Coatings: what products to use ‘in the system?’

[Texchappy]

I’ve seen it recommended that as much as possible you should use products from the same product family as your coating. I can see that with toppers (maybe) like Reload or CQuartz but with things like panel prep and iron remover I’m not so sure (aren’t they all basically the same chemicals).

so when I apply a coating, what products should I make sure are from the same company?

[dgage]

Well like you said, many are pretty close chemically but you’d be guessing/testing when you mix products.

I’d be more concerned with the base coating and making sure the products are compatible.

For instance, if you used Essence you can potentially go direct to Cquartz UK 3 because we know there is compatibility there.

But for a base prep polish of a different product line, I’d definitely use a panel wipe product between the prep polish and the coating. I don’t think the panel prep is as important as just making sure another product’s oils are thoroughly wiped with a paint prep before laying down the coating.

Toppers are another area you’d have to experiment with to find out what works well together. Staying within a product line takes out some of the guess work and experimentation. Plenty of people have experimented and found good combos while other combinations haven’t turned out so well.

[glen e]

Iif you believe the family thing at all, (and I do) I think the only things you need to worry about are the the polish plus the sealant or whatever that last step is.

That being said, I just put car pro elixir, which is an SIO2 product, over 303 graphene, and the results were absolutely stunning.

[Texchappy]

I’m hoping not to use any toppers on the CQuartz lite when I put it on. I’ve got Griot’s panel wipe and DJ Ferrous dueller at the moment. Not too concerned but those are the specifics of the hair brained scheme.

ETA: as far as polish goes, I’m going to avoid the Mezerna SF4000 since I’ve read it’s oily. I’ve got OPT Hyperpolish and if need be Wolf’s medium cut & Meg’s microfiber system compound.

[The Guz]

I’ve seen it recommended that as much as possible you should use products from the same product family as your coating. I can see that with toppers (maybe) like Reload or CQuartz but with things like panel prep and iron remover I’m not so sure (aren’t they all basically the same chemicals).

so when I apply a coating, what products should I make sure are from the same company?

When someone is starting out and looking to a coating I will recommend staying within the family to start. Then its up to that user to experiment on their own.

I’m hoping not to use any toppers on the CQuartz lite when I put it on. I’ve got Griot’s panel wipe and DJ Ferrous dueller at the moment. Not too concerned but those are the specifics of the hair brained scheme.

ETA: as far as polish goes, I’m going to avoid the Mezerna SF4000 since I’ve read it’s oily. I’ve got OPT Hyperpolish and if need be Wolf’s medium cut & Meg’s microfiber system compound.

Prep products such as iron remover don't matter. Before I post more there is nothing wrong with using toppers over CQ Lite. CarPro recommends maintaining their coating with Elixir or Reload.

Onto product synergy. Mike says it best on his first post in this thread.

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...p;goto=newpost

Essentially using the products within the brand has been proven to work by the chemists. They know that they will work to achieve the results they claim. When users deviate from the synergistic family they can sometimes have issues where they blame Brand X for early failure. Brand X can come back and say well you used it with Brand Y and that by doing so one will not achieve the maximum performance.

This brings up the question do you need to stick within the product family? No but if something unexpected happens then it allows that brand to say well you used it outside of the family. So it is often a good start to stay within the system and then explore later. That and many get bored and want to try something new.

Well like you said, many are pretty close chemically but you’d be guessing/testing when you mix products.

I’d be more concerned with the base coating and making sure the products are compatible.

For instance, if you used Essence you can potentially go direct to Cquartz UK 3 because we know there is compatibility there.

But for a base prep polish of a different product line, I’d definitely use a panel wipe product between the prep polish and the coating. I don’t think the panel prep is as important as just making sure another product’s oils are thoroughly wiped with a paint prep before laying down the coating.

Toppers are another area you’d have to experiment with to find out what works well together. Staying within a product line takes out some of the guess work and experimentation. Plenty of people have experimented and found good combos while other combinations haven’t turned out so well.

Actually Corey of CarPro debunked this about Essence. He posted in the CarPro facebook group that a panel wipe with Eraser is still recommended given that Essence still has some lubrication.

[dgage]

Actually Corey of CarPro debunked this about Essence. He posted in the CarPro facebook group that a panel wipe with Eraser is still recommended given that Essence still has some lubrication.

That sucks. I thought that was one of the advantages of staying within the family. Oh well. Thanks for clarifying and saving me from messing up the base layer before I coat with UK/SiC.