How to Tackle?

[TwentyTen2SSRS]

Originally Posted by DonM

So how did it go with the 303 Graphene?

Haven’t done it yet. Lots of pretty blah reviews on Amazon.

I have received it, and will give it a shot. I also have bead maker. I have griots ceramic speed shine, adams cs3. I don’t know enough about stacking all of this. At some point I need to start fresh.

Think I can just wash and hit it with 303?


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[DonM]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Haven’t done it yet. Lots of pretty blah reviews on Amazon.

I have received it, and will give it a shot. I also have bead maker. I have griots ceramic speed shine, adams cs3. I don’t know enough about stacking all of this. At some point I need to start fresh.

Think I can just wash and hit it with 303?


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That's what I did. I had a few layers of TW Flex Wax Graphene on the car, and all I did was wash it and applied 3 coats of the 303 Graphene about an hour apart. The car hasn't been washed in 2 weeks and while it looks dusty, you can still see the gloss and depth of the paint through the dust.

When I first used it, I buffed it off BEFORE it hazed and I found out that was wrong, that you HAVE TO let it haze before buffing. That can and likely will lead to poor longevity - 303 even states that to a You Tuber who applied it incorrectly. I did it that way because with the TW products, that was the only way to apply the products without getting smears. Now with 3 coats (2 properly applied) the 303 Graphene is incredible.

[DonM]

Try the 303 since you already received it, if you don't like it, send it to me

[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Okay guys and gals - have several questions for how to tackle my car now that I’ve made the successful move to Phoenix. Car was shipped down in an enclosed trailer and hasn’t seen much driving in several months.

I want to “reset” my car but am unsure how to tackle this.

My car was ceramic coated with CQuartz a couple of years ago. It’s since been refreshed with “Reload” but that is about it outside of utilizing Elixr to keep it going. Car cleans up nicely, but I see some new hair light swirls and such in all the common places and thought it’d be best to refresh from the get go.

First question - good idea? Or continue to roll with current ceramic protection?

If I want to “start fresh” what is the heat way to strip the current coating so I can re cut and buff? Dawn dish soap mixture do this trick with this stuff like I used to do with my normal wax/sealant/glaze procedure?

Seems technology is providing some really great options (see Adams Graphene) and want to do this right if I’m going to spend 8 hours doing this.

Can someone point me to a simple step by step on what they would do? ie strip with Dawn, decontaminate with IronX, cut buff with 3M three step (what I had used in the past) seal, graphene etc. I’m a bjt lost on the latest flavor of the day and am obviously by no means a professional here but enjoy the work in making my car beautiful.

Last cut buff and cquartz coating was done by a shop. Interested in doing it myself this go round.

However, it’s summer in Phoenix, 100 or hotter every day and sunny for the most part. My guess is I really can’t work in these hot conditions and would be recommended to wait u til the cooler fall temps to tackle? Yes I have a garage, but it’s just as warm in there, although no direct sunlight.

Any feedback/suggestions here?

Any help or resources would be appreciated. Thank you all in advance


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You had a true ceramic and the 303 is nothing more than a stout sealant.... not a “ceramic/graphene” coating at all.

Just for sample sake say you had Cquartz UK 3.0 . It would have I believe 80% solids in it. The 303 won’t give you this “proprietary” info. Somewhere between 3-8%.

Take the mentioned Adams Graphene. The make 3 versions. The don’t speak to solids but to resins.

Advanced Graphene: 45%

Standard Graphene 30%

Graphene Spray Coating 7.5%

The spray is nice and convenient but no where near the protection.

The 303 may look nice but beading is weak. It will probably last you 3-7 months.

If looking for comparable to your last I would recommend Cquartz UK3, the Full Adam’s coating.

Easy to get and somewhat simple to use. I am going to coat my car with Nova NV evo. Great reviews and a single layer coating.

I’ve use the Adam’s graphene spray coating and it is better than any Sio2 sealant (most called coatings because its a nice buzz word) but not near the quality of the coating you had.

As for compounding i would not do it. Seems you have lite swirls so I would suggest just a polish.

I like Griots BOSS correcting cream and finishing cream.

In your case i would use CarPro (Cquartz parent company) Essence.

It’s a primer polish that preps paint for a coating. I would use a Rupes or BOSS yellow pad. The have a little cut to them and finish out nice.

As for the Dawn not needed and it’s debated weather it would break down a wax/sealant and would do nothing to your coating. Their are strip washes but not needed either.

I use strip washes for coating maintenance.

Me personally my process would look like:

Wash with whatever soap you normally use.

Use an iron remover (CP Iron X)

Rinse.

