This product keeps amazing me every time it rains or I go to wash my truck..
Like everyone else says, do your prep work! My Nissan Frontier had permanent water spots on the paint.. It looked terrible.. I had to buff the entire truck with a pretty aggressive polishing compound, then finish with a fine compound to get through those water spots and fine scratches.. Once that was done, I thoroughly washed and dried and went over the truck with CarPro Eraser.. The application process was pretty smooth. I'm in Florida in the middle of summer.. I went over a panel, by the time I finished the lower area of a door, the product was already flashing and starting to haze.. I buffed over it with a new micro fiber cloth until it was clean looking.. Done..
By the way, 30ml barely finished an 08 Nissan Frontier. I was literally shaking the last drop out of the bottle to finish my last section.. So if you have a mid-sized truck or larger vehicle, I'd recommend buying the 50ml bottle of Cquartz.
This has been hands down the best purchase I made for my cars ever.
Bought a new Chevy SS sedan, and within a week of getting it, I applied this.
I washed it with their car shampoo first, then I prep-sol'd the car( a step they didn't mention, but I did anyways to make sure I was applying this to virgin clean paint). I didn't need to do any buffing or paint correction, as my paint was unblemished, and smooth as can be( you may need to do that step though...).
I applied it EXACTLY as instructed. I did everything- paint, lights, trim, even the windows(though they recommended not to, it worked out fine for me). I even took the wheels off, and did them and the hard to wash Brembo painted calipers.
Nearly 4 months later, and it looks like I put it on yesterday. Water beads off amazingly from ALL the surfaces I applied it to.
The only downside to this is that if you wash the car with ANYTHING but their brand of car shampoo that they recommend, you risk damaging the coating. I washed it ONCE with Meguiars Wash and Wax and it did NOT bead up like it did before. Waxes actually build up on the surface of the ceramic coating, and will bead LESS than the coating. It's really weird. But I washed it the next weekend, with their car shampoo, and the beading effect was right back to the way it was before the Meguiars. Theres a reason they guarantee the length of time the coating lasts, when applied and maintained properly.
This is legit an amazing product. NOTHING sticks to it.
If you buy this... do yourself the favor, and put the effort into applying it like I did, and also get their car shampoo and even their "Iron-X" wheel cleaner. And only use their products on it, as they recommend. Make your life easier for yourself.
Took the car on a trip this weekend. Came home with a million bugs all over the front. Didn't have a chance to wash it at home, so I washed it at a do it yourself pressure washer car washer on the way to work. I only used the "clean rinse" setting(remember- no other soap but theirs). Like magic, the bugs were gone. No rubbing. No cleansers. Nothing. $2 and 4 minutes of time at the pressure washer.
I can't say enough good about this stuff.
This stuff is amazing.... I own a mobile detailing busniess and this is are go to Cermic coating... easy to use and last a long time, I recommend you do a small area at a time in a cool dry place and leave it on for about 2mins then wipe off and make sure you wipe all the haze off... make sure you do your prep work before you start and always spray 50/50 water/alcohol to remove oils and wax before you start.
Highly recommend doing this in a cool well lit garage. Prep is key. A good wash, clay bar, DA polish, prep spray to remove residue and then finally apply and buff. I put it on a 2015 Audi A6, and it is currently in the 48 hour cure stage. Shine is fantastic, I now have a protective mirror finish. Do not apply this outdoors in direct sunlight it makes it flash too quickly and difficult to buff out. Cool surface is a must. Do your prep and take your time, it is all about a good clean surface. Will update later on hydrophobic properties after 48 hours.
So far everything is great with this product. I applied it to a '17 WRX after performing a pretty lengthy prep of washing, iron decontaminating, claying, and a single stage machine polish. I did an alcohol wipe down on each panel after polishing it, and again prior to applying CQuartz to insure all dust or any residual oils/fillers were removed. The preparation is by far the most difficult and lengthy part of applying CQuartz. The actual application went very smoothly, and I did not experience any of the difficulties I sometimes see mentioned in reference to high spots or challenging removal.
Post-application, dust and lint that settle onto the car do seem easier to lightly remove with a microfiber, but I can't comment on water behavior yet because I'm still within the 48 hour window and don't want to risk water spotting. Overall, the feeling of the paint is very slick and it does have a nice glossy/wet appearance. With the 30ml bottle I have approximately half of the bottle left, so I will probably apply a second coating.
