Apollo_Auto
New member
Hi all! So last week when I was doing a Scaglietti, they constantly kept taking away from me to adjust this and test that (the service guys and I have to work around each other a lot), so I was able to squeeze in a test of Aquartz during my waiting periods. The test subject was a factory rebuilt 2007 Scuderia that has just rolled in (this was a manager's car in Maranello and when they change cars things like the interior are changed, wheels refurbished or replaced, and repainted *and repainted by hand, which is why the refurbs look so damn good* 
) and although the paint job quality itself is superb, the polishing still needed some refinement... which is exactly why I didn't polish it.
Aquartz claim that their product "will cover 50% of light scratches" so part of my mission was to see how much water this held. The swirls were the obvious wash swirls and some buffer trails but nothing serious so this really was the perfect test subject. I only took one picture of the swirls because I didn't want to post 10o pictures of scratches, as this was not a correction job, it's merely a product test.
I prepped the surface with a 50/50 IPA wipe and then got started. In the instructions it says, "Spray a small amount of Aquartz... Immediately start to wipe on with a thin microfiber or any smooth cloth... Keep polishing!!! By the frictional heat and static electricity, the more you polish, the more bonding and glossing become." So, I chose not to use a microfiber and instead used a foam applicator. Reason being is because in the video it really looks like the guy applying it is just spraying it on and wiping it off too quickly and it looks like he's just not doing a thorough application of it, because well to me it looks like a lot of the product is being absorbed by the MF... dunno you be the judge [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONuQFYaPiww"]YouTube- aquartz by polisher.wmv[/ame] Again, this was why I chose a foam applicator to apply it because I was able to "spread" instead of just wiping it around with a MF. After I spread it for a minute or so to ensure even coverage, THEN I wiped the surface clean with a MF.
It spread very easily and didn't dry up or anything while I was spreading it. After I spread it out, removing it was just as easy as spreading it. IOW, it was very easy to remove. This is not like conventional waxes or other nano products that you leave to dry and haze then remove; it should be removed immediately. Almost like a SOWA but you actually have to wipe it too. TBH it really didn't feel like I put anything on the car because I'm conditioned to seeing the hazing and what not so it was a little weird.
After applying Aquartz to the entire car I broke out Flexcalibur and proceeded to the next step, Aquartz+, which is not mandatory, but recommended by the manufacturer and now that I understand better how this product works (I spoke in lengths about it with Avi, cheers mate
) I would also recommend the 2nd step. From what I gathered about Aquartz+, it's a water-based, non abrasive polish that accelerates curring time and I also gather that it aides in product settlement (ie. smoothing it out). Don't confuse this second step with correction, because there was no correction at all. I applied the AQ+ with a finishing pad, let it dry and then polished it off with the finishing pad. This was another strange thing for me... letting the polish dry and then polishing it off...
So the application was a breeze and what I found after the 2nd step was pretty impressive... the swirls really were greatly reduced! According to the manufacturer, one layer of AQ will give you +.3 microns on your paint and another will provide up to .7 total, but that's the end of the line. What I noticed is that it wasn't just oils or something that filled the swirls, it was actually sort of camouflaged. This does fill, but from what Avi explained to me, it also plays with light refraction (the titanium oxide particles). Sort of like smoothing out a scratch if you will. And after polishing/jeweling it was still there so I don't think it's going to come off like a simple glaze. Of course I can't comment on the durability, which is certainly something that we're all curious about, but this is going to be another track b1tch so she's bound to have a collection of exotic bugs on her all the time this summer, so I'll try to keep this post updated from time to time. Here's some afters... it gave a really nice and slick finish.
Close up of the swirls before
And after... nice.
Take note that in the next 3 pictures of the hood, not ALL of the swirls were covered (the hood was a bit more swirly than the rest of the car), so don't expect all the swirly demons to be exorcised by using this because that won't happen.
Congrats if you've reached this sentence and thanks for reading!
- Jesse O'Connor
) and although the paint job quality itself is superb, the polishing still needed some refinement... which is exactly why I didn't polish it. Aquartz claim that their product "will cover 50% of light scratches" so part of my mission was to see how much water this held. The swirls were the obvious wash swirls and some buffer trails but nothing serious so this really was the perfect test subject. I only took one picture of the swirls because I didn't want to post 10o pictures of scratches, as this was not a correction job, it's merely a product test.
I prepped the surface with a 50/50 IPA wipe and then got started. In the instructions it says, "Spray a small amount of Aquartz... Immediately start to wipe on with a thin microfiber or any smooth cloth... Keep polishing!!! By the frictional heat and static electricity, the more you polish, the more bonding and glossing become." So, I chose not to use a microfiber and instead used a foam applicator. Reason being is because in the video it really looks like the guy applying it is just spraying it on and wiping it off too quickly and it looks like he's just not doing a thorough application of it, because well to me it looks like a lot of the product is being absorbed by the MF... dunno you be the judge [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONuQFYaPiww"]YouTube- aquartz by polisher.wmv[/ame] Again, this was why I chose a foam applicator to apply it because I was able to "spread" instead of just wiping it around with a MF. After I spread it for a minute or so to ensure even coverage, THEN I wiped the surface clean with a MF.
It spread very easily and didn't dry up or anything while I was spreading it. After I spread it out, removing it was just as easy as spreading it. IOW, it was very easy to remove. This is not like conventional waxes or other nano products that you leave to dry and haze then remove; it should be removed immediately. Almost like a SOWA but you actually have to wipe it too
. TBH it really didn't feel like I put anything on the car because I'm conditioned to seeing the hazing and what not so it was a little weird. After applying Aquartz to the entire car I broke out Flexcalibur and proceeded to the next step, Aquartz+, which is not mandatory, but recommended by the manufacturer and now that I understand better how this product works (I spoke in lengths about it with Avi, cheers mate
) I would also recommend the 2nd step. From what I gathered about Aquartz+, it's a water-based, non abrasive polish that accelerates curring time and I also gather that it aides in product settlement (ie. smoothing it out). Don't confuse this second step with correction, because there was no correction at all. I applied the AQ+ with a finishing pad, let it dry and then polished it off with the finishing pad. This was another strange thing for me... letting the polish dry and then polishing it off... So the application was a breeze and what I found after the 2nd step was pretty impressive... the swirls really were greatly reduced! According to the manufacturer, one layer of AQ will give you +.3 microns on your paint and another will provide up to .7 total, but that's the end of the line. What I noticed is that it wasn't just oils or something that filled the swirls, it was actually sort of camouflaged. This does fill, but from what Avi explained to me, it also plays with light refraction (the titanium oxide particles). Sort of like smoothing out a scratch if you will. And after polishing/jeweling it was still there so I don't think it's going to come off like a simple glaze. Of course I can't comment on the durability, which is certainly something that we're all curious about, but this is going to be another track b1tch so she's bound to have a collection of exotic bugs on her all the time this summer, so I'll try to keep this post updated from time to time. Here's some afters... it gave a really nice and slick finish.
Close up of the swirls before
And after... nice.
Take note that in the next 3 pictures of the hood, not ALL of the swirls were covered (the hood was a bit more swirly than the rest of the car), so don't expect all the swirly demons to be exorcised by using this because that won't happen.
Congrats if you've reached this sentence and thanks for reading!
- Jesse O'Connor
, while the other 2 still possessed adequate sheeting properties even after 3 "brute force" washes...
??).