Clay (i like synthetic clay, griots BF)

Rinse

Polish

Paint prep (CP Eraser, Gyeon Prep or Iso propyl mix)

Coat.

If your gonna take time to prep your paint I’d go true coating do get a 1-3 year realistic durability.


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[DonM]

He's not wrong, no spray sealant no matter how good will hold up against a true, quality coating. But coatings need regular maintenance too, they aren't bullet-proof shields.

[DonM]

I'm of the school of thought of "Find something you like and use it often." This pearl of wisdom comes from Mike Phillips formerly of Meguiar's and the Auto Geek Forums, he's a detailing Guru of the highest caliber.

His philosophy is to frequently maintain in some form or another every car's finish, Ceramic/Graphene coated or not and by frequently maintaining your car's finish, it will always remain in top shape.

[TwentyTen2SSRS]

My cQuartz still beads fantastic. I have used Reload to maintain it and Elixr for quick touch ups after a wash. Been working well. Not sure what other “tests” there are I can do for my CQuartz coating but please share if there are others.

Likely will continue with this until my try coating “expires”. After a full detailed wash, there are no true swirls.

My car recently transported (covered) from WA to AZ then sat in covered storage until I got down here and settled.

I think my mind was just telling me to re do it all to start fresh bjt I think I’m still good.

Have 303 on standby and new Adams store just opened in Scottsdale. Will likely take to them to see what they think next! (Incoming sales pitch, of course).


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[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

My cQuartz still beads fantastic. I have used Reload to maintain it and Elixr for quick touch ups after a wash. Been working well. Not sure what other “tests” there are I can do for my CQuartz coating but please share if there are others.

Likely will continue with this until my try coating “expires”. After a full detailed wash, there are no true swirls.

My car recently transported (covered) from WA to AZ then sat in covered storage until I got down here and settled.

I think my mind was just telling me to re do it all to start fresh bjt I think I’m still good.

Have 303 on standby and new Adams store just opened in Scottsdale. Will likely take to them to see what they think next! (Incoming sales pitch, of course).


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If anything then do a decon wash. Get an alkaline soap like Fenylab pure or Mckee’s coating prep soap. I use the Mckee’s


Wash with the ALK soap
then Iron X
Then Eraser
Then another wash.

Top with Reload at that point. If no swirls and paints good I would top with Gyeon CanCoat or Cquartz lite to give it a real boost.

Although not as stout as a coating lite the Adam’s graphene is a real nice product and beads similar to your Cquartz.

I use it to maintain Gyeon CanCoat and TacSystems Moonlight.


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[TwentyTen2SSRS]

Originally Posted by Chevelle vs Camaro

If anything then do a decon wash. Get an alkaline soap like Fenylab pure or Mckee’s coating prep soap. I use the Mckee’s


Wash with the ALK soap
then Iron X
Then Eraser
Then another wash.

Top with Reload at that point. If no swirls and paints good I would top with Gyeon CanCoat or Cquartz lite to give it a real boost.

Although not as stout as a coating lite the Adam’s graphene is a real nice product and beads similar to your Cquartz.

I use it to maintain Gyeon CanCoat and TacSystems Moonlight.


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Can you walk me through why it’d be necessary to do a decon wash?

I just washed the car last night. Haven’t done anything further until today - was going to apply reload and then possibly the303 (don’t have adams on hand).

I have ironX but do not have ALK soap and am unsure what eraser is? Isn’t that what is used prior to CQuartz?

I don’t want to remove any of my current ceramic coating from CQuartz or are you saying this is what’s needed to further layer on top of my current CQuartz?


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[DonM]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Can you walk me through why it’d be necessary to do a decon wash?

I just washed the car last night. Haven’t done anything further until today - was going to apply reload and then possibly the303 (don’t have adams on hand).

I have ironX but do not have ALK soap and am unsure what eraser is? Isn’t that what is used prior to CQuartz?

I don’t want to remove any of my current ceramic coating from CQuartz or are you saying this is what’s needed to further layer on top of my current CQuartz?


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When a car is driven, especially in the rain it can get a build up of road film, which is a combination of diluted fluids that drip from cars (oil, trans fluid, brake fluid etc, plus dirt and grime) often not removed by a regular wash. A light cleaner wax will remove the road film, but it could compromise the coating with it's abrasives. So what you're stuck with is to use a more aggressive wash which could strip normal waxes, but should be ok for the coating (used infrequently).

[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Can you walk me through why it’d be necessary to do a decon wash?

I just washed the car last night. Haven’t done anything further until today - was going to apply reload and then possibly the303 (don’t have adams on hand).

I have ironX but do not have ALK soap and am unsure what eraser is? Isn’t that what is used prior to CQuartz?