Feature Product
- PROFESSIONAL CERAMIC COATING - Protection and gloss superior to that of competitor "professional coatings" but easy to use for all detailers. Kit includes 50 ml. CQuartz, Applicator, 5 Suede Microfiber Cloths
- CQUARTZ FINEST - 70% Quartz with 99.9% purity - Resistance to wash induced marring, bird dropping damage, stains, high or low temperatures, and traffic film
- NANOTECHNOLOGY COATING - Enhanced Fast Action Formula that makes applying cQuartz with the least effort and without any complicated machine
- PREFERRED AND USED BY PROFESSIONALS: Advance formula to protect and prolong coating/painting. The CarPro Cquartz 50 ml Kit is widely used by professionals and car enthusiasts around the world
- Amazon A to Z Guarantee: The CarPro Cquartz 50 ml Kit is covered with Amazon A to Z Guarantee
Description
Kit Includes: (1) 50ml bottle of CQuartz UK Edition (15ml+/- per coat) (1) CarPro Foam Applicator Block (4) 4" MF Suede applicators (1) Rear View Mirror Hanger (Optional - Request in Notes) Features: Protection and gloss superior to that of competitor "professional coatings" but easy to use for all detailers 70% Quartz with 99.9% purity Extremely deep gloss that lasts! Easy maintenance with "self cleaning" properties (Stays cleaner than other products on the market) Resistance to wash induced marring, bird dropping damage, stains, high or low temperatures, and traffic film Repels UV rays, water, oils, dirt, and contaminants
I purchased this as a tester before i start offering something special to all of my friends and family for their cars (Im a professional detailer stuck at a high volume dealership... god help me), and to offer a little extra love for those who want to put big bucks on the guarantee of their car staying fresh.
Seen many known detailers and personal celebrities use this product, and showing off what it can do, so I eventually brought myself to shell out money for the Cquartz Kit (30ml + Acsessories).
Lets start off with a few things.
1.) if you are not at least familiar with how to wax a car, or at least apply some type of sealant by hand (at least a decent know-how is bare minimum to use this product. ----personal opinion)
2.) if you do not have patience
3.) if you do not have access to at least a garage (car port with some form of roofing is bare minimum, but will not always provide you with optimum results, promise you that much)
4.) if you do not know how to perform paint correction (buffing, polishing, scratch removal, touch up paint, wet sanding, etc ---NOT in that exact order, for those who follow a "online detailer" 's advice/opinions....)
Then this product may not be for you to apply personally. Leave it to those with experience! This product is difficult to remove (at least on your own..) once it settles in!
Onto the fun stuff:
1.) Prep work is absolutely everything!!! You CAN apply this without most of the "proper" steps, but at your own peril! At the very least, a wax remover must be used during before or after you wash the paint (i personally just used dish washer soap to remove the wax, then washed it again after I claybarred, and a third time after I acid washed the paint, using the same soap), and it must be claybarred, and all oils removed (91% isopropyl alcohol is your best friens here).
2.) just because you put a liquid that fills in scratches while wet, that doesn't not mean they will be gone! This material applies like a solvent on paint , then hardens like glass (SiO2, in case you're wondering.. I won't explain that one, it's called Cquartz for a reason..) and will not hide those horrible swirls and defects, but magnify/amplify them (make them more visible, for those that don't exactly understand) and they will become an eyesore! That is... unless you're the type of person that doesn't mind it, and is just looking for protection to hold the paint over.
::sidenote:: rather, looks like a solvent, and feels like it when it gets onto your hands-- as i said, I bought a single kit as a tester for funsies: i had to examine the product and play around with it, just like anybody else that enjoys their hobby.
3.) Just because it will protect your car for 'x' years, that doesn't mean the work is done! yes, everything will come off of the paint like a breeze, and it IS anti-static, but that does not under any circumstance mean that your paint is impenetrable: Acid rain, bird droppings, berries (See: bird droppings), bug guts, tree sap (and non liquid-like damage such as the following...) rock chips, projectiles, somebody keying your car, getting hit by any moving or flying object, or any other hazardous material commonly known to harm the paint, including your morning commute coffee (ha, ha!).
^^^
In the event of at least liquid-like events occurring, you have up to around two days before acidic materials manage to break through the coating and eat into your paint (We call that etching....). The sooner you remove it, the better! If you can't get to it so soon, wipe as much off as you can. Water is fine to help get whatever it might be off (minus tree sap, that stuff is annoying....... an isopropanol solution works great, but if you have none on hand, rubbing alcohol is best, or just wait until you locate some sap remover. Never scrub sap off of the paint. It will not look pretty, even with a ceramic coating- it can still be scratched, but I will get into that after this), but be careful, as water is not what I would recommend to use to drag across paint with a non-dedicated microfiber for events like this, it is just a substitute for such things as "quick detailer" if you don't have any on hand, and should be acknowledged as such.
