tea

i applied CQUK myself, and it's a lot more finicky than i thought it was going to be. i love how it came out though

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

The coating should come with a 16"x16" suede microfiber towel and several 4"x4" suede towels. The smaller ones are for wrapping around the applicator block, and the large one is for removing product.

Use the large towel to level the product, then follow up with a clean (brand new if possible) towel like Meguiar's Ultimate Wipe towel.

In warmer temps, CQUK can be outright stressful to apply... I have found CQuartz to be a much better product to work with in warmer temps. Both products perform very well, too!

JDR76

Thanks, I'll be trying it out soon.

Thanks. I didn't open the box yet to see what it came with. I do have several new high quality microfibers I ordered that haven't been used yet, so I will use those.

I hope to apply it in the next few weeks. I am just looking for some drier weather (dang Seattle). I'll be applying it at around 55 degrees or so.

JDR76

Zach, my GS has the "self healing" coat on it, which I largely believe is useless, but I have read that you are not supposed to machine polish it, which I plan on doing before applying CQUK. Just wanted to verify with you that there are no issues with my plan.

Thanks.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Do you know the name of the coating you have on your car?

We are testing several "self healing" coatings at the time. Not to mention any names, but results have varied across the board you can say. Moral of the story, try it yourself first in a small sample size before buying into the hype.

JDR76

It's the factory "self healing paint". I just want to know if I should do anything special/different when I polish/correct before coating with CQuartz.

Frankly, I think it's a marketing gimmick.

Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

From what I hear Lexus started using this on all their cars a few years back too. So there are many of use with this "special" clear coat.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

I agree with your assessment... "useless"... based on my personal experiences with customer vehicles that have had this 'technology'. When we have a vehicle in for correction that is tagged with a "scratch shield" type of paint we often simply explain the manufacturer recommendations to the customer, they realize the product doesn't work anyway, so we correct it as we would any other paint. According to manufacturers, this will likely 'remove the self healing or scratch resistant layer', but if it isn't working anyway, then what's the point.

So... long story short... if your paint has swirls, scratches, and other defects, I would say just go ahead and correct it like you would with any other vehicle.

It is my understanding that this was first released into production on the LS vehicles, and is now also on some NX vehicles, though I do not think it was ever used on the IS series... I haven't done much research at all, and I don't think Lexus really pushes the marketing out there for this "feature".

JDR76

Thanks for the response.

I was warned that if I were to machine polish it, I would be removing the self healing feature, but since I don't think it really works, I don't see that as a problem. I'd much rather have CQUK on my car than the self healing layer.

It'll only need a light touch, as I have barely any swirls on it, but want to make sure it's looking its best before I put CQUK on it.

Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind any of these coatings will be permanent. So if the paint isn't 100% you will lock in the defects and be forced to sand off the coating in order to repair the paint in the future.

Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

Okay I can't say for certain, only what I heard from my salesman, but then again the product specialist wasn't really sure of this "technology" as well so that could very well be the case. I do have an LS so maybe he was just referring to my car.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

They don't require sanding to remove... we've installed and reinstalled A LOT of coatings. The layer created by the coating is not hard enough or thick enough to require sanding... though sanding would certainly be an easy way to ensure it has been removed.

I know GTechniq markets their latest Crystal Serum as a product that requires sanding to remove, and I honestly don't have any experience with it as I am not a GTechniq installer, but I find that very hard to believe given all that I do know about the coating industry.

Dr. Jekyll

iTrader: (1)

Well that's the information that was given to me by a retailer so I just figured it was same as the old school Liquid Glass. I mean it does sound as if you'd need to get into it to remove it if it can withstand scratches and swirl marks right? Sounded like a pretty permanent sealant to me. So you're saying if I seal my paint with ceramic I can buff it off and remove an swirl marks I missed and then reapply it? That's the only thing that's been holding me back so far.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

Retailer of which product?

A typical coating averages 1-2 microns in thickness (based on CarPro and Optimum coating information). While this is 100's of times thicker than a typical layer of wax, it is still extremely thin. A cutting compound will remove as much or more material, therefore if there are defects beneath the coating, a paint correction process should be able to remove the coating, exposing the paint, and then begin to remove the defects in the paint.

These coatings do not prevent swirl marks or scratches by any means... they do provide a sacrificial barrier that will help to take some of the damage when the vehicle is scratched. For instance, say a scratch totals 5 microns in depth, and you have 1.5 microns of coating built up on the surface, the paint will only have 3.5 microns of damage rather than 5.

If the coating was never scratched and no abrasive was ever used on it, the layer would theoretically last forever (or a very, very very long time) as the silica molecules bond together to form a crystalline structure.

Hope that makes some sense.

-Zach

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

+1, you don't need to sand anything off if you have imperfections or something you missed and noticed it after you coated the car. You can always go back, repolish, and re-coat. I wish coatings were on that level of hardness and durability where you actually NEEDED to sand to remove it.