How to take care after coating

[juanq214]

Hello guys.

I am from Colombia. I have been reading a lot about car polishing and maintainance. I have A Ford fiesta 2012 and a Ford Escape 2014 which i take care of by myself. I decided to go for a paint coating for my Ford fiesta and applied the Detailers Paint Coating after claying and swirl removing. The results where great aand the paint looks awesome.

I have a couple of questions though:

How do i take care of the paint now? just regular wash and top with optimum instant detailer, or can i go for a wax? I read something about that where Mike compared it to having a beautiful wife wearing a coat not to show her beauty, but i could not find the threat (sorry, the number of posts here is overwhelming).

Regarding the Escape, it was coated 1 year ago but i think it is time to do the whole thing again. How do I go about it? Do i need to remove the previous coating before polishing and applying a new layer of coat? or just clay, swirl remove and apply the coat?

In case the old coat layer has to be removed, what product shall i use?

Thanks for your replies and sorry for my clumpsy english.

 

[RaskyR1]

Zach McGovern did an article a while back on this that's worth a read.

Maintaining Your Coating

 

[highflier]

I was looking for similar info throughout the website. The article is excellent but I still haven't found all of the answers... specifically where the OP asks about a new layer. Is the old layer removed if polished? Need to wipe down afterward with solvent prep? or just use the DP polish again? The DP is said to last up to 2 years. Basically OP isn't sure if still intact and wants to know how to apply a new layer after it has been applied a year and probably had wax and various chemicals applied over it. Pretty basic but haven't seen any real answer using several searches.

 

[Velocitybts]

I was looking for similar info throughout the website. The article is excellent but I still haven't found all of the answers... specifically where the OP asks about a new layer. Is the old layer removed if polished? Need to wipe down afterward with solvent prep? or just use the DP polish again? The DP is said to last up to 2 years. Basically OP isn't sure if still intact and wants to know how to apply a new layer after it has been applied a year and probably had wax and various chemicals applied over it. Pretty basic but haven't seen any real answer using several searches.

Here is your answer and Mike might pitch in with something.

1. Most of the coatings out there WILL disappear or come off the paint when polished with a DA and a cutting polish (not glaze). If the OP were to use a light polish with lets say a white LC pad with his DA this would remove what ever parts of the coating thats left on the vehicle. Then he would apply the new coating to the freshly polished paint.

2. I recently had a vehicle PC'd that I used 22ple on, and a few bits of marring and a few scratches appeared on it and the customer wanted them removed. I used SF4500 on the Flex with a white Hybrid pad to remove the imperfections (totally normal) and then re-coated those areas. Done

3. I asked Mike about a year ago on my personal Mustang what to do---- It appeared that after the paint correction (under fluorescent and halogens the paint was perfect) but after washing it with p21s to rid the surface of any oils I applied a coating. Two days later I noticed in the sun on the hood there were faint hairline scratches. I asked Mike what to do, he said just re-polish it to rid it of hairlines and re-coat after.

Hope all this answers your questions.

 

[highflier]

pretty much makes sense... where/when ever you use anything harsher than a wax over it, assume you have removed it, reapply DP polish and coating. If after some period of time you think its not there polish and apply again. Reason I am asking, the car I have it on is used 25k a year and sits outside in the driveway. I take care of it but and it is detailed more than the garage queen but not with as much care. For the price of this product and based on how its holding up after 3 months I will probably apply it annually whether it needs it or not. So far a wash and QD and it looks fantastic. BTW thanks for your answer!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

The closest thing I have on an article for maintaining a coating is this one...


Black Label Coating Detailer & Booster - Synergistic Chemical Compatibility



Back when the Black Label line was introduced I was one of the first people to actually use the Surface Cleansing Polish followed by the Diamond Paint Coating and the Diamond Surface Coating.

After using these products on a few cars, both mine and customers, the first thoughts that went through my mind were,

Now how do I take care of the coating finish?

Now how do I tell my customers to take care of the finish results on their car?

​

The answer was a spray detailer and a spray booster was needed in the line. I passed this on to Nick and a few months later the problem has been solved.

