Newbie preparing for ceramic coating - (CQUARTZ UK 3.0)

[N8huntsman]

Fair warning... I overthink everything. Wish I had found this forum sooner, I now realize most of the fortune I've spent on detailing products are probably junk
I have been reading this forum extensively and decided to try out a ceramic coating on my 1-year old, white, GMC Sierra AT4.

Process I think Ill be following based on advise from all of you guys here

1. Rinse
2. Chemical Decontaminate (Iron-X)
3. Wash
4. Mechanical Decontaminate (Nanoskin Fine)
5. Polish (Menzerna SF3500 w/ white LC pad, orange if needed)
6. Eraser
7. 2 coats CQ
8. Reload

First question of many to come:
Ive been using a quick detail that contains wax, similar to (ONR) Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax. However Im going to be applying CQuartz. Would the "wash and wax" be a bad idea to use as a lube since I need to remove it all prior to coating? Or is it irrelevant because the polish and eraser will remove it all?
Not sure how critical it is...
I have a bottle of Mothers QD I have laying around but I don't know if that is wax free. Or I could spend more money and buy something bettter. I am spending way too much on this already and trying to limit unnecessary purchases but don't want to screw it all up over $20 either.

Thanks

 

[The Guz]

The wax from a wash and wax is not that durable so your prep stage will remove it. Which Mothers QD is it? Showtime? In general QD's are not durable either. They will alter the surface tension for a short time. Save it for a drying aid if anything. But you have Reload for that purpose as well.

 

[N8huntsman]

The wax from a wash and wax is not that durable so your prep stage will remove it. Which Mothers QD is it? Showtime? In general QD's are not durable either. They will alter the surface tension for a short time. Save it for a drying aid if anything. But you have Reload for that purpose as well.

California Gold Instant Detailer. It’s whatever was in the clay kit I bought before I learned about nanoskin.

 

[Rsurfer]

Your steps 1-8 is right on. You have a truck, so don't kill yourself by trying to do this in one day.

 

[N8huntsman]

Your steps 1-8 is right on. You have a truck, so don't kill yourself by trying to do this in one day.

It is going to be a lot of work for sure! And to make it worse, first Im gonna do my wifes Escalade including a 3M clear bra! That's gonna take several days... and I don't even know if either will fit in my garage, assuming I can clean it up enough for a vehicle.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

Rinsing isn’t going to get all the dirt off and i tried iron X before washing and after. After worked better as it allowed the Iron X to get straight to the iron and not have to penetrate through the dirt.

Also dried the car so wetness would not water down the product.

Lastly, Iron X is great but i really liked Griot better. The consistency is more gel like and it clung to paint better.

Save $20 on a gallon compared to Iron X too.


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[N8huntsman]

My head was spinning picking polishing pads and now selecting the right microfiber towels is even more laborious! I have a handful of basic CG microfibers that I bought on prime day a year ago. They're getting dirty and probably aren't the right towels for the job anyway.

1) For the polishing step, what towels would you recommend just for buffing off excess Menzerna SF3500 polish? Is that considered "polishing" or "buffing" because there are different towels recommended for each. I know Ill get 100 answers but I'm tired of reading so I'll get the first one that receives a couple recommendations. How many should be minimum for a large, white, daily driver, SUV? I was amazed at the number some stated and I assume they are doing this professionally where you can pass along the cost. I cannot.

2) After washing, can I use the same towels above for applying the CarPro Eraser?

3) What are good uk 3.0 applicators and how many would you use on the vehicle above?

4) Towels to buff off high spots? Same as above? How many?

Thanks in advance

 

[spazzz]

Grab these. You can use them for everything. I would actually buy 3 dozen for that gig, 4 would be better. Hell, the more the merrier.
Sounds like a lot but it isn't when you are doing a coating job
Cobra 12 Pack Forrest Green Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloths

You will have what you need for UK3 applicators in the box it comes in.

 

[The Guz]

My head was spinning picking polishing pads and now selecting the right microfiber towels is even more laborious! I have a handful of basic CG microfibers that I bought on prime day a year ago. They're getting dirty and probably aren't the right towels for the job anyway.

1) For the polishing step, what towels would you recommend just for buffing off excess Menzerna SF3500 polish? Is that considered "polishing" or "buffing" because there are different towels recommended for each. I know Ill get 100 answers but I'm tired of reading so I'll get the first one that receives a couple recommendations. How many should be minimum for a large, white, daily driver, SUV? I was amazed at the number some stated and I assume they are doing this professionally where you can pass along the cost. I cannot.

