First ceramic coat- hazy

[My94GT]

So I did my first ceramic coat on the wife’s XC90 yesterday. Ran into a couple problems which resulted in a hazy end result and looking for advice on correcting that.

Just to review the steps I did-

Full wash
Soaked with car pro iron X
Full wash again
Buff with 3m compound and polish
Full wash again
Clean with car pro eraser
Then applied Cquartz ceramic coat.

Now problem one it was crazy humid and started pouring out so that made it tough to apply and cure. Also when I ordered the kit it said it came with application pad and removal wipes. Well they were tiny so they filled up quickly. The last and biggest problem, my garage which I thought had good lighting definitely does not, so in the future I’ll have to add lighting for projects like this.

The car looks and feels great as it’s white so it hides it well but get close and you can tell it’s not as resilient as ceramic coating done properly should look.

What is my best route to fix this? I’m wondering if some residue is still just on the surface? I’ve ordered larger microfiber clothes, and reload spray. Could I just wash the car down, spray reload and wipe to shine? Or will I need to re polish and re apply at this point on a less humid day?

 

[black92]

Weather wasn't helping for one, but I'm guessing you may have applied too much coating at once.

I'd give it time to cure and see what reload does, but if it looks good overall, I'd leave it be before redoing the whole thing.

 

[Skitzerman]

An old Pro told me a few things years ago, that have stuck with me. Do not coat or paint anything in a humid environment and give anything you put down, time to rest/cure, for the best results. Patience is your friend.

 

[My94GT]

I should have known better, I run a collision repair shop for a living but with a baby due any week and being in the middle of a deck build already this weekend with rain was the best time to do this for me while not for the product though.

It looks good in the day though, and the panels feel noticeably slick. I’ll try the reload when it arrives. Thankfully white is such a forgiving color lol.

I’ll upload a photo here shortly

 

[M91196]

You could polish the areas your not happy with using Essence and re coat in more favorable conditions.

 

[KEVINS]

I agree with the above it probably was put on too thick. When I did my vehicles with CSL/EXO I noticed I had the same issue while wiping it off but I kept wiping and wiping and wiping (maybe 3-5 minutes) and it eventually cleared up. I finally learned to put it on really thin which made wiping it off a LOT easier and gave me the clear finish it was supposed to have..

ks

 

[My94GT]

Thanks for the input guys, hopefully this coming weekend we get some more favorable weather and I’ll give the corrective end of it a whirl.

Alas I won’t let this discourage me, after I wrap up this deck build I’m going to give my fusion a go as it’s black and I’ll more clearly be able to see if I’m doing it correctly.

 

[tones_RS3]

I'm pretty sure that Ceramic coating needs to be free of water for at least 24 hours as well. That and the humidity is the killer.
Reload is a great product though. Good luck man.

 

[My94GT]

I'm pretty sure that Ceramic coating needs to be free of water for at least 24 hours as well. That and the humidity is the killer.
Reload is a great product though. Good luck man.

The box said 48 hrs but unfortunately that just wasn’t possible as we needed to drive the car today and it’s rain for the next week.

The longevity may be tarnished by this but so far the water wicking is immensely better then prior so I’m happy. This cost me little out of pocket and mostly just took time so it’s not a total waste.

I’ll still do the re load after the next wash and see how it looks. When I get time to install better lights in the garage I’ll likely re do the process. Thankfully this is my wife’s vehicle and stays in the garage and doesn’t get a lot of miles on it so the paint generally needs far less correction work then say my car that gets 100 miles a day logged and sits outside all the time.

 

[tones_RS3]

The box said 48 hrs but unfortunately that just wasn’t possible as we needed to drive the car today and it’s rain for the next week.
The longevity may be tarnished by this but so far the water wicking is immensely better then prior so I’m happy. This cost me little out of pocket and mostly just took time so it’s not a total waste.
I’ll still do the re load after the next wash and see how it looks. When I get time to install better lights in the garage I’ll likely re do the process. Thankfully this is my wife’s vehicle and stays in the garage and doesn’t get a lot of miles on it so the paint generally needs far less correction work then say my car that gets 100 miles a day logged and sits outside all the time.