4.) Your ceramic coating CAN become scratched. It is not impenetrable! SiO2 was designed to make maintaining your car easier. Microfiber wash mitts are best, as they hold dirt and dust in the fibers, rather than trap them like a cotton (similar to a face rag) cloth would do. All you normally have to do is wet the vehicle (I personally enjoy pressure washers, watch everything actually fly off and land next to, if not on someone elses unfortunate car... muahaha!), gently agitate any resting dirt, dust, grime, etc and then spray off. I have found pressure washers blast bug guts off that have been baking in the sun quite easily, but be careful, too close is a big no-no even with your pretty new coating- In other news, scrubbing isn't necessary, as I stated that ceramic coatings are anti-static, and things should fall off quite effortlessly. It is possible to buff the coating if you get scratches, but for the average Joe, I wouldn't recommend it unless you're nit-picky and are capable of doing so.
5.) This specific product is not for glass, nor rubber trim/mouldings/interior parts/accessories! There are specified products that fit that category. However, if you wish to use this product not as intended, it is up to you to make that mistake on your own. That is all for point 5.
6.) If applied improperly, it can leave ripples in your paint, or even worse, *gasp!* rough spots! They are ugly, and I have seen it myself.
^^
I bring this up, as I recommended a very, very rich man who scored a new white Tesla Model S (P85D, woohoo!!) to get a coating. He used this exact product I am reviewing right now as we speak. He opted out and applied it himself, and to his dismay, ruined the lustre of some of the paint: as stated, ripples, rough spots, what looks like parts of the microfibre towel inside the paint... I asked him how he thought he did, and he kept downing himself over it. Which brings me to my final point....
7.) If you apply it yourself, here are some things to remember, Mr. and Mrs./Ms. Average Joe, Enthusiast, DIY Detailer, etc...
If it doesn't come out the way you wanted it to, don't beat yourself up over it, mistakes happen. Move onto the next panel and work smaller sections at a time.
I asked my guy with the Tesla if he was happy with the job he did, and he told me that he was unhappy with it because of how it looked. I then pointed out that it was his first time trying to get his looking good, so its not a big deal in that aspect. I then explained to him it seems like he thinks I'm judging his lack of experience, and that if he feels accomplished that he started and finished the job, if he's happy with the protection he put down, that a professional's opinion doesn't matter. As long as he is happy with HIS work, that's what matters.
Now, onto steps I took to apply this product.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
**DISCLAIMER**
These steps are from someone who wanted the absolute best he could get out of the product doing it HIS own way. I'm very, very tedious with my own personal car.
1.) Spray down car (Soak it up!)
2.) Dish soap, thoroughly wash (Suds it down!)
3.) Acid wash (Eat it up!)
4.) Dish soap (Suds it down again!)
5.) Clay bar (Smooth it out!)
6.) Dish soap (Yes, I'm for real, this wasn't the last time I washed my car..)
7.) Wet sand, 3M 5000 Grit (Fade it out!)
8.) Buff, 3M Step 1-- Heavy Compound (Rough it up!)
9.) Buff 2.0, CarBrite Black Pearl BP02 Medium Compound (Bring it back!)
10.) Buff "Patch Notes" Update, CarBrite Black Pearl BP03 Light Cut (Bring it back some more!)
11.) Polish, 3M Ultrafine Machine Polish (Bring out that shine!)------- I used an MT300 Meguiars Orbital and a generic 6inch foam pad, 4800 setting
12.) Finish, wipe down with 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol, and cotton balls--- softest and fluffiest you can find
13.) Apply, CarPro Cquartz Ceramic Coating.
**DISCLAIMER 2**
I washed in between steps 8-10, as I don't like getting compound dust mixed with my polishes. After I polished, I was VERY careful, and ONLY pressure washed (simply put, blasted with water, no soap) the paint, as I didn't want to risk a scratch, swirl free mirror finish to become ruined by a single bit of dust. I also cleaned my wash mitt before every wash from step 8-10. I applied the coating in very small sections, as the Florida atmosphere only gave me a 30 second window before the material became a pain to deal with. The end result was a dripping wet, glassy, jaw dropping, neck breaking, out-of-this-world shine, Need-for speed shine, enlighten your sixth sense, 4th dimension gleaming, diamond red 2005 Corolla X-RS. I will not provide pictures, as you can only imagine how ridiculous of a result being "Extra" can turn over.
