Finally back and looking for suggestions

[frosty]

It's been a while but I've finally gotten another toy that has me back into the detailing spirit.

I just picked up an Ingot Silver Mustang this week. I'm going to clay bar it, then probably use a cleaner wax on it because I'm getting a clear bra put on it Tues.

But looking for suggestions on some things to experiment with.

I have some Wolfgang's & Meg's Synthetic Sealant 2.0.

For waxes I have Fuzion & Souveran.

I'm thinking wash, claybar, cleaner then may the Wolfgang's Sealant then a coat or two of the Fuzion.

Curious as to if anybody else has any other recommendations that would be fun to try.

I've got quite a few Meg's & Menzerna products. Wondering if maybe I should try 85rd on a new car. (Guess I could tape a section of and give it a try, but again, just wanting to get back into swing of things, say hello get some opinions from others.)

I don't have any good pix of it as of yet but here's what I've got.

[JonMiles]

i think the 85rd will definitely add another level of gloss to your paint.

my process would be as follows:

wash thoroughly
iron x
clay every inch including wheels and glass
1 step with 85rd on a finishing pad with rotary
jewel with a gold pad and 85rd to perfection
carpro eraser to get rid of polishing oils
cquartz or opticoat on the wheels
uttg on the black trim and tires
cquartz the windows
wax with your best carnauba for maximum depth.

[frosty]

Thanks Jon,

It looks like coatings have come out since I've been away. The car I purchased in hopes of keeping for a while and see if Ford only produces a limited number.

I'm getting a clear bra around the major "chip areas" on Tues.

The idea of adding a coating is very interesting to me.

I'm ordering some Opticoat, I'll add the CQuartz to the list.

I have a bottle of the Wolfgang Polish enhancer that I may use as I've never opened it.

I'll make note of carpro eraser though.

I'm strongly considering the opticoat for the paint as well. I'll probably try it on our two other cars first to get the technique down and make sure I like it.

What I don't get in the arguments going on in other threads is if the coatings are just like another layer of clear coat, why can't you still experiment with waxes on top of it just like you can with the original clearcoat.

Jon, I need to get a gold pad but I have plenty of Menzerna. When I have it looking like I want, for the paint, do you see any problems with Opti-coat there as well and then the carnuba's.

I know the wax is overkill after the fact but so is sealant and wax but some of the combinations I tried in the past I liked.

Thanks for your input!!!!!!

[JonMiles]

opticoat would be a great choice for the paint if you can get the paint absolutely flawless before application. I personally like cquartz for the ease of application and that it is not permanent so polishing it off annually can happen easily if i see a few swirls after a while. I think a coating is a must have for the wheels; it just makes life easier.

If you decide to put a coating on the paint, you won't even want to put a sealant or wax on top. The water sheeting is amazing and it stays clean longer. The reason it is hard to use a sealant or wax on top of the coatings is that they just don't adhere very well. It will be a short lived effect with no real benefit.

A gold pad isn't a necessity and many people don't use them for jeweling, but i use one every once in a while just to make sure that perfect paint is even better. It might have a 0.01 % difference in the look after finishing with a black pad but 99.91% swirl free paint is better than 99.9% swirl free paint.

Also, before applying a clear bra, make sure the paint is flawless so no swirls get trapped under plastic.

[frosty]

Thanks Jon. Hmm, I need to think about the opticoat. I was under the impression that if it swirls I could just polish it like clear coat.

I'm going to try it on a Honda Civic we have. Then may try cquartz on the other vehicle and go from there. I'm just a little worried about getting it applied smooth with a foam application. Just doesn't seem like it would be easy to put it and have it smooth like glass.

Thanks.

[frosty]

In researching on this, the questions I have about coatings are can I enhance the look after applying them?

Maybe this is my ignorance, and I understand I've got to get the paint to the level I want it before application.

However, before coatings, I had my methods down with my polishes to get paint where I wanted it and then when I added my Sealant and/or waxes, that's where the wet, slick look came in.

So now with coatings, I can't apply a wax or sealant to get the look I like after polishing.

I've read that the coatings aren't as slick as waxes/Sealants.

So, with my car, I bought in hopes it may turn into a collectors item. I'm also going to have fun with it at the track and on the road every once and a while.

So first and foremost I'm going to put a clear bra around the car and I want to do anything I can to preserve the quality.

The other thing I got the car for is I have all these detailing products and equipment and I wanted to experiment and go to some shows.

I'm fine if I can get the paint where I want it and put a OptiCoat on it and the paint is only needs washing.

However, experience dictates that nothing stays pristine over time. Mother nature attacks everything.

So since waxes and sealants are ineffective on top of coatings,
is you go with OptiCoating, what do you do 6 months or a year after if you want to take your car to a show?

I'm having a hard time believing after a year or two a car with a "permanent" coating could compete with a detailed car with a great wax.

It would be great if it would but I don't want to make a mistake with this car and put opti coating on it and then find out I've got to take a rotary and try to remove the product.

What what I'm gathering, OptiCoat is more for a daily driver that you just want to protect and only have to wash.

Don, CQuartz in this respect does actually sound like a better option as it will wear off and sounds easier to get off should.

I apologize for the length but I'm trying to figure out where I should use a coating or not on this new car before i take it out of the garage. (Rain is hampering me right now but I'm dying to take it out for a spin.)

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[JonMiles]

opticoat can be polished and cleaned with poliseal.

cquartz can be renewed with reload.

both of them have a system that works well with them.

If you want to play with some products to see what works for you then leave the coatings for wheels, lights, plastics, and windows. That way you can experiment with waxes and sealants and correct the paint when you feel like it without having to first polish through a coating.

[frosty]

Jon,

I've thought about this last night and scenarios.

1) If OptiCoat becomes swirled, marred etc, I can still polish it just like clear coat, correct? Can you use similar techniques in polishing to get a great shine back? I assuming you can but has anybody tried?

2) Sealants/Waxes don't adhere that well to the coatings but the way you've worded it sounds as if they may still for a while. I know from a protection standpoint they are useless. However from an aesthetic stand point, it still sounds as if there is a possibility that if you want to put on a good wax purely for shine to take your car to a show to be judged, there still might be the option for that? Curious as to if anybody has tried wax just to see if they can get that "POP".

3) On another forum I'm on a couple people are looking for ideas to protect the vinyl/plastic decals. From what I've OC & CQ can be put on external vinyl and plastics. If nothing else I think I'm going to try OC or CQ on the decals and tires as suggested. Anybody see a problem with that?

4) Don, you recommended cquartz for the windows. I see Opti doesn't recommened their product for windows but I see people using it. If it's not hard to get correct on windows, I like the idea of something more permanent for windows. Did you recommend CQ versus OCin case you ever needed to remove it?

Thanks for your time. I know I'm being a little "cautious" in this thread but the paint on the car is like I want it right now and I want to figure out as quick as I can whether to put a coating on it before I take it out on the road and start getting imperfections in the paint.

[frosty]

I kept digging last night and think I found some answers to my questions.

2) I found a comment by Chris talking about this and it didn't seem like this would be an issue. He just seemed to iterate the goal was for nothing to stick so trying waxes for a added shine didn't seem to be an issue. However, I did read one post where somebody was having some trouble after trying to top CQuartz with a wax.
I'll probably try Opti-Seal first and go from there.

3) Again, I found a thread where it was recommeneded not to put CQuartz on soft plastic/vinyl should as a Clear Bra because it could cause hazing. It seems as if it shouldn't be a problem with OptiCoat. (So I guess I'll try OptiCoat on a small area and go from there.)