Prepping for cquartz

**Delegance Detailing** · 05-26-2016, 02:38 AM

I would say depending on the application is what would dictate what you would need to do to prep it for a ceramic based coating system. Not every application is the same. This is where consulting a professional would be the best advice if you wanted to optimize your coating.

As far as not washing your vehicle after paint correction and before paint protection because you are afraid to cause micro-scratching, I personally haven't ever had this issue even with the softest of paints. I inspect after each wash under all sorts of lighting and with a microscope for validation. I use softened and filtered water with a microfiber wash mitt. I do not press. Just enough to control the mitt over the surface. I use foam canon for super sud action and i constantly sud the vehicle and mitt. The drying part is always the most difficult. I use the guzzlers. I lay them on the panel and let them soak and pick them up. On the sides I do not press just easily glide over the surface. I am a big proponent of washing the vehicle before protection to get rid of all those oils and waxes from paint correction. I will say sometimes depending on your polishes they contain fillers that hide the scratches so once you wash the car and remove the fillers you may think you applied those scratches when in actuality those were there to begin with its just the fillers hid them from you. Also by removing all the oils/waxes whatever you chose to protect the paint with will actually bond better and have a more effective coating. At least this has been my experience. Not saying anyone is wrong here. Just wanted to share my experiences with you.

**mattkoyak** · 05-31-2016, 08:51 AM

OK, so everything went really well! Thanks for all the insight! The finish looks amazing!
I have a new question however...
It was probably about 86 degrees (F) when I was applying my cquartz layer. I was only allowing 1-2 min before wiping off with my microfiber cloth. Was that too soon? If so, I'll probably apply a second coat this weekend (which I was thinking about doing anyway). I can't imagine I'll need to do the same decontamination process again. What *should* I do prior to applying a second coat of cquartz? Wash, Reset, Iron x, Eraser?

**Delegance Detailing** · 05-31-2016, 03:11 PM

Originally Posted by mattkoyak

OK, so everything went really well! Thanks for all the insight! The finish looks amazing!
I have a new question however...
It was probably about 86 degrees (F) when I was applying my cquartz layer. I was only allowing 1-2 min before wiping off with my microfiber cloth. Was that too soon? If so, I'll probably apply a second coat this weekend (which I was thinking about doing anyway). I can't imagine I'll need to do the same decontamination process again. What *should* I do prior to applying a second coat of cquartz? Wash, Reset, Iron x, Eraser?

Your leveling time for that product and temp range sounds appropriate. For second layer just make sure area is free of debris (you should not have to decon the paint again). Depending on amount of debris will depend on if you need to do a full wash or just a quick detail wipe down. Only difference is the second layer will normally cure alot faster.

**14gt** · 06-05-2016, 12:31 PM

The timing of this post is perfect. I've been reading posts about cquartz uk and the application process and based on that I've gone ahead and purchased some items. 50 ml Cquartz uk, reflect, eraser, iron-x, cg citrus wash and gloss and reload. I am in the process of ordering a da polisher, I've decided on the Griots Garage 6 as I've read many good reviews on the effectiveness and ease of use. I am a newbie when it comes to using a polisher and coating for that matter and I'm hoping to draw on the knowledge of this forum for some much needed help.
I have a black 2014 Mustang Gt which I recently picked up and there are the obvious swirl marks and touch ups from stone chips. I understand that I need to clay the car, I'll likely go with the nanoskin autoscrub wash mitt (which I have never used before) because, again after reading reviews, it seems like an efficient way to decontaminate the paint. Now seeing as I am completely new at virtually every item and step of this process, I may be overthinking things and feel somewhat overwhelmed. Can someone really dumb things down for me and tell me the step by step process for prepping and applying the products in the correct order? I know it's been discussed many times and forgive me for continuing the discussion, but everywhere I look I see different processes and although I understand each scenario may be different, I'm hoping the items I purchased are the correct ones and that someone can outline what I do with each.

