Hi Everyone,
20 months ago I decided to put a new coating on my Mustang and after being floored with Gtechniq's CSU coating on another one of my cars I decided to test their consumer friendly application as it was time to consider a new coating for my Mustang. If anyone is interested in the prep work I did for my Mustang or the install process I am happy to post that, but until then I won't post in order to help with the posts length lol.
Please note that there are no edits to the photos for contrast, color, sharpness or any weird filters. I did however try to block out my license plate. These were taken with my cell phone and utilizing proper lighting/angle manipulation.
What is CSL & EXO
IMG_0318 by Sean C, on Flickr
CSL:
CSL is a robust 9h ceramic coating that gives you 3-5 year's of protection. During this time you can expect enhanced protection against minor scratches/swirls, ph2-ph12 chemicals, enhanced gloss and slickness as well as your cars body work being noticeably easier to clean.
EXO:
EXO is not a ceramic coating. It is a lighter coating that can last up to 24 months. The main advantage of EXO would be its hydrophobic's for impressive water & dirt repellency as well as its gloss that makes your car look wet.
CSL vs CSL with EXO Topper
IMG_E0330 by Sean C, on Flickr
One thing I asked myself was how does CSL do on its own vs being topped with EXO. On its own, CSL is a very capable ceramic caoting that makes your car look better, clean easier and has great life span for a consumer intended product. CSL doesn't have any true weak points, but if I were to pick the weakest point of CSL it would be its water repellency. It is by no means bad, in fact it is pretty good, it is just in comparison to everything else the coating does (slickness, swirl resistance, gloss etc) it is the weakest aspect of the coating.
As good as CSL is on its own, EXO makes a difference when added as a topper. For starts it boosts everything that CSL does well. You can expect your car to be slicker, glossier, and wetter looking. To me though the biggest adder EXO brings are its hydrophobics. EXO provides crazy water repellency, bead, and dirt repellency while it is there. Simply put, if you are willing to put in the extra time to apply EXO as a topper you will be rewarded.
Impressions
IMG_E0310 by Sean C, on Flickr
When I first rolled my Mustang out of the garage 20 months ago after CSL + EXO cured, all I could say was "wow." The results were better than I was expecting. The first thing I noticed was how glossy my Mustang had become. In person it felt like my car got with with a contrast boost filter and I felt the lines seemed to pop more than before. Going beyond the pop my my Mustang had, it also became highly reflective to what was around it when clean. Simply put this would be the 3rd coating my Mustang has had on it, and it is the best she has looked, period.
After ogling-I mean inspecting my Mustang I wanted to see how slick the coating was. This pairing is EXTREMELY slick. The photo with the CSL and EXO boxes were very difficult to take as they started sliding after 2-3 seconds, some areas it was immediate. If you put something like CarPro Reload or Gtechniq C2 on the car it will slide immediately in virtually every spot of the car. Even just running my fingers along the body of my Mustang everything felt so smooth and so slick. When everything was said and done with my first impressions I came to the conclusion that my car looked more like it had a professional job than consumer.
IMG_0331 by Sean C, on Flickr
IMG_0302 by Sean C, on Flickr
IMG_0333 by Sean C, on Flickr
IMG_0326 by Sean C, on Flickr
After a couple weeks of driving, and a few compliments on my Mustangs appearance, I decided to test out how easy it was to clean. First thing I noticed was the water bead and repellency. The coating provided beautiful water spheres, and when hitting with a regular hose for a water sheeting test the water sheets right off the car. Moving forward to actually cleaning the car I took notice of how much easier it was to clean. Bug gut and grime that accumulated was removed with ease. No specific products were needed, this is the easiest my Mustang as been to clean.
16 Month Update:
Fast foward 16 months and I am still in love with this pairing from Gtechniq. I have not seen any signs of wear on the pairing. My Mustang still looks great, is easy to clean and EXO does not appear to be wearing away yet.
IMG_0257 by Sean C, on Flickr
IMG_0327 by Sean C, on Flickr
IMG_0300 by Sean C, on Flickr
20 Month Update:
After moving from VA to CA for the next couple of year's I finally got around to my Mustang. No real swirl marks to report and the body still looks like reflective glass. With that being said, around 18-19 months (whirlwind of a move so I can't remember unfortunately) you could tell that EXO was starting to wear. The car looks glossy and had good water repellency still, but it wasn't as good as it was at 16 months. 20 months in I get around to reapplying EXO. The process for reapplying EXO is pretty simple. In most cases all you need is a solid wash and then go over the car with Panel Wipe/Eraser. After that you are good to apply EXO. After reapplying EXOv4 everyhting was right back to where it was, no complaints.
