CSL and EXO. How long do I need to wait?

**KEVINS** · 05-29-2018, 08:14 AM

Realistically, how much time do I need to wait before I can drive?
I`m practicing applying CSL/EXO on my truck before doing my car but its getting difficult to give the truck a full 12hrs of cure time in the garage before needing to drive it. I was hoping that I can apply it around 8pm in the garage then drive it to work the next morning around 6am but there`s always been a 20-30% chance of rain during the days not to mention birds.

Thoughts/Experiences?

Kevin

**jrock645** · 05-29-2018, 08:30 AM

Maybe not 100% ideal, but I’d think hat would be fine.

**512detail** · 05-29-2018, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by KEVINS

Realistically, how much time do I need to wait before I can drive?
I`m practicing applying CSL/EXO on my truck before doing my car but its getting difficult to give the truck a full 12hrs of cure time in the garage before needing to drive it. I was hoping that I can apply it around 8pm in the garage then drive it to work the next morning around 6am but there`s always been a 20-30% chance of rain during the days not to mention birds.

Thoughts/Experiences?

Kevin

FWIW, when I started my Holy Sheet testing a few years ago (csl and exo) I intentially hosed down the car 4 hours after EXO was applied on top of CSL and I never had any issues for over a year. The only issue I had was the I used too many decon washes and I think the bond of that on top of essence (which I don`t recommend doing- I learn the hard way) was diminished by the iron washes.

However, on the sides of the same truck I did the exact same process minus any iron decon washes on the sides and it is still going strong at over 2 years or so, It will be three years in august I believe.

I chose the 4 hour mark because I believe the paper that comes with CSL in the box that shows you how to apply the products says to not get exo wet for 3 or 4 hours after application....and since its on top of the CSL, I figure that would be ok and wanted to test it as such.

**KEVINS** · 05-29-2018, 11:55 AM

I`ll give it 9-10 hrs in the garage overnight then pray that it doesn`t rain the next day for several hours.. Being my truck and I`m just wanting to get a feel for the application I`m sure it will be fine.

Thnx Gents!

ks

**Vanquish** · 05-29-2018, 01:08 PM

Originally Posted by 512detail

FWIW, when I started my Holy Sheet testing a few years ago (csl and exo) I intentially hosed down the car 4 hours after EXO was applied on top of CSL and I never had any issues for over a year. The only issue I had was the I used too many decon washes and I think the bond of that on top of essence (which I don`t recommend doing- I learn the hard way) was diminished by the iron washes.

However, on the sides of the same truck I did the exact same process minus any iron decon washes on the sides and it is still going strong at over 2 years or so, It will be three years in august I believe.

I chose the 4 hour mark because I believe the paper that comes with CSL in the box that shows you how to apply the products says to not get exo wet for 3 or 4 hours after application....and since its on top of the CSL, I figure that would be ok and wanted to test it as such.

Why do you not recommend CSL or EXO over Essence?

**512detail** · 05-29-2018, 01:14 PM

Because it failed
Multiple factors to consider
Theres an old thread on it
Look up holy sheet in product reviews and or reread what you quoted from me as that`s the cliff notes

Originally Posted by Vanquish

Why do you not recommend CSL or EXO over Essence?

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**Vanquish** · 05-29-2018, 01:46 PM

Will do. I’ve always been hesitant about topping it with anything except Cquartz coatings. I’ll check it out.
Thanks for the info.

**Vanquish** · 05-30-2018, 12:01 AM

I read the the holy sheet. Both. Was it Essence or the fallout that made the coating fail? It seems that it failed immediately after the last time you used the fallout. I would think if it was the Essence it wouldn’t fail immediately. It would deteriorate over time. Great review though.

**512detail** · 05-30-2018, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by Vanquish

I read the the holy sheet. Both. Was it Essence or the fallout that made the coating fail? It seems that it failed immediately after the last time you used the fallout. I would think if it was the Essence it wouldn’t fail immediately. It would deteriorate over time. Great review though.

It was probably the fallout. I have updates for the side test and part2 somewhere buried in my phone. No fallout used there and no issues. I did recall any car I had left out there. Turned out it was only 1 with same owner.
Anyways dont want to derail this thread.

I will update my own here one day. I even have essence,csl+exo as the base on my own car. Kind of hard to test longevity on that one however.

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**BrianMigs** · 05-30-2018, 02:06 PM

@512detail - I certainly hope it was the fallout remover, or even an acid water spot remover as based upon my anecdote below.

This past fall I coated my Miata with 2 coats of CSL and 1 coat ExoV3 with Essence as a base. Unfortunately I let hard water sit on the car and then I used CarPro spotless on the horizontal panels (hood, trunk, etc). The beading/sheeting went kaput after that so I tried a "decon" wash after some research with an iron remover, and it only seemed to make it worse. In the middle of this I started the same combo on my Evolution (Essence, 1 coat CSL, 1 coat Exo), and this past weekend I found time to repolish the Miata with Essence and recoat of Exo.

Now I`m reading your "holy sheet" threads and getting pretty bummed about the amount of work I`ve put in to both of these cars if they fail in the future.

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**The Guz** · 05-30-2018, 06:32 PM

One thing I will mention with Essence is that I would still recommend doing a prep wipe no matter what is said about not needing a prep wipe and going straight to a coating. That is to remove any polishing oils left behind. The longer Essence sits and cures (for the polishing oils to evaporate) after initial wipe off then the prep wipe does not need to be so heavy. This has been my personal experience with it. At the moment I am only using it with CarPro coatings.

But I just recently put CSL + Exo V3 on my personal car and I used Shine Supply Slick Back Primer Polish which is an SiO2 primer polish with no fillers. Spoke to Jeremy (the owner) and he told me I could treat it just like Essence in letting it sit overnight to let the polishing oils evaporate and then coat the next morning without the need of a prep wipe. I still did a light prep wipe primarily to remove the light dust and remove any residual oils using Blackfire Prep Spray. Figured this would be a good test although this car is the garage queen.