CarPro Essence + Reload long term review: one month on.

[BluBrett]

Brand new solid black Tesla Model S. Factory defects removed with Meguiars 105 + Rupes green pad and 105 + Rupes yellow pad. Then used CarPro Essence with a yellow Rupes pad and topped with Carpro Reload. The CarPro products had about 2 weeks to cure, and the Model S has been washed twice.

Here is shortly after correcting and applying CarPro:







And here is how it held up after one month and two "hand washes" from normal car washes.









Honestly... I`m disappointed. First of all, I thought the coating would hold up to at least a couple washes before degrading so bad the dirt scratched the paint during the wash. Secondly, whatever fillers were hiding the compound marring (or maybe the essence marring in itself?) are gone. I can see clear buffer trails from the Rupes even though the approach was not aggressive and Essence was broken down/worked in over 6 passes.

Thoughts?

[Mr. Slick]

hopefully it was some kind of error. if that`s how the product performs, I would never use it on my car or a customers car

[JBM]

You may have made a mistake by not using eraser before essence. I always do. 105 is oily isnt it?

[heisenberg]

The way coatings help prevent wash-induced marring is by making the washing and drying process easier, IMO. I have never noticed an actual difference in "hardness" or anything that would really prevent marring.

Essence isn`t even a full coating, so I would definitely not expect it out of that... not to mention it went to two hand wash places. Nothing short of PPF is going to help against whatever they`re doing there.

[BluBrett]

You may have made a mistake by not using eraser before essence. I always do. 105 is oily isnt it?

The way coatings help prevent wash-induced marring is by making the washing and drying process easier, IMO. I have never noticed an actual difference in "hardness" or anything that would really prevent marring.

Essence isn`t even a full coating, so I would definitely not expect it out of that... not to mention it went to two hand wash places. Nothing short of PPF is going to help against whatever they`re doing there.

description of Essence according to their website:

• Primes surface for CQuartz or Reload
• Produces Extremely High Gloss
• Semi-permanent filling capabilities
• Adds layer of Sio2 Quartz protection
• Use with D/A, Rotary, or by Hand

From what I understand, Eraser is not needed if Essence is used. The Sio2 Quartz protection should have resisted scratching more than a typical sealant and the "semi-permanent filling capabilities" did not happen. I think the fillers were probably the most short-lived I`ve seen, actually.

[rlmccarty2000]

I too would have used an IPA wipe down before Essence. And Reload IMHO is a bad product. I use Essence as a time saver before I use a coating product. Reload doesn`t add much of anything to Essence. Try PBL coating after Essence, it is just about as easy as spraying on Reload and the results are super and durable.

[heisenberg]

description of Essence according to their website:

• Primes surface for CQuartz or Reload
• Produces Extremely High Gloss
• Semi-permanent filling capabilities
• Adds layer of Sio2 Quartz protection
• Use with D/A, Rotary, or by Hand

From what I understand, Eraser is not needed if Essence is used. The Sio2 Quartz protection should have resisted scratching more than a typical sealant and the "semi-permanent filling capabilities" did not happen. I think the fillers were probably the most short-lived I`ve seen, actually.

I guess I just don`t expect that kind of performance from Essence. Maybe CQuartz or some other dedicated coating, but not Essence. I understand when I sacrifice both durability and cut when using AIO products, so I think the same logic applies here. Not making excuses for CarPro, because that really does suck that it`s already back to being marred up.

Thinking out loud - what if the filling capabilities are working as intended and that marring is taking place on the un-filled portion of the paint? Dunno. Lot of products out there and maybe half of them work as they advertise. I think Essence is a great coating primer but that`s about all I expect out of it. Perhaps you can coat one panel and see if that one resists marring at all?

[BluBrett]

I guess I just don`t expect that kind of performance from Essence. Maybe CQuartz or some other dedicated coating, but not Essence. I understand when I sacrifice both durability and cut when using AIO products, so I think the same logic applies here. Not making excuses for CarPro, because that really does suck that it`s already back to being marred up.

Thinking out loud - what if the filling capabilities are working as intended and that marring is taking place on the un-filled portion of the paint? Dunno. Lot of products out there and maybe half of them work as they advertise. I think Essence is a great coating primer but that`s about all I expect out of it. Perhaps you can coat one panel and see if that one resists marring at all?

I was more disappointed that CarPro claims a year of protection with Essence alone, and Essence combined with Reload couldn`t at least even keep their fillers in place for a month. The black car looked grey and, as seen in the fourth picture of the "afters", there is a really obvious scratch pattern that I assume was leftover from M105.

I have come to accept a solid black Tesla simply will not stay perfect past it`s first wash, except maybe with a true permanent ceramic coating. However, I want all the damage after the first wash to be from the wash itself, with no evidence of a buffer ever having touched the paint like the scratch pattern now found on this $100k Model S. It sucks when the occasional customer sends a car back to us for a second detail because a product was hiding the scratches it itself created or the scratches it did not fix.

[JBM]

I have found essence to be the opposite. It does everything it says it will do and more. If there are heavy swirls just keep polishing with essence, redoing the section and it will keep filling.

Try eraser before essence I think it will make a difference.