going to try coating my car

[weekendwarrior]

I just received Blackfire paint prep and Blackfire pro ceramic coating black edition...this will be my first time using ceramic coating....I been using sealants on my 2019 camry....I plan to use the the paint prep to get the sealant off then use the coating...will that be all I need to do..also not sure how much coating I should use...I also ordered the coating block and suede.cloths

[WillSports3]

Need to polish your car with at least a finishing polish. Guarantees you clean clearcoat for the coating to bond to.
Here are the normal steps for a coating job

Wash
Decontaminate
Polish
Paint prep
Coat
Enjoy.

First suede you use, you need to prime it a little and do a clear line of product across the suede wrapped around the coating block. Then after that, I normally do about four drops of product in a line on it.

[weekendwarrior]

thanks for your reply...what should I use for a polish

[WillSports3]

What do you have already available?

[weekendwarrior]

to be honest I don't have any polish....I just have been using sealant....my car does stay non garage...LOL my wife's car is in the garage

[Desertnate]

Do you have a polisher? If not, going down the coating route might be more than you're prepared to do right now. You can hand polish a vehicle, but it will be a lot of work.

[acuRAS82]

Do you have a polisher? If not, going down the coating route might be more than you're prepared to do right now. You can hand polish a vehicle, but it will be a lot of work.

Unless he wants to hand polish to get the sealant off and is otherwise fine with the condition of the paint.

OP, how is the paint as far as scratches and swirls?

[weekendwarrior]

this is my plan....

wash with Wolfgang SIO2 wash
Mothers clay bar
Blackfire paint prep
Blackfire black ceramic coating

my car is a 2019..I been using wolfgang sealant....so the paint looks good ...

[The Guz]

It’s not just about whether the paint looks good or not.

To get the max performance of a coating the surface is recommended to be clean from any old waxes or sealants. A polish will do the job. Paint preps are not always a guarantee. Their primary job is to removing polishing oils.

The other thing to keep in mind is that claying will induce marring/scratching that is removed by a polish.

[acuRAS82]

this is my plan....

wash with Wolfgang SIO2 wash
Mothers clay bar
Blackfire paint prep
Blackfire black ceramic coating

my car is a 2019..I been using wolfgang sealant....so the paint looks good ...

You don’t want to use WG SiO2 Wash prior... use that to maintain the coating afterwards... it’s absolutely packed with gloss enhancers and protection. Any other car washes in your arsenal?

And you really gotta use a polish, even by hand to remove that WG sealant. Worst case a paint cleaner might get it done if that’s all you had. There’s plenty of finishing polished here that are $10-15. If you don’t polish after clay/before paint prep then you are applying the coating on traces of WG and all your mo WG and effort will be for nothing, in areas at the very least (clay will remove some but I doubt everywhere).

[weekendwarrior]

Thanks for everyone's reply's...what do you recommend for a polish....LOl I am 79 years old LOL I might be 80 before I finish

[Bruno Soares]

Let's suppose he only wants to add the coating, not caring if there are some marring/swirls underneath. Then I'm thinking Prep-all used by body shops would probably remove the sealant completely and leave the surface ready for the coating. Of course claying would still be a must and iron-x probably also a good idea. The clay process might add marring to the paint, in addition to whatever may be there already, but if you don't have a polisher and don't want to deal with that, the wax and grease remover might just be enough to remove the sealant. The solutions we normally use aren't strong enough for that but maybe a body shop level product could do it.

Just a thought, maybe others want to chime in on this idea in case this is your preferred route.

Are you opposed to having someone professionally do it? We know it's much more money but if you end up going the direction most of us here do, you'd end up buying a lot of stuff and to do it on just this car it might not be worth the investment.

[The Guz]

That is a good point. Well Loach aka WaxMode has success using this from Poorboys on his videos to either remove or degrade waxes and sealants. Perhaps this would be a good option.

Poorboy?s World Strip Down Wax Stripper (https://www.autogeek.net/pb-strip-down.html)

[weekendwarrior]

...I have purchased most items already....hopefully I can send pictures when I am finished...Thanks again everyone

[acuRAS82]

Loach turned me onto Prep-All and I think it’s a great idea. Maybe 2-3 panel wipes with that. Great idea from Bsoares.

Way easier than polishing for weekendwarrior.