge me $300 to polish my car and put a layer of ceramic coating sealant.

Because it's been a couple of years, I'd say there's no definitive way to know what the streaks are or when they were instilled. Had you noticed within a month or two and then taken it back, then I'd say there should be no charge.

To clean the hood, (or wash the car), then clay, then machine polish, then chemically strip then install the coating is going to take the person 3-4 hours easy. (plus chemical coast and wear-n-tear to pads, towels and tools)

How long does it take for high spots to develop and are they noticeable right away?

Usually within minutes. It's a drying process and in most environment,s the coating is going to "flash" or in other words, the carrying agents, usually some type of solvent, (note water can be a solvent, it dissolves dirt), and then using GOOD LIGHTING a person should be able to see the high spots or in SIMPLE terms, excess product.


This is why anyone installing ceramic coatings should have access to good lighting or high spots will not be seen. I know, it's happened to me.


If the streaks you're talking about don't wash off or even rub off but will polish off or in worst case scenario, compound off, then more than likely they are in fact streaks of coating. That is unless something else has "happened" to the car.

 

[S550_GT]

Thanks Mike for replying. I followed the washing process they instructed me to use which was the use of a foam canon, air dry (blower) and follow it up with a quick detailer spray they sold me. I noticed them about 4 months later but I thought it was because of my water at home possibly being hard. After my first annual inspection, I purchased a water spot remover from Chemical Guys and it didn't do anything. They aren't easy to notice. You can only see it at certain angles when the light reflects a certain way.

I'm up for another annual inspection this August. I'll talk to the owner and see what he tells me. Thanks for your help.

 

[S550_GT]

I'm not looking for the shop to do anything for free BUT I want them to address the problem in the correct manner. I don't want them to hide the high spots with a polish. I want them removed.