Question on ceramic adherance on new car w/ Simoniz on it

M

MichaelB1969

New member
Hi all, just got a 2025 Mini Cooper S and although it was "prepped" by the dealer, it wasn't done to my standards. I think they put on a coating from Simoniz, although no idea which one. So here is what I did for just the roof and A and C pillars that are black (will do the rest of the paint next), as they needed the most attention:
  1. Washed with Dawn (water still beaded after)
  2. Used a synthetic clay pad to remove surface contaminants
  3. Washed with Clean Slate from Chemical Guys (water still beaded after)
  4. Polished using Meguiar's M205 and a random orbital buffer
  5. Sprayed the areas to be coated with a 50/50 mix of 91% IPA and distilled water
  6. Applied CQuartz UK 3.0
Even though there was still beading after Clean Slate, the paint didn't feel soft or slippery, so wondering if it's possible that the prior coating was removed but since it is a new car, the paint still beaded. I dunno.

Anyways, I am about to move on to treat the body color portions and wondering if the same process above makes sense, of if I should do things differently?

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance!

Mini-quarter.jpeg
 
Congrats on the new car! Looks great!

With that process you will have removed the previously applied coating. The polishing will have taken care of removing it. Good process, except for the Dawn wash, stick with a dedicated car shampoo for better performance and longer life of your rubber/seals/etc.

Keep us posted and pics when you are done!
 
Sizzle Chest said:
Congrats on the new car! Looks great!

With that process you will have removed the previously applied coating. The polishing will have taken care of removing it. Good process, except for the Dawn wash, stick with a dedicated car shampoo for better performance and longer life of your rubber/seals/etc.

Keep us posted and pics when you are done!
Click to expand...
 
MichaelB1969 said:
Thanks! Yeah, I use Carpro Reset normally, but in trying to eliminate the prior coating I figured Dawn was a good starting point. :)
Click to expand...
I think Dawn is a lot milder than Reset. With all due respect to Sizzle, I don't think Dawn will damage anything on your car, but as Sizzle noted, there are a lot better prep washes than Dawn. IMO the reputation that Dawn has for ability to strip waxes and sealants relies not on its ability to do so, but for the sheeting agents in Dawn that help keep you from getting water spots on your dishes, and which are able to clog waxes and sealants, making you think they aren't there anymore.

I generally link to a couple of threads at AGO where experiments were done in this regard, but since the pictures don't work anymore, and I'm tired, I'm not going to do so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top