Ceramiclear Paints - Be Careful

[Shortspark]

Read this:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...tml#post634104

Yea, I read that before but when I went out to my car to look it had an entirely different sticker than the one shown in the photo. I looked everywhere but could not find a color code number. It is probably there someplace but I can't find it.

[RMM]

Yea, I read that before but when I went out to my car to look it had an entirely different sticker than the one shown in the photo. I looked everywhere but could not find a color code number. It is probably there someplace but I can't find it.

Does it have a grid with weight, tires, rim size, etc?
The colour code number is under the manufacturing date.

[Shortspark]

Does it have a grid with weight, tires, rim size, etc?
The colour code number is under the manufacturing date.

Yes, it was right where you said it would be. Since it did not have a letter in front of it I ignored it but the sticker shows a number under the manufacturing date of 799. I looked it up and sure enough, 799 is "Diamond White". Since there is no "C" in front of the number, it probably is only the semi ceramiclear, rather than the full process they use for AMG. That solves it, thanks!

[Mike Phillips]

Just to tag on...

I have a Mercedes-Benz coming up that has the factory Ceramiclear finish plus it's black and all swirled out.

Have pictures and will get to them as I can...

[zilla]

Aren't the Menzerna polishes specifically designed with this finish in mind? I thought I remembered reading that years ago on Menzerna's webpage. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[mwoolfso]

Aren't the Menzerna polishes specifically designed with this finish in mind? I thought I remembered reading that years ago on Menzerna's webpage. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Correct

[Mike Phillips]

Aren't the Menzerna polishes specifically designed with this finish in mind?

Yes, at least some of them but just to note they work equally well on any paint system I've worked on.


I've invited Ken to bring his car to Autogeek for a Thursday Night Live Broadcast in February, it has a Ceramiclear finish, (I checked the paint code), and is in need of a little TLC

[Kilgore]

Yes, it was supposed to be the next best thing to sliced bread and it turned out to be a horrible mistake. Here's a thread here about it..

Swirls on '08 Infiniti G37s - Self-Healing Paint ?

Hi Mike,

After reading this thread, I tried to find out if my new 2013 Audi Q5 3.0T had Ceramiclear or any other ceramic clear coat on it. A few posters mentioned that MB and some other German brands used it. I was really concerned about the quote from Dr. Ghodoussi about only having 0.2 mils to work with. I received a response from Audi today stating that they do not use ceramic clear coats, that’s the good news. What they did use, on my car anyway, is something called Pro Clear. They said it’s a hybrid and it’s self-healing. That’s about it. I read a few posts here about some earlier versions of self-healing clear that weren’t too encouraging ('08 Infiniti G37s). Have you ever heard of Pro Clear? Do you know if there have been any improvements made to this type of product since the first failed attempts? I certainly hope so but your comment that “it turned out to be a horrible mistake” kind of has me worried. I have searched all over the place and can’t find any info on Pro Clear. I’ve only had the car for a month and it’s too cold to do any work at home. I did not let the dealer touch it, just take the wrapping off and clean up the packing stuff on the inside. I have been to the carwash a few times just to get the big stuff off with a pressure washer and dried it off by getting on the highway for a few miles. Other than that it has not been touched. I would like to give it a full going over but not until I know exactly what I’m dealing with. Any comments, suggestions or advice from you or anyone else would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Mike,

What they did use, on my car anyway, is something called Pro Clear. They said it’s a hybrid and it’s self-healing. That’s about it.

I would like to give it a full going over but not until I know exactly what I’m dealing with. Any comments, suggestions or advice from you or anyone else would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

Apologies for just now finding your post...

Sometimes it's better to start a new thread then to tag onto something like this article, especially with such an important topic.


I don't know anything about Pro Clear. I do know the Audi Q5 I buffed out about a month ago had very hard paint that was no fun to buff. I would not recommend buying an Audi Q5 if you like to buff your own car's paint. It might be a mechanical form of perfection but the paint does not buff good or easy.

I have never buffed on any self-healing paints that impressed me and just the opposite. The characteristic that makes them self-healing means they tend to NOT like to be abraded with anything.

The only products I would recommend are either the Menzerna or Wolfgang polishes. Don't use compounds if you don't have to.


The Wolfgang Four


Here are four products that will take care of about 99.9% of any exterior paint correction product you'll ever have in your garage.


The Wolfgang Four



Forum member RFulmer coined this term, (due credit where credit is due), and since there's been a lot of questions about what each product is, what they do, the order of aggressiveness and when you use one over the other, here's some info...



Uber Compound

• Aggressive Compound - More aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• For some people on some cars it can be used as a compound/polish after which the paint can be sealed with a wax or synthetic paint sealant.

Total Swirl Remover

• Medium Cut Polish - Less aggressive than Uber Compound and more aggressive than Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• Should be tested before using Uber Compound to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.

Finishing Glaze

• Fine Cut Polish - Much less aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and of course dramatically less aggressive than Wolfgang Uber Compound.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• Should be tested before using Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.
• Great "Maintenance Polish" for use removing shallow swirls that show up over time from normal wear-n-tear on daily drivers and after a person has already performed a multi-step procedure to remove serious paint defects.

Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

• German engineered synthetic paint sealant.
• Non-cleaning, pure synthetic - Paint must be in excellent condition as in brand new or previously polished to like new condition before use.
• Can be applied by hand or any type of dual action polisher wit foam pads.
• This product "seals" the paint in the say way a car wax or paint coating will seal the paint. It is water insoluble and as such like all synthetic paint sealants, car waxes and paint coatings is not body shop safe.
• Requires 30 to 45 minutes of drying time before removal.
• Oxygen activated. After buffing off the excess sealant the remaining protection ingredients should be allowed to cure and fully set-up for an approximate 12 hour window of time before the vehicle is put back into service where it will be exposed to water.

