Considering coatings

[Texchappy]

As noted by my rush of questions, it’s that time I go through every 3-5 years where I look into my cabinet full of half empty detailing product bottles and think, “I need some new stuff.” From the thread where I looked at what to put on my sons car to send him off to school, I decided to use the Griot’s 3in1 ceramic spray I bought recently but I started to look into coatings.

Now I’m thinking about putting a coating on my wife’s yacht - ‘14 Lincoln Navigator in Tuxedo Black. I’ve resisted coatings because I wasn’t sure I could get the paint ‘good enough’* and also because I like to play with lsp’s. However, I really don’t enjoy working on her car. It’s just too big. If I put a coating on her car, I’ll still have my MINI to play with. I also don’t have as much energy after a major MI last fall.

I’m looking for coating recommendations that are easy to apply, easy to maintain, and overall will protect her large vehicle with the least fuss. If it makes a difference, I really prefer to clean with rinseless & waterless products. Please let me know what I need to have to keep whatever coating going.

*It isn’t in too bad a shape.

[PaulMys]

Prepare for the flood of replies, Tex................

[Dan Tran]

If I had to choose a user-friendly coating, I would go with Optimum Gloss Coat.

[dwaleke]

3D's ceramic coating is easy to apply and seems to work well.

I have it on one car and it's holding up well. Coming up on a year. Not much mileage in that time due to Covid but it sits outside in the sun and elements every day.

I'm going to use Meguiar's Hybrid Paint Coating on my RAM 1500 soon. I need to put something on it that will make it easier to clean. Washing an uncoated vehicle is much more of a chore.

I picked HPC because it looks very easy to apply, you get enough product to go around any size vehicle twice, price is right, and I already have a lot of the maintenance topper M799.

Lots of people seem to be happy with Cquartz UK 3.0 and I've heard a lot of good things about Gtechniq CSL although I've heard their topper C2V3 isn't the greatest (probably use something else).

Good luck. Literally dozens and dozens of options.

[Texchappy]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Dumb question, how much mixing can you do for different ‘systems’? For example, using Reload over top of serum light or Gyeon wax over CQuartz UK v. 3.0.

Also, I should have said I’d like a one coat option if possible. Doing the same job over and over for several days, especially if extended curing times are involved, wouldn’t suit me. (Edited to add)

[opie]

Washing an uncoated vehicle is much more of a chore.

Dwaleke so true! And do you not like the 3D coating enough to buy again and use on your Ram? Just curious.

Tex two coats in IMO of a coating is not that much harder and can apply an hour or two later not days... and it only takes an hour to apply on average to apply. It does make a difference visually and in durability.

Best of luck in choosing from so many options lol

[dwaleke]

Dwaleke so true! And do you not like the 3D coating enough to buy again and use on your Ram? Just curious.

I was going to use the 3D coating on my truck too but it only comes in 30ml bottles so I would have needed two of them at more than double the price I picked up the Meguiar's Hybrid Paint Coating.

There only thing it lacks is slickness but that's pretty common for SIO2 based coating. Their Bead It Up spray topper adds the slickness.

I like to try different things too and not being a full time detailer myself and having limited time I don't get to try nearly as many things as I want.

I think I'm looking for the perfect product for me. Something that lasts a solid year through a Michigan winter, good amount of product for the price, ease of application, added gloss, not prone to water spotting, no nasty ingredients, and excellent self cleaning ability (same properties that make actual cleaning much easier). The only way to know if the 3D coating is the right product for me is to test other ones that might fit that description too.

But I would not hesitate to use 3D's coating again. So far it seems to be just as good as other coatings at typically half (or just less than) the price of ones I've bought in the recent past.

[Desertnate]

I'm still a fan of, and continually come back to CQuartz UK. I've used versions 2.0 and 3.0 and I haven't found any I like better.

[Texchappy]

I'm still a fan of, and continually come back to CQuartz UK. I've used versions 2.0 and 3.0 and I haven't found any I like better.

I was leaning towards CQUK 3.0 and just a second from clicking order. (I overthink these things). What should I get with it? Maintenance? Extra towels etc for install?

Will one of the smaller bottles do a navigator?

