Longterm safety of ceramic coatings question

You know that is a great question and I'm not sure I even considered that before I applied it to my cars but I have had Ceramic type coating's of a different brand on my cars since 2012 and have not had any negative issues. They have been great for me overall in terms of looks, durability and ease of maintenance,

Not sure the Aluminum base makes any difference as apposed to steel as it sits on the paint.

If you are that concerned wax is proven in the longer term for sure, but the coatings are out and on plenty of uber expensive cars and I'm a bit of detailing geek, and I have never heard of a coating ruining a paint job or sub structure.

The person you choose to apply the coating is more important than product you choose for sure. Lots of good products, not lots of great detailers sadly.

Where are you located? Perhaps I can help steer you, if not ask in your local F Car clubs for references.

Good Luck.

 

Automotive paint coating systems are only new to the US market. They've been used for 15+ years in Asia.

Think of it like just like a paint job. There are good paint jobs and bad paint jobs. There is quality paint and poor quality paint. Mix poor craftsmanship with good paint and it still sucks. Mix wonderful craftsmanship with poor paint quality ...and it is bad.

The key is a quality product and a craftsman doing the work. A quality paint coating system like CQF will not damage your paint. It sits on top of the paint and is not reactive with clear coat. If the coating fails for some reason, it can be removed via polishing.

 

I must add in one caveat. Gtechniq Crystal Serum etches the paint. Proper application ends well...improper application can literally ruin a whole paint job.

 

No. Crystal Serum was designed to etch. CQF was designed to be a layer. Completely different processes.

 

For those who have tried more than one of the semi-permanent coatings, do you have a recommendation for the one that's the easiest to work with for a DIYer? I'd like to apply one to my white SLK but I'm afraid the color will make seeing high spots difficult.

 

I have successfully installed CQuartz, GTECH EXo v1, EXO v2, Opticoat 2.0 (discontinued now), Gloss Coat, and 22PLE.

They are all pretty easy to apply. I found the GTECH EXO v2, Gloss Coat and 22PLE all very easy to apply and get pro results with.

No matter what you choose, the polishing stop and prep will be critical as the finished product will never look good unless the polish and prep are done properly.

 

Having applied Cquartz Finest (pro version) to over 150 cars, and not one failed paint job, i'd say its safe for all paints.

As JC mentioned, its layerable, and its semi-permanent, which means it can be removed from the clear coat. and you can start over should you want to switch to something else for some reason.

 

Hi,
when i purchased my 575m HGTC on february 2013, my seller advised me about the extreme plus paint treatment ... i decided to do it, prie was expensive 1800 eur for all exterior body, wheels and brake calipers.
This treatment is nice, washing the car is easy only by water, also after rain the car remain more clean.
This treatment will ok for about 6 years .....for a less use of the car.
On my before Ferrari i applied one time per year a wax on body and brillance was great, only when rain body was not clean like with extremeplus.
If you ask me: do you think in the future buy agin extremeplus? answer is i don't know .....
Extreme-plus

 

Thanks, Jsf721. I was hoping you'd weigh in. Based on your review and my subsequent reading about 22ple, I've been leaning that way. But I'm now very interested in the Polish Angel Viking, simply because it seems foolproof.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, but it keeps me out of trouble. After burning some paint 30 years ago with a high powered rotary polisher and cotton bonnets, it took quite a bit of convincing for me to try a DA, but once I did I saw how difficult it is to screw up as long as you're using foam pads. But I'm still very conservative with pad choices and speeds. My guess is that coatings will be the same, and I'll wonder why I didn't do it sooner. The great thing is, it's emerging technology, so it seems to keep getting better & better.

Any idea why OptiCoat 2 went away? I'd heard that it had, but hadn't heard the reason. That's a shame because I really like Optimum products and was hoping to eventually use the OptiCoat on at least a couple of the cars.

And yeah, I'm big about prep, no matter what LSP I'm applying. Would be even more so when using a semi-permanent coating. That's why I'd really like to do it a panel or two at a time, which is how I typically work my paints now. Might do a two or three stage correction/polish of one side of a car, followed by one coat of LSP, then come back a day or two later and add another coat of LSP before moving on to another section of the car. That way I don't get sloppy because I'm trying to get it all finished in one day-- I just work each panel as much as I see fit, then stop (hopefully) before I get to the stage of hurting the next day.

Thanks again!

 

My opinion is that OC2.0 is gone for a few reasons.

The first is that it competed with OC Pro in that everyone saw both products as "lifetime" coatings(which neither are). As of now, Optimum sells OC Pro as their flagship coating and then a different product as an over the counter solution that "lasts 2-years".

I could go on and on about what those guys have done. It's a real riot.

 

My first ceramic clear coat 3 years ago has worn off, so now my detailer has just installed Cquartz 3 months ago and it is great stuff. The best part is that he puts it on the wheels too, so the brake dust just washes off with a hose, instead of being the usual PITA to get off.

 

I think OC 2.0 went away because A, it really lasted 2 years and was billed as a permenant coating. That was a good product but bad marketing IMHO. It worked but was not slick like a lot of the coatings today and the newest release from Optimum (that I hve on my sons car is performing well and is slick and beads better than 2.0.

I currently have Viking Coat on my Daily Driver. Looks like wax performs much better than a wax. I did top off with a White Alabaster spray that helped bring back the suoer hydrophobia I love.

I have 22PLE on my wifes MDX Its been on for 3+ months and is amazing, not need to do anything but wash.

I have EXO v2 on my other sons Jeep and it is just amazing, Just about equal to 22PLE and less of accost. 22PLE may be slightly easier to apply only because the set up time is longer and if you miss a spot it can be wiped down easier.

I have EXO v1 on my garage queen going on 3 years and its still perfect.

If you answer the following questions I can steer you. Please know I am not a pro but know the products I have used. I don't benefit financially by recommending any of these products (disclaimer over). I am just a detail geek that like clean protected cars. (sad but true.)


1. All of the above are easy enough to apply.
2. Viking Coat is great and I don't know your weather. I love the look but I topped it after 3 months, the look is amazing but I don't like topping. Waste of time and $ if you have a garage queen keep it in the mix, if not know it will require another product. And I love it.
3. 22ple and EXO v2 are very similar.EXO made bead smaller but both make you paint look like a sucking candy you have taken out of your mouth. Nice and wet and shiny.
4. Gloss Coat (replaces OC 2.0) is easy to apply. Looks amazing. ANd is slicker than 2.0 but not like EXO, 22PLE or Viking Coat. It beads but not as well as all the others. The beads are bigger. BUT it is way more durable to bird bombs, and poor washing (less marring) than all the others. Nothing sticks to it, its easy to wash and it looks fantastic.

Keep in mind, when you go to a detailer, they all push what they carry. There are territories for detailers. I'm not knocking anyone, I just wanted to aware you in case your going the pro route.

Some guys carry more than one product none have all. if your a DIY guy, you can buy whatever non pro product you want. Again make sure you get the paint how you want it before applying anything on top as far as LSP. Any coating will accentuate the defects left behind in my experience.

Good luck and don't over think it. There are a lot of good products and I don't think you can go wrong with any on my list or the Cquarts. The Cquarts was not my favorite because I don't like to have to use the reload to top it off.

Hope this helped.

If you PM me your email I send you videos. I cant post pics or video here for some reason

I have done my car over multiple days when I felt I was getting sloppy (tired) as well now I can knock it out mostly in 1 long day and a morning for the glass and trim.
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