[Limegrntaln]

Anyone a hobby detailer, that's doing their own new car prep and ceramic?

Basically, does anyone have basic paint depth measurements for the G8X? I'm trying to get an idea of what ceramic coating I'm going to install. I appreciate the therapeutic aspect of it, and I enjoy taking my time and getting it as perfect as I can. As you can see, I enjoy doing it, myself. Friends car.

[luckylingy]

I’ll apply 3 coats of CarPro CQuartz plus a layer of Gliss or CQuartz Lite, once my car is home — AFTER all the preparatory steps CarPro prescribes. (I’m getting Performance Center delivery, since I bought mine 1,2000 away. Had I bought it locally, like my previous 3-4 BMWs, I’d have done the cosmetic prep myself.).

I’ve found from experience that multiple layers make a meaningful difference in long-term durability, and that shorter-life top coat serves as a sacrificial layer. I just maintain the hydrophobic properties with Elixir every 3-4 washes.

My current BMW is Black Sapphire (as in, unforgiving), but it exhibits virtually no swirls or scratches after 40,000 miles and nearly 3 years — as long as I hand-wash it.

[Limegrntaln]

100% its all about the prep, and the sacrificial layer. The more you can get a good prep and coat on the car, after its been corrected, properly, the better off youre going to be, long term.

[merlin3008]

I'm going to do a coating myself as well, but i'm going to start with cquartz lite. It's my first foray into ceramic. Plus I'm getting my car in November so I really need something that I know will last six months so I can do a proper Spring detail. I'm hoping that I get the M3 when the hose is still running so I can wash and decontaminate outdoors before bringing it inside to polish and prep. Perhaps when my comfort level is higher, I'll move to a more durable coating in the spring, but baby steps for now.

[luckylingy]

Nothing wrong with that approach, merlin3008, as long as you do a proper paint correction and preparation come springtime. I too expect to take delivery after the first frost (snow?) but have the benefit of a well lit, heated space in which to detail our vehicles. Plus the time.

The risk of leaving permanent highspots with a ceramic coating may intimidate, but worry not. Work one small area at a time, use product sparingly, and don’t wait too long for it to cure. Use a critical eye and good lighting (from multiple angles) to ensure you polish off any excess product. And like paint, multiple thin layers of ceramic is better than one thickly applied layer.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by merlin3008

I'm going to do a coating myself as well, but i'm going to start with cquartz lite. It's my first foray into ceramic. Plus I'm getting my car in November so I really need something that I know will last six months so I can do a proper Spring detail. I'm hoping that I get the M3 when the hose is still running so I can wash and decontaminate outdoors before bringing it inside to polish and prep. Perhaps when my comfort level is higher, I'll move to a more durable coating in the spring, but baby steps for now.

I think using anything from the cquartz line, youre going to find that it lasts longer than you could probably imagine. That coating is not going to be worn off by the summer, at all. Unless youre using it in heavy rain and snow. If you have just horrible weather, all the time, its still probably going to last a year or two. If you put that on, expecting it to be gone, by the summer, you may find yourself trying to compound it off, to get the paint prepared for a new coating.

Id like to get a professional coating, installed. They dont sell any pro grade, bake on, coatings to hobby detailers. But the closest I can probably get to something I will be able to install, myself, would probably be Kamikaze Zipang Coat. This stiff is great, and even has some self healing properties. Meaning, you can sit it out in the sun, and it will actually heal up some light swirling. Ive heard of people installing it without paint correcting, and it fills in most of the swirls. Its expensive, though. The only place in the US, that sells it, is Esoteric, in Ohio, and I think they want $319 for it. I order mine from CarZilla in Canada, because, its only 319CAD, which is only $252, even with $17 shipping to the US, its much cheaper.

[merlin3008]

I just did a correction on my wife's Tesla and finished with two coats of Cquartz Lite and a topper of Reload. It was my first attempt at ceramic and I'm really happy with the results! May do the same to the M3 when it arrives, but thinking about stepping up to a more durable coating like Cquartz UK.

