Mixing Cquartz and ExoV4

gmcvt

gmcvt

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Just purchased another round of Cquartz, CSL and ExoV4 coatings for some projects at home from AG. This question is either blasphemous or overkill but I just thought I would throw it out there as I am still fairly new to this. So from some durability tests that I have seen, Gliss seemed to not hold up as well as I would have thought. Exo however seems to be really solid. The reverse appears to be true for the base coating with Cquartz being very durable but CSL checking out a bit early.

I know that Gtechniq doesn't recommend mixing there stuff with other brands not knowing what the compatibility would be but the adventurous side of me would like to try Cquartz for a base and some Exo for a topper. Any comments or anyone tried this? Thank you!
 
I agree. I think Exo is kind of week compared to cquartz. I used Exo V3 and not V4. I would use Cquartz by itself. It doesn't really need a topper. But again it is completely up to you.
 
Hmm, very interesting. I appreciate the input. I know that CP says gliss is about a 12 month coating and GTechniq says that ExoV4 is 18-24 months and that is consistent with the results I have seen. I agree that cquartz is more durable than Exo but I was considering using Exo for a top coat for claimed easier removal of water spots. I would use gliss but again, from what I have seen, its durability seems consistent with what CarPro claims and is far less than topping with Exo. From a durability standpoint, as a topper, Exo seems to be better than Gliss. But again, thats based on some observations of mine and a few tests that I have seen performed on youtube.
 
I went with UK 3.0 and Gliss v2. Even if Gliss starts to fade away around 12 months, I think I can extend it to 18 or so by topping with Elixir and if I make it to 18 months then I'm ok with polishing and starting over, there will be issues I'll want to address after that much time.

I don't need a coating that lasts 3 or 5 years or even longer because what good is that coating lasting so long if some water spots will come, some marring might come, then to fix that you have to destroy the coating anyways.
 
Here’s the thing with all of these lab claims and so called torture tests. Don’t buy into them too much. All of that goes out the window as soon as a particular coating is used and the type of environment and care it is exposed to.

Take this for what it’s worth but Exo spotted on me. One thing it has over UK 3.0 is the slickness as does CSL.

You want to experiment with Cquartz coating them too UK with TiO2. You get the hardness of UK and the stain resistance of TiO2.

This is my uncles 2002 Corvette with this combo and it sure looked good. He does not drive that often so it doesn’t see too much rain. But a couple years later it still looks good.

a8bf39e69cfb6a4bde85540fa9549bc1.jpg


Or you can triple stack the Cquartz coatings like I did on mine. I have yet to pull it out of the garage for a full photo.

f3ab52ec9c92c796b1ff8f629e56414b.jpg


And I saw this on Instagram from CarPro

5a9b04e201871a2347487c5ad7d4c811.jpg


There is nothing wrong wanting to experiment so give Exo a try. Someone on this forum have topped their coatings with Gyeon CanCoat.
 
Thank you for all the input, it is very helpful. I just put a couple of coats of UK on my wifes pilot and topped it with some Gliss. The Gliss is noticeably smoother of coarse than the UK. It did help with the water spotting also. I dont really like mixing systems but in this case I just thought it would be handy to have the top coat duration last close to the length of time that the base coat does. But you folks have provided some excellent counter points.
 
I'm with The Guz on this one. I don't think CQUK 3.0 needs any sort of heavier topper to get great performance.

I can supplement lighter spray toppers to prolong durability instead and still get really satisfying performance. I haven't tested EXO or Gliss on top of CQUK, but if I had an urge to go with a heavier topper, I probably would go with Gliss V2 rather than EXO. I think Gliss is just a bit more hydrophobic than EXO when fresh and a bit slicker, also easier to work with for me. EXO is heavier, and is more durable than Gliss V2 by itself, but you won't need the heaviness or durability of EXO if you've got the base layer of CQUK.