Black Label Diamond Coating Booster & Black Label Diamond Coating Detailer

But it wasn't till yesterday, Tuesday January 28th, two days after my January Detailing Boot Camp Class did I have the opportunity to use both products in a real world situation.

On Saturday, my class buffed out my buddy Earl's 1970 El Camino using the Rupes Polishers, pads and polishes. The paint went from a swirled-out mess to a flawless finish.

After we buffed out the paint we applied the Black Label Surface Cleansing Polish and followed this with the Black Label Diamond Paint Coating.

The paint looked perfect.


Then... time when by...

On Saturday after we finished the El Camino it sat outside gleaming in the sun. On Sunday, again, the El Camino sat outside gleaming in the sun. On Monday, while I cleaned up the garage and re-organized it from the torture we put it through on Saturday and Sunday, Earl's El Camino sat outside.

After sitting outside for at least a portion of three days, the paint had a light dust build-up. Perfect to test out the new Diamond Coating Detailing and Diamond Coating Booster.

Plus... Tuesday would be the day Earl picks up his El Camino and that night he would be showing it off at the local Tuesday Night car show in Stuart.



Spray detailers are for light dust

I can't count how many times I've answered the question,

How dirty is too dirty to safely use a spray detailer?
​

But a lot. And the answer is,

Spray detailers are for light dust. Not 4-wheel drive, been in the mud all weekend covered with dried mud dirty cars.

So I asked Nick to lend a hand and he hung around long enough to wipe down the front clip with the detailer and then I wiped down the bed. After wiping the entire El Camino down with the detailer I followed this using the Diamond Coating Booster.

I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking...

This is light dust...

Diamond Coating Booster

Funny thing, when I'm working... there's never anyone around to take pictures. Suffice to say, I wiped the entire El Camino down using the new Diamond Coating Booster and it maximized the gloss and slickness of the finish.

Now this is how a hotrod 1970 El Camino should look...

:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Hello guys.

I am from Colombia. I have been reading a lot about car polishing and maintenance. I have A Ford fiesta 2012 and a Ford Escape 2014 which i take care of by myself. I decided to go for a paint coating for my Ford fiesta and applied the Detailers Paint Coating after claying and swirl removing. The results where great and the paint looks awesome.

I have a couple of questions though:

How do i take care of the paint now? just regular wash and top with optimum instant detailer, or can i go for a wax?

I'd learn and practice

The Careful Approach to Washing a Car

This is explained in my how-to book and is the opposite of


The Aggressive Approach to Washing a Car


Basically... THINK about what you're doing when you push a wash mitt over the paint and DON'T scrub the paint. This will grind any dirt on the surface into the paint and cause scratches.

Besides washing it, using a very simple spray detailer should work fine. There's no dedicated coating detailing in the DP line like there is in the Pinnacle Black Label line but my guess is the two products I show above will work great. They are all I use on my wife's SLK350 besides a foam gun gentle wash.

I read something about that where Mike compared it to having a beautiful wife wearing a coat not to show her beauty, but i could not find the threat (sorry, the number of posts here is overwhelming).

I can't think of that thread either.... :dunno:

Regarding the Escape, it was coated 1 year ago but i think it is time to do the whole thing again. How do I go about it?

This...

or just clay, swirl remove and apply the coat?

As long as you use a product known for using high quality abrasive technology, no junk compounds or polishes, then you will remove the previously applied coating to get down to what I call a

fresh base

That is pure paint. Then re-apply the Detailer's Coating Prep Polish followed by the DP Paint Coating.

I show how here,

Detailer’s Review: Detailer’s Paint Coating & Detailer’s Coating Prep Polish

(The above isn't so much for the OP but for anyone reading this into the future)

In case the old coat layer has to be removed, what product shall i use?

Any high quality medium cut polish should effectively remove any coating on the car as well as remove any swirls and scratches, embedded dirt, road grime etc since it was last polished and coated.

Thanks for your replies and sorry for my clumsy English.

You're doing great, thanks for asking the question. I'll be sure to write a dedicated how-to article for this topic as I see this question pop up once in a while.

rops: