Trouble with CQuartz UK Longevity--Tips?

[Schlotzky]

I bought a brand new Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Ram 1500 last December and kicked off my ownership by polishing out all of the dealer-incurred swirl marks with a clay treatment followed by Meguiars Ultimate Polish on a DA.; I followed the polish up with a thorough wipe down with about 15% IPA, and then in my heated garage, carefully applied CQuartz UK followed by Reload and then let the truck cure in the garage for 7 days to eliminate any issues in the curing process. I washed the truck with Meguiars Deep Crystal carwash and a dedicated paint mitt, using CarPro Ech2o/Reload detail spray to dry, with a few waterless washes using Ech2o here and there, and monthly applications of straight Reload to keep the finish fresh. Well, after 6 months, the water was sheeting on the lower half of the truck and a few swirl marks had found their way into my paint.

I tried to come up with any reason the product didn't hold up, and settled on the idea that my low concentration of IPA didn't fully remove the possibly-incompatible polishing oils. I once again polished the truck after claying and followed the clay up with an even more thorough 2x 90% IPA wipe down prior to carefully repeating the CQuartz application process, carefully following the instructions.

Well, another 6 months later despite a total of probably 5 washes, 3 reapplications of Reload, and maybe 4 drives in wet weather, the entire lower half of the truck is sheeting as if there's no protection at all and I'm finding myself very disappointed in this product.

[DaveT435]

You may have a lot if contamination stuck on the horizontal panels. We live fairyclose to the airport and both my kids cars were doing something similar to what you’re describing. I got some very mild clay and went over the roof and it Was obvious the coating was still there. Next time you wash it do the baggie test on it and see if you have buildup. You should also use Reset, or a similar type wash at least every 2 or 3 washes.

[Schlotzky]

I'll try the baggie test next wash. The truck has mostly been in the garage during the rainy season lately.

Are there products similar to Reset? So far I've been very underwhelmed by all the CarPro products I've tried. So far they all smell terrible, are difficult to work with and streak like crazy, so I'm reluctant to buy another CarPro product.

[Breese147]

I also experienced the same poor water behavior however I used ipa wipedown and carpro eraser. It was right around 8 months on both of the vehicles washed with reset or Adams multiple times and then wipedowned with ech2o. Then they went about 4 months with only 1 wash. I’m figuring they need to be treated with iron x however now that im over seas i most likely won’t be able to do that for another 6-8 months.


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[Desertnate]

Where do you live?

If the truck is continually being subjected to road spray from rain and snowy conditions, an ocassional waterless wash won't keep the vehicle clean enough and you will see the properties of the coating change. It doesn't mean the coating isn't there or working, it just means it needs a really good cleaning.

I experience similar issues that you do every year in the winter. After months of bad weather and only the occasional touchless car wash, the lower doors and rear hatch of all my vehicles show evidence of the coating being present. However, after a good two bucket wash (or two) the coating properties return.

As for the swirls, I wouldn't count on ANY coating providing scratch protection regardless of what their marketing says. Coatings do provide great protection and make it much easier to maintain and clean your vehicle, but they aren't a paint protection film or any other type of armor plating. If you aren't careful, swirls will appear no differently than any other LSP you'd put on a vehicle.

[Paul A.]

I'm with Dave and Nate on this and think the paint isn't as "clean" after your washes. I find the need to hit my coating with a Nanoskin mild mitt about once a month. I find that practice restores the original water behavior qualities. My DD shows the presence of my coating after the final rinse but REALLY restores the coating properties after a quick 10 minute Nanoskin effort.

Given your application process I would find it strange there was anything left to inhibit bonding for the coating.

You could maybe try a mild clay or equivalent effort more often than you're used to and see if contamination or road film is affecting the rinse behavior. Given the trucks driving history and storage it sounds like it shouldn't accumulate too much but you might be surprised.

Just some thoughts from my experience...

[TTQ B4U]

I'm with Dave and Nate on this and think the paint isn't as "clean" after your washes. I find the need to hit my coating with a Nanoskin mild mitt about once a month. I find that practice restores the original water behavior qualities. My DD shows the presence of my coating after the final rinse but REALLY restores the coating properties after a quick 10 minute Nanoskin effort.

^^ this. I use a super light to near no-touch controlled wipe. just enough to knock off the contaminants but not too much to damage the coating or surface. Just use a good amount of rinseless solution or soapy water to keep things moving smoothly. I find it more necessary on my wife's SUV tailgate and the lower half of my doors.

[SWETM]

I would get Carpro Reset car soap and do a 2bm wash every 3-4 wash. To revive the coating I would test with Carpro TarX and followed by Carpro IronX. Before going after the contaminants with a clay bar or clay alternatives. I would do as a last fix for trying to revive the coating. After the decon wash it again with Reset to neutralise the products used. Dry and apply Reload. I would skip to use another car soap that is not for coated cars. Even if they don't have wax in them they often has glossenhancers. That can mask the coatings behavior and self cleaning ability. And why I recommend Carpro products is cause they where made to work in synergy with cquartz coatings. There are other products that works but in this situation I would go with Carpro. Reset is my favorite car soap cause of the high cleaning ability it has. TarX and IronX is both great products and for tar remover and iron remover they are in the top range of those products.

It can be that Meguiars Ultimate Polish is a problem to use before you apply a coating. As I understand it has some kind of resin filler in it. That might not be desolved with Ipa. If you are going to be useing a coating next time go with a finishing polish that don't have any filling in it. So you are certain that your polish don't interfear with the bonding of the coating.

Do you have hard water where you live? Sometimes it can also be building up minerals that masks the water behavior and self cleaning ability on the coating. If it has gone to long a water spot remover could not be enough to desolve them. But it could be worth to try one and do a test spot with it and a couple of application on the same spot if not the first desolve it. This is if the above has not been working.

Why the need of all this different chemical products to maintain a coating and IMO any LSP in certain environments. It's cause different chemicals desolves different kind of dirt and contaminants. So depending on what kind of contaminants you have in your environment. You can dial in the right chemical products to get your LSP to last longer. Some chemicals degrade some LSP so it's not worth it. But ceramic coatings is very resistant against chemicals. And you can get it to work on a higher performance longer than if you don't use them. How often is also from environment to environment and the use of the vehicals.

[ejaf]

As a beginner in coatings (used McKee's 37 about 6 months ago), how can I be totally sure that the coating is still on the car? Is there a "surefire" method, or is it just by experience?

Eric

[Rsurfer]

As a beginner in coatings (used McKee's 37 about 6 months ago), how can I be totally sure that the coating is still on the car? Is there a "surefire" method, or is it just by experience?

Eric

Some will disagree, but look at the beading after a wash. If the beads are tight and round, you should be ok. If you flood the hood and the water runs quickly that also means the LSP is intact. If there is a better way to tell if your protection is still there, please let me know as I have not found another way to tell.

When flooding and the water just lays there without running..I say your protection is gone.

[rlmccarty2000]

Some will disagree, but look at the beading after a wash. If the beads are tight and round, you should be ok. If you flood the hood and the water runs quickly that also means the LSP is intact. If there is a better way to tell if your protection is still there, please let me know as I have not found another way to tell.

When flooding and the water just lays there without running..I say your protection is gone.

Again this depends on what soap you are washing with as some soaps can “clog” up a coating masking the coatings abilities. There should be areas where the coating has not “worn” off. If you can’t find beading anywhere I would assume “clogging” is the issue.

Every coating that I know of should last longer than 6 months unless the application was really wrong such as trying to apply over a wax/sealant. A strong wash with Reset should bring back beading unless a fresh product has been layered over the coating such as going through a touchless wash and getting the “wax” job.

[Schlotzky]

Where do you live?

If the truck is continually being subjected to road spray from rain and snowy conditions, an ocassional waterless wash won't keep the vehicle clean enough and you will see the properties of the coating change. It doesn't mean the coating isn't there or working, it just means it needs a really good cleaning.