Overall, I give the product a solid 5.0, as its lowest possible rating from me. Even with extremely minimal prep work, you can yield fair results, but "you get what you pay for" (and I'm not talking about the price of the product, this should cost waaaaaaaay more). If you can't sacrifice your time for the prep work, you are definitely getting what you pay for.
With everything I did, although far too much time and work put into it, this product deserves a rating far higher than a 5. you get so much more for what you pay for when you put everything you have into it.
If you don't know how to apply it, it's worth the money spent to have it professionally done. Just keep up with it, and it will stay beautiful.
This is my official review of the CarPro Cquartz Ceramic coating, and will apply to all US-Domestic kits available.
I just finished applying this to my 18 GTI AB and my wife’s 18 RAV4 SE. I figured the best time to do it is when the cars are relatively new and defect free, and boy was I right.
The whole process took about 14-15 hours, spread across 2 days - remembering that we did 2 cars with one set of products.
Started with a touch free wash due to convenience (although I would recommend washing by hand), and then a full wipe down with MF towels and 50/50 distilled and 91% iso. Moved on to a full clay bar, and a polish for my car (wife only had a few hundred miles on her car so we didn’t feel the polish was necessary after inspection with a spot light). After that, a final wipe down with 50/50 again to make sure any residue was taken care of.
Applying the cquartz was so simple although I was being overly cautious at first. Worked panel by panel and split the hood, trunk, and roof in two. You can go a little bit bigger than 2x2 if you’re in a cool, less humid environment (45 degrees, 40% humidity, in garage when we applied). Since the package says the original cquartz, I found that applying in about 2-4 criss cross passes and waiting for 3-5 minutes after produced the best results. I wiped immediately when applying to the hood and felt like it was better to wait, although you don’t want to wait too long because it becomes pretty rough to buff out, although not impossible.
Finished with a coat of reload which really put the slick on the paint - super easy to apply and gives me the peace of mind that there are multiple barriers between the elements and my clear coat.
I’m waiting to test after curing for 24 hours on my wife’s car, and 48 hours for mine. It’s raining today so I’ll be able to tell right away. Will update with pictures after a nice 4 hour ride back home.
All in all the cars look fantastic. Like people said, it’s all about the prep. I could see people not doing a proper clay, polish, and degrease and getting less than stellar results. I have about half a 50ml bottle left after 2 cars and am planning to do the wheels, windows, and whatever trim is left around the holidays.
Be patient, prep properly, and plan a 2 or 3 day weekend to get the best results.
Everyone says read the instructions... well I did and I still managed to mess up haha. It says to criss cross and allow it to dry for 1-5 minutes depending on ambient temp. Don’t make the mistake I made and leave it on for way longer than it needs also more doesn’t not mean better in this case. Haha I learned the hard way and it’s total user error. The product does work well from what I can see. Super slick surface just remember to not leave the coating on for too long. I would buy this product again.
LOVE the results. My car has the wet/glass look. Followed the directions and can't complain. The surface of the paint is smooth like glass. Water and dirt sheer right off when I wash my car. I still had about 3/4 of a bottle left after applying it to my 2008 Lexus IS250. I just applied some Reload spray on top of the Cquartz coating for more gloss and protection.
Pro Tip: Wash the entire car with car soap and dish soap added to remove all the wax and oils. Then clay the entire car, compound and polish before applying the Cquartz.
Several years ago I purchased a CPO BMW 535i from BMW of Irvine. It would attract less dust, bird poo wouldn't stick and was so easy to wash as compared to my other vehicles. I never knew what they had used on the paint to make it do this. I started hearing about ceramic coatings and saw they were very expensive to have professionally applied. I decided to tap into my skills from many years ago owning a body shop. I washed and clayed the vehicle and polished it as needed. If you purchase this and don't clay it, I would honestly say don't bother. You won't be happy.
I began applying the coating on a nice cool evening in the garage. I did one section at a time, wiping off before hazing (this is critical). If you fubar a panel, clay it again, polish it then start over with the coating. Do the wheels to prevent the brake dust from sticking.
In the end, this is a nice coating which seems to be impressive. The car stays cleaner just like my BMW from years ago. It is safe to say my old BMW had a ceramic coating applied by the previous owner. In the end, this is or really any ceramic coating is highly recommended! Birds poo on my car and it no longer eats the paint.
Refresh the coating at least once a year!
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