Coating Durability - Are U Getting What MFG's Are Promising?

J

jmsc

New member
I'm not. Are you?

Tried 3 so far. Do not want to name them just yet (probably won't). But, both my cars are split between 1/2 GQ 1/2 DD. Other customer's car is a DD. All coating mfg's say 1 year easily. 2-3 years likely. I'm getting 1 year tops. Seems like I need to clay to rid the grittiness off of the paint at the 1 year mark. This equates to removing some coating and then re-applying. Or, is living in NE the fault (pollen then heat then acid rain then cold then ice then salt then lots of snow then below 0 temps)?

Beading, slickness 6-9 months at best before degradation sets in. Saw this also while using most sealants but sealants were advertising durability good for 1-year max.

Not blaming or pointing at anyone but that's my experience. Should I try a 4th coating. What do you see?

Comments welcome.
 
Since you wont mention brands, its a useless post. Zero help to us. but I will tell you I get better than a year and I'm pleased witht he performance until the 18 Month mark on my Daily Driver wearing EXo v2. Its shot now, at about 22 months. I will recoat with Polish Angel Viking coat shortly.

My wifes car was wearing Opticoat 2.0 and it was good for about 18 months as well. I re coated with 22ple
 
My CQuartz is still like new in all spots except the lower third of the doors after 11 months. I still haven't tried claying to see if the beading will return. However, that area still sheets very well so the coating is in tact.
 
I have gotten 2.5+ years from Cquartz before I stripped it and applied CQUK.
I am at 2 years on CQUK and it is still going strong.
I have 2+ years of Opti-Coat pro on my truck with no signs of stopping.




I personally have not had great success with PBL ASC. It does after 6 months or so for me.

 
I'm coming up on 2yrs on my car with CQuartz UK. However, I cheat and use RELOAD. Finish and gloss remain as good as the day applied. Beading is outstanding - - if that means anything.
 
CQUK & OC 2.0... No, they did NOT perform as expected. Applied both on my wife's daily driver (one product each side.) Both were done around 8 months (and by done... I mean there is beading but it looks like a wax/ sealant on it's very last leg... no fabulous 'tight, round' beading.) I did not top them with anything. Clayed/ Iron-X at the 6 month mark and washed every time with Reset. And you can call 'prep error' all you want but I will save you the finger strokes because they were applied 'right.'


I also did the same on my n-law's truck. Half CQUK & OC 2.0. Same thing but both were done at 6 month mark. To be fair, the truck is parked underneath Douglas Fir trees so I am sure some kind of organic particulate is altering the surface characteristics of the water action. Yet, I clayed and applied Iron-X also but the water action didn't improve dramatically at all. Prep was also manufacturer approved. No 'topper' used.

Optimum Gloss Coat... I prepped one panel on my personal truck. It lasted all of 4 weeks. Done with that. Anyone want a 9cc tube?



DG Enviroshield, Americoat are also on my truck... so far, so good.... 7 months. They both are beading, sheeting, and allow easy cleaning. I have not noticed a degradation in their performance(s). The two coatings are a real treat to apply.

So out of the 3 retail coatings... 1 is doing well.

Out of 1 professional coating, 1 is doing well.

I am not sure of the chemical difference(s) in the retail vs. professional coatings... but it's quite obvious to me that the retail coatings market seems to be a bit lackluster in actual performance to back up their durability claims.
 
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
 
Im on year-5 on my 2009 Grand Cherokee, Crystal Pearl Black, wearing the old Opti-Guard Pro version.
I did 1 thick coat of it in the Shop, perfect, clean, conditions, cured it in the garage, loaded it up and drove 2 stints of 1,000 miles each, arriving with about as clean a car as when I left.
Nothing stuck to it for quite a while.. Nothing sticks to it still, but not as incredibly as the first 2-3 years..

Have never topped it, never rubbed anything on it but Car Pro Reset soap in a bucket, when I'm home, and an occasional car wash on the road between WA, CA, and Texas..
Total miles on the Opti-Guard - 18,000 + highway miles..

It is still there, still very glossy, very clear, I see all the metallic particles in the paint in the sun just fine.. There are very, very, few light scratches if you can see them in the sunlight..
Im a Detailer, so I know how to not scratch vehicles and always try to not do it..

The only place on the vehicle where it does not look good is on the Venture-Shield full front Clear-Bra that covers the entire front end and about 1/3 up on the Hood and Front Fenders..
The Clear Bra did not hold onto the Coating as well and the occasional car wash Slap-a-Long strips have caused some light scratches on the Clear Bra on the hood..
But its a ClearBra and it protects the heck out of my pristine Black Paint on the entire front end, so Im not worried..
Some day, I will lightly remove those defects off the plastic, when I get time..

I used the SM Arnold ClayTowel to prep the paint originally and then used a Rotary to perfect the paintwork (except for what was already under the ClearBra)..

This product is still there all the way around the vehicle - I have been so lucky to not have to do anything to it but wash and dry it with my Metro Master Blaster..

Will see if I can find my Camera and Tripod and take a few sun pics of it before I probably trade it in on a new Black Honda Accord Coupe..

Someone is going to be so happy to see the condition of the paintwork and know they dont have to do anything for who knows how long, going forward..
Dan F
 
David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
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I tend to use harsher chemicals on my coated car than on non coated cars. I agree that babying a coating is stupid.
 
David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
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David, I did just that with my wife's daily. 1 wash per month (if that... longest stretch was 7 weeks). I did use reset for washing.. no toppers. She drives 60+ miles a day. I used clay and iron x @ 6 months just to see if the surface action could be revived not because I was trying to baby it.

