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  1. #1
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    For those that are not aware my brother ended up selling the 1999 Tahoe that he purchased from one of our uncles.

    https://www.autopia.org/forums/click...io2-gliss.html

    He took that money and used it towards a 2 year lease of a 2018 Chevrolet Equinox with the Redline package.

    The packages includes the black bow ties, black with red side badges and the black wheels with the red accents. This is an LT model on paper with a 2.0L turbo that puts out 252 HP and 260 ft-lbs of torque. Good get up and go for this little thing.

    He opted to not have the dealer wash it/detail it. He also wanted a coating on it to protect the paint and last as long as his lease. Less maintenance and less worry for him.

    Before I continue these are the products used.

    Prep:
    CarPro Ironx
    McKee’s 37 Coating Prep Wash
    Griot’s Fine Surface Prep Mitt
    CarPro Immolube at 1:5

    Polish & prep:
    Rupes LHR15 MKII, Rupes Mini, Rupes iBrid Nano
    Rupes Yellow Foam pad
    Optimum Hyper Polish
    CarPro Eraser

    Protection:
    CarPro Cquartz TiO2 (aka Classic)
    CarPro Gliss
    Wheels:
    CarPro Ironx
    CarPro Essence
    CarPro Cquartz UK
    CarPro Cquartz TiO2

    Tires:
    Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner
    McKee’s 37 Tire Coating

    Ironx in action. As seen brand new vehicles can certainly have iron contaminants. Came out kind of dark due to the shade.





    As I rinsed of the ironx there were signs that something was on the paint aka wax or sealant. The McKee’s Coating Prep Wash stripped about 85% of it and left the other areas degraded.

    After the wash the paint and glass was clayed with CarPro Immolube and the Griot’s Fine Surface Prep Mitt. There were contaminants on the flat surfaces of the paint. Once complete, the paint was wiped down with Blackfire Paint Prep to remove the residue from Immolube.

    I was then able to asses the paint. The good thing is that there were not a lot of defects in this paint. Not the horrendous DISO that is common on new cars. I could barely pick up the defects on cam.



    I had originally planned to use Essence as I was going to be coating the paint with Cquartz but I would not have enough to do the entire thing. Barely had enough to polish out the wheels with what I had. So I then gave Sonax Perfect Finish a go with a Rupes Yellow foam pad and that worked well. I got the entire font end and stopped using it. The reason why is because I was not in the mood to clean up dust which is the annoying thing I find with Perfect Finish even after some slight adjustments. Went back into the cabinet and gave Optimum Hyper Polish a go and that worked just as good as Sonax but without the dust. The only downside is that it stains pads. My Rupes yellow pads are light green due to the blue dye of the polish lol.

    I prep wipe with Eraser to remove the polishing oils as I go. Once done I come back with another prep wipe. Then I finished it off with two coats of Cquartz TiO2 and one coat of Gliss. TiO2 to me looks best on light colored paints adding that additional reflectivity from the TiO2 within the SiO2 mixture.

    The glass was clayed, prep wiped and finished off with McKee’s glass coating. Used two coats on the front and rear hatch to test and see if two coats lasts longer than one.

    The trim was cleaned, prep wiped and protected with Gyeon Trim. Topped with Gyeon Cure 24 hours later.

    Finished results with losing daylight but highlights the gloss.







    I had cleaned the tires during the paint correction phase using Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and received three coats of McKee’s Tire Coating. But one week later I polished them in preparation for a coating. They were polished with my remaining Essence, prep wiped with Eraser and coated with the CQUK + TiO2 combo (one coat of each) primarily to use up the remaining coatings in these bottles. Essence removed some light defects and the gloss from this combo made the wheels pop.



    In full sun.







    One week later after the first wash with McKee`s N914 and using EcH20 as a drying aid and in the daylight.



    It is now protected and will last him the entire ownership of his lease. Thanks for reading.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS
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  2. #2
    Keep the Blues Alive! BadgerRivFan's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Terrific write-up and explanation Guz! Your posts are greatly appreciated.
    Al S.

    ​"Blues done made me wild... got deep down in my soul"
    - Buddy Guy
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  3. #3
    BudgetPlan1's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Curious on the Iron-X: Do you wash and dry car first? Do you agitate/spread the Iron-X after applying?

  4. #4
    Oneheadlite's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Guz - I always look forward to your write ups. Very well written, and your final product is always outstanding!!!

    Another awesome job! Your brother is lucky to be able to have you get it so dialed in!
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  5. #5
    Wax Waster Ronkh's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Great stuff as usual.
    Formerly the "Best Detailer", now just Super Wax Waster Man. Not necessarily tactful, but normally right. It`s good to be da King !!!
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  6. #6

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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Interesting that you used Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and McKees 37 Tire Coating.

