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12-29-2019, 03:24 PM | #1 |
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Random orbital on ceramic coated paint?
So I found my old Porter-Cable 7424XP in a box the other day and am trying to understand if I can even use it on my car given that it has an Xpel clear bra on some panels, and Cquartz on all of the panels. The Cquartz is only about 2 years old and should be in good shape.
I've seen conflicting info that says anything you do to the ceramic coating, especially with a machine, will remove most of it and you'll have to re-coat the panel. But this kinda sounds like something detailers will claim in order to keep you coming back to them. Redoing the coating won't be too hard the second time since the surface was already prepped for the original application, but I'm trying to figure out if I really have to take the car back to my detailer for him to fix stuff and re-apply the Cquartz. He's an hour away and leaving the car with him is kinda tricky. The car has picked up a few scratches and blemishes from normal use and I'd like to remove them myself, if possible. Are there any products or procedures that would be considered "ceramic coating safe" with a random orbital? If so, what are they and are there any special pads I need to use
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12-29-2019, 03:51 PM | #2 |
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Assuming the scratches are on the clearcoat under the coating, then the polishing would have to remove the ceramic coating. If they are light enough to potentially be on the coating, which I don't know if that is possible, then maybe it's easier to apply a nice wax or sealant to the ceramic and maybe it will slightly hide the light scratches. But my guess would be the ceramic coating would be toast with any sort of machining.
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12-29-2019, 03:52 PM | #3 | |
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12-29-2019, 04:00 PM | #4 | ||
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12-29-2019, 04:31 PM | #5 |
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The coating itself isn't that expensive, it's the labor-intensive prep work that really jacks up the price.
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12-31-2019, 07:39 AM | #6 |
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Hey Dan - I've too forgone the coating except on wheels (and I've applied the wheel coating to my headlight lenses) for the reason that I enjoy detailing my car with the fresh wax look.
Here's a solution: sell the vette and get back into an M3 without ceramic coating?
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12-31-2019, 10:08 PM | #7 | |
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You’re gonna take ceramic coating off when you polish.
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12-31-2019, 10:14 PM | #8 |
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i'm an ameature detailer at best, but i do follow a few youtubers and the basic idea of polishing is taking a micro layer off of the clear coat. so i maybe use a polishing wheel and see if it gets rid of imperfections on top of the ceramic coat? a cutting wheel would probably get rid of the ceramic coat...
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01-03-2020, 11:34 PM | #9 |
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I talked to my detailer in person today, and he confirmed that yes, anything mechanical (like a DA) will remove the coating. Re-applying shouldn't be too tough since you know the surface underneath was properly prepped and has stayed largely untouched since then.
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01-07-2020, 07:47 PM | #10 |
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carpro essence plus with the carpro white gloss pad on your polisher will do the trick. You will actually refresh the coating during this process and remove some of the defects you are seeing.
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01-07-2020, 07:54 PM | #11 |
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and it preps the surface for another layer of ceramic
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01-08-2020, 09:29 AM | #12 | |
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My experience is the same with cquartz UK 2.0 on my wife's car. It's help up pretty well on the upper half of the car but after 2 years it's non-existent on the lower half of the car. These aren't miracle products. I'm still unsure if I'm going to coat this car again or just go back to a traditional sealant. I liked cquartz but I won't use it again over Gtechniq CSL which I used on my previous S2000. Much easier application and will last the same or longer. Also, to answer the OP's original question, polishing the coating absolutely will degrade or remove it. No questions about that. |
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01-08-2020, 01:30 PM | #13 |
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I would doubt there is much of any coating left on the car after 2 years. I would go back through another full prep before re-coating.
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01-08-2020, 09:30 PM | #14 |
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Jury is still out on that. the essence plus was made for coated finishes, its a light cleaner w/o abrasives. It does contain sio2 and some other solvents, It will actually "Correct" some defects in the coating w/o removing the coating. In theory you could do an IPA wipe after and layer another coat of ceramic.
I used it on my f80 two years after initial coating, it did a bang up job of correcting and refreshing, I topped it with reload and got another full year out of the coating before selling the car. Try it out, couldn't hurt.
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02-23-2020, 07:04 PM | #15 |
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I've been through these same dilemmas myself and my conclusions reflect yours and others OP.
I have CQuartz on my car, which is probably about 2yrs old now. It's only just beginning to show signs of failure in certain spots. Very minor. I haven't ever re-upped the protection and I've only ever washed with Ph Neutral soaps. But, I have some clear bra that needs removing, as well as some rock chips that need addressing, and I'd like to install the OE M Performance carbon spoiler and splitters at some point, but all of these things are bigger headaches with a ceramic coating. I like to do my own detailing because it's therapeutic and saves $$$ but I'm a little weary of coatings since I'm more unfamiliar with them. I've seen recently that a really vigorous decon and strip process (strip soap, chem decon, physical decon) followed by a cut polish should effectively (and hopefully safely) remove the coating - especially considering it may be on its last leg. I think I'm going to venture into this process soon and as much as I absolutely love the ease of cleaning, longevity, and self-cleaning properties of the coating, I think I'll revert back to a sealant/wax layering for the time being to sort out any other cosmetic issues I need to take care of. Maybe I'll circle back to a proper coating down the line again. Coatings are definitely a love/hate relationship for me. |
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02-24-2020, 06:21 AM | #16 | |
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02-24-2020, 06:36 PM | #17 | ||
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05-28-2020, 02:34 PM | #18 |
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Treat ceramic coating as a very durable wax... it's basically just a sacrificial layer of protection. You can polish it off and re-apply any time.
That's why I refuse to pay someone to ceramic coat the car. If you know how to wax a car, you can apply a coating. The prep is the hard part, but it's just detailing - wash, clay, polish and coat. You just replace the wax/sealant last step with coating.
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05-28-2020, 04:48 PM | #19 |
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OP, if you think you have clear coat defects, then isn't your ceramic coating in that area already compromised? I would think you either have ceramic coating and the scratch is on the coating or the scratch worked its way through the coating and into the clear coat.
I was thinking about trying Sonax Ceramic coating which i think is the easiest to apply but decided not to for the same reasons. IMO its hard to beat Meguiars current line-up of hybird ceramic wax, specially the blue bottle which is a spray on rinse off type of wax. You can literally wax the entire car after every wash effortlessly and keep building up those layers.
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