I was sort of impressed by the limited wash induced marring of the coated surfaces. (Honda NBP color...super soft so I have seen what happens with just a sealant applied after a year of washing.)
 
Approaching 2 years with OC 2.0 and no signs of failure. The car is a daily driver but it is garaged at night. Maintained with just shampoos (Lusso Auto Bathe & DJ BTBM , mostly) plus a hit with Iron-X and OPC 4:1 maybe once a year.
 
David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
Click to expand...

Are you talking about Opti-Coat Pro? Or maybe its new "topper" Pro+......


Stirs the pot and walks away..... :ph34r:
 
I don't top my coatings either. After they start fading I might use permanon until I have some time to polish and re coat the car.

Toppers are extenders and I'd rather not mess with them. on a regular basis. If I can get close to 2 years from a coating I am happy.

David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
Click to expand...
 
All of the cars I coated with c Quartz finest that I see on a regular basis are about 18 to 24 months old. Those not garaged are pretty much done. Not a slam ,just as expected. My cars with Gyeon at 8-9 months still good.
 
I didn't purchase RELOAD until my original application of CQ UK was just about 1 yr old. Beading was clearly falling off but certainly not gone when it hit 12 months. I regard the RELOAD spray as a refresher of the CQ UK - - it's supposed to contain the same compound. I personally don't view it as a "topper". To me, it's analogous to the Sonus Acrylic Spritz that was used with Klasse SG. It refreshed the basic protection of the Klasse sealant with the same chemical.

So, if I have to spend twenty minutes once or twice a year to apply RELOAD, that doesn't upset me. Does it obscure the underlying durability of the CQ UK? Sure.

My primary focus is keeping my vehicles looking their absolute best with the least amount of effort. For my personal situation, CQ coating + RELOAD + regular de-con (RESET) is the best solution I've experienced to date. The cars have never looked better - nothing has come close. If "we" arrive at the point that these coatings don't last more than a year, and the entire process needs to be re-started, I'd likely return to traditional sealant products.

I've also gone thru Duragloss Enviroshield which I wrote about in another thread. I've since given it a 2nd chance on a different vehicle and it's at about 6 months. I've also got OptiGloss and the Pinnacle coating on the same car. Far too early to make any statements apart from the fact that nothing beads like fresh CQ UK...if that means anything :blink:

David F, what happened to your rolling test bed??? The Ford Fusion??
 
David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
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I respect everything David ever has to say, but I am going to disagree to an extent.

SiO2 based coatings will loose their hydrophobic properties when exposed to heavy alkaline cleaners. This is just the nature of the beast, but this doesn't mean the coating isn't there, nor does it mean the coating isn't protecting.

Hydrophobic coatings do bead nicely, this is a reward to the end user. Makes maintenance easier and also makes the car look "protected." Much like how foaming hand soaps won't necessarily clean better, but the foam is a reward to the end user. Also like how many tooth pastes contain citric acid or other chemicals to cause that "fresh clean feeling." They are rewards, but aren't necessary to the ultimate goal. Coatings offer protecting in hardness (not 9H in mineral, 9H in pencil), but also in flexibility and as a sacrificial layer. Many times, a coating may no longer bead, but it can still protect by taking the beating in scratches and micromarring that will not effect the base coat underneath.

But off an assumption, I would guess that the "coatings" you installed are not beading nor are they there anymore. It takes a very proper installation to maximize the protection and longevity of any true coating. Otherwise, the coating is so thin and also improperly crossbonded to the point where it will flake and fail. But flaking happens on a 1-2 micron scale, you will never see this with your own eyes. Even 3 microns is so thin, the human eyes won't ever see it physically fail.

That's just my 2 cents.
 
WillWashesCars said:
SiO2 based coatings will loose their hydrophobic properties when exposed to heavy alkaline cleaners. This is just the nature of the beast, but this doesn't mean the coating isn't there, nor does it mean the coating isn't protecting.
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^^^This is the piece that worries me too. Many of us, myself included, are probably too quick to declare the (coating, sealant, wax, etc.) has failed when, in deed, it has not and is still very much on the job. Since most end consumers have no means of gaging this, we are probably too quick to declare that beading = protection and vice versa, Will.
 
The biggest factor in coating durability besides the proper application and maintenance is the weather and if the vehicle is garaged or not. It is not uncommon for outdoor California coated vehicles to last 24 months outdoors. Indoor coated vehicles can go way beyond that.
 
I've seen them both fail (beading wise) and also live up to manufactures claims. Region, environment, and weather that the vehicles are subject to all seem to play a roll in performance, but mostly how well it's cared for. All of them seem to loose beading down low behind the wheels after about 6 months, at least in my region.

I've had OCP looking good and lasting over 2 years on my car and I've also seen it have zero beading on a clients car after 6 months (twice). I've seen CQF and 22ple performing very well near the 2 year mark and I've also seen all 3 (OCP, CQF, 22ple) fail miserably (Beading wise) on my test pans left outside and untouched for 8-9 months. No amount of decon would bring life back to either of them.

I love coatings, but I feel they should be marketed as 2-3yrs protection max and clients need to be well aware that regular washing is key.


David Fermani said:
IMHO a true coating shouldn't need a topper. Heck, they should be able to withstand washing with harsh cleaners and it shouldn't affect it's performance. I'd be interested to know how some of these "coatings" last if you didn't baby them? You know a real torture test and I don't mean trying to scratch them with lighters. :inspector:
Click to expand...

I would agree, but as mentioned above by Troy, even the great OCP has their own OCP+ topper now and installers have been topping it with various products for quite some to help against water spots.
 
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