New Car CQuartz detail - 2011 Tacoma TRD Sport

**Matt S.** · 04-09-2011, 08:30 PM

*SEE THIS THREAD FOR DURABILITY UPDATES*

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...te-thread.html

Traded in the S2000

and got this brand new 2011 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Long Bed TRD Sport in Super White. Drastic change, I know...but I wanted something with juuust a bit more room and the ability to tow/haul stuff.

Now that that's out of the way...the truck is brand spankin' new and needed some protection. Being that it doesn't fit in my garage(

), I decided to go with one of our newer coating offerings. I've heard a lot about Opti Coat 2.0 and plan to try that out in the near future, but for this one I decided to go with CQuartz. I'm curious to see how it holds up through the summer heat/rain, especially with my busy schedule.

Process:

Wash with: Megs APC, Lake Country wash sponge
Wheels/tires/wells cleaned with Griot's Wheel Cleaner, Megs APC, Daytona Speedmaster, Boar's Hair Wheel Brush

Clean paint with IronX

Protect with CQuartz

Duragloss 321 on tires

No correction was necessary - dealer was advised not to wax the vehicle.

Sprayed the truck down with Iron X, let it dwell, and washed it again with Megs APC. Rinsed / dried, and went on to apply C-Quartz. I let this set up for about 30 minutes and it still buffed off very easily; even the few small areas that were exposed to direct sunlight.

I applied the coating to every part of the exterior. Paintwork, glass, plastic trim, mud flaps, you name it. I used about 2/3 bottle, so about 20ml and I did apply it fairly liberally and went over a few areas twice.

I have not used Opti Coat 2.0 yet, but CQuartz is definitely easier to use than the original Opti Coat. If anyone has any questions regarding this coating, please feel free to ask. I will post durability updates!

On with the pics...

Got off to an early start

I had to show that I at least cleaned SOMETHING off this brand new paint.

Gotta get this greasy stuff off my tires!

Washing the truck with APC

The paint looked really good after an APC wash, but after about a minute of Iron X dwelling, this is what the paint started to look like.

No driveways were harmed during the commission of this detail (the red stuff just rinsed right off).

APC wash again..

Beading is dead.

On with the other half of the truck...

Roof shot!

And some final shots showing no beading

**Matt S.** · 04-09-2011, 08:30 PM

This is what you get in the CQuartz kit:

Gently buffing off. Product wiped off with minimal effort as I stated earlier.

The cotton applicators were starting to fall apart, so I switched to some MF gloves to apply it to the trim and wheels.

That about does it...thanks for looking! I'd also like to thank my mother for being my photographer today, and my dog Mandy for being Supervisor of Operations.

**evojoey** · 04-09-2011, 08:54 PM

awesome I can't wait to try CQuartz....
Congratz on the new truck

**CEE DOG** · 04-09-2011, 09:14 PM

Excellent writeup and pictures Matt! Thank you and congratulations on the new truck!

**ScubaCougr** · 04-09-2011, 09:16 PM

Beautiful looking truck. Congrats, Matt.

**ScottB** · 04-09-2011, 09:40 PM

missed seeing you at DF ... nice new ride !

**Matt S.** · 04-09-2011, 09:52 PM

Thanks Scott, I wanted to stop by, but unfortunately I was out of town that week. It was my mother's birthday and my only week off from the academy. I heard it was a blast, though!

**Rayaz** · 04-09-2011, 10:03 PM

Nice truck, nice work Matt. I am interested in this stuff for my wife's black SAV because of the scratch resistant properties. With a narrow temp range for aplication, I'm a little worried though. It gets hot as the crack of the devil's you-know-what here and I don't want to screw it up.

I've commented about the Iron-X here before. I can't believe how much reaction you got on a brand new paint job! Is this company the only one concerned about iron in my paint or did I miss something?

**Matt S.** · 04-09-2011, 10:11 PM

Originally Posted by Rayaz

Nice truck, nice work Matt. I am interested in this stuff for my wife's black SAV because of the scratch resistant properties. With a narrow temp range for aplication, I'm a little worried though. It gets hot as the crack of the devil's you-know-what here and I don't want to screw it up.

I've commented about the Iron-X here before. I can't believe how much reaction you got on a brand new paint job! Is this company the only one concerned about iron in my paint or did I miss something?

As far as I know, FK1's decontamination system can accomplish the same task. Iron-X seems a lot simpler and looks like a blood bath, so that sealed the deal for me

Also, Sonax wheel cleaner has a similar effect, but for wheels.

**maximus20895** · 04-09-2011, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by Rayaz

Is this company the only one concerned about iron in my paint or did I miss something?

I might be a little out of the loop, but the Iron X is the first product I have heard of that does what it does. Before Iron X I haven't heard of Iron build-up or what have you be a problem.