Awesome man.
I bet after you wash it and apply the Reload on it, it'll be good to go. I have the Cquartz Finest on my truck and use the Reload every other wash or so. The water beads off like crazy and it's so easy to clean the truck when it gets dirty.

 

[NastyGT500]

Yeah, definitely needed more time to cure. It'll probably water spot like a crazy too. You can go the Essence route on the areas you are not happy with and then re-coat. Let it cure! Make sure you have the time to keep it dry, and give it the proper time.

And yes, a little coating will go a long way. Watch your flash times, hard on white I know, they will vary with the temp and humidity.

Keep us posted!

 

[My94GT]

Yeah, definitely needed more time to cure. It'll probably water spot like a crazy too. You can go the Essence route on the areas you are not happy with and then re-coat. Let it cure! Make sure you have the time to keep it dry, and give it the proper time.

And yes, a little coating will go a long way. Watch your flash times, hard on white I know, they will vary with the temp and humidity.

Keep us posted!

Thanks! I’ll be interested to see how it behaves as it dries in the garage tonight. I can see a few spots I missed on the doors because the water wasn’t balling up like on the rest of the car.

Am I safe to assume more light in the garage will help make it more visible as it flashes? It was damn tough to see where I had applied as I worked across the larger panels.

 

[NastyGT500]

What color is it? Lighter colors/white are tough to see to apply as well as when it flashes. Try it with more light, sometimes I find myself turning some off in order to 'see better'. It's a weird dynamic sometimes.

 

[My94GT]

What color is it? Lighter colors/white are tough to see to apply as well as when it flashes. Try it with more light, sometimes I find myself turning some off in order to 'see better'. It's a weird dynamic sometimes.

It’s bright white but still flat so I don’t even have pearl in it to help show the cured spots haha. The one down side of white is it’s hard to see product on it. The upside however is it really hides blemishes well.

Hopefully this pic attaches, it’s beading well in the rain we’ve had all week. Once in the garage the water just dissipates and I see no spotting yet and very little dirt which is flung up from the wheels.

 

[My94GT]

Pic try again

 

[NastyGT500]

OK, looks solid to me. Beading like it should! Yep, white is a PIA!! LOL

Keep us posted!

 

[My94GT]

OK, looks solid to me. Beading like it should! Yep, white is a PIA!! LOL

Keep us posted!

What a relief to hear it cured properly. I have some CQ left over so I think the next dry weekend I’ll pull the wheels on the Volvo and deep clean then coat them.

Also is it safe to apply this to the glass? And one more, suggestions for leather I see they make a ceramic coat for that, is it worth it? While the interior is still pretty much new I’d like to protect it before the child and dogs add in their wear and tear.

 

[NastyGT500]

Coat those wheels! It'll make clean up much easier!

I don't use any CQ products, but I would shy away from using it on glass. I know there are dedicated glass coatings out there.

Yes, definitely coat your leather, especially with children and pets. Again, cleanup/accidents will be able to be taken care of much more quickly and easily. I like GYEON leather for interiors.

 

[My94GT]

Coat those wheels! It'll make clean up much easier!

I don't use any CQ products, but I would shy away from using it on glass. I know there are dedicated glass coatings out there.

Yes, definitely coat your leather, especially with children and pets. Again, cleanup/accidents will be able to be taken care of much more quickly and easily. I like GYEON leather for interiors.

Any recommendations for glass coatings? I’ll look into the GYRON. Yes the goal with this is easy clean up. I’m fourtunate that I have the ability to do such things as paint correction and tasks of that nature so may as well utilize it.

Thanks for the help! After I finish the Volvo I plan to do my fusion which will need much more paint correction work as it rarely gets any love.

 

[NastyGT500]

I haven't found one that I love yet. Still in the process of finding a glass coating that is user friendly and doesn't streak or haze.

Good deal, keep us posted man!