Tuxedo Black Focus ST with Essence and Gloss Coat

Nautical

Nautical

New member
So I figured Id share some pictures and information from this weekends detail on my Focus ST. I have learned a lot here from everyone sharing their details and other information so I thought I would contribute to the forum as well. Ill start by saying that since this is my car it wasnt in bad shape, so there arent any dramatic before and afters. This was really just my own personal quest to get as much gloss out of my paint as I can and I was pleased with the outcome.

Heres before pictures from my last wash.



And how it sat after washing and claying.



Loading up the detail cart for work.



Heres an overview after polishing with Essence, before coating.


And another. The biggest downside with this car is the amount of orange peel which you can notice here.


And finally, after the coating and sitting overnight.






The soot build up needs to be hit with some steel wool, polishing wasnt enough but I ran out of time as of these pictures. Have to love direct injection turbo cars and the carbon..




Lovely overcast skies.


And products used for those that are interested.

Tires: Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner
Wheels: Megs d101 diluted 4:1
Brushes: Mothers Tire, Wheel & Well Brushes, Speed Master Jr wheel brush
Soap: Megs d110 hyper wash
Wash mitt: Megs Microfiber & Supreme micro-chenille mitt
Dry: DP Turbo Blower, cobra guzzler
Polish: CarPro Essence
Coating: Optimum Gloss-Coat
Polishers: Rupes 15 Mark 2 & Griots 6" Polisher with 3" backing plate
Tire coating: BF Total Trim & Tire
Exhaust: P21S Polishing Soap
Glass: Stoners Glass Cleaner
Pads: Lake Country 3" flat pads & 5.5" thin-pro
Clay: Nanoskin Mitt Fine Grade
Towels: 530 GSM towels for paint, All-Purpose towels for glass and other.

Thanks for looking!
 
Nautical said:
So I figured Id share some pictures and information from this weekends detail on my Focus ST. I have learned a lot here from everyone sharing their details and other information so I thought I would contribute to the forum as well. Ill start by saying that since this is my car it wasnt in bad shape, so there arent any dramatic before and afters. This was really just my own personal quest to get as much gloss out of my paint as I can and I was pleased with the outcome.

Heres before pictures from my last wash.



And how it sat after washing and claying.



Loading up the detail cart for work.



Heres an overview after polishing with Essence, before coating.


And another. The biggest downside with this car is the amount of orange peel which you can notice here.


And finally, after the coating and sitting overnight.






The soot build up needs to be hit with some steel wool, polishing wasnt enough but I ran out of time as of these pictures. Have to love direct injection turbo cars and the carbon..




Lovely overcast skies.


And products used for those that are interested.

Tires: Tuff Shine Tire Cleaner
Wheels: Megs d101 diluted 4:1
Brushes: Mothers Tire, Wheel & Well Brushes, Speed Master Jr wheel brush
Soap: Megs d110 hyper wash
Wash mitt: Megs Microfiber & Supreme micro-chenille mitt
Dry: DP Turbo Blower, cobra guzzler
Polish: CarPro Essence
Coating: Optimum Gloss-Coat
Polishers: Rupes 15 Mark 2 & Griots 6" Polisher with 3" backing plate
Tire coating: BF Total Trim & Tire
Exhaust: P21S Polishing Soap
Glass: Stoners Glass Cleaner
Pads: Lake Country 3" flat pads & 5.5" thin-pro
Clay: Nanoskin Mitt Fine Grade
Towels: 530 GSM towels for paint, All-Purpose towels for glass and other.

Thanks for looking!
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What applicator did you use for the gloss coat?
 
Amazing work! That black and the car itself looks amazing!

Thanks for sharing your process and the products used. How long did the entire process take you?
 
Marc08EX said:
Amazing work! That black and the car itself looks amazing!

Thanks for sharing your process and the products used. How long did the entire process take you?
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Thanks. I spent two hours friday night washing and decontaminating and about 7 hours Saturday polishing