Here is how I "believe" it should go.
1- wash car with cg citrus wash (do I dry it?)
2- apply iron-x, let sit a bit, wipe off and rinse
3- clay car with nanoskin
4- polish car using reflect (which pads do I need for this?)
5- spray and wipe down car with eraser
6- apply cquartz uk in small sections. It's summer here now and I plan on doing this in the garage so from what I gather, it's basically wipe on in a criss cross pattern and wipe off, no waiting time.
7- once car is complete, apply reload. spray on, wipe off.

Is this correct? Any advise would be greatly appreciated, or suggestion on what other items I should look into such as microfiber towels or applicators.

Thank you in advance.

**mattkoyak** · 06-08-2016, 10:40 AM

My initial process went flawlessly. Including the paint chip repair. Nanopads FTW! My paint was in terrible shape before, thanks to the schmucks-of-previous-owners. While I probably could have done the whole car again, one pass was a vast improvement so I moved on. The finish Cquartz left is amazing! Deep. Black. Gloss. It looks like a Piano. Now though, I see every bit of dust the car collects! lol If I can give you any advice about applying the Cquartz, it's don't wait to buff it off if it's warm. It was about 80 degrees when I applied my second coat last weekend and I ended up with some shadows (dark spots) in spots.

But to answer your question on pads...

For polishing, I use the White Polishing CCS Smart Pads. And for swirl removal I use the Orange Light Cutting CCS Smart Pads. I didn't apply Reload until the next weekend. I wanted to add another layer of Cquartz so I washed, used Spotless, then applied another coat of Cquartz, THEN Reload. If I can give you any advice about applying the Cquartz, it's don't wait to buff it off. It was about 80 degrees when I applied my second coat last weekend and I ended up with some shadows (dark spots).

**14gt** · 06-08-2016, 07:53 PM

Matt, when you say don't wait to buff it off, how long are we talking here? I assume you are simply wiping it off by hand pretty much after you finish the criss cross pattern.

**mattkoyak** · 06-15-2016, 09:14 AM

For example, I divided the hood of my FX into fours. I was buffing off the 1st area after I finished applying CQ to the second area. I was essentially buffing out half the hood before moving on the area 3 and 4 -if that makes sense.

So it's probably curing in just under a minute. On my second coat I waited a good minute and ended up with shadows in spots.

**mattkoyak** · 06-16-2016, 03:26 PM

So far, Reload has been a major pain in the ass. It's leaving streaks and shadows, and clouding the high polish finish I spent 12 hours on. A) what am I doing wrong, and B) how do I fix the clouds and hazy dark spots?

I applied it as instructed on the bottle.

**WillSports3** · 06-16-2016, 10:30 PM

Hey Matt, it seems like Reload is pretty tricky to use. A few people are saying to dilute the mixture half and half with distilled water and they've reported good success with that. As for fixing the clouds and hazy dark spots from using Reload, a review done by Dr_Pain (A rather experienced member here) said one of the best fixes seems to be either use a damp MF towel and gently wipe it down until it's gone or for some, to put a spray of Reload onto a dry MF towel and re-apply to try to get rid of it by wiping the panel down with that. Now some of the posts related to his review by others seem to cause the effect to be lessened but not completely taken away so you may have to re-polish the entire panel with CarPro Reflect lightly and try again. I know from personal experience from using Cquartz UK on my own car, Reflect with a MF towel working in small areas seem to take off the high spots and the oily streaks and what not from overapplying Cquartz UK so that might be something to try first before you break out the ole buffer and redo the entire panel and re-coat.

**AutowerxDetailing** · 06-16-2016, 11:39 PM

Originally Posted by mattkoyak

So far, Reload has been a major pain in the ass. It's leaving streaks and shadows, and clouding the high polish finish I spent 12 hours on. A) what am I doing wrong, and B) how do I fix the clouds and hazy dark spots?

I applied it as instructed on the bottle.

You should be able to level out the Reload high spots with an Eraser or IPA wipe down and/or by re-applying Reload to the affected areas.

You might be applying Reload too thick which is causing high spots. I usually only use 1 or 2 sprays per panel. I also like to apply Reload while the vehicle is wet and use it as a drying aid. It seems to have a significantly lower chance of leaving high spots if it is partially diluted with water. If you prefer to apply Reload to a dry surface try diluting it 1:1 with water to mitigate the chance of high spots.