[JDUNITNOW]

What do you guys think of Turtle Wax products? I clean and upkeep my cars weekly and have ever used ceramic coatings. My cars have always stayed nice and when I sold them, everyone was impressed on the way they looked. I never used the two bucket method and kept a good coat of wax and maintained with turtle wax sprays. As far as PPF, I am really torn whether it's worth the money. My 09 750li with 145k when I sold it last year looked as good as any other car on the road.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by Wyndi335I

What do you guys think of Turtle Wax products? I clean and upkeep my cars weekly and have ever used ceramic coatings. My cars have always stayed nice and when I sold them, everyone was impressed on the way they looked. I never used the two bucket method and kept a good coat of wax and maintained with turtle wax sprays. As far as PPF, I am really torn whether it's worth the money. My 09 750li with 145k when I sold it last year looked as good as any other car on the road.

I think its all about preference. Ceramic Coatings have their drawbacks, and they arent for everyone. Cost is one of them, and one of the others is, that people just enjoy the warm glow of a good wax.

Turtle Wax has stepped it up over the past few years. If you had asked me 2-3 years ago, my response would have been

Their Turtle Wax Ice Seal and Shine is money. The hydrophobicity, and durability, actually makes it one of the best spray on sealants on the market.

My Go-to's are Jescar PowerLock Plus. Collinite 845, and Soft 99 Fusso Coat. If you want something thats just about bulletproof as a paste wax, Fusso is insane. You cant kill it. It literally beads like a ceramic coating, a year or more after you apply it.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by merlin3008

I just did a correction on my wife's Tesla and finished with two coats of Cquartz Lite and a topper of Reload. It was my first attempt at ceramic and I'm really happy with the results! May do the same to the M3 when it arrives, but thinking about stepping up to a more durable coating like Cquartz UK.

Looks great!! There is so much involved in getting the car prepped correctly, and coated. You really have to take some time and learn the procedure to get good results.

[JDUNITNOW]

Originally Posted by Limegrntaln

I think its all about preference. Ceramic Coatings have their drawbacks, and they arent for everyone. Cost is one of them, and one of the others is, that people just enjoy the warm glow of a good wax.

Turtle Wax has stepped it up over the past few years. If you had asked me 2-3 years ago, my response would have been

Their Turtle Wax Ice Seal and Shine is money. The hydrophobicity, and durability, actually makes it one of the best spray on sealants on the market.

My Go-to's are Jescar PowerLock Plus. Collinite 845, and Soft 99 Fusso Coat. If you want something thats just about bulletproof as a paste wax, Fusso is insane. You cant kill it. It literally beads like a ceramic coating, a year or more after you apply it.

I need to look into those. Can you use the turtle wax as a topper for maintenance. That would nice.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by Wyndi335I

I need to look into those. Can you use the turtle wax as a topper for maintenance. That would nice.

With the ones I listed, you dont even need a topper. Check out some videos of Soft 99 Fusso on YouTube. Its unbelievable for a paste wax. I dont believe anything touches it. If you wanted to you could top JesCar and Collinute, but with a spray like Sonax BSD. If you put a paste wax over it, the surface would just adopt the wax properties, and everything underneath, would be worthless. It would have to be a spray on sealant. Wax, Wax, Seal.

[kith_m4]

Random silly question... Is the Permaplate sold by dealers a sealant that's not going to work with ceramic coating? Trying to figure out if I should cancel it since I'm planning on putting ceramic coating on my M4C.

Originally Posted by Limegrntaln

With the ones I listed, you dont even need a topper. Check out some videos of Soft 99 Fusso on YouTube. Its unbelievable for a paste wax. I dont believe anything touches it. If you wanted to you could top JesCar and Collinute, but with a spray like Sonax BSD. If you put a paste wax over it, the surface would just adopt the wax properties, and everything underneath, would be worthless. It would have to be a spray on sealant. Wax, Wax, Seal.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by ycbright

Random silly question... Is the Permaplate sold by dealers a sealant that's not going to work with ceramic coating? Trying to figure out if I should cancel it since I'm planning on putting ceramic coating on my M4C.

Yeah, that's not something that's going to work with ceramic coating.

Perma Plate is more about the warranty that comes with keeping the car looking good. It looks good for a few weeks, and you're not going to see the visual effects that you're going to see from a ceramic coating. Most people can't even tell they did anything after installing permaplate.

