Coating Hardness

B

bswombaugh

New member
I own a black car that is extremely easy to scratch and mar. It seems like no matter how careful I am with my wash and dry techniques - I still get some light scratches and swirls in a short time. Would a coating such as CQuartz or Opti-Coat provide increased abrasion protection ? Are some of these coatings harder than the clear coat paint ? I currently have to do a light polish every 6 months or so. I really could not see the justification of using a coating in my case if it has to be polished off every 6 months to remove light swirls etc.
 
Tell us please, the make, year, and factory color of the car....

Please advise your washing process - products, materials, procedure...

Then tell us please, exactly what you are doing to the car "every 6 months or so"...
Are you using a machine ? Which one?
What products are you using on your car ?

Do you have any pictures of your car - after your "light polish every 6 months or so" ?

Do you have any pictures of your car 6 months later when it is scratched?

Yes, some coatings are harder than paint, but the washing process will always have a big factor on how the coating will be able to withstand it..
Dan F
 
The car is a 2013 Kia Optima. The color is Ebony Black. I have a couple of wash methods. The traditional wash is with a 2 bucket method with grit guards using a sheep skin wash mitt. Soap is Duragloss 902. Drying method is electric leaf blower and waffle weave towel. I also do rinseless wash with Blackfire rinseless using the Garry Dean method. I pretreat each panel with rinseless solution in a sprayer before I begin the wash. I then dry with a wffle weave.

I use a porter cable 7424 or a Flex 3401 to polish with. Typically the scratches and marring are light enough that I can remove them with Meguiars UP on a white pad followed by SF4500 on a Crimson Hydro pad.
 
Yes, coatings like Black Label 850 and Opti-Coat will increase the mar resistance of the paint, although they will still scratch with improper washing technique.
 
bswombaugh said:
Thanks Todd. How would you rate the DP coating in this area ?
Click to expand...

DP Coating is up there as well. I think it would be hard to qualify the different coatings on how much marring resistance they provide, although I am sure some are slightly better than others...

My understanding is Black Label 850 should resist scratching more so than most resin-based coatings, including Detailer's... How that translates to the real world, I am not sure...

I have noticed significant marring resistant (from careful washing technique) on every coated care I have washed.
 
I Opti-Coated all my vehicles going on 2 years ago, and none including my Black 2009 Grand Cherokee are scratched from washing...

I only wash by hand use Optimum car wash soap and a orange wash mitt from Target...
No grit guards, etc.., just be careful and actually look at the mitts so I can spot anything on there and take it out before I touch the cars..

I will always do the lowest, dirtiest, panels Last...

Never put any type of wax, etc., over the paint since then and they all still absolutely blind you in the sun...
Dan F
 
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