Did a two bucket wash today for the first time in a few years. Forgot how much work it is. Carpro has Echo2. Worth picking up for rinseless use?

[Desertnate]

For a Lincoln Navigator I'd probably get the 50mL bottle just to be safe. Since you're new to applying coatings you'll probably put it on a little too heavy and having the extra product will save you from running out. If you have any left over, you can use it on your wheels, side windows, parts of another vehicle....

As for other products, I'd make sure you have some good soft towels (at least 2) to do the product removal (don't use the included towel) that you'll throw away afterwards. The coating will harden them and make them unusable after your done. I'd also pick up a 500mL bottle of Ech2O. It is a great companion product you can use as a drying aid, QD spray, Waterless Wash, etc. It's highly concentrated so when mixing at the QD ratio of 1:20 it goes a LONG way. I've never used it for rinseless wash and not sure how much it takes for that usage. That might drive you to buy a bigger bottle. Either way, It's product I'm never without regardless of the coating I'm using.

[Texchappy]

Also looking at the Essence Extreme gloss. Seems to be a good product. Especially since I’m going to be correcting anyway. Would it be a good choice if go with another brand coating?

This same question when I asked on the Brit site everyone suggested Can Coat

[dgage]

I'm going to put on a layer of CQuartz UK 3.0 topped with a layer of CQuartz SiC as SiC adds a little better chemical resistance and water spot resistance. Plus SiC gives a MUCH slicker surface than just CQ UK 3.0. I'm adding Ech2O as I do rinesless washes and will use as a drying aid. And I also ordered Elixir for periodic topping though that one was harder for me to pull the trigger since I don't know that it is really needed.

[dgage]

Also looking at the Essence Extreme gloss. Seems to be a good product. Especially since I’m going to be correcting anyway. Would it be a good choice if go with another brand coating?

This same question when I asked on the Brit site everyone suggested Can Coat

CanCoat is a good product and SHOULD be compatible with Essence though the only way to be ABSOLUTELY sure is to panel wipe first. However CanCoat, is a lite ceramic coating and is more comparable to CQuartz Lite than CQuartz 3.0, which would translate to 6-12 months of useful lifespan vs 18-24 months for a true coating

I'll add that I decided to do a lighter coating last year and chose CanCoat and am not unhappy with it but I did choose to do a full coating this year and am going with CQuartz UK 3.0 and CQuartz SiC. But that was my decision.

[The Guz]

Mike just posted up about the new DP Coatings. Perhaps give the graphene one a try. It is on sale at the moment. They also have the new ceramic.

Review: DP GR4 Graphene Coating (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews-by-mike-phillips/128905-review-dp-gr4-graphene-coating.html)

Review: DP CR2 Ceramic Coating (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews-by-mike-phillips/128898-review-dp-cr2-ceramic-coating.html)

As mentioned CanCoat is a good option. Versatile and durable. Cquartz Lite is the other. It will be slightly more durable than CanCoat. Both are wipe on wipe off. Some don't like the tacky sensation of Lite. But most coatings are tacky with an exception here and there.

From a true coating you have many options. Some like Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light topped with Exo. These are more on the slick side if you like that.

Cquartz UK 3.0 is another good option. It can be topped with their new SiC coating to which will add slickness and some anti-water spotting attributes. SiC does have some longer flash times so it can be a but tricky to get right. Gliss is always available if looking for a topper. Think of Gliss as a 1 year application of Reload.

Mike Phillips likes the blackfire black edition coating. Friend of mine also likes it. It does cost a little more but comes in a 50ml bottle which is enough for 2 layers on the paint. I will be testing this one shortly.

The same friend likes the Poorboys ceramic which I will also be testing. He has sent me a video showing how slick it is compared to Blackfire and 3D.

I would skip on Optimum Gloss Coat. Tried it and was underwhelmed by it's overall performance.

Really depends on what route you want to go. Are you looking for one coating? A multi layer coating? A lite version of a coating?

[Texchappy]

Saw the new coatings pop up. Think I’d rather go with something with more information available, ie track record. That’s help me know the pros and pitfalls.

With the lite products, what is the durability like? Think I’ve seen six months for some of them. At that point, think I’d rather go with the sealants I have on hand.