Soft Paint! (detailing thread)

[leechri3]

Watch Pan the Organizer on YouTube's Video where he Ceramic coats his own BMW. He does a good job. Take some of it with a grain of salt but he offers a good overview.
End result is worth it
Good Luck.
[/QUOTE]


Here's the link. I also have a Himalayan Gray G70 and I've only done touchless washes, using a power washer w/ foam cannon and a turbo car dryer. Two coats of ceramic sealant (24 hours apart) and then a final spray wax seemed to help.

 

[CVODON]

In response to post above, Why did you use ceramic sealant if you intended to wax the car? If you used a SI02 Sealant you were good to go for 3 - 6 months, depending on what product you bought. You then applied a wax product on top of this long term sealant. Wax products are basically a month long product. Do some research, check with the sealant company and you will find wax is a thing of the past and not needed on any modern SI02 Sealant for any reason.
Also you have to touch a car occassionally and wash it with a mitt, I hand wash mine at least once if not twice a week, foam soap will soften the dirt and make the finish slick so hand washing is less abrasive but it, The Foam, will not clean the car by itself. It is a prelude to proper cleaning only.

 

[leechri3]

In response to post above, Why did you use ceramic sealant if you intended to wax the car? If you used a SI02 Sealant you were good to go for 3 - 6 months, depending on what product you bought. You then applied a wax product on top of this long term sealant. Wax products are basically a month long product. Do some research, check with the sealant company and you will find wax is a thing of the past and not needed on any modern SI02 Sealant for any reason.
Also you have to touch a car occassionally and wash it with a mitt, I hand wash mine at least once if not twice a week, foam soap will soften the dirt and make the finish slick so hand washing is less abrasive but it, The Foam, will not clean the car by itself. It is a prelude to proper cleaning only.

Agree with you about wax really not doing anything in regards to protection or an additional hydrophobic shield, but I do find adding the spray wax gives the car a better shine, especially because I have a darker color vehicle. As for the Foam wash, I find it works well as just a maintenance wash every weekend and then use the 2 bucket method with a grit guard and mitt once every 4 weeks or so. But I live in L.A. so never have to worry about snow/salt and hardly rains. The biggest pain is the black dust that builds up, which is easily washed away by the pressure washer.

 

[robscar]

Thanks for all the responses. I have watched some of Pan the Organizer videos, so I will look for this one.
After the car was delivered I did the two bucket wash, clay bar, correcting polish, machine polish, fine machine wax, and 2 coats of paint sealant. All Adams products. I like the paint sealant as it gives a nice soft shine and six to eight months protection.
I think I would like to do the next level of protection, but what truly holds me back is that I enjoy performing the detailing. Plus, knowing the amount of orange peal on these vehicles, it would drive me nuts if I did not try and address correcting the issue before doing the ceramic coating.

 

[CVODON]

leechri3
You just need to find a Sealant that leaves a shine that suits you. The spray wax is just wasting your time. I know you can get small samples from some of the companies. Surely someone makes a sealant that will give you the shine you desire. I, as mentioned, use CarPro Reload which is 5% SI02 Sealant. I use it on top of the Ceramic but it can be a stand alone product as well. Has VERY high gloss, may save you a step and a little time.

 

[MotownMJ]

G70 3.3T, Black Forest Green. The weather was horrible when I bought my car...Michigan...so did not see the damage from bird droppings. Dealer detailerl tried to remove the damage to no avail...so I had Xpel professionally installed on hood and front clip to hide it. 3rd car I have done with this shop...So anyway, I pick up the car and the first thing he says to me is, "You know, the paint on this car is not very good. The early Tesla Model 3's were this bad, but this has a lot of flaws, thin areas. Your G80 was not like this, so don't know what's the deal here..."
Hmmm...

 

[pulsar]

G70 3.3T, Black Forest Green. The weather was horrible when I bought my car...Michigan...so did not see the damage from bird droppings. Dealer detailerl tried to remove the damage to no avail...so I had Xpel professionally installed on hood and front clip to hide it. 3rd car I have done with this shop...So anyway, I pick up the car and the first thing he says to me is, "You know, the paint on this car is not very good. The early Tesla Model 3's were this bad, but this has a lot of flaws, thin areas. Your G80 was not like this, so don't know what's the deal here..."
Hmmm...

Thin areas would be strange since factories use robots to paint cars. Film thickness should be consistent unless someone already buffed and polished the paint enough prior to create thin areas. Your dealer detailer may have caused that issue. I try to never use anything harsh on the paint when buffing. A swirl remover is very mild normally so removal of clear coat should be minimal. A polish compound or scratch remover is more heavy duty but also removes more clear coat.

 

[Ernie3647]

G70 3.3T, Black Forest Green. The weather was horrible when I bought my car...Michigan...so did not see the damage from bird droppings. Dealer detailerl tried to remove the damage to no avail...so I had Xpel professionally installed on hood and front clip to hide it. 3rd car I have done with this shop...So anyway, I pick up the car and the first thing he says to me is, "You know, the paint on this car is not very good. The early Tesla Model 3's were this bad, but this has a lot of flaws, thin areas. Your G80 was not like this, so don't know what's the deal here..."
Hmmm...

I actually got the opposite message from my installer on my last warp for my G70. He complemented the paint job on the car. If what you say is so It appears there are inconstancy’s in the line.

