2019 BMW X5 - Mineral White - Gtechniq CSL & EXO V4

**gofast182** · 07-12-2021, 08:01 AM

I haven't had anything to post here in a while but finally got a long-awaited detail done on my wife's car. We took delivery of our 2019 X5 at the Performance Center in Spartanburg (incredible experience, highly recommended) in Feb. 2019. Since then I've been playing with shorter duration products like Polish Angel Cosmic V2, Xtreme Solutions Poly Seal, and a couple other detail sprays. I became annoyed when these products would start to fail and I had to do contact drying as opposed to my M340i which is coated with CQ UK 3.0 and I can quickly blow dry even 15 months later. I decided it was time to stop messing around and put a legit coating on this thing. Wanting to get experience with something new I bottomed out on Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light and EXO V4. Overall I found CSL easier to use than CQ UK 3.0 although CSL didn't present a rainbow look as it flashes like CQ does which would've been nice for doing a white car. On the topper side I think CarPro Gliss is a bit easier to use than Gtechniq EXO V4 but it wasn't bad. Admittedly I did take a couple of shortcuts/calculated risks here, first was I didn't polish the roof and second I didn't do a mechanical decontamination, only chemical. The finish was in really good shape with no marring and I didn't want to add any even though I was going to polish it (this allowed me to use a less aggressive pad). The day prior to applying the coating I did a wheels-off detail of the wheels, wheel wells, and calipers.

WHEELS/TIRES
Clean:
CarPro IronX
Adams Wheel & Tire Cleaner (for suds/lubricity in a dedicated foam cannon)
Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner (tires)
CarPro MultiX (wheel wells)

Coating/Finishing:
Old bottle of Pinnacle Diamond Wheel Coating (wheels & calipers)
Old bottle of CarPro Gliss (wheels & calipers)
(not sure how these old products will hold up)
Hyde's Serum Rust Stopper (rotors)
CarPro PERL 5:1 (tires & wheel wells)

BODY
Clean/Decon:
Foam with CarPro MultiX 5:1
Contact wash: Dawn dish soap w/ small amount of Koch Chemie GSF added
CarPro IronX (two rounds, one before contact wash, one after)
CarPro Bug Out

Surface Prep:
Polish with CarPro Essence
Wipe with straight 70% IPA

Coating:
Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light (one coat)
Gtechniq EXO V4 (one coat 2h after CSL, second coat 20h after CSL)

Here's what you really want to see:

**fly07sti** · 07-12-2021, 01:07 PM

Very Nice. I’m currently working on a 2021 X5 and it will be receiving 2 coats of UK 3.0.
I also did a similar prep. No claying , just Iron X followed by some foam dwell time with McKee’s prep soap and finally bucket wash with Reset.
Getting polished with Essence.

Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline

**Sizzle Chest** · 07-12-2021, 08:45 PM

VERY nice work, that white is banging! Metallic/flake is popping. And...excellent reflection shots. Looks great!

**TTQ B4U** · 07-13-2021, 11:32 AM

Looks great! Congrats to her for getting such a nice ride.

I have the same combo of products on my desk to try out soon. Will likely re-do my sons car before he leaves for college. It's currently at the 2yr Mark with UK 3.0 and Gliss v2 on it and doing great but I want him to have a fresh start as it's going to be away from home.

The only area I would debate is the implication that UK isn't a "legit" coating.

**chelsfc2108** · 07-13-2021, 01:59 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was widely debunked that dish soap does not help stripping old wax or sealant at all? It only masks the wax by leaving a film behind.

**hoyt66** · 07-14-2021, 05:01 AM

Looks great! I just applied CSL & Exo4 to my F150 Memorial Day weekend. Have used the combo a handful of times. I really like it

**gofast182** · 07-19-2021, 02:30 PM

Originally Posted by TTQ B4U

Looks great! Congrats to her for getting such a nice ride.

I have the same combo of products on my desk to try out soon. Will likely re-do my sons car before he leaves for college. It's currently at the 2yr Mark with UK 3.0 and Gliss v2 on it and doing great but I want him to have a fresh start as it's going to be away from home.

The only area I would debate is the implication that UK isn't a "legit" coating.

Who said or even implied anything about UK not being a legit coating? I don't think you read my post

**gofast182** · 07-19-2021, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by Sizzle Chest

VERY nice work, that white is banging! Metallic/flake is popping. And...excellent reflection shots. Looks great!

Thanks! I'm proud to have your positive feedback!

**gofast182** · 07-19-2021, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by chelsfc2108

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought it was widely debunked that dish soap does not help stripping old wax or sealant at all? It only masks the wax by leaving a film behind.

Quite possible. If that's the case I'll adjust in the future but I did have a bit of GSF in there as well.

**TTQ B4U** · 07-22-2021, 06:14 AM

Originally Posted by gofast182

Who said or even implied anything about UK not being a legit coating? I don't think you read my post

" I became annoyed when these products would start to fail and I had to do contact drying as opposed to my M340i which is coated with CQ UK 3.0 and I can quickly blow dry even 15 months later. I decided it was time to stop messing around and put a legit coating on this thing."

Maybe I 'miss-read' your post but those are your words not mine. I took the above that UK was not legit and this time you decided to stop messing around. That said vets like me are here to help not run Urinary Olympic Events but trust me, I read the posts and contribute in return. Good luck with the coatings.