I don’t want to remove any of my current ceramic coating from CQuartz or are you saying this is what’s needed to further layer on top of my current CQuartz?


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I didn’t find a strip wash to affect my CQuartz UK3. It does effect waxes and sealants so it will remove all the toppers (reload/elixir) and get it down to bare coating.

Also road film can build up and affect performance. The lower rockers behing front door didn’t have water behavior of the true coating and topping over the stubborn road film would mask it for a while.

I found with the Decon wash it brought my coating performance back to almost brand new.

Some people will do this with CP reset but for my I have found an alkaline “strip” soap to work best.

After decon start fresh with the toppers.

I use Polish Angel and Nova NV products as toppers now. Not a fan of reload but Elixir is nice.


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[DonM]

Originally Posted by Chevelle vs Camaro

I didn’t find a strip wash to affect my CQuartz UK3. It does effect waxes and sealants so it will remove all the toppers (reload/elixir) and get it down to bare coating.

Also road film can build up and affect performance. The lower rockers behing front door didn’t have water behavior of the true coating and topping over the stubborn road film would mask it for a while.

I found with the Decon wash it brought my coating performance back to almost brand new.

Some people will do this with CP reset but for my I have found an alkaline “strip” soap to work best.

After decon start fresh with the toppers.

I use Polish Angel and Nova NV products as toppers now. Not a fan of reload but Elixir is nice.


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In order for your topper to work properly, you need to to what CHEVELLE VS CAMARO recommends to get rid of the road film that is most likely on your car. Once you do the strip wash, you're good to apply whatever topper you chose.

If you do decide to use the 303 (since you have it) I would recommend at least 2 coats, but no more than 3 (even 303 says more than 3 is wasting your time and product). And make sure to let it haze for about 5 minutes before removing.

[TwentyTen2SSRS]

Originally Posted by Chevelle vs Camaro

I didn’t find a strip wash to affect my CQuartz UK3. It does effect waxes and sealants so it will remove all the toppers (reload/elixir) and get it down to bare coating.

Also road film can build up and affect performance. The lower rockers behing front door didn’t have water behavior of the true coating and topping over the stubborn road film would mask it for a while.

I found with the Decon wash it brought my coating performance back to almost brand new.

Some people will do this with CP reset but for my I have found an alkaline “strip” soap to work best.

After decon start fresh with the toppers.

I use Polish Angel and Nova NV products as toppers now. Not a fan of reload but Elixir is nice.


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Thank you for taking the time to respond and explain - that all makes sense.

So I will need to buy a few things jt looks like before I can tackle this.

I’ll look for Mckee’s and buy some Eraser. I have Iron X in the stash along with reload, Elixr and 303.

I’ll follow your steps below


Wash with the ALK soap (McKees)
then Iron X
Then Eraser
Then another wash.

Then I’ll Top with Reload or Elixr (likely Elixr since you said didn’t like reload). at that point If no swirls and paints good Ill top woth 303 i have on hand and will look into either Gyeon CanCoat or Cquartz lite per your recommendations.

Sound about right?

I’m in Phoenix and have to really time around the heat as I know most of all of this doesn’t like to be applied in the kind of heat we’re getting here in August. May need to hold off until September or am I over thinking that?

Thanks again!


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[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by TwentyTen2SSRS

Thank you for taking the time to respond and explain - that all makes sense.

So I will need to buy a few things jt looks like before I can tackle this.

I’ll look for Mckee’s and buy some Eraser. I have Iron X in the stash along with reload, Elixr and 303.

I’ll follow your steps below


Wash with the ALK soap (McKees)
then Iron X
Then Eraser
Then another wash.

Then I’ll Top with Reload or Elixr (likely Elixr since you said didn’t like reload). at that point If no swirls and paints good Ill top woth 303 i have on hand and will look into either Gyeon CanCoat or Cquartz lite per your recommendations.

Sound about right?

I’m in Phoenix and have to really time around the heat as I know most of all of this doesn’t like to be applied in the kind of heat we’re getting here in August. May need to hold off until September or am I over thinking that?

Thanks again!


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Use the elixer or the 303.... shouldnt need both.

If your thinking of boosting it with a ceramic lite product i would wait and decon wash right before and top with that. Then top the ceramic lite with either 303, Elixer or reload.

In this case i would actually use reload because a sacrificial layer is what it was made for. If you have it, use it. It’s just that their are better products out there.

And to note i’m not a pro but detailing is my hobby. I had cquartzUK 3.0 and this is the method i used in my car. I performed several of these washes in the 20 months i had the coating topped with CaCoat once.

Most of this info i got from the Autogeek Forum. Good source for great information.


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