Pre Paint Sealant Question....

[Duy]

What I don’t know is the depreciation of the gloss levels after the first week on the paint or the first wash, I assume the loss is significant enough that I would not recommend forgoing the IPA wipedown as an attempt to maximize the gloss readings. For me, I can say that the IPA wipedown is a good idea to use because many times I can see it removing those residual oils giving me a cleaner looking finish with no oily holograms. How much of a difference on durability it would have on leaving those oils on the paint and then going with the sealant is too hard to test to any significant level because of how many different variables you deal with during a long term durability test. But I haven’t seen any noticeable performance differences in the short term whether I use IPA prior to applying the sealant or skip it. Also no difference with CQuartz UK as well in the short term.

The last part with CQUK, so you have gone without using IPA wipedown or Eraser after correcting and applied the coating? How did it hold up? Performance, gloss? I was always instructed to remove all oils so that the coating can bond and cure appropriately.

[Loach]

The last part with CQUK, so you have gone without using IPA wipedown or Eraser after correcting and applied the coating? How did it hold up? Performance, gloss? I was always instructed to remove all oils so that the coating can bond and cure appropriately.

That's correct, I've also applied CQUK on top of fresh Pinnacle Souveran, weathered FK1000P (2 months), and fresh Glossworkz Glaze with no significant impact in the short term performance of CQUK (removed at 1 month to test other coatings). The Glossworkz test is still ongoing, I'm expecting to see this test car back over to me in January to record more results, testing side by side with Essence prep.

On the section of the paint that had been recently clayed but not polished in quite some time (slight oxidation), I did see a decrease in the performance in the short term. It's good practice to prep to the maximum prior to applying the coating because it's a limited use product with 30-50ml bottles, so I would still recommend a panel wipe after polishing even though I haven't had issues with oil interference in the short term myself.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Quick Wipedown with Optimum Paint Prep, Gyeon Prep, or N914(1:8) and you're good to go.

[WillSports3]

If you're using a paint sealant, I would recommend a wipe down with something to remove the polishing oils. The reason is, the sealant requires bare paint to cross link with the paint to for it to have a full bonding and achieve maximum durability and protection. There's always exceptions to the rule like if you use the same product line you might be able to bypass that step.