Back to waxing/polishing?

[scottmoyer]

Last December, I paint corrected my Ram Rebel and ceramic coated it using Avalon King's Armor Shield IX. It applied easily and made all the black plastic parts look fantastic. About three months later, I noticed water sheeting off the vertical panels, like it does when there's no wax. The water beading was no longer there. The horizontal surfaces still bead, 9 months later. I also still notice that the truck does clean easier and doesn't seem to get dirty as quickly.

I contacted Avalon King and they suggested that I apply a second coat after doing an IPA wipe down first. They stated that it's possible the coating I applied could have been a bad batch and they sent me another bottle. I still haven't applied the second coating as I also heard ceramic coatings are to protect the car from bird droppings. In May, my wife's new car with 700 miles on it got crapped on. Within 30 minutes of that happening, I washed the car to remove the mess and noticed the surface was marred by the droppings. I tried using clay and even got out the polish, but nothing fixed the mark until I wet sanded at 2500 and repolished. This was on a brand new Audi S4. I contacted AK again and they said that it sounds like the ceramic coating became a sacrificial barrier and protected the paint.

DO I just go back to my old routine of waxing/polishing and leave the ceramic coating idea behind me? I've seen many reviews on Avalon King and they are all positive. Is it really any good? Is it hype as the latest, greatest thing for vehicles? I'm just disappointed in my experience with water sheeting and bird crap damage that give the same effect as a 3 month old wax job.

[The Guz]

Get a better coating. Avalon king is not good and has poor hydrophobic behavior.

[scottmoyer]

Can I get a better coating and just top the existing coating? I know that the best practice is to remove the old to apply new, but how do you get rid of the old when matte black trim, window trim, bumpers and grill, etc have all been coated. The AK coating might have poor hydrophobic properties, but is the protection still there? I wish I had a paint meter before application to test.

[luckydawg]

First off let me commend you for doing what it takes to get rid of the etchings, I have an Audi & its pretty hard clear. It does @ times take wet sanding to get out the etchings.

If it were me, I would re-polish and go with one of the larger name brand coatings, the big players have to much @ stake to put out junk in their product lines-- they go thru lots of testing. Their reputation is important to them-- stick with something like a CarPro or Gyeon, you cant go wrong with either of them. Can coat is real popular and easy to apply they say and very cost effective. CarPro SiC is a great product. I have it on my TJ and when I wash its just like I did it last week. Applied it 10 months ago.

One ? I have is -- is it still sheeting after you wash? If the car is dirty ( not washed in a few weeks ) the initial water spray will sheet most of the time-- but after the wash mit / towel it should bead up.

[scottmoyer]

Maybe I'm referring to what it's doing incorrectly. The vertical panels, i.e. door panels, fenders and quarters, don't shed the water to an almost dry condition. The entire door is one sheet of wet! The same look you get on a waxed car that doesn't bead anymore. Now, I do get beads when I hit the panel with a leaf blower, but otherwise, the water does not collect and run down leaving an almost dry panel with a few water beads left behind. This is after washing and before drying. Could it be my wash? I'm using Meguiar's Deep Crystal Car Wash.

[The Guz]

Can I get a better coating and just top the existing coating? I know that the best practice is to remove the old to apply new, but how do you get rid of the old when matte black trim, window trim, bumpers and grill, etc have all been coated. The AK coating might have poor hydrophobic properties, but is the protection still there? I wish I had a paint meter before application to test.

Best practice if you want the best performance is to polish it off and reapply the new coating to a bare surface. Get yourself a trim coating and deep clean the surface and then apply it. Polishing matte surfaces will take away from the appearance.

Avalon King is not going to give you that wow visuals with hydrophobics. It is also an up to 1 year coating meaning it is not that durable. You have made it to 6 months and it has done its job.

The other option is to do a decon wash and top it with Gyeon CanCoat.

[luckydawg]

top it with Gyeon CanCoat.
Thats what I suggested