The case against multi-year ceramic paint coatings - Road Grime = Surface Staining Daily Drivers by Mike Phillips

[cayenne_ksa]

I had to remove the coating on a hood I had just done 3 weeks back. I had applied McKee's 37 paint coating.

Long story short, I had to re-do the hood. I tried removing the coating with M205 and it did not do anything. I then tried using D300 and it did not do anything. I then used a 3000 grit sanding disk (meguiars) on a DA and it took quite a while to remove the coating. How could I tell? After doing the first pass of sanding, there were several large spots still very shiny while the rest of the area was dull. I sanded those spots again, reduced them but still there. Then a third time, same, 4th sanding pass removed it all. So if you think you can simply use a finishing polish to get that stuff off, you will have a bad surprise.

Coatings are increadibly resistant, that is why we put them on. I would not recommend polishing them because it would reduce them and maybe damage them, but to strip them off is a much more difficult thing than anything I have read here.

Maybe some coatings are not that resistant. I am thinking of the ones that are toppers for regular coatings (Gliss type stuff). But I dare you to remove Opti-Coat with a polish

thank you for your reply. I understand from your post it's hard to remove it but are you saying once that coat from (cquartz, ceramic pro etc ) applied on factory paint, it will require as much work as you did to be removed ?

what should i do to maintain a paint that has multi coat of cquartz ?

[Calendyr]

I cannot say is all coatings are the same in terms of resistance to abrasion, but McKee's is a very inexpensive product, so I doubt it has more resistance than CQuartz or other brands, they should be at least as resistant. So yes, I would assume they would be at least as difficult to remove.

As for maintenance, just don't use any claybar, polish, or compound. And of course, not automatic car washes. 2 bucket method, rinseless wash, waterless wash, pressure washing, should all be fine. I would use Reload as a drying aid if you are using microfiber towels to dry. If you use forced air, then no actual topper is required but you can apply Reload from time to time to boost the protection if you want to.

[BudgetPlan1]

... but to strip them off is a much more difficult thing than anything I have read here.

Interesting. Have removed a few coatings for a variety of reasons, most I ever needed was a medium polish on a orange light cutting pad. Decided coating was gone when:

1. With products that darken the paint, paint returned to noticeable lighter color/shade.
2. Water lays flat on surface
3. Paint 'feels' stripped to the touch

Usually do a small spot to determine what will create the above conditions in comparison to adjacent, still coated spot.

Obviously, every situation is different.

[The Guz]

I had to remove the coating on a hood I had just done 3 weeks back. I had applied McKee's 37 paint coating.

Long story short, I had to re-do the hood. I tried removing the coating with M205 and it did not do anything. I then tried using D300 and it did not do anything. I then used a 3000 grit sanding disk (meguiars) on a DA and it took quite a while to remove the coating. How could I tell? After doing the first pass of sanding, there were several large spots still very shiny while the rest of the area was dull. I sanded those spots again, reduced them but still there. Then a third time, same, 4th sanding pass removed it all. So if you think you can simply use a finishing polish to get that stuff off, you will have a bad surprise.

Coatings are increadibly resistant, that is why we put them on. I would not recommend polishing them because it would reduce them and maybe damage them, but to strip them off is a much more difficult thing than anything I have read here.

Maybe some coatings are not that resistant. I am thinking of the ones that are toppers for regular coatings (Gliss type stuff). But I dare you to remove Opti-Coat with a polish

I'm finding it difficult to believe this. I recall Nick mentioning that McKee's can be removed by claying. I haven't personally used it but I highly doubt a coating manufacturer would sell a coating that is difficult to remove to the consumer.

thank you for your reply. I understand from your post it's hard to remove it but are you saying once that coat from (cquartz, ceramic pro etc ) applied on factory paint, it will require as much work as you did to be removed ?

what should i do to maintain a paint that has multi coat of cquartz ?

See my previous post as I mention a technique that Jeff from Gyeon mentions.