Car looks clean, well, that's because it's brand new. Nothing can really take the place of a quality ceramic coating.

[kith_m4]

Yea my CA actually just told me they would apply only to the interior cuz of the matte paint. Now I got a huge debate to ask for refund cuz apparently the finance manager didn't make it clear and put in both interior & exterior together in the package when I explicitly asked about matte finish and whether it would work...

Originally Posted by Limegrntaln

Yeah, that's not something that's going to work with ceramic coating.

Perma Plate is more about the warranty that comes with keeping the car looking good. It looks good for a few weeks, and you're not going to see the visual effects that you're going to see from a ceramic coating. Most people can't even tell they did anything after installing permaplate.

Car looks clean, well, that's because it's brand new. Nothing can really take the place of a quality ceramic coating.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by ycbright

Yea my CA actually just told me they would apply only to the interior cuz of the matte paint. Now I got a huge debate to ask for refund cuz apparently the finance manager didn't make it clear and put in both interior & exterior together in the package when I explicitly asked about matte finish and whether it would work...

Yeah, they don't like to give money back once you're out of finance. And most of the time the finance manager has no idea what your car even looks like.

[kith_m4]

Exactly. The fact that you don't get to write a review for the finance manager drives me insane lol but I am having my CA take care of it just because he's super nice and I have control on his review at least and I already complained about the lack of knowledge and bad experience with the finance manager. Also, the fact that they charged MSRP - loyalty credit for me is another bonus that doesn't make me feel so bad atm

Originally Posted by Limegrntaln

Yeah, they don't like to give money back once you're out of finance. And most of the time the finance manager has no idea what your car even looks like.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by ycbright

Exactly. The fact that you don't get to write a review for the finance manager drives me insane lol but I am having my CA take care of it just because he's super nice and I have control on his review at least and I already complained about the lack of knowledge and bad experience with the finance manager. Also, the fact that they charged MSRP - loyalty credit for me is another bonus that doesn't make me feel so bad atm

That was the bad thing when I worked at the dealer. The salesman took the heat for all of the reviews. "Did your salesman give you a tour of the service department?" "No, but Ive bought 2 cars from there, and neither did the other salesman. Im familiar with it, I get my cars serviced there, all the time." WRONG DING! Ugh.

[xantdieselx]

Went with Ammo Reflex Pro ceramic with a top coat of Ammo Reboot and am very happy with the results. Of course as others have mentioned, it's all in the prep.

I always take delivery fully wrapped from the factory but there were some water spots from sitting at NJ VPN for about a month due to recalls. Nothing a clay and light polish couldn't get out. The BG definitely changes colors depending on the light.

[Limegrntaln]

Originally Posted by xantdieselx

Went with Ammo Reflex Pro ceramic with a top coat of Ammo Reboot and am very happy with the results. Of course as others have mentioned, it's all in the prep.

I always take delivery fully wrapped from the factory but there were some water spots from sitting at NJ VPN for about a month due to recalls. Nothing a clay and light polish couldn't get out. The BG definitely changes colors depending on the light.

I've never used any of Larry's products, but I hear they are pretty good. Car looks great. I'm so glad I ordered the bi-color wheels. Of course, your are so shiny, they may even be the black wheels.

My car is day 6 at the port for RAM module. I'm sure there will be some contaminants I'll need to remove. I plan on taking delivery, fully wrapped, as well.

[xantdieselx]

Originally Posted by Limegrntaln

I've never used any of Larry's products, but I hear they are pretty good. Car looks great. I'm so glad I ordered the bi-color wheels. My car is day 6 at the port for RAM module. I'm sure there will be some contaminants I'll need to remove. I plan on taking delivery, fully wrapped, as well.

Thank you. Awesome. I'm excited for you. Mine took 5+ months to come in. Ordered in March and was delivered near the end of August. I had two stop sales, one for the audio module and the other was camera retrofit. Seemed like an eternity.

Forgot to mention, I had PPF done first as well. I agree on the bi-color 826's. I think they really accentuate the design of the wheel. You are absolutely going to love it. I'm blown away every time I drive it.

One thing I'm still getting used to is the amount of attention this car gets. Make sure you post some pics. What color combo did you go with?