Thinning a Ceramic Coating

E

ejaf

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Hey all...

I had stored my bottle of Mckee's 37 V2 Ceramic coating after my cars were coated approximately 2 years ago (yes, it did it's job well) in a dark bottle in the fridge, since I had more than enough left over to handle more cars.

I am working on recoating, and doing certain panels at a time after prepping, since I don't have the luxury of doing an entire car in one shot. Got to the actual application of the coating last night, and I'm seeing a behavior I hadn't noticed the last time I coated. Seems as if the coating isn't flashing as well/the same as my prior application.

I had to wipe with a microfiber, which was quite difficult, since the coating was quite grabby, and I had to continouosly inspect, because once I wiped one panel, I could see some residue of the coating transferring back to the adjacent panel I had just wiped.

So...anyone experience this? Is the coating shot? It seems as if it lost some chemical which allowed it to flash away to practically clear, except for some high spots. Or perhaps I can save it by adding a small amount of some quick drying carrier, like mineral spirits.

I know most of you will probably say "just buy another bottle", but I have a hard time throwing out things, if you know what I mean.

Experiences would be more than welcome.

TIA...Eric
 
ejaf said:
Hey all...

I had stored my bottle of Mckee's 37 V2 Ceramic coating after my cars were coated approximately 2 years ago (yes, it did it's job well) in a dark bottle in the fridge,
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While I think you did all that you can do, (store bottle in fridge), looks like Father Time took it's toll.


I don't know what solvent you could use to thin it down to make it perform back to original performance. Might just have to bite the bullet and get a new bottle.



:)
 
Yeah...thinking the same thing, unfortunately. Just a fan of "waste not, want not". ;)

E
 
Yeah, coating is shot. McKee's coating is good but has very short shelf life. Just get another bottle or your application/removal will be hell. I've been there. It sticks to the paint like glue.
 
worse than glue...more like epoxy ;)

Thanks guys.
 
Even if you where to put in a carrier solvent. I think that the coating in the bottle has cured some. And that is nothing you can do anything about. Coatings starts to cure from where it's exposed to the air. And heat also accelerate the curing. So from what I have heard you have had done the most you can with store it in the fridge. Did you pour it in a glass bottle? Some re-use old ceramic coatings glass bottles to store those that comes in a plastic bottle in them.

If you are going to not use the whole bottle if you take one that comes in glass bottles. It's recommended that when you apply it. You screw off the lid and apply to the applicator and put in the lid again and even put it away from your hands. Then you minimize the air that comes in and the heat build up from your body temperature that the hands has if you where to hold the bottle while applying the coating. Store it in a cool dark place. And you get the longest shelf life from an opened ceramic coating.

Even if you where to get the semi-cured coating you have on the paint. The performance from it I don't think you would get would be not so good. With the harder wipe off you can comprimise the hydrophobic caractics of it and maybe don't get enough solids on to be bonded on the paint and get you a way shorter longevity from it. And who knows what more LOL. I totally understand that you don't want to toss it. But I think that's the best to be doing. Maybe you can find other places to apply it on in or outside of the household. That's not so sensetive to if it's not get to hold up or have a not so great water behavior from it. Just a thought though.

/ Tony
 
SWETM said:
Even if you where to put in a carrier solvent. I think that the coating in the bottle has cured some. And that is nothing you can do anything about. Coatings starts to cure from where it's exposed to the air. And heat also accelerate the curing. So from what I have heard you have had done the most you can with store it in the fridge. Did you pour it in a glass bottle? Some re-use old ceramic coatings glass bottles to store those that comes in a plastic bottle in them.

If you are going to not use the whole bottle if you take one that comes in glass bottles. It's recommended that when you apply it. You screw off the lid and apply to the applicator and put in the lid again and even put it away from your hands. Then you minimize the air that comes in and the heat build up from your body temperature that the hands has if you where to hold the bottle while applying the coating. Store it in a cool dark place. And you get the longest shelf life from an opened ceramic coating.

Even if you where to get the semi-cured coating you have on the paint. The performance from it I don't think you would get would be not so good. With the harder wipe off you can comprimise the hydrophobic caractics of it and maybe don't get enough solids on to be bonded on the paint and get you a way shorter longevity from it. And who knows what more LOL. I totally understand that you don't want to toss it. But I think that's the best to be doing. Maybe you can find other places to apply it on in or outside of the household. That's not so sensetive to if it's not get to hold up or have a not so great water behavior from it. Just a thought though.

/ Tony
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Makes sense, but I will say that the first panel I labored on is doing pretty good, albeit for just 2 weeks (my daughter's off to first year college, so have a lot of time to finish this job).

Eric
 
Not to hi-jack or sound like a jerk, but this is one of the reasons I do not use coatings.

Coatings are expensive, and the unused product will go bad as stated above.

However, my WGDGPS, Collinite 845, 476s, and a few other hybrids are there waiting to be applied year after year.

