in_an_instant
New member
Hey folks, my wife and I decided to send our new Q60 to the pros for paint correction, film and Ceramic Pro 9H coating. I've always detailed our cars and within the last year I started getting got into compounds and polishes. I purchased a Griot's orbital about a year ago. Anyhow, long story short I've been intimidated by anything more than traditional double-bucket washing, waxing and sealing.
The Q went to the pros but I've been dying to try a DIY ceramic coat. I picked up the 50ml CQuartz 3.0 w/ Reload from amazon and decided I'd take a stab at coating my 4Runner. She's a 2016 in nautical blue metallic. We are in the Poconos and drive the heck out of our truck. Because we have little ones, anything time consuming and awesome needs to be broken down in time quadrants. I decided to start with the front of the truck. I did everything but the actual coating in the rain. It started raining last night so I pulled the truck out. To me, rain is like free bug softener.
1. Double bucket washed it, using extra soap so I had enough lube to also clay it.
2. Hit the headlights with my blower. These headlights seem to weep water for days.
3. Pulled her in the garage and dried her with a synthetic shammy I got at Walmart for like $10.
4. Waited a few hours and caught drips off and on.
5. Hit her with chemical guys VSS polish on an orange pad making sure to lube the pad with luber every few rounds. Total materials about $25
5. Wiped it down with 50/50 alcohol/water mix, then just water.
6. Followed up with Menzerna Final Polish on a black pad. Total materials $40.
7. Applied CQuartz UK 3.0. Total materials $70. I've done the entire front and have used about 1/8th of the bottle. I had watched a few youtube videos and assumed they made it look easy but I have to say, it is easy. Humidity is very high right now due to the rain but temps are in the high 40s in my garage. I just applied it in criss cross pattern in big 2x2, sometimes 3x3 chunks and waited about 2 minutes and then buffed it with the supplied cloth. I then moved onto the next section. Once applied I revisited the previous section and gave it a final buff. At times it looked very streaky but as you level it out with the buffing it all goes away.
It has been curing now for a few hours and I'm honestly shocked at how beautiful the results are. I'm seeing colors in the paint that I never saw before like jade green. Here are some shots. I was able to clear all of the deep scratches and swirls with the VSS. We drive through all kinds of $hit. After the VSS it looked good but that dang menzerna final polish REALLY set it off. Applying the CQuartz was almost like laying down a coat of luscious gel. It filled in very slight spider webs that I didn't catch with the polish rounds and made it look dripping wet. I was waiting for that effect to dissipate but it hasn't, it just stays wet looking.
I mention cost on all the above because my Ceramic Pro 9H coating on the Q is going to cost me $900... I know the quality of the stuff they have access too is better than what we can get but heck, the results I'm getting from my DIY attempt are great so far.
The Q went to the pros but I've been dying to try a DIY ceramic coat. I picked up the 50ml CQuartz 3.0 w/ Reload from amazon and decided I'd take a stab at coating my 4Runner. She's a 2016 in nautical blue metallic. We are in the Poconos and drive the heck out of our truck. Because we have little ones, anything time consuming and awesome needs to be broken down in time quadrants. I decided to start with the front of the truck. I did everything but the actual coating in the rain. It started raining last night so I pulled the truck out. To me, rain is like free bug softener.
1. Double bucket washed it, using extra soap so I had enough lube to also clay it.
2. Hit the headlights with my blower. These headlights seem to weep water for days.
3. Pulled her in the garage and dried her with a synthetic shammy I got at Walmart for like $10.
4. Waited a few hours and caught drips off and on.
5. Hit her with chemical guys VSS polish on an orange pad making sure to lube the pad with luber every few rounds. Total materials about $25
5. Wiped it down with 50/50 alcohol/water mix, then just water.
6. Followed up with Menzerna Final Polish on a black pad. Total materials $40.
7. Applied CQuartz UK 3.0. Total materials $70. I've done the entire front and have used about 1/8th of the bottle. I had watched a few youtube videos and assumed they made it look easy but I have to say, it is easy. Humidity is very high right now due to the rain but temps are in the high 40s in my garage. I just applied it in criss cross pattern in big 2x2, sometimes 3x3 chunks and waited about 2 minutes and then buffed it with the supplied cloth. I then moved onto the next section. Once applied I revisited the previous section and gave it a final buff. At times it looked very streaky but as you level it out with the buffing it all goes away.
It has been curing now for a few hours and I'm honestly shocked at how beautiful the results are. I'm seeing colors in the paint that I never saw before like jade green. Here are some shots. I was able to clear all of the deep scratches and swirls with the VSS. We drive through all kinds of $hit. After the VSS it looked good but that dang menzerna final polish REALLY set it off. Applying the CQuartz was almost like laying down a coat of luscious gel. It filled in very slight spider webs that I didn't catch with the polish rounds and made it look dripping wet. I was waiting for that effect to dissipate but it hasn't, it just stays wet looking.
I mention cost on all the above because my Ceramic Pro 9H coating on the Q is going to cost me $900... I know the quality of the stuff they have access too is better than what we can get but heck, the results I'm getting from my DIY attempt are great so far.
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