I am planning on detailing my Audi S3 and Dodge Durango and figured it would be a great time saver if instead of applying Sealant and Wax I can skip those steps and apply something like a Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating to the wheels, trim, glass, and paint. I am a beginner and heard this product works well. My S3 is new and my Durango's 2 years old. The Durango will need some compounding to get swirls and scratches out. The s3 will need very minor swirl correction induced by shipment to the dealer.
Now the way I understand it you want to make sure the surface is complete clean of oils and fillers prior to applying the sealant. Some Polishes use oils to fill in the swirl marks. When wiping the car down IPA mix or using the pre seal cleaner in the Uber coating kit which is necessary to ensure nothing is on the pain to prevent adhesion, it could expose the swirls again as that oil filler is wiped away.. Also some polishes also contain sealer which again is bad for the coating as it would prohibit the coating from adhering to the paint. I used this chart to reference what polishes contain sealers/fillers http://www.autopiaforums.com/Todd-He...lish-chart.jpg
What do you recommend as a finishing polish prior to coating the car and also a good compound to buff scratches out of the Durango? I was going to use Black light to do the polishing but I just realized that is also a sealant. Now I am thinking maybe Megs M105 for compound and M205 for Polish? Not sure if the M205 will finish enough before applying the WG coating?
I would rather not use MF pads or products that dust so much. I am a beginner and never compounded/polished before. I have a Rupes LHR 15 DA.
My second question is the wolfgang Uber coating a good choice?
In addition to what I've shared with you via email, here's a great review from a member here. He does a great job covering the application process too. Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Coating Kit Review
I mentioned I did our Minivan aka our 100k+ mile 10yr old Urban Assault Vehicle and did it initially with Megs Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Here's a quick before and after of just the compound so you can have a baseline vs your wife's Durango which IIRC you said is black too. M105 will cut through it much easier but I happen to be out at the time and have since replaced it with 101 Foam Compound which I find dusts still. I knew that going in though.
Before Ultimate Compound:
After Megs U.C. and a Yellow Pad where needed but I mostly used an orange pad:
I used Ultimate Polish the first time but then several weeks later hit it with HDSpeed (just for comparison so you have it) and really enjoyed the results and the fact that it comes off so dang easy.
You'll have great success with your Rupes too.
2019 Pearl White Accord 2.0T Touring (mine)
2023 Snowflake Pearl White CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus(wife) 2010 Urban Platinum Metallic CRV EX-L & 2014 Mica Black Metallic Toyota Corolla S (kids)
M105 and M205 work great, 105 dusts a little more, so go with 205 on a finishing MF pad and you will get great results. As for coatings, the easiest and long lasting combo i have been using lately is Essence from Carpro, topped with Reload. Super easy to use and maintain. You can go wrong with it and you dont need ti worry about IPA solution or panel wipe down. Picture belowe is M205 on a MF pad finished with Essence and Reload
Wolfgang Uber is a good choice; a very good one at that and one of the newest coatings out there. To stick within the line, Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover is a good all-around option and the aggressiveness of the product is dependent on the pads you use. Without pictures it is impossible to tell if you would need a compound step. Personally, I tend to start with Menzerna SF3800 (formerly SF4000) as it is a very good mid-point polish that finishes down LSP-ready in most cases. I would usually move to TSR if SF3800 didn't finish down well enough; that's just my preference right now.
When it comes to coatings, the safest guideline to have starts off with the belief that all polishes will have oils in them. M205 has them last I checked; as would Menzerna and Wolfgang.
So when I plan on coating a vehicle there is a correction, polishing and coating activity in my process. Each activity could have more than one task in it. Once the paint is corrected and polished, the coating activity in my way of doing things always has a prep-step. Wolfgang has the prep spray, Detailers Pro (now McKee) has a prep polish. I have the Detailers Prep polish (replaced by the above), and it worked well with Cquartz, Detailers and Wolfgang coatings. The prep polish can be applied by machine or hand.
How would you be sure you have a good end-to-end process? Easy, pick a panel like a rear deck lid and go through each step. An investment of an hour or two coating one panel will generate enough learning for you to cover the rest of the vehicle at another time. And if you find out you messed up, you can remove the product off one panel and start over.
Wolfgang Uber is a good choice; a very good one at that and one of the newest coatings out there. To stick within the line, Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover is a good all-around option and the aggressiveness of the product is dependent on the pads you use. Without pictures it is impossible to tell if you would need a compound step. Personally, I tend to start with Menzerna SF3800 (formerly SF4000) as it is a very good mid-point polish that finishes down LSP-ready in most cases. I would usually move to TSR if SF3800 didn't finish down well enough; that's just my preference right now.
When it comes to coatings, the safest guideline to have starts off with the belief that all polishes will have oils in them. M205 has them last I checked; as would Menzerna and Wolfgang.
So when I plan on coating a vehicle there is a correction, polishing and coating activity in my process. Each activity could have more than one task in it. Once the paint is corrected and polished, the coating activity in my way of doing things always has a prep-step. Wolfgang has the prep spray, Detailers Pro (now McKee) has a prep polish. I have the Detailers Prep polish (replaced by the above), and it worked well with Cquartz, Detailers and Wolfgang coatings. The prep polish can be applied by machine or hand.
How would you be sure you have a good end-to-end process? Easy, pick a panel like a rear deck lid and go through each step. An investment of an hour or two coating one panel will generate enough learning for you to cover the rest of the vehicle at another time. And if you find out you messed up, you can remove the product off one panel and start over.
And since I am using Rupes Pads. Stick with Yellow for compounding and White for polishing. If I go with Meg product possibly use a MF finishing? I do worry about using a MF pad.
Your S3 will simply need the white pad and some light polish. Your wife's vehicle may respond well to MF for the compounding. Not sure, perhaps others can chime in on the Durango's paint and what works there. Even if it left the finish hazy, etc. it won't matter as it's job with compound in a 2 step process is to cut through the bad stuff. Polishing will correct what is created. For final polishing I wouldn't use MF I'd go white foam pad.
2019 Pearl White Accord 2.0T Touring (mine)
2023 Snowflake Pearl White CX-30 Turbo Premium Plus(wife) 2010 Urban Platinum Metallic CRV EX-L & 2014 Mica Black Metallic Toyota Corolla S (kids)
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Originally Posted by Bent98
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