Like I said, I get the arguments FOR coatings. They are just not my cup of tea, so to speak.
 
I have yet to use one also although I never thought about coatings going bad. I just crave the glow of carnauba. The closest thing to a coating I will probably try is Infinity Wax. That’s after my current supply of product is gone
 
Rider Mower wheels, kid's toy wagon, Tonka Toy, a shovel or rake, that's about it. Others do the same after awhile, kaput, like lasses in winter.

If and when you try with these dilapidated "glues", just don't try spreading them after, apply, and don't touch!
 
PaulMys said:
Not to hi-jack or sound like a jerk, but this is one of the reasons I do not use coatings.

Coatings are expensive, and the unused product will go bad as stated above.

However, my WGDGPS, Collinite 845, 476s, and a few other hybrids are there waiting to be applied year after year.

Like I said, I get the arguments FOR coatings. They are just not my cup of tea, so to speak.
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Most coatings come in a tiny 30ml bottle that’s really just for one car. McKee’s is probably the only one that comes in a 120ml bottle and could do like 5 cars but you gotta use it all very fast or it will partially/completely cure in the bottle and become unusable. The largest portion has the shortest shelf life.
I’ve seen the little bit left from other coatings still be fine after a year. Perhaps the nicer glass bottles with droppers instead of sprayers make a difference.
 
BSoares said:
Most coatings come in a tiny 30ml bottle that’s really just for one car. McKee’s is probably the only one that comes in a 120ml bottle and could do like 5 cars but you gotta use it all very fast or it will partially/completely cure in the bottle and become unusable. The largest portion has the shortest shelf life.
I’ve seen the little bit left from other coatings still be fine after a year. Perhaps the nicer glass bottles with droppers instead of sprayers make a difference.
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Yeah, I am aware of the sizes, application parameters, etc.

You are totally right.

But, I still will never use one.
 
PaulMys said:
Not to hi-jack or sound like a jerk, but this is one of the reasons I do not use coatings.

Coatings are expensive, and the unused product will go bad as stated above.

However, my WGDGPS, Collinite 845, 476s, and a few other hybrids are there waiting to be applied year after year.

Like I said, I get the arguments FOR coatings. They are just not my cup of tea, so to speak.
Click to expand...

Speaking of coatings whatever happened to the gloss coat I sent you about a year ago lol.
 
The Guz said:
Speaking of coatings whatever happened to the gloss coat I sent you about a year ago lol.
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My lips never looked better, Guz! Lol.

I did use it on the wife's Fuel wheels. Performed well. Lasted well through the winter.
 
Methyl acetate is a common carrier solvent used in coatings and is safe
 
Also a lot of coat use alcohol/propanol such as opti and window coatings
 
Sorry if my last post was sort of "funny".

In all seriousness, I was in a similar situation with 1/2 the remainder of an opened 30ml bottle of CQ UK, and a whole 50ml bottle far past its expiration date. And didn't know what to do with it.

Then a light went on, and thought of a perfect use, my 6x12 Cargo Trailer. After 14 years of sitting in the desert sun, and although waxing it periodically, the paint was getting awful thin, and I knew it wouldn't be taking too much more, so I decided to try the CQ UK on it.

I wasn't looking for show results, couldn't much care if there was a high spot here or there, but surprisingly it came out pretty good. I did polish the fenders with an old bottle of M205 lying around, they were pretty hammered. And I did wipe the entire trailer down with CP Eraser, had plenty on hand.


I started with the fenders which were black, the rest is all white. After being very pleased with how the fenders looked, I continued on and was able to coat the entire trailer.

As I mentioned in my last post, this stuff had gotten a bit trickier to apply, got much more tacky very quickly, and decided to only apply then not touch after.

Thus, I agree with the 'waste not want not", and that if you can find something to coat that you're not looking for critical final results, but want some good protection, I say give it a go.
 
PaulMys said:
Not to hi-jack or sound like a jerk, but this is one of the reasons I do not use coatings.

Coatings are expensive, and the unused product will go bad as stated above.
Click to expand...

BSoares said:
Most coatings come in a tiny 30ml bottle that’s really just for one car. McKee’s is probably the only one that comes in a 120ml bottle and could do like 5 cars but you gotta use it all very fast or it will partially/completely cure in the bottle and become unusable.
Click to expand...

This is one of the the reasons I won't use coatings like McKee's or PBL any more. The first version McKee's did seem to have a much longer shelf life. My bottle lasted about a year, but I noticed the last application didn't go real well and the performance wasn't very good at all. Today, I'll only use one that comes in the small bottles where I don't have to worry about having much left over product. The fact I find the coatings which come in the small bottles to perform better helps negate the temptation to go back to less expensive, spray bottle coating like McKee's.
 
yeah...I am going to have to reconsider my coating choice for next go around...one that comes in perhaps a 30ml bottle.

E
 
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