The 2002 Camaro SS with GTechniq CSL + Exo V3

[The Guz]

Since I have had some time off it has allowed me to catch up on a few write ups such as this one for my Camaro.

This is the one that I drive on occasion. The daily driver is the Grand Prix and the write up for that one is here The daily with CQUK 3.0 + Gliss V1

My 2002 Camaro SS is currently sitting at 14K miles. I have owned it since around 2006 when I originally purchased it with 3K miles. Should give all of you an idea of how often I drive it.

It has been three years since I last polished and coated this one. The coating it had on was Americana Car Care's Ameriarmour. In the end it was ok. Nothing special about this coating. It was acrylic based but it was on the soft side of things so it would marr relatively easy. It spends a lot of time in the garage so that is why I was not in a hurry to redo it.

After three years it was time to give it a good polishing and coat it with something different. I chose to go with the combination of GTechniq Crystal Serum Light topped with Exo V3. Exo V4 had just been announced after I finished it. Go figure.

I did this back in May and completed the coating process on May 13th.

I did not take too many photos but it received the typical prep wash. Using Ironx, a wash and claying with Optimum Opti-clay using Immolube as clay lube.



Here is what I was working with on the paint. Not horrible but after 3 years it was time.



After a test spot with Sonax Perfect Finish on a Rupes yellow foam pad on the Rupes LHR15 MKII it was looking like this would be the combo to go with. It did leave a little micro marring that was fixed with Shine Supply Slick Back Primer Polish. More on that later.



The sail panel and these little triangle pieces are soft. They marr easily. Yikes after 3 years



A test spot with Sonax Perfect Finish on a Rupes yellow on the ibrid nano removed the defects but left a lot of haze. I came back with a Rupes white pad and Sine Supply Slick Back Primer Polish and that cleared things up. Image is rather blurry but the idea is there lol.



As I mentioned I used this combination of polishes. For those wondering, the primer polish is similar to CarPro Essence and Gyeon Primer Polish. More so like Gyeon as it has no fillers. There are those that will freak out because another member on Autopia had issues with the same GTechniq coating combo failing early when used with Essence. Well this is the fun part of testing. I treated this primer polish just like the others. I let it sit overnight after the initial wipe off and then came back the next day with a light prep wipe. Then proceeded to coat with CSL.



Finally the coating combo. This was my first time using CSL and the second time using Exo V3. I have used Exo V3 on a previous occasion but only on wheels over C5 Wheel Armour. CSL is such an easy coating to work with. Easy to apply and easy to level. It is also slick upon removal. Similar to Mohs but with CSL feeling slightly slicker. Exo V3 was not as forgiving as CSL. It required a little more effort in removal. Upon leveling it tends to be pushed around with the towel. So more focus is needed when leveling it out. Essentially wiping a larger area than what was worked and with multiple towels. This is important on those edges like on the door or the hood. Perhaps Exo V4 addressed that issue.

But after one coat of CSL topped with two coats of Exo V3 the surface did feel slick after it had cured overnight. Nothing like Gyeon Syncro but right up there with it. Not tacky like some coatings. The look it leaves is more reflective and it just looks good on white but I am biased .



Some random images I have.



Best photos I have and they are in direct sun light.





A couple other things I did.

One was to coat the plastic trim on the door jambs. They were coated with CarPro DLUX. It has already helped with the water not staying during a wash. I will eventually coat the door jambs.



The taillights received the following treatment.



I have had this coating combination coming up to 4 months. It has seen one two bucket wash and Exo is indeed hydrophobic. It is not as hydrophobic as Skin from the Gyeon Syncro kit but it is just as good. It does seem to not attract as much dust when it sits in the garage. It does clean up well with a wash and rinseless wash.

The bad news is that I am more than likely selling it in the next year or so. So this will be the last polish I give it unless something happens and the coating fails for some odd reason.

[PaulMys]

Very nice, GUZ!!!!!!

[Justin at Final Inspection]

Nicely done! I think you should sell it to me!

[The Guz]

Very nice, GUZ!!!!!!

Thank you.

Nicely done! I think you should sell it to me!

Thanks. You will be the first to know when it goes up for sale. No rust since it is California owned.

[spazzz]

Super Nice, what else can I say.
Everyone knows you are super precise and do kick booty work.

Do you ever do any kind of wipe downs or is it rinseless when you do maintenance?

[Sizzle Chest]

Great work on an awesome vehicle! Looks great, really love that Camaro!

[The Guz]

Super Nice, what else can I say.
Everyone knows you are super precise and do kick booty work.

Do you ever do any kind of wipe downs or is it rinseless when you do maintenance?

Thanks. Rinseless for me. I prefer the lubrication a rinseless wash gives me compared to a waterless wash. I don't even use a detail spray on it to remove light dust.

Great work on an awesome vehicle! Looks great, really love that Camaro!

Thank you. I've been happy with it after all these years.

[Pats300zx]

Top notch work Mike. Looks awesome !!!!

[JDGolden]

Beautiful Camaro. It looks great!

Unfortunately I've considered selling my Camaro as well.

[The Guz]

Top notch work Mike. Looks awesome !!!!

Thanks Pat.

Beautiful Camaro. It looks great!

Unfortunately I've considered selling my Camaro as well.

Thanks. I am getting to the point where I think it is time and am looking to move onto something else. I don't know what that something else is at the moment.