I've removed cquartz by hand with a polish. Saw the color transfer. The only pro coatings that I know of that need sanding are GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra and Ceramic Pro.

You can use a silica spray sealant like Reload to maintain cquartz along with regular washing.

Interesting. Have removed a few coatings for a variety of reasons, most I ever needed was a medium polish on a orange light cutting pad. Decided coating was gone when:

1. With products that darken the paint, paint returned to noticeable lighter color/shade.
2. Water lays flat on surface
3. Paint 'feels' stripped to the touch

Usually do a small spot to determine what will create the above conditions in comparison to adjacent, still coated spot.

Obviously, every situation is different.

Same here. A coating manufacturer would not sell a coating that is difficult to remove to the consumer. A professional coating is a different story.

[Desertnate]

Interesting. Have removed a few coatings for a variety of reasons, most I ever needed was a medium polish on a orange light cutting pad. Decided coating was gone when:

1. With products that darken the paint, paint returned to noticeable lighter color/shade.
2. Water lays flat on surface
3. Paint 'feels' stripped to the touch

Usually do a small spot to determine what will create the above conditions in comparison to adjacent, still coated spot.

Obviously, every situation is different.

This has been my experience as well. I've actually polished out high spots by hand without much effort. I didn't have to use a machine.

In addtion to the visual queues you provided, on my black car in bright lighting I could actually see distinct edges around the spot I polished. It was very obvious. The still coated area had the finished/coated shine, while the areas inside now-visible borders I polished had the the same apperance you discribed and was also noticeably less shiny.

[Eldorado2k]

A coating manufacturer would not sell a coating that is difficult to remove to the consumer.

That’s actually not true. I can think of numerous products that would be considered nearly impossible to remove once they’ve been applied...

1. Meguiars Ultimate Black Plastic Restorer aerosol. [Good luck getting this stuff off once you’ve layed it on and allowed it to dry. It’s 1 of those products you better be sure you like the results because it’s going to be on there for a long while]

2. Meguiars Headlight Coating aerosol. [Last I checked there’s no silver bullet to remove this either. IPA? Lol no. You’re most likely going to have to sand it off.]

Here’s an example of it once it’s gone south, and no amount of polishing by hand or machine was able to remove it. I had to sand it off.

Before:



After:



3. Then there’s the TW Endura Tire Coating. [Make the mistake of allowing even just a couple of minutes to dry on your wheels and odds are you’ll give up before you successfully get it off]

Just yesterday I finally decided to fully detail the wheels on the Kia, meaning get that accidental tire coating off the wheels. I did 3 of them but ran out of time. Here’s the 4th wheel now. You can see the black dye from the tire coating that is nearly impossible to remove unless you know what to use. This stuff has been on here for almost 2yrs. Lol.



Closer look.



Same goes for the trim coating. Get it on your paint and it’s a PITA to remove. I still haven’t gotten around to getting every little imperfection off from a long time ago.





There’s other products... But that’s just off the top of my head regarding things that could fall in the category of “impossible” to remove once you’ve applied it, especially for the average Joe.

[Calendyr]

Well as I said, polish and compound did nothing for me. Water was still beading and sheeting like crazy and paint was still super glossy like the rest of the car. Only sandpaper was able to knock it off. Was it a fluke? I don't know, but if you ever have to remove a coating, at least be warned it might take more efforts than you expect.

[Desertnate]

2. Meguiars Headlight Coating aerosol. [Last I checked there’s no silver bullet to remove this either. IPA? Lol no. You’re most likely going to have to sand it off.

After having a pretty bad experience with this headlight coating, I was able to polish it off by hand with Plast-X. It was a little difficult, but if I had used a machine and/or a compound, it would have come off pretty easily.

In all fairness, I don't think I'd call the product a "coating" either since the Wolfgang Headlight Sealant lasts several months longer.

[cayenne_ksa]

whats worst thing can happen if i polish a car that is coated with Cquartz for example ?

[BudgetPlan1]

whats worst thing can happen if i polish a car that is coated with Cquartz for example ?

You'll remove the CQuartz