So I put on my detailing big boy pants this weekend...

D

Desertnate

Active member
...and jumped into the more advanced paint coating world by applying CQuartz UK to my daughter`s car. Other than using a sample of the standard CQuartz on my wheels, I`ve only used the original Blackfire coating (a disaster) and the McKee`s 37 (so easy, no one can get it wrong)

Overall the project went pretty well and served as a great learning experience for me.

Here are some observations. Many are probably old news for the experienced pro`s here, but hopefully they will be of use to lesser experienced members like myself.

  • CQ UK was very grabby or sticky when being applied. This took me by surprise since since the normal CQ was so easy. I immediatly had flashbacks to the Blackfire coating nightmares, but in this instance the level of effor to apply the product remained consistant and I became more confident as I worked the car.
  • I had never really seen a coating flash in person before. It was interesting to see and everything people talk about and the videos all make sense.
  • Looking for high spots was very hard in good lighting on gray metallic paint. I can`t imaging how hard it is on silver or white!
  • The suede buffing towel which comes with the CQUK was a royal pain to use. A low nap MF towel is much easier for removing highspots
  • I need to learn to let things sit and don`t mess with it if I don`t see a high spot. The CQ UK took a REALLY long time to flash/start drying and instead of simply letting it cure, I kept tying to buff it out when it wasn`t needed, which led to more corrective work. This is no WO/WO coating!
  • I probably applied the product too thick which led to the long flash/curing time. I used nearly 20ml on a Mazda3 hatchback.
  • Good ventilation is really important. The weather was really windy, so to keep the dust an pollen out of the fresh coating I kept the garage door closed. I`m surprised I didn`t get loopy from coating vapors.
  • I really like using the MF suede swatches on a foam block to apply a coating. It`s a much smoother and even distribution than using an applicator like the one LC sells.
  • 24 hour curing time is REALLY hard to deal with when coating a daily driver.
  • CQ UK produced a really nice shine on metallic gray paint; almost as if the car recieved a fresh clear coat. The gloss was noticeably higher than the freshly polished pannels. McKee`s 37 coating in my eyes never looked much different than 845, but CQ UK really looked good.

Despite the favorable experience, I`m even more torn when it comes to coatings. I know there are some on the market which better in several areas when compared to CQ UK, but the 24 hour cure time and the expense for something I`ll only keep on the car for 12~18 months is difficult justify (espicially with Gyeon raising their prices). I might look at others like TAC Systems, Gloss Shop Ceramic, or Fenylab Ceramic Lite which seem to be similar to CQ UK in the future, but until then I`ve got a can or CanCoat calling my name. At least now I have the expience!
 
Glad to hear you were able to get this done. CQUK has a tiny learning curve and it looks like you figured out how to work with how it flashes. If you can master CQUK then other coatings are similar if not easier to work with.

Was that 20 ml for 1 or 2 coats?

Glad you learned right away that the included suede towel is not the best towel to level the coating. My personal favorite coating towel at the moment is the edgeless 300 from the rag company. Costco towels work ok but one has to be careful because the edge will scratch.

I typically wear a mask, gloves and safety glasses when working with coatings. Most tend to have a strong odor.

Glad you enjoy the look. CQUK overall is a nice coating. It`s priced pretty well and performs pretty well. It is a grabby so it takes a little getting used to. Their TiO2 is a bit easier to work with and is slicker than CQUK.

Anyway, I`m rambling but enjoy the coating and keep us updated on how it performs.

Desertnate said:
  • Looking for high spots was very hard in good lighting on gray metallic paint. I can`t imaging how hard it is on silver or white!!
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Trust me it ain`t easy. Just went through a re-coat on my white Camaro. White is by far the hardest color to coat. Silver is not as bad.
 
I love the title of this post. Kudos.

My first coating experience was harrowing. My only advice to anyone about to do it for the first time is: take the amount of lighting you think you`ll need, then double it and add 50%.
 
Looking back at my post my bulleted list doesn`t seem to view properly...at least on the computer I`m on right now. Hopefully it wasn`t too hard to read with the wonky formatting.

The Guz said:
Was that 20 ml for 1 or 2 coats?
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That was one coat. For a small car I`m sure I probably could have applied it a little thinner and easily been able to put down two coats. The grabby/stickyness of the application had me worried so I went heavy and worked smaller areas.

