crystal seal 2nd coat timing

[wdmaccord]

Todd, (or others) what is the shortest span of time I can allow before a 2nd coat of CS? I usually do 3 hours, but can that be compressed to say 2 hours?

[PA DETAILER]

Once you get to two coats, anything beyond that won`t be beneficial. I`ve been playing around with this product for a while and I`ve found two coats to do the trick. As for maintenance, Blackfire Wet Diamond Polymer Spray is the icing on the cake after every other wash. It will boost the protection while restoring the gloss and slickness.

This is quoated from the AG FOURM.

1 HOUR between coats.

[cleanmycorolla]

I honestly do 1 hour between coats, and 2 Max. I believe 1 hour is the standard time to layer. Maybe a month down the line I`ll reapply a layer of CS but 99.9% I`ll touch it up with Poly Spray post wash.

[wdmaccord]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies. Sorry for not searching but I was at my buddies house putting on the CS and was browsing ACC from my phone.

He was totally amazed by the way. I did a paint detail for him the weekend before and applied BFWD. it is a white car with real nice pearl flake. It looked good with BFWD. But he texted me the day after I put on the CS and remarked that the gloss was blinding...and on a cloudy day. I thought the high glassy shine of the CS would really do wonders for a white vehicle that otherwise can look "ho-hum". I was correct!

[dc52nv]

My typical wait time is 1 hour like others suggested. Absolutely love the look 2 coats leaves behind. Especially on red paint.

[07gtcs]

I actually believe you can start your second coat as early as 15 minutes after the first.

[Todd@RUPES]

theory vs. instructions vs. real-world...

Theory: Depending upon numerous factors including the environment and applied layer thickness, Crystal Seal can take 4 to 24 hours to fully harden. However, a majority of the curing takes place as the product flashes. That is, the product is fairly stable to abrasion (and even chemicals) quickly after application.

Instructions: The instructions don`t call for a wait time, and that`s okay because it was designed to be that flexible. The majority of surface adhesion occurs in minutes (during flash), the rest of the wait time is for the remaining film to fully harden. Even if you were to apply a second coat just 15 minutes after the first coat, you would likely not notice any difference in performance as second coat adheres to the still "tacky" first coat with no problem.

Real World: Many people apply a second coat to Crystal Seal right after the first coat, and despite a ton of reviews, you rarely see an issue. The worst case scenario -if you lived in damp environment and over applied it on a cold day- you might get some light streaking from the solvents as they out gas. 9 times out of 10 (maybe 99 out of 100) these will simply wipe off, with the only side effect being they "made you" buff a wipe on -walk away sealant.

[Ronkh]

Real World: Many people apply a second coat to Crystal Seal right after the first coat, and despite a ton of reviews, you rarely see an issue. The worst case scenario -if you lived in damp environment and over applied it on a cold day- you might get some light streaking from the solvents as they out gas. 9 times out of 10 (maybe 99 out of 100) these will simply wipe off, with the only side effect being they "made you" buff a wipe on -walk away sealant.

or wait till the first wash

[wdmaccord]

or wait till the first wash

My car is black so I always get some streaking. I just do a RW with BFRW 24 hours after the 2nd coat. It`s like peeling the film off a brand new cell phone screen!