Sealant vs Coating Question

actuator_mz3 said:
I generally use sealants or waxes but all this talk about coatings has me more intrigued than ever, so here is my question for all you coating experts. Would you recommend applying a coating one panel at a time or all in one session. The reason I ask is because I don't really have the time or energy/motivation to work much more then one panel at a time.
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Most coatings themselves apply extremely quickly...faster than all waxes, and most sealants (25minutes on a mid size sedan). They actually in most cases are like applying wowas, but you do need the "wipe off" to prevent high spots.
That being said, your time will go into the prep work. If you take the time to do a coating you might as well do a full decontamination, and correction. If you don't correct that's (kind of) okay, make sure to use paint cleaners/IPA/coating prep polishes to make sure the paint is ready to accept the coating. All of those things I just mentioned will eat up your time. If you have a set time in the year you do your correction anyways...you might think about just waiting until then to coat the sucker.

You could take the approach to prep and then coat a portion at a time...personally that's just weird to me, but it's a preference thing. You could prep and coat a door a day for example...I'd try to get the panels done as close to the same time as possible to have them wear evenly and uniformly.
 
One misconception is that coatings can't compete with sealants and waxes in the looks dept. This is a common misconception because most wax and sealant users that try coatings prep the paint similar to the way they did for wax and sealants. In other words, if the prep work was rushed or shortcuts taken, the wax or sealant covered it up. With coatings, there is no hiding...the prep work is everything. So when you see a coated car that looks stunning, its not that the coating is responsible for it as it does with wax....its because the person is an artist with a polisher and didn't take any shortcuts prepping it.



Bottom line...wax and sealants are like wall paper...they cover a lot of sins. With coatings there's no place to hide. I think most guys that are so insisting on topping a coating is because it didn't look as good as they were hoping...and that's because the crutch of wax is a hard habit to overcome. A properly prepped coated car looks stunning in my opinion.
 
silverfox said:
One misconception is that coatings can't compete with sealants and waxes in the looks dept. This is a common misconception because most wax and sealant users that try coatings prep the paint similar to the way they did for wax and sealants. In other words, if the prep work was rushed or shortcuts taken, the wax or sealant covered it up. With coatings, there is no hiding...the prep work is everything. So when you see a coated car that looks stunning, its not that the coating is responsible for it as it does with wax....its because the person is an artist with a polisher and didn't take any shortcuts prepping it.



Bottom line...wax and sealants are like wall paper...they cover a lot of sins. With coatings there's no place to hide. I think most guys that are so insisting on topping a coating is because it didn't look as good as they were hoping...and that's because the crutch of wax is a hard habit to overcome. A properly prepped coated car looks stunning in my opinion.
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I was recently exploring getting a ceramic coating on my mustang and contacted a few installers. In conversation I had decided if I were every getting a ceramic coating it would be the CQuart pro. I received a price of $900 dollars and that included the prep work, windows and wheels.

In order to keep the two year manufacturers warranty I needed to bring it back to the installer to have them check the coating and put some annual product on there at an additional cost.

After looking into it further I just opted to use sealant and then wax on top. I coated my mustang with M Seal sealant and then Butter wet carnauba wax. Very happy with the results.
 
silverfox said:
One misconception is that coatings can't compete with sealants and waxes in the looks dept. This is a common misconception because most wax and sealant users that try coatings prep the paint similar to the way they did for wax and sealants. In other words, if the prep work was rushed or shortcuts taken, the wax or sealant covered it up. With coatings, there is no hiding...the prep work is everything. So when you see a coated car that looks stunning, its not that the coating is responsible for it as it does with wax....its because the person is an artist with a polisher and didn't take any shortcuts prepping it.



Bottom line...wax and sealants are like wall paper...they cover a lot of sins. With coatings there's no place to hide. I think most guys that are so insisting on topping a coating is because it didn't look as good as they were hoping...and that's because the crutch of wax is a hard habit to overcome. A properly prepped coated car looks stunning in my opinion.
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Hit the nail on the head..... Its all in the prep.

CQUK
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CQUK
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builthatch said:
^ here you go. you can't see much in these pictures in terms of coating or actual finish quality, but, rest assured, it's in fantastic shape by absolutely anyone's standards. i would encourage anyone to inspect it with LEDs and try to tell me it's not sensational. the truck is outside 24/7, driven every single day. was coated in early summer 2014 and these pics are from outside of a Red Robin late winter...the bottom pics are random shots i took after washing it late one day where i caught the driveway light reflection off of the front fender. this truck is the number one reason why i recommend coatings. it's not a garage queen like my benz. a woman who is now pretty damn good at being careful drives it every single day and it's fully exposed every minute of every day.

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Builthatch, That looks absolutely Gorgeous!!! Do you mind stating what Coating you used?
 
SO I'm reading more about coatings vs. sealants. I don't understand why the cost of the coating is so much higher than a sealant. Is the prep time that much longer? The coating is around $50-75 for Cquartz (BTW> I can't seem to find a price for the Cquartz finest, is it still made?). So supply cost isn't a huge factor. And reading the application info, it doesn't seem that much more labor intensive. So why would a detail and sealant run me aroudn $200 and the coating $1000? Am I missing something?
 
zvez said:
SO I'm reading more about coatings vs. sealants. I don't understand why the cost of the coating is so much higher than a sealant. Is the prep time that much longer? The coating is around $50-75 for Cquartz (BTW> I can't seem to find a price for the Cquartz finest, is it still made?). So supply cost isn't a huge factor. And reading the application info, it doesn't seem that much more labor intensive. So why would a detail and sealant run me aroudn $200 and the coating $1000? Am I missing something?
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CQF is a pro version only (authorized installers). Most CQF installers do 2-3 layers. Along with each layer being baked the process is quite time consuming. Application technique is very important as high spots can happen. Not to mention there is a warranty with CQF.

Many installers include a basic 1 step correction in the price, then wipe down with Eraser (1-2x), then off to CQF application.

You can buy CQUK or Regular CQ and do it yourself. It usually takes me 1-1.5 days to do correction & 2 coats of CQUK including wheels.
 
thanks very much Ebg, that puts things more into perspective. I went to Carpro site and they have a link for CQF installers which is not functioning, so not sure how I can find a CQF installer. Which is my plan.
Chris


Ebg18t said:
CQF is a pro version only (authorized installers). Most CQF installers do 2-3 layers. Along with each layer being baked the process is quite time consuming. Application technique is very important as high spots can happen. Not to mention there is a warranty with CQF.

Many installers include a basic 1 step correction in the price, then wipe down with Eraser (1-2x), then off to CQF application.

You can buy CQUK or Regular CQ and do it yourself. It usually takes me 1-1.5 days to do correction & 2 coats of CQUK including wheels.
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zvez said:
thanks very much Ebg, that puts things more into perspective. I went to Carpro site and they have a link for CQF installers which is not functioning, so not sure how I can find a CQF installer. Which is my plan.
Chris
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Where are you located?
 
So can a coating be installed in a garage? I'm convinced to use it for my daily driver.

I saw some pros use heat lamps for them. Is that needed for all coatings?
 
Matador said:
So can a coating be installed in a garage? I'm convinced to use it for my daily driver.

I saw some pros use heat lamps for them. Is that needed for all coatings?
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Yes it can be. No need for the heat lamps. Leave the vehicle in the garage overnight and you will be just fine.
 
:confused:I understand several brands of coatings are very temperature sensitive for application and curing (like 36 hours after applying).
 
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