Glad you learned right away that the included suede towel is not the best towel to level the coating. My personal favorite coating towel at the moment is the edgeless 300 from the rag company. Costco towels work ok but one has to be careful because the edge will scratch.
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I`ll have to look up that towel. My Costco towels did work pretty well and since I didn`t use much of the included suede removal towel, I`ll cut up the rest of it into additional application swatches.

I typically wear a mask, gloves and safety glasses when working with coatings. Most tend to have a strong odor.
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I had the gloves...a lesson learned from using the McKee`s where I ended up water proofing my fingers. I hadn`t thought about the odor being strong enough for a mask. Lesson learned.

Glad you enjoy the look. CQUK overall is a nice coating. It`s priced pretty well and performs pretty well. It is a grabby so it takes a little getting used to. Their TiO2 is a bit easier to work with and is slicker than CQUK.

Anyway, I`m rambling but enjoy the coating and keep us updated on how it performs.
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Is it supposed to be grabbysticky on application? I was prepared for the finished result not being very slick, but was taken back a bit at first by the application. Sadly I`ll probably only have the car around for a few more weeks. My daughter was recently married and graduated from college. This project was my way of ensuring the car was well protected one last time as she heads off into the world on her own. Job opportunities look to be several states away, so time will be limited. My next step is to build a car care kit for her and her husband, but I`m waiting to see where they end up living.
 
Just a follow up for anyone who might be interested.

I hadn`t seen the car for several week after the CQUK application. When I did see it again a couple weeks ago, I noticed it looked much cleaner than expected. When I made a comment to my daughter, she mentioned it looks freshly washed after any hard rain. Brownie points for the product.

The next revelation came when we actually washed it yesterday. The water behavior was really nothing like the sealants I`ve used before or the McKee`s v1 coating on all of my other vehicles. The beading is tighter and the sheeting is significantly faster than the original McKee`s. My daughter who was helping with washing a couple of the cars noticed and commented as well. Despite washing with no shade in the blazing hot sun, a flood rinse nearly dried the car and what little water remained wiped away effortlessly without any spotting at all. I used no drying aid or toppers, and didn`t feel any need to either. A whole pile of additional brownie points added...

I`m still very happy with the product and very suprised by the difference from my other coating experience. I`ve used a few great sealants with very little difference between them, but the difference between the two coatings is quite noticable. Like the sealants I was expecting the coatings to be pretty similar in most aspects, but for now, the CQUK is turning out to be a very different animal than the McKee`s. The McKee`s was not a bad product for it`s target market, I just feel the CQUK is much better for those willing to step up to a higher price point and a more focused application process.
 
Desertnate- Interesting read, and I`m glad it`s working out so well for you. Although, heh heh...my take-home from this thread is confirmation that coatings aren`t for me.
 
Accumulator said:
Desertnate- Interesting read, and I`m glad it`s working out so well for you. Although, heh heh...my take-home from this thread is confirmation that coatings aren`t for me.
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Interesting take. They are making my life so much easier, my only dilema at this point is justifying the cost. The up-front application is a little more involved, though no more time consuming for me. After that point, my level of effort is far less.
 
Well, part of it is that my uhm...new normal... vision makes me leery of the requisite inspection (especially on my silver vehicles). That and the whole spot-correction thing.
 
My only concern was with IFO long term and how to remove it without using Clay/towel.

Not wanting to effect the coats longevity or looks I think the Valugard ABC System, which I already have, will do the trick.

I`ll also use Desertnates idea of cutting up the included suede removal towel into additional application swatches.
 
Marine Clerk said:
My only concern was with IFO long term and how to remove it without using Clay/towel.

Not wanting to effect the coats longevity or looks I think the Valugard ABC System, which I already have, will do the trick..
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That might be a good test of how well the coating resists chemicals too.
 
WaxManRonnie said:
Which Blackfire coating are you referring to? Just curious. Is that the small black bottle?
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I was referring to the original version of the coating which arrived a couple years ago, not the new version you see sold today. I don`t know anything about the new one and can only hope it`s a far better product than Blackfire`s first attempt.
 
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