I live in the Northwest. We get a ton of rain, and you guys have drawn attention to my environment, which is an industrial zone where I park at work near an airport under the flight path, and my house is also under a normal flight path, though further from the airport. I didn't really consider this much, since I only drive the truck 4-5 times per month and whenever it's not at work, it's in the garage. I don't drive in the rain much, but the road spray does make for a filthy vehicle and it may be that it's masking the water behavior if deep crystal can't chemically strip whatever is on there.

I went ahead an ordered Reset and Iron X and will give it a try in addition to claying to see if I can get the coating properties to re-emerge. I would love to discover that the coating is still there and I just need a more aggressive cleaner rather than find (what I still suspect) that the coating has worn off. I did run clay over my DD today after considering the implications of my environment and found the clay to be quite filthy after max 1 year since last clay. My DD is waxed with NXT and washed 2-3 times a month and dried with Xpress Spray Wax as a drying aid, so I've never given the wax an opportunity to wear off.



Do you have hard water where you live? Sometimes it can also be building up minerals that masks the water behavior and self cleaning ability on the coating. If it has gone to long a water spot remover could not be enough to desolve them. But it could be worth to try one and do a test spot with it and a couple of application on the same spot if not the first desolve it. This is if the above has not been working.

My water here is thankfully pretty soft, but based on some longevity tests I've performed in the past, I do find that nothing holds up like it seems to for everyone else, so maybe my environment is having a larger impact that I have been giving it credit for. I'll see how Reset does for me, and maybe I'll have to step up my product selection for the longer term.


Again this depends on what soap you are washing with as some soaps can “clog” up a coating masking the coatings abilities. There should be areas where the coating has not “worn” off. If you can’t find beading anywhere I would assume “clogging” is the issue.

Every coating that I know of should last longer than 6 months unless the application was really wrong such as trying to apply over a wax/sealant. A strong wash with Reset should bring back beading unless a fresh product has been layered over the coating such as going through a touchless wash and getting the “wax” job.

I initially did some research and heard great things about deep crystal on coated cars, but have definitely noticed some other soaps I've tried on my other vehicles alter water behavior on rinse-off. I'm hoping Reset does the trick, as there was definitely no waxes or sealants on the truck and it's never been through any kind of automated wash

[ejaf]

Some will disagree, but look at the beading after a wash. If the beads are tight and round, you should be ok. If you flood the hood and the water runs quickly that also means the LSP is intact. If there is a better way to tell if your protection is still there, please let me know as I have not found another way to tell.

When flooding and the water just lays there without running..I say your protection is gone.

Makes sense...easier to determine on horizontal rather than vertical panels, though. Guess it's just by "sight".

[ejaf]

Again this depends on what soap you are washing with as some soaps can “clog” up a coating masking the coatings abilities. There should be areas where the coating has not “worn” off. If you can’t find beading anywhere I would assume “clogging” is the issue.

Every coating that I know of should last longer than 6 months unless the application was really wrong such as trying to apply over a wax/sealant. A strong wash with Reset should bring back beading unless a fresh product has been layered over the coating such as going through a touchless wash and getting the “wax” job.

I was using Megs ultimate car wash, have D110 on tap. However, hard to do full wash here in the North East, so last few times have either been rinseless or waterless (ONR). I use DG Aquawax as my drying aid.

I am 95% sure the coating is still on the vehicle, I was just curious if there was a scientific method to determine if its still on, versus the good ol' eyesight test.

Eric

[Rsurfer]

Again this depends on what soap you are washing with as some soaps can “clog” up a coating masking the coatings abilities. There should be areas where the coating has not “worn” off. If you can’t find beading anywhere I would assume “clogging” is the issue.

Every coating that I know of should last longer than 6 months unless the application was really wrong such as trying to apply over a wax/sealant. A strong wash with Reset should bring back beading unless a fresh product has been layered over the coating such as going through a touchless wash and getting the “wax” job.
Forgot about the soap being used as I wash maybe twice a year.