Synergistic Chemical Compatibility
Each product is chemically compatible and chemically beneficial when used as a system approach to take a diamond in the rough and turn it into a glistening gemstone. Using the entire line in the correct order or just a few of the product in the correct order is an example of working forward in the paint polishing process.


All Inclusive System-Approach
This group of four products with just about any tool, any pad and even by hand will produce not only show car results but do it consistently across a VERY wide spectrum of paint systems including,

• Hard paints, soft paints and everything in-between.
• Factory OEM paints and aftermarket repaints at your local body shop or custom paint shop.
• Single stage and basecoat clearcoat.

Which products do you need?
Which product you'll need depend upon the condition of the paint on the car. Click to my list of paint condition categories and read through the descriptions for the different categories. Then after washing and drying your car, inspect the paint both with your sense of touch, (The Baggie Test), and visually with your eyes in bright light for swirls and scratches.

Then determine which category your car's paint fall into. Here are some general guidelines but the best way to determine which exact product you'll need to remove the defects and restore the finish on your car to your expectations can only be determined by doing a Test Spot


How To Do a Test Spot


Test Spot results showing the before and after difference...








On Autogeek.net

Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0

Total Swirl Remover

Finishing Glaze

[Kilgore]

Apologies for just now finding your post...

Sometimes it's better to start a new thread then to tag onto something like this article, especially with such an important topic.


I don't know anything about Pro Clear. I do know the Audi Q5 I buffed out about a month ago had very hard paint that was no fun to buff. I would not recommend buying an Audi Q5 if you like to buff your own car's paint. It might be a mechanical form of perfection but the paint does not buff good or easy.

I have never buffed on any self-healing paints that impressed me and just the opposite. The characteristic that makes them self-healing means they tend to NOT like to be abraded with anything.

The only products I would recommend are either the Menzerna or Wolfgang polishes. Don't use compounds if you don't have to.


The Wolfgang Four


Here are four products that will take care of about 99.9% of any exterior paint correction product you'll ever have in your garage.


The Wolfgang Four



Forum member RFulmer coined this term, (due credit where credit is due), and since there's been a lot of questions about what each product is, what they do, the order of aggressiveness and when you use one over the other, here's some info...



Uber Compound

• Aggressive Compound - More aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• For some people on some cars it can be used as a compound/polish after which the paint can be sealed with a wax or synthetic paint sealant.

Total Swirl Remover

• Medium Cut Polish - Less aggressive than Uber Compound and more aggressive than Wolfgang Finishing Glaze.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• Should be tested before using Uber Compound to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.

Finishing Glaze

• Fine Cut Polish - Much less aggressive than Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover and of course dramatically less aggressive than Wolfgang Uber Compound.
• For use with any type of polisher/buffer and can be used by hand.
• Body Shop Safe = Can be used in a fresh paint. environment (body shop) and can be used on fresh paint, (paint just sprayed and less than 30 days old).
• Safe for Ceramiclear paints.
• Cafe for all clear coat paints.
• Safe for all single stage paints.
• Should be tested before using Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover to see if it will remove defects to our satisfaction in keeping with the practice of using the least aggressive product to get the job done.
• Great "Maintenance Polish" for use removing shallow swirls that show up over time from normal wear-n-tear on daily drivers and after a person has already performed a multi-step procedure to remove serious paint defects.

Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

• German engineered synthetic paint sealant.
• Non-cleaning, pure synthetic - Paint must be in excellent condition as in brand new or previously polished to like new condition before use.
• Can be applied by hand or any type of dual action polisher wit foam pads.
• This product "seals" the paint in the say way a car wax or paint coating will seal the paint. It is water insoluble and as such like all synthetic paint sealants, car waxes and paint coatings is not body shop safe.
• Requires 30 to 45 minutes of drying time before removal.
• Oxygen activated. After buffing off the excess sealant the remaining protection ingredients should be allowed to cure and fully set-up for an approximate 12 hour window of time before the vehicle is put back into service where it will be exposed to water.

Synergistic Chemical Compatibility
Each product is chemically compatible and chemically beneficial when used as a system approach to take a diamond in the rough and turn it into a glistening gemstone. Using the entire line in the correct order or just a few of the product in the correct order is an example of working forward in the paint polishing process.


All Inclusive System-Approach
This group of four products with just about any tool, any pad and even by hand will produce not only show car results but do it consistently across a VERY wide spectrum of paint systems including,

• Hard paints, soft paints and everything in-between.
• Factory OEM paints and aftermarket repaints at your local body shop or custom paint shop.
• Single stage and basecoat clearcoat.

Which products do you need?
Which product you'll need depend upon the condition of the paint on the car. Click to my list of paint condition categories and read through the descriptions for the different categories. Then after washing and drying your car, inspect the paint both with your sense of touch, (The Baggie Test), and visually with your eyes in bright light for swirls and scratches.

Then determine which category your car's paint fall into. Here are some general guidelines but the best way to determine which exact product you'll need to remove the defects and restore the finish on your car to your expectations can only be determined by doing a Test Spot


How To Do a Test Spot


Test Spot results showing the before and after difference...








On Autogeek.net

Wolfgang Uber Compound 3.0

Total Swirl Remover

Finishing Glaze

Thanks very much Mike,

Great info and advice.