2022 Lexus ES350 - DQuartz Pro with CQuartz Professional - 🌴 A Miracle Detailing

[Merlin]

2022 Lexus ES350 - DQuartz Pro topped with CQuartz Professional - 🌴 A Miracle Detailing
It looked like it had been washed 100 time with a Brillo pad.
On the sides the paint was very thin. A PTG is your friend.
Coated with DQUARTZ Professional Nano Diamond Quartz Fusion (base coat)
CQUARTZ ProfessionaI ceramic coating on paint (top coat), and wheels

Inspection:
DeFelsko PosiTest DFT Paint Thickness Gauge for ferrous/non-ferrous metals
DeFelsko 200C3-G PosiTector 200 C3 Advanced Ultrasonic Coating Thickness Gauge

Lighting:
ScanGrip MultiMatch 8 and MultiMatch 3 color from 2500k to 6500k. ScanGrip Sunmatch 3

Machines:
RUPES Bigfoot iBrid Nano Long Neck
RUPES BigFoot HLR75 Mini iBrid Polisher
Rupes 21 with a Rupes 5" Backing Plate

Correction:
Lake Country HDO Blue Cutting Pad - 5 1/2"
RUPES DA Coarse High Performance Cutting Compound

Polishing:
CARPRO Gloss Pad 5"
RUPES UNO Pure Universal Ultra-Fine Finishing Polish

Tools:
RYOBI Cold Water Electric Pressure Washer
MTM Hydro PF22.2 Professional Snow Foam Cannon
Metro Air Force Master Blaster

Cleaning Products:
CarPro IronX Snow Soap / Poorboys Super Slick & Foam Pre Wash Snow Foam
TUGA Devil Special Wheel Cleaner

Last Step Products:
DQUARTZ Professional Nano Diamond Quartz Fusion (base coat)
CQUARTZ ProfessionaI ceramic coating on paint, and wheels
CQuartz Dlux Wheel and Trim Coating on plastic trim and bumpers
Koch Chemie Motorplast Spray (dressing engine bay)
CARPRO ReTyre Tire & Rubber Cleaner (cleaning tires)
CARPRO DarkSide Tire & Rubber Sealant (tire dressing)

Please watch the 360 walk-around video - Click bottom right YT Gear to set 1080p HD w/audio


The Merlin Shot


Front Drivers Side


Rear Drivers Side


Rear Passenger Side


Front Passenger


The Front


The End


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[Sizzle Chest]

Nice save Mike! Looks like a black mirror now!

[Merlin]

Nice save Mike! Looks like a black mirror now!

Thank you!
That is very kind.

It turned out sweet.

[Lonnie]

Merlin:
How thin is thin IE, what is the actual measurement value or number indicated on your Paint Thickness Gauge(PTG) on the "the sides" and where were these thin spots?
I ask because there is this "uneducated fact" by the general new car owner and novice detailers of how thin new car paints ("paints" being primer, base color paint, and clear coat over that) on sheet metal or substrate panels. This is my attempt to inform and prove how much and where this is actually happening on today`s new vehicle production from your detailing experience and use of a PTG.

I also noticed that the correction and polishing was done in two steps using Rupe`s abrasives. That speaks a lot about how "good" these abrasives are. I will ask if these abrasives are "better" in this application than the Meg`s M110 and M210 compound and polish you have used on other vehicles and why the Rupe`s over the Meg`s.

Lastly, is this two-step coating process a new technique and offering by you and/or is this a suggestion from the manufacturer C-Quartz?? Do they both require heat-generating UV lighting to cure them properly??

As usual, great detailing and the black look stellar. Is Lexus paint "better" with less orange peel than most production vehicles these days?

PS
As a suggestion, is there any way that you might post a pic of an engine bay detailed with KC Motorplast so we Autopians can kind of see what it looks like and how "shiny" it really is?

[Merlin]

Merlin:
How thin is thin IE, what is the actual measurement value or number indicated on your Paint Thickness Gauge(PTG) on the "the sides" and where were these thin spots?
I ask because there is this "uneducated fact" by the general new car owner and novice detailers of how thin new car paints ("paints" being primer, base color paint, and clear coat over that) on sheet metal or substrate panels. This is my attempt to inform and prove how much and where this is actually happening on today`s new vehicle production from your detailing experience and use of a PTG.

I like to measure in microns rather than mils. I feel it give me a more accurate reading.
For example the circumference of a human hair is approx. 100 microns
100 microns is 3.93701 mils
In some areas of the "new car" paint I found the paint thickness to be 67 microns.
67 microns = 2.6378
I prefer to measure in microns because...(as a rule) I prefer not to remove any more than 2 microns.
I feel that measuring in microns gives me a more accurate reading and feel.
Car paint thickness used to be 125-150 microns a few years ago.
Now it`s painted by a robot that does not use an extra drop of paint.

SIDE NOTE: Doing paint correction without using a quality PTG (before and during) is polishing blind. That is dangerous!

I also noticed that the correction and polishing was done in two steps using Rupe`s abrasives. That speaks a lot about how "good" these abrasives are. I will ask if these abrasives are "better" in this application than the Meg`s M110 and M210 compound and polish you have used on other vehicles and why the Rupe`s over the Meg`s.

Both the Rupes and Megs compounds/polishes are good.
In this case, the paint liked the Rupes compounds/polishes better.
I try to use what the paint likes best. A test spot is your friend.

Lastly, is this two-step coating process a new technique and offering by you and/or is this a suggestion from the manufacturer C-Quartz?? Do they both require heat-generating UV lighting to cure them properly??

Dquartz Professional is a relatively new product. It is a Nano-Diamond Quartz Fusion Coating.

Carpro states "a truly innovative formula based on a siloxane nano-diamond fusion and a proprietary silicon resin,
which make DQUARTZ the first ever coating to offer mechanical resistance to swirls and scratches."

"Car paints are getting increasingly softer and we have finally developed a technology to combat it.
DQUARTZ is the first ever ceramic coating, which utilizes Functionalised Detonation Nano Diamond Powder to increase surface hardness."

What does this mean is layman`s terms...DQuartz Professional makes that paint harder.

Carpro also states "...we have found DQUARTZ to truly excel as a base coating topped with CQUARTZ Professional..."
What I have found...DQuartz Professional by itself is a bit grabby. Topped with CQuartz Pro is is extremely slick.

Lexus paint IMHO along with many others (Tesla is notorious) is very soft. This means it will get swirl marks easily.
This vehicle was one year old. had 12,000 miles on it and looked like it had been washed with a Scotch-Brite pad.

As usual, great detailing and the black look stellar.

Thank you!

That is very kind.

Is Lexus paint "better" with less orange peel than most production vehicles these days?

I really did not notice much/if any, difference in orange peel from prior years.

PS
As a suggestion, is there any way that you might post a pic of an engine bay detailed with KC Motorplast so we Autopians can kind of see what it looks like and how "shiny" it really is?

Sadly, on this particular vehicle I did not take any engine bay pics...