I think I'm real close to 2.5 years of total durability out of both CQUK 3.0 and CQuartz TiO2 with fantastic performance using only spray toppers, I might try Gliss V2 on top of CQUK before stripping it off. And maybe show Essence Plus on top of TiO2 to highlight why I wouldn't recommend Essence Plus if you're trying to maintain hydrophobic performance.
 
Again, thank you all for your input. I think I'm just gonna stick with UK 3.0 and MAY do a gliss coat. I'm really overthinking this.
 
Loach said:
I'm with The Guz on this one. I don't think CQUK 3.0 needs any sort of heavier topper to get great performance.

I can supplement lighter spray toppers to prolong durability instead and still get really satisfying performance. I haven't tested EXO or Gliss on top of CQUK, but if I had an urge to go with a heavier topper, I probably would go with Gliss V2 rather than EXO. I think Gliss is just a bit more hydrophobic than EXO when fresh and a bit slicker, also easier to work with for me. EXO is heavier, and is more durable than Gliss V2 by itself, but you won't need the heaviness or durability of EXO if you've got the base layer of CQUK.

I think I'm real close to 2.5 years of total durability out of both CQUK 3.0 and CQuartz TiO2 with fantastic performance using only spray toppers, I might try Gliss V2 on top of CQUK before stripping it off. And maybe show Essence Plus on top of TiO2 to highlight why I wouldn't recommend Essence Plus if you're trying to maintain hydrophobic performance.
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing. BTW, I am a subscriber and very much enjoy and appreciate your reviews.
 
Loach said:
I'm with The Guz on this one. I don't think CQUK 3.0 needs any sort of heavier topper to get great performance.

I can supplement lighter spray toppers to prolong durability instead and still get really satisfying performance. I haven't tested EXO or Gliss on top of CQUK, but if I had an urge to go with a heavier topper, I probably would go with Gliss V2 rather than EXO. I think Gliss is just a bit more hydrophobic than EXO when fresh and a bit slicker, also easier to work with for me. EXO is heavier, and is more durable than Gliss V2 by itself, but you won't need the heaviness or durability of EXO if you've got the base layer of CQUK.

I think I'm real close to 2.5 years of total durability out of both CQUK 3.0 and CQuartz TiO2 with fantastic performance using only spray toppers, I might try Gliss V2 on top of CQUK before stripping it off. And maybe show Essence Plus on top of TiO2 to highlight why I wouldn't recommend Essence Plus if you're trying to maintain hydrophobic performance.
Click to expand...

On your spray topper on UK, did you use reload? or something else. I have to admit I like the slickness of C2v3 but again, were into mixing plus I am unsure of its durability compared to reload.
***Edit...I went back and reviewed your longterm updates and see that you have used several...my apologies.
 
The Guz said:
Here’s the thing with all of these lab claims and so called torture tests. Don’t buy into them too much. All of that goes out the window as soon as a particular coating is used and the type of environment and care it is exposed to.

Take this for what it’s worth but Exo spotted on me. One thing it has over UK 3.0 is the slickness as does CSL.

You want to experiment with Cquartz coating them too UK with TiO2. You get the hardness of UK and the stain resistance of TiO2.

This is my uncles 2002 Corvette with this combo and it sure looked good. He does not drive that often so it doesn’t see too much rain. But a couple years later it still looks good.

a8bf39e69cfb6a4bde85540fa9549bc1.jpg


Or you can triple stack the Cquartz coatings like I did on mine. I have yet to pull it out of the garage for a full photo.

f3ab52ec9c92c796b1ff8f629e56414b.jpg


And I saw this on Instagram from CarPro

5a9b04e201871a2347487c5ad7d4c811.jpg


There is nothing wrong wanting to experiment so give Exo a try. Someone on this forum have topped their coatings with Gyeon CanCoat.
Click to expand...