I would consider looking into a polish that has less polishing oils. I missed that the first time you made your post. If you intend to use it then I would recommend a prep wipe during your polishing step and then after (essentially 2 wipe downs). As far as towels I use the edgeless 365 from the rag company.

2) After washing, can I use the same towels above for applying the CarPro Eraser?

Yes

3) What are good uk 3.0 applicators and how many would you use on the vehicle above?

My favorite applicators are the microfiber/terry coating saver applicators from Autofiber. If you don't want to spend the money for those then use the included suede and suede block. Use the included suede towel to make more applicators.

4) Towels to buff off high spots? Same as above? How many?

My preferred towel is the edgeless 300 from the rag company. If you intend to buy from AGO then these would be an alternative which is plenty to get the job done IGL Coating Removal Towels 10 Pack

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

First question of many to come:

Ive been using a quick detail that contains wax, similar to (ONR) Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax. However Im going to be applying CQuartz. Would the "wash and wax" be a bad idea to use as a lube since I need to remove it all prior to coating? Or is it irrelevant because the polish and eraser will remove it all?

Couldn't tell from your list of steps in order, but use the Nanoskin after washing and rinsing. This means you're using soapy car wash as you lube.

The polishing step will remove everything.


After polishing then chemically strip and coat.


Be sure to have a GREAT hand-held light when working with coatings. To me, this is a great price on a great light.

SCANGRIP MiniMatch

 

[tcope]

For the polishing step, what towels would you recommend just for buffing off excess Menzerna SF3500 polish? Is that considered "polishing" or "buffing" because there are different towels recommended for each. I know Ill get 100 answers but I'm tired of reading so I'll get the first one that receives a couple recommendations. How many should be minimum for a large, white, daily driver, SUV? I was amazed at the number some stated and I assume they are doing this professionally where you can pass along the cost. I cannot.

You want a towel with a low pile. I actually switched to a terry towel with a GSM of 365. I find it works much better at removing polishing compound. However, most anything with a low pile will work just fine. For example, those towels that most big manufactures put in with their waxes would work. You fold a 16x16 towel into 4 parts. So one towel can do a lot of panels, I'd say probably 4 no problem. I tend to use 2-3 towels on a car. You might use 4 on a truck. You can certainly use more if you like.

Oh, I forgot AG now carried Rag Company towels so I can mention them. Something like this:

16x16 Edgeless Pearl Microfiber Towel - Ice Grey

or

16x16 Creature Edgeless Dual-Pile (150/cs) - Ice Grey

 

[The Guz]

You want a towel with a low pile. I actually switched to a terry towel with a GSM of 365. I find it works much better at removing polishing compound. However, most anything with a low pile will work just fine. For example, those towels that most big manufactures put in with their waxes would work. You fold a 16x16 towel into 4 parts. So one towel can do a lot of panels, I'd say probably 4 no problem. I tend to use 2-3 towels on a car. You might use 4 on a truck. You can certainly use more if you like.

Oh, I forgot AG now carried Rag Company towels so I can mention them. Something like this:

16x16 Edgeless Pearl Microfiber Towel - Ice Grey

or

16x16 Creature Edgeless Dual-Pile (150/cs) - Ice Grey

I picked up some of these pearl towels when they came out. After testing them with various coatings, I am glad I did not purchase any more. They wipe off fine but they load up quick. As a matter of fact when I coated my car with the SPS graphene coating, I didn't even bother trying to save the pearl towels. I just wanted to use them and chuck them in the trash. The edgeless 300 is the way to go for coating removal. I would even take a kirkland towel over the pearl lol.

I could never get into the creature either. It did not do anything for me. Edgeless 365 has it beat in my experience for polish removal.

 

[tcope]

I picked up some of these pearl towels when they came out. After testing them with various coatings, I am glad I did not purchase any more. They wipe off fine but they load up quick. As a matter of fact when I coated my car with the SPS graphene coating, I didn't even bother trying to save the pearl towels. I just wanted to use them and chuck them in the trash. The edgeless 300 is the way to go for coating removal. I would even take a kirkland towel over the pearl lol.