 

[Toddasaurus]

^Agreed with above. I've yet to notice any soft, or thin paint/clear coat on mine. I went over all of it inch by inch as well when I applied my ceramic coating.

 

[pulsar]

Have noticed our clear coat is very easy to stain/etch. If you get bird crap on the paint you cannot get if cleaned off fast enough. Several times now I’ve cleaned bird poop off same day it happened, but the clear coat still showed a slight etched area where the crap was. Had to use some swirl remover to get the etched area removed completely. Car stays waxed but maybe I need to find something that protects the paint better? Had been using Ethos ceramic wax.

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[Bhavie]

Have noticed our clear coat is very easy to stain/etch. If you get bird crap on the paint you cannot get if cleaned off fast enough. Several times now I’ve cleaned bird poop off same day it happened, but the clear coat still showed a slight etched area where the crap was. Had to use some swirl remover to get the etched area removed completely. Car stays waxed but maybe I need to find something that protects the paint better? Had been using Ethos ceramic wax.

That's weird, opposite experience for me. I had a bird take a massive dump on my car this past friday in two places. I only noticed one of the gigantic turds on my car so I got it out and wiped it off fairly quickly (within 20 minutes), however the second colossal shit I didn't notice till the next day. I was worried that it had left a mark but nope nothing, paint was perfect underneath.

If it helps, I used instant detailer to clean the filth and I use Meguiars M21 Sealant, last applied about about 2 months ago. I also top it off with some quick liquid wax after every wash (last wash being a week ago).

 

[EdP]

Have noticed our clear coat is very easy to stain/etch. If you get bird crap on the paint you cannot get if cleaned off fast enough. Several times now I’ve cleaned bird poop off same day it happened, but the clear coat still showed a slight etched area where the crap was. Had to use some swirl remover to get the etched area removed completely. Car stays waxed but maybe I need to find something that protects the paint better? Had been using Ethos ceramic wax.

I just read this again and it does not add up. You say the clear coat is etched but it stays waxed. The purpose of the wax is to make a barrier so the crap never touches the paint. Is the wax doing its job or is it not holding up well? Can it be the coating with the marks? I have no experience with ceramics, just regular wax.

You maybe should put out some bird seed to neutralize their intestines.

 

[Bhavie]

I just read this again and it does not add up. You say the clear coat is etched but it stays waxed. The purpose of the wax is to make a barrier so the crap never touches the paint. Is the wax doing its job or is it not holding up well? Can it be the coating with the marks? I have no experience with ceramics, just regular wax.

You maybe should put out some bird seed to neutralize their intestines.

I noticed that too. What I believe they meant is that the vehicle constantly has a layer of wax on it so the bird crap shouldn't be damaging the clearcoat, however it is, so they're wondering if they should use another product because the wax clearly isn't doing its job.

 

[pulsar]

Let me re-explain. Car stays waxed, use a quick shine ceramic spray between waxes, yet if a bird craps on it, the clear coat gets a slight etch around the poop spot. I have florescence lights in my garage so paint defects are easy to spot. Either my wax is doing nothing to protect the paint, and/or the clear coat is ultra sensitive to bird crap for some reason? Was just pulsing the group to see if others noticed their clear coat easily reactive to bird crap? Outside in the sun the etch mark is not easy to spot. Garage lighting makes it easier to find so I can buff the spot off. My car is MB so not sure if that color makes it easier to spot clear coat issues from other colors or not?

 

[Bhavie]

Let me re-explain. Car stays waxed, use a quick shine ceramic spray between waxes, yet if a bird craps on it, the clear coat gets a slight etch around the poop spot. I have florescence lights in my garage so paint defects are easy to spot. Either my wax is doing nothing to protect the paint, and/or the clear coat is ultra sensitive to bird crap for some reason? Was just pulsing the group to see if others noticed their clear coat easily reactive to bird crap? Outside in the sun the etch mark is not easy to spot. Garage lighting makes it easier to find so I can buff the spot off. My car is MB so not sure if that color makes it easier to spot clear coat issues from other colors or not?

Similar to what EdP was saying, how do you know it's the clear coat with the etching and not the sacrificial layer? You have both a layer of relatively fresh ceramic wax and ceramic spray on top of the clear coat.

It just seems strange that a day old bird poop can eat through both layers and still leave a mark on your clear coat.

Ethos Ceramic Wax seems great. Given that it's supposed to last over a year before applications, I don't see how bird poop would be able to eat through it and damage the clear coat.

 

[pulsar]

Similar to what EdP was saying, how do you know it's the clear coat with the etching and not the sacrificial layer? You have both a layer of relatively fresh ceramic wax and ceramic spray on top of the clear coat.

It just seems strange that a day old bird poop can eat through both layers and still leave a mark on your clear coat.

Ethos Ceramic Wax seems great. Given that it's supposed to last over a year before applications, I don't see how bird poop would be able to eat through it and damage the clear coat.

Good point and I don’t know that? The only way to remove the etch spot is with some light duty swirl remover compound so I figured it was at the clear coat level and not at ceramic/wax level. As soon as the rainy season is over in DFW I need to clean my car anyway so will reapply things in case I did not let the Ethos wax haze up correctly before polishing with a clean micro fiber towel.