***Pics*** Thickness Gage/Applying Coating CQF

[IID]

Today I wanted to play with my ETG Electronic Thickness Gage to check how much clear coat is removed whille polishing and then added using CQuartz Finest,on my daily driven 300C SRT Design.

Machine calibrated and I have the unit set in micons:


Readings before polishing

For demostration,i'll be using the front passenger quarter panel:
NOTE:All Readings in Micron's!
122


126


120
120mil


133


117 near the body line transition (this is why it's extreamly important to take cautions when polishing close to these area's)



For the polishing demo,I'm using Menz PF2500/Uber Green Pad/FLEX PE:






For my process,i'll make three to four section passes with the FLEX on speed 3:




after polishing,I do a final wipe down with CarPro Eraser:






Now it's time to take another reading to see how much clear was removed in their respected polished area's:

118 / prior 122


125 / prior 126


119 / prior 120


128 / prior 133


116 / prior 117 (again,near the body line)



Now i'm going to apply the CQF,I will do 2 layers:


One layer:


Two layer:




Knocked down any high spots before the CQF starts to cure/harden:





Ok,now lets check the thickness again after the (2) coats of CQF:
After CQF 127/ After polishing 118 /Original 122


After CQF 130 / After polishing 125 / Original 126


After CQF 120 / After polishing 119 / Original 120


After CQF 135 / After polishing 128 / Original 133


After CQF 123 / After polishing 116 / Original 117


Now I fully understand each location is in the approximent area(s) when taking the measurements but i'm just trying to show you all:
*Amount of clear abraided off each section*
*Amount of coating that adds to each sections thickness*

On a average,the polishing took off an average between the five sections is 2.4
On a average,the CQF coating added 5.8 on each section

Take from this thread what you will but I thought I would have a little fun learning a few things and it was fun doing it

[Rsurfer]

Thanks for the review Chris. Don't you mean microns instead of mils.?

[IID]

Originally Posted by Rsurfer

Thanks for the review Chris. Don't you mean microns instead of mils.?

I just got the ETG machine yesterday.
The machine is labeled as decimal(s) reading Microns and non-decimals reading mil.

But I beleive you are correct Ron.

I'll edit the thread/correct made to Microns.

[eaglefan]

One of the most useful reviews ever. Great job! Thanks man

[IID]

The forum said I timed out to make the changes.
Please understand the readings are in Microns (and not mil's) Thank You Ron!

[Nicholas@Autowerx]

Awesome write up! Very nice work, sir. It is interesting to see how much clear is removed with just a few section passes. I don't have a PTG (yet) so this was especially good information for me. Thank you!

It's nice to see that the CQF coating replaces the lost clear coat from polishing and even adds thickness in some areas.

[BobbyG]

Chris, this is a great review showing the before and after AND then the thickness of the protective coating.

Many have wondered what how much finish is removed when polishing. This review also lets everyone know how much a coating adds to the finish... I wonder if your meter can measure the thickness of a layer of sealant or wax?

Great thread!!

[Cg6LeMoN]

thank you for taking the time to take pictures for each step to ensure the whole process is well documented prior and after each step.

[milky]

Thank you for the review, Chris. It's extremely helpful and informative!

[FUNX725]

Originally Posted by IID

Ok,now lets check the thickness again after the (2) coats of CQF:

On a average,the CQF coating added 5.8mils on each section

-Since...
"regular CQuartz" claims to add a film(layer)-thickness of: .7-1.5 microns
(I'll assume: 1.5-3.0 microns with two applications/film-layers);

-And...
Opti-Gard/Coat 2.0 claims to add film(layer)-thickness of: 1-2 microns
(I'll assume 2-4 microns with two applications/film-layers);

-Then...
It would appear that CQF, with the addition of a 5.8 microns
film(layer)-thickness, beats them both!!

-I will suppose...
If the usual characterististics (longevity, scratch resistance, hydrophobicy, ease-of-cleaning, slickness, etc.)
that folks look for in: 'Coatings'...is also attributal to CQF...
AVI@CarPro possibly has a winner at hand!


Thanks for this review.

NOTE: Also nice to see the documented usage of an EPTG.




Bob