That is what I use (I modified my post from terry to microfiber). I did not mention the 300's as I don't see that AG is selling them. However, it is all I use for polish removal now. I reviewed shat AG sold for one with about the same GSM and a low pile.

 

[N8huntsman]

I ordered 3 Griots PFM drying towels and the rest Rag Company edgeless towels. 10 - 500 gsm for future rinseless washing/final buffing; 10 - 365gsm for polishing and Eraser; and 10 - 360gsm for the coating. All my stuff is taking a while to arrive these days but we're getting closer. Should have my polisher tomorrow and the rest (reset, gliss, eraser, cquartz, towels, longer pressure washer hose, etc) by the 8th. Like all hobbies, this is getting expensive! New DI filters are assembled and working great. Saving me a lot of time in not having to dry the car now.

 

[WillSports3]

For coating removal, I like the Gyeon bald wipe towels. Do yourself a favour, after all that work polishing and what not, as well asp utting on CQUK, skip reload. I don't really see the need for it, just don't let your car get wet for a bit. Or better yet, after application let it bake in the sun for a few hours. I don't know if it's just me but anytime I use reload on top of CQUK, the durability of the coating's beading turns into complete trash.

 

[N8huntsman]

For coating removal, I like the Gyeon bald wipe towels. Do yourself a favour, after all that work polishing and what not, as well asp utting on CQUK, skip reload. I don't really see the need for it, just don't let your car get wet for a bit. Or better yet, after application let it bake in the sun for a few hours. I don't know if it's just me but anytime I use reload on top of CQUK, the durability of the coating's beading turns into complete trash.

I'll replace the reload application with GLISS. It's already on order anyway. I've read that this is a nice upgrade for DD's that sit outside like mine. Agreed?

 

[2wookies]

For coating removal, I like the Gyeon bald wipe towels. Do yourself a favour, after all that work polishing and what not, as well asp utting on CQUK, skip reload. I don't really see the need for it, just don't let your car get wet for a bit. Or better yet, after application let it bake in the sun for a few hours. I don't know if it's just me but anytime I use reload on top of CQUK, the durability of the coating's beading turns into complete trash.

Couldn’t agree more! I have found that cutting it 1:1 with distilled water helps the application and removal, just not a fan of the after effects.

 

[WillSports3]

I ended up tossing my reload away, I really like CarPro products but I don't know what the point of reload is. I think every single version has had application problems, and the customer base has had to invent their own application methods such as 50/50 distilled water, wiping down with a cold towel first.. the application process is literally more work than the application process for their coating line.

Either way, the trick to a good coating process is a good polishing process, a good panel prep wipe process as well as a lot of appropriate towels. Use a lower nap towel for initial wipe down then another slightly longer one to wipe everything down.

Make sure you spray a generous amount of whatever panel prep you choose, and follow up with a towel that's been sprayed a few times as well. Dissolving the polishing oils is not an instant act, the cleaning agent needs time to fully dissolve it all. I usually go around with two towels as well after spraying down a panel. One that has been sprayed with more Eraser/IPA and wipe down slowly after giving the panel wipe at least like.. 10 seconds to dissolve.

After you're done, go take a break for like 15 minutes, give all the trace chemicals time to fully evaporate so when you come back, the panel is completely dry and nothing is on it but bare clearcoat.

 

[Mikem3574]

Rinsing isn’t going to get all the dirt off and i tried iron X before washing and after. After worked better as it allowed the Iron X to get straight to the iron and not have to penetrate through the dirt.

Also dried the car so wetness would not water down the product.

Lastly, Iron X is great but i really liked Griot better. The consistency is more gel like and it clung to paint better.

Save $20 on a gallon compared to Iron X too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Im doing a ceramic coating on my fiance's black Chrysler this weekend and im a bit confused on the steps taken prior to polish.....should I:

1. Wash and rinse
2. Apply 3M BDX for iron removal
3. Wash and rinse (again)
4. Clay

Or swap the positions of BDX and Clay in the steps?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

[The Guz]

Im doing a ceramic coating on my fiance's black Chrysler this weekend and im a bit confused on the steps taken prior to polish.....should I:

1. Wash and rinse
2. Apply 3M BDX for iron removal
3. Wash and rinse (again)
4. Clay

Or swap the positions of BDX and Clay in the steps?

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Iron before clay. You can use iron before or after the wash. It’s up to you depending on how dirty the paint is.