Sunstealer
05-30-2011, 08:50 AM
I debated back and forth between trying CQuartz and Opti-Coat for my wife's 2009 Infiniti G37. It was last sealed in October 2010 with Zaino AIO and Z-CS. It was boosted occasionally with Z-8 or OCW after a wash and was still beading a little, but not great. I finally decided to go with CQuartz since the application seemed a little more user friendly.
I washed the car Saturday night with a strong Dawn/APC combo to kill anything left on the paint. After rinsing, I sprayed it down with IronX and rubbed it in with a sponge. After dwelling for a few minutes, you could see the violet streaks where it was working on iron particles. The smell of IronX is really potent, it smells like a hair salon. I then completely rinsed it down. While still wet, I misted the paint with ONR at clay lube ratio and clayed the paint. I could tell the IronX pulled some of the contaminants out since I was able to blaze through claying the paint. I then dried the car and pulled it into the garage.
Sunday morning, I started out by polishing the paint with my new Griot's DA, Hydrotech Tangerine pads, and Wolfgang FG. I had read many horror stories about polishing Infiniti's scratch shield paint, but I had no problems. The scratch shield does seem to work, on this car at least. There were really no swirls that I could detect in the sun or under my lights. What I was mainly polishing were the leftover bug/bird bomb residue and small imperfections in the paint. After polishing, I did a wipe-down with IPA/Water in a 50:50 ratio as advised by CarPro.
Finally, time for the CQuartz. I used the sponge applicator wrapped with the suede microfiber. Again, the smell is pretty strong. I started with the horizontal surfaces and set my phone to buzz when 10 minutes was up since it was around 84 degrees. I used about 3 drops per 2x2 sized panel. I was able to get the hood, roof, trunk lid, and all glass in the 10 minutes. I then used a polish buffing microfiber to go back over what I had just done and buff off the residue. It buffs very easily, about the easiest LSP I have ever buffed. I continued around the rest of the car, it took about 45 minutes total. For the small areas, I used the cotton make-up applicators. They were fine on flat surfaces, but kept balling up on the wheels and tight areas.
After completely buffing, I pulled the car out into the sun to inspect and make sure I had not missed anywhere. The paint looked good/clean, but did not really pop like after a good sealant or wax. It also did not really feel "slick". I left it and went inside to rest. I went out about 3 hours later as the sun was starting down and noticed an immediate difference. The paint seemed to almost be glowing. The car is Athens Blue, a medium blue metallic that really pops when the sun hits it just right. It still did not feel slick, but definitely had the look. I would compare the look to what I got on it with a Zaino base topped with OCW.
I am looking forward to see how it lasts on this car and how well it beads and sheds dirt. I purchased Reload as well and will be adding it after I wash it next week. I used about 1/2 of the 30ml bottle that I purchased. I covered ever surface on the outside of the car that could be covered. I think I will go ahead and purchase Opti-Coat next and use it on my Audi when it is time to seal again.
I will post some pics later today.
I washed the car Saturday night with a strong Dawn/APC combo to kill anything left on the paint. After rinsing, I sprayed it down with IronX and rubbed it in with a sponge. After dwelling for a few minutes, you could see the violet streaks where it was working on iron particles. The smell of IronX is really potent, it smells like a hair salon. I then completely rinsed it down. While still wet, I misted the paint with ONR at clay lube ratio and clayed the paint. I could tell the IronX pulled some of the contaminants out since I was able to blaze through claying the paint. I then dried the car and pulled it into the garage.
Sunday morning, I started out by polishing the paint with my new Griot's DA, Hydrotech Tangerine pads, and Wolfgang FG. I had read many horror stories about polishing Infiniti's scratch shield paint, but I had no problems. The scratch shield does seem to work, on this car at least. There were really no swirls that I could detect in the sun or under my lights. What I was mainly polishing were the leftover bug/bird bomb residue and small imperfections in the paint. After polishing, I did a wipe-down with IPA/Water in a 50:50 ratio as advised by CarPro.
Finally, time for the CQuartz. I used the sponge applicator wrapped with the suede microfiber. Again, the smell is pretty strong. I started with the horizontal surfaces and set my phone to buzz when 10 minutes was up since it was around 84 degrees. I used about 3 drops per 2x2 sized panel. I was able to get the hood, roof, trunk lid, and all glass in the 10 minutes. I then used a polish buffing microfiber to go back over what I had just done and buff off the residue. It buffs very easily, about the easiest LSP I have ever buffed. I continued around the rest of the car, it took about 45 minutes total. For the small areas, I used the cotton make-up applicators. They were fine on flat surfaces, but kept balling up on the wheels and tight areas.
After completely buffing, I pulled the car out into the sun to inspect and make sure I had not missed anywhere. The paint looked good/clean, but did not really pop like after a good sealant or wax. It also did not really feel "slick". I left it and went inside to rest. I went out about 3 hours later as the sun was starting down and noticed an immediate difference. The paint seemed to almost be glowing. The car is Athens Blue, a medium blue metallic that really pops when the sun hits it just right. It still did not feel slick, but definitely had the look. I would compare the look to what I got on it with a Zaino base topped with OCW.
I am looking forward to see how it lasts on this car and how well it beads and sheds dirt. I purchased Reload as well and will be adding it after I wash it next week. I used about 1/2 of the 30ml bottle that I purchased. I covered ever surface on the outside of the car that could be covered. I think I will go ahead and purchase Opti-Coat next and use it on my Audi when it is time to seal again.
I will post some pics later today.