1C0FECE1-2146-4DE0-8A0A-5F3D4C1A9C3D by Sean C, on Flickr
B15BD540-54B3-4623-9C3A-6B6671038465 by Sean C, on Flickr
40CC6FE0-4FAB-4BA6-B981-3AEC1F2873FD by Sean C, on Flickr
0A40B3C6-9419-44C1-938E-E6EB37691E5E by Sean C, on Flickr
Conclusion
After 20 months of living with this pairing and I am still pleased as I was the day I completed the install. Gtechniq really did a bang up job on the CSL + EXO pairing. It is easy to apply (more so than CQuartz) and the results look far more professional than any other consumer friendly coating I have used. I would highly recomend this coating pairing to anyone that is interested in coating their coat with a gratifying project. Hopefully this write was able to help some of you that were unsure on Gtechniq CSL + EXO, or at the very least provided an entertaining 10 minute time kill lol.
20 months ago I decided to put a new coating on my Mustang and after being floored with Gtechniq's CSU coating on another one of my cars I decided to test their consumer friendly application as it was time to consider a new coating for my Mustang. If anyone is interested in the prep work I did for my Mustang or the install process I am happy to post that, but until then I won't post in order to help with the posts length lol.
Please note that there are no edits to the photos for contrast, color, sharpness or any weird filters. I did however try to block out my license plate. These were taken with my cell phone and utilizing proper lighting/angle manipulation.
What is CSL & EXO
CSL:
CSL is a robust 9h ceramic coating that gives you 3-5 year's of protection. During this time you can expect enhanced protection against minor scratches/swirls, ph2-ph12 chemicals, enhanced gloss and slickness as well as your cars body work being noticeably easier to clean.
EXO:
EXO is not a ceramic coating. It is a lighter coating that can last up to 24 months. The main advantage of EXO would be its hydrophobic's for impressive water & dirt repellency as well as its gloss that makes your car look wet.
CSL vs CSL with EXO Topper
One thing I asked myself was how does CSL do on its own vs being topped with EXO. On its own, CSL is a very capable ceramic caoting that makes your car look better, clean easier and has great life span for a consumer intended product. CSL doesn't have any true weak points, but if I were to pick the weakest point of CSL it would be its water repellency. It is by no means bad, in fact it is pretty good, it is just in comparison to everything else the coating does (slickness, swirl resistance, gloss etc) it is the weakest aspect of the coating.
As good as CSL is on its own, EXO makes a difference when added as a topper. For starts it boosts everything that CSL does well. You can expect your car to be slicker, glossier, and wetter looking. To me though the biggest adder EXO brings are its hydrophobics. EXO provides crazy water repellency, bead, and dirt repellency while it is there. Simply put, if you are willing to put in the extra time to apply EXO as a topper you will be rewarded.
Impressions
When I first rolled my Mustang out of the garage 20 months ago after CSL + EXO cured, all I could say was "wow." The results were better than I was expecting. The first thing I noticed was how glossy my Mustang had become. In person it felt like my car got with with a contrast boost filter and I felt the lines seemed to pop more than before. Going beyond the pop my my Mustang had, it also became highly reflective to what was around it when clean. Simply put this would be the 3rd coating my Mustang has had on it, and it is the best she has looked, period.
After ogling-I mean inspecting my Mustang I wanted to see how slick the coating was. This pairing is EXTREMELY slick. The photo with the CSL and EXO boxes were very difficult to take as they started sliding after 2-3 seconds, some areas it was immediate. If you put something like CarPro Reload or Gtechniq C2 on the car it will slide immediately in virtually every spot of the car. Even just running my fingers along the body of my Mustang everything felt so smooth and so slick. When everything was said and done with my first impressions I came to the conclusion that my car looked more like it had a professional job than consumer.
After a couple weeks of driving, and a few compliments on my Mustangs appearance, I decided to test out how easy it was to clean. First thing I noticed was the water bead and repellency. The coating provided beautiful water spheres, and when hitting with a regular hose for a water sheeting test the water sheets right off the car. Moving forward to actually cleaning the car I took notice of how much easier it was to clean. Bug gut and grime that accumulated was removed with ease. No specific products were needed, this is the easiest my Mustang as been to clean.
16 Month Update:
Fast foward 16 months and I am still in love with this pairing from Gtechniq. I have not seen any signs of wear on the pairing. My Mustang still looks great, is easy to clean and EXO does not appear to be wearing away yet.
20 Month Update:
After moving from VA to CA for the next couple of year's I finally got around to my Mustang. No real swirl marks to report and the body still looks like reflective glass. With that being said, around 18-19 months (whirlwind of a move so I can't remember unfortunately) you could tell that EXO was starting to wear. The car looks glossy and had good water repellency still, but it wasn't as good as it was at 16 months. 20 months in I get around to reapplying EXO. The process for reapplying EXO is pretty simple. In most cases all you need is a solid wash and then go over the car with Panel Wipe/Eraser. After that you are good to apply EXO. After reapplying EXOv4 everyhting was right back to where it was, no complaints.
Conclusion
After 20 months of living with this pairing and I am still pleased as I was the day I completed the install. Gtechniq really did a bang up job on the CSL + EXO pairing. It is easy to apply (more so than CQuartz) and the results look far more professional than any other consumer friendly coating I have used. I would highly recomend this coating pairing to anyone that is interested in coating their coat with a gratifying project. Hopefully this write was able to help some of you that were unsure on Gtechniq CSL + EXO, or at the very least provided an entertaining 10 minute time kill lol.