    Any feedback on not using Tuf Shine Tire Coating?

    Otherwise the metal flake shows real great pop and the finish really looks sharp.

    Nicely Done!
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  7. #7
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Quote Originally Posted by BadgerRivFan View Post
    Terrific write-up and explanation Guz! Your posts are greatly appreciated.
    Quote Originally Posted by Oneheadlite View Post
    Guz - I always look forward to your write ups. Very well written, and your final product is always outstanding!!!

    Another awesome job! Your brother is lucky to be able to have you get it so dialed in!
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronkh View Post
    Great stuff as usual.
    Thanks guys.

    Quote Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1 View Post
    Curious on the Iron-X: Do you wash and dry car first? Do you agitate/spread the Iron-X after applying?
    I generally do this depending no how dirty the paint is. No agitation needed and saves me time. Although I clayed it with a dedicated clay lube this time.

    https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...shing-car.html

    Quote Originally Posted by Marine Clerk View Post
    Interesting that you used Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and McKees 37 Tire Coating.

    Any feedback on not using Tuf Shine Tire Coating?

    Otherwise the metal flake shows real great pop and the finish really looks sharp.

    Nicely Done!
    Thanks. Tuf Shine tire cleaner is pretty hard to beat. One does not need to stick with the McKee`s Tire Rejuvenator to use their tire coating. I find Tuf Shine to clean better between the two tire cleaners.

    I own the Tuf Shine tire coating as well. I just chose to go with McKee`s newest tire coating formula this time. It is more glossy than Tuf Shine and the shine for McKee`s seems to stick around longer than the matte finish Tuf Shine leaves.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS
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  8. #8
    SGM2008's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    As always, great post and nice work Guz!

    How do you like the Griots Prep Mitt, is it just as effective as traditional clay or does it leave a little bit behind?

    I was thinking of trying one of the mitts, and the Griot`s is 2X the price of the Blackfire. Just wondering if it`s twice as good.
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  9. #9
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Quote Originally Posted by SGM2008 View Post
    As always, great post and nice work Guz!

    How do you like the Griots Prep Mitt, is it just as effective as traditional clay or does it leave a little bit behind?

    I was thinking of trying one of the mitts, and the Griot`s is 2X the price of the Blackfire. Just wondering if it`s twice as good.
    Thanks. The mitt works good. Same results as the nano skin fine grade I used to have.

    On my personal car I still use clay. Clay to me still picks up more. For other cars I will use the clay mitt as it still does a good job and I haven’t had any issues with any LSP failing prematurely.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS
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  10. #10
    atgonzales's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    As always, Guz, nicely done
    http://Www.gonzodetailing.com


    Anything in life worth doing is worth over doing, moderation is for cowards
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  11. #11
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Quote Originally Posted by atgonzales View Post
    As always, Guz, nicely done
    As always thanks. Good to see you around.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS

  12. #12
    Sizzle Chest's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Nice work, pics and write up! That`s a great looking ride he picked up. Looks very nice and is protected for the future!
    Scott Harle
    www.autodermatology.com
    Autodermatology
    Serving Naples and SW Florida
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  13. #13
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Quote Originally Posted by Sizzle Chest View Post
    Nice work, pics and write up! That`s a great looking ride he picked up. Looks very nice and is protected for the future!
    Thanks. Like you said at least it’s protected until he decides what to do with it in 2 years.

    I was not aware that it was redesigned for 2018. The Redline Package is on a few other models like the Malibu, Camaro, Traverse, Cruz, Silverado, Colorado, and the Trax.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS

  14. #14
    dcjredline's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    nice work. That grill is UGLY to me. OMG.
    Don

    1989 Formula 350
    2004 Saturn Ion Quadcoupe

  15. #15
    Mike The Guz's Avatar
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    Re: 2018 Chevy Equinox Redline - New car prep with Cquartz

    Quick update. My brother was sent for training in the Palmdale, CA area. While staying at the hotel, his car was the victim of the hotel sprinklers along the entire drivers side. Unfortunately I forgot to give him a bottle of EcH20 to use for occasions like this before he left. It sat for about 3 days before I was able to get to it.

    Today was a rinseless with N914 and EcH20 as a drying aid.

    Because the gallery has issues, I have to host the photos elsewhere. This needs to be fixed soon.

    The door before



    After



    An example on one of the wheels

    Before



    After. Other than towel lint, they are clean and free of water spots.




    Moral of the story is that water spots don`t always cause issues on a coating.
    Competition Ready Team 1929 Bentley
    1999 Silvermist Metallic Pontiac Grand Prix GT
    2002 Arctic White Chevy Camaro SS
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