Torn on decision for 2016 Suburban.

I know it was directed at Eldo, but I'll chime in with my wheel arsenal.

I have a lug brush, a sofftened flag tip-ish (only that way because of repeated abuse) brush for the wheel faces and easy to reach pockets, as well as a speedmaster type brush for the barrels. I also bought a 3 pack of wheel woolies containing a straight 1", bent handle 2" and bent handle 3" to give them a try and to help with calipers. For tires I use the same long handled, stiff bristle brush that I use for wheelwells, purchased at HD.

For cleaning agents I'm standardized on Meg's D143 typically around 1.5:1 or 2:1 which is much stronger than the label says, but is one of the rare cases where I find it works much, MUCH better that way. And as cheap as it is per gallon, I don't mind using a bit more because it means I don't have to stock both D140 and D108 separately to do the same job.

I haven't run across many wheels yet that won't clean up with one or two hits of D143 at that strength and a solid scrubbing.
 
I have a crew cab dually that I applied Car Pro Cquartz UK to. After the full prep of decon, clay, polish, wipe down and apply the coating. And it's a major chore, but in my opinion, it's the only way for me. My truck is white, so it seems to not show swirls as bad as a darker color. But wax just doesn't have the longevity that I want. I love the paint coating. For all the prep work it's worth every minute for me. Just my 2 cents.

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After cleaning and inspecting the surfaces looks like the only area that needs a light polish is the hood. There is a few spots on the roof in front of the sunroof that could use a polish. You really have to look hard to see anything though. I never get up and look at the roof and maybe 18 wheelers are the only people who would see. Is the polish required for bond or just looks? It would not bother me to skip the polish step on the roof. Just do all other steps.
 
Well, I went ahead and coated the roof. What a chore. The ridges that run down the roof line made it a pain. I'll spray reload tomorrow. My reload bottle says dark cars mix 1:1. Do I pour half into a container and fill with water? My paint is black.
 
That's what I always do when diluting products, just always remember to shake or agitate it before using. You'll be glad you coated the roof. Nice job.

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This was my first coat job. I found that the cquartz UK does not give you alot of working time. It starts to get grabby quickly. I only allowed about 60 seconds befrore wiping off. It was 68 degrees in the garage. I checked it this morning. I guess I was working late and tired. I found some MF lint in some areas. Very small and you have to stare are it to see it. Grrr.
 
I went ahead and applied reload. Made it a 1:1 with water. It was easy and I did not see any streaking. I plan on doing the whole car in cquartz in sections. Next job will be the hood, front grill bumper area, and front fenders. The stripper wash I have just seems to be mediocre and I followed the mix ratio directions. Thinking I might use the dreaded dawn dish soap on those areas after all the remaining surfaces I look at all day. Hardly see the roof.
 
I polished the hood last night. Only needed about 5 section passes with a finishing polish. I then IPA wiped the area and put two coats of cquartz UK. To day after the 12 hour mark I will put a coat of gliss on it. I planed on doing the hood, front fenders, and front grill bumper area last night but my eyes were getting heavy. I can only work on it after the kids hit the sack. Looks like I will be doing a body panel a weekend till complete. BTW, Suburbans are large. :( Maybe tonight I will apply dlux to the headlights. I was looking at the bumper and fenders with a light last night. I dont see any scratches or anything. Can I just do all the prep minus a polish and do the UK or will it not bond? Maybe a light polish by hand? I have 3" finishing pads but they are the same size of the metal housing on my DA and dont want to bump a panel with metal.
 
Consider using something like the white medical tape or some other 'substantial' tape and wrap the metal bell/housing.
 
How about several layers of electrical tape, its rubbery?
 
Probably. E. tape tends to be 'soft' and thin so I think it might mar all by itself but the car is black so it'd probably be fine.
 
I’d go with a coating. Much easier maintained long term


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Did the McKee's Hydro on my Lexus---And doesn't look like it did any thing worth having.

Car seems dirtier, tried power washing off the dirt and yet dirt is still imbedded in paint. Hydro didn't do a thing!

Only good thing that appears to help was the windshield. The coating on the glass was getting weak and a hit of Hydro helped with the water shedding. But other than that---dunno if it was worth anything.

The sealant I have on it works really well.

I think maybe Hydro blue just might be overrated??

Tom
I 'm on my second gallon of Hydro Blue, and it's almost gone. I find this stuff amazing.

I live in Alabama, lots of sun, heat, humidity,dust, rain, salty air, and it does a fantastic job on all the cars I've used it on. It's retains it's hydrophobic properties for a couple of months, at the least. Gloss is good, and it's got a smooth feel to it.

It's interesting to read how the products we all use react different from one person to the next. I guess it's like fishing lures. One guy loves a certain lure, and another guy can't catch anything with it! (me)

Bill
 
Well due to limited time because of kids. I have polished and done two coats of cquartz uk on the Roof, Hood, and drivers side. When I get a weekend night from 8pm-3am ish when the kids are sleeping I get to work on it. Next weekend is front bumper and rear of the Suburban. Then the following weekend will be the passenger side. Drivers side took 7:30pm-3:30am because of all the areas that needed a 3" polishing pad.

All panels done got a reset wash, iron-x, clay, polish, eraser wipe, 2 coats of UK, and 1 coat of Gliss.

This is taking me forever.
 
Update: All surfaces done except rear and front bumper cover. The larger hard parts are complete. I have various topics coats available in my arsenal. Currently Gliss is being used but thinking maintenance top coats will be Hydro2. It's just so dang easy.
 
I 'm on my second gallon of Hydro Blue, and it's almost gone. I find this stuff amazing.



Bill

Hi Bill, wanted to ask, in case you see the need to polish (ie didn't see the swirl mark before putting on hydro blue), how do you do it? I understand that this is a coating but I currently don't have any experience with it yet.

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