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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
Everything you said makes perfect sense. Everyone needs to know that there will always be more than one story. The info I got was from a local auto body and detail shop that offered more than one of these top coats so it wasn't a specific product. This is what was told to me so whether it's because they couldn't properly repaint a car with it or wanted to upsell the correction process (I only wanted to buy the coating) who knows.
Don't know if it's a ceramic coating or a sealant, but the dealer put IBEX Paint Protection on my new Autumn Shimmer NX 200t last week, a freebee along with a clear bra. Are you familiar with IBEX? Any good, or pretty bad? They used a clay bar on the car to prep it (I watched part of the process for a while).
I bought Liquid Glass, but don't know what to do to apply it or how to prep the car, or to put it over the IBEX. Do I also strip off the IBEX? Now I did put a coat of Mothers Synthetic (polymer) Wax on the car. Feels and looks like glass. Is there a way to remove the Mothers without bothering the IBEX? Or clay bar the whole car & start over? Or leave it alone for now since it looks pretty good---if so, how long should I keep the IBEX?
Posters are talking about C Quartz or Opti-Coat. Would that be better than the liquid Glass? Any help would be appreciated, Zach. Or anyone else who's familiar with IBEX. Thanks.
Don't know if it's a ceramic coating or a sealant, but the dealer put IBEX Paint Protection on my new Autumn Shimmer NX 200t last week, a freebee along with a clear bra. Are you familiar with IBEX? Any good, or pretty bad? They used a clay bar on the car to prep it (I watched part of the process for a while).
I bought Liquid Glass, but don't know what to do to apply it or how to prep the car, or to put it over the IBEX. Do I also strip off the IBEX? Now I did put a coat of Mothers Synthetic (polymer) Wax on the car. Feels and looks like glass. Is there a way to remove the Mothers without bothering the IBEX? Or clay bar the whole car & start over? Or leave it alone for now since it looks pretty good---if so, how long should I keep the IBEX?
Posters are talking about C Quartz or Opti-Coat. Would that be better than the liquid Glass? Any help would be appreciated, Zach. Or anyone else who's familiar with IBEX. Thanks.
That place most likely just put a spray wax on your car and charged you $1500... seen too many customers come by who are COMPLETELY clueless what is on their car, got charged up the a$$ at the dealership and don't even know what the name of the product is or who installed it. And my favorite is that most times it comes with lifetime warranty haha. Too many suckers out there, that's why they get away with it.
Take it to a real shop and any honest place will walk you through every single step of the process and explain to you what's being done to your car, who is doing the work and the names of the products that are being used.
There are one too many people who are okay with adding on thousands of dollars to their bill of sale when they buy a new car because the dealership sells them some inside/outside protection package that protects against interior spills and stains and exterior swirls and scratches. Poor people just fall for that crap because it only ends up costing them $10 more per month when you break it into payments.
That place most likely just put a spray wax on your car and charged you $1500... seen too many customers come by who are COMPLETELY clueless what is on their car, got charged up the a$$ at the dealership and don't even know what the name of the product is or who installed it. And my favorite is that most times it comes with lifetime warranty haha. Too many suckers out there, that's why they get away with it.
I didn't pay for it, it was a dealer freebee. Are you familiar with IBEX, and is IBEX a ceramic coating? Those were my questions. Sorry if I offended you, thought you responded to help someone who isn't "in the business" gain some knowledge so he doesn't stay COMPLETELY clueless.
Just re-read your posts. I see you completely rewrote the first, and removed the nasty stuff in there. Thanks. Since I DIDN'T PAY for the IBEX, I had written Zach to see if he'd heard of it & whether I should leave it on for a while since it does look better(for now), or what the PROPER way to remove it if it WAS worthless(I see now it is!).
You're right, the dealer doesn't even know if it's a coating or a sealant, all the more reason to do it the right way cause I don't want to mess it up.
Yesterday at IHOP, an older couple stopped, admired her for about 5 minutes, looked in all the windows, & went around my baby twice before getting in their fairly new BMW. A few minutes later a whole family did the same thing! It's a good feeling to have the car everybody can't stop looking at. Thanks Lexus.....
Last edited by NXNick; Apr 30, 2016 at 09:15 AM.
Reason: to add comments
Don't know if it's a ceramic coating or a sealant, but the dealer put IBEX Paint Protection on my new Autumn Shimmer NX 200t last week, a freebee along with a clear bra. Are you familiar with IBEX? Any good, or pretty bad? They used a clay bar on the car to prep it (I watched part of the process for a while).
I bought Liquid Glass, but don't know what to do to apply it or how to prep the car, or to put it over the IBEX. Do I also strip off the IBEX? Now I did put a coat of Mothers Synthetic (polymer) Wax on the car. Feels and looks like glass. Is there a way to remove the Mothers without bothering the IBEX? Or clay bar the whole car & start over? Or leave it alone for now since it looks pretty good---if so, how long should I keep the IBEX?
Posters are talking about C Quartz or Opti-Coat. Would that be better than the liquid Glass? Any help would be appreciated, Zach. Or anyone else who's familiar with IBEX. Thanks.
I am not at all familiar with IBEX, however given my experiences with various other dealer installed products, I would not bet it is a "premium" product. It is probably worth the $0 value that it was sold to you at
Liquid Glass is another product that does not carry much weight in my opinion. It is old and outdated technology... it still has somewhat of a following for those who are stubborn and don't like trying new things, but there are better performing and easier to use products out there.
There are many great nano coatings available to consumers these days.