Excellent points. Hadn't considered layering /Ti02 with UK. So, say you wanted to skip gliss, would/could you do 2 base coats of UK and use Ti02 as the topper? I know UK's strength assumes two layers, not sure if Ti02 is as durable as UK, so just wasn't sure if that if I did 1 coat of UK and 1 coat of Ti02 if it would compromise longevity.
 
gmcvt said:
Excellent points. Hadn't considered layering /Ti02 with UK. So, say you wanted to skip gliss, would/could you do 2 base coats of UK and use Ti02 as the topper? I know UK's strength assumes two layers, not sure if Ti02 is as durable as UK, so just wasn't sure if that if I did 1 coat of UK and 1 coat of Ti02 if it would compromise longevity.
Click to expand...

1 layer of each is all that is required per Corey of CarPro US.
 
gmcvt said:
Again, thank you all for your input. I think I'm just gonna stick with UK 3.0 and MAY do a gliss coat. I'm really overthinking this.
Click to expand...

Yes to this.
I applied two coats of UK 3.0
Top coat of Gliss
Quite satisfied with the results


CarPro Gliss V2 and Cquartz UK 3.0 Hydrophobicity - YouTube


Gliss does indeed prevent water spotting. About a week after installation, the car was parked unknowingly near sprinklers. It was a worst case scenario, as the side of the car was exposed to the intense summer sun facing west. So the water spots were baked onto the surface.

For sure, I figured the finish was screwed. But after a hose down (garden hose) and a gentle CarPro reset and wash mit on the spotted area, the spots were gone. Dried clean with no issues.

Will it stave off a similar situation a year from now? Probably not, but I don’t want to find out.
 
Craig Encinitas said:
Yes to this.
I applied two coats of UK 3.0
Top coat of Gliss
Quite satisfied with the results


CarPro Gliss V2 and Cquartz UK 3.0 Hydrophobicity - YouTube


Gliss does indeed prevent water spotting. About a week after installation, the car was parked unknowingly near sprinklers. It was a worst case scenario, as the side of the car was exposed to the intense summer sun facing west. So the water spots were baked onto the surface.

For sure, I figured the finish was screwed. But after a hose down (garden hose) and a gentle CarPro reset and wash mit on the spotted area, the spots were gone. Dried clean with no issues.

Will it stave off a similar situation a year from now? Probably not, but I don’t want to find out.
Click to expand...

On my wifes BLACK Pilot, I put a coat of gliss on half of the hood. Thankfully I can use it as sort of a test vehicle. I sprinkled some utility water on it (in the garage, not in the sun) and it water spotted both sides but noticeably less on the gliss side. I have not washed it yet to see if the spots will come off. My understanding is the at utility water is worse at spotting BUT is wasnt in the sun either.
 
So I ended up doing UK with Gliss. I guess I dont recall the suface characteristic of gliss as to its slickness when I put it on my wifes Pilot(only did it in a test area). I'm surprised how NOT slick Gliss is. Its bettter than just straight UK for sure but it isn't much better. I did a couple of areas on the car with Reload and it was actually slicker than gliss. That cant be right. I am pretty confident in my application method. 2 coats of UK within an hour. Let it set for 24 hours (instructions say wait at least 4 hours) and applied the gliss. Had to work with the flash time a bit, as the first couple of applications I let it flash just a little too long so I adjusted that. Since then I did a quick water test and the hydrophobicity is crazy good. I was just surprised how NOT very slick the surface was. I'm hoping I didn't do something wrong.

Im using the trunk lid of my daily driver as a test panel. Just for fun, because it sits out in the weather all the time. Did 4 test areas. 2 coats of UK, 2 coats of UK and 1 coat of Gliss, 2 coats of gliss and 2 coats of reload. I mention this because the slickness of the Gliss only test area was pretty darn slick and soft. Conversely, the test area with gliss over UK was not as slick, so I assume some of that is the characteristic of UK coming through. Any thoughts?
 
I find my UK3+Gliss2 very slick. Not Gyeon Syncro slick but very slick. UK only is not slick.
 
And the results of UK3.0 and Gliss on my car were (past tense) very slick.
I think slickness from anything applied to the surface of a vehicle is the first thing to dissipate. So long as the products do their job of protection, I’m good.

Gliss did an excellent job of preventing sprinkler water spots from etching the coating.

That’s all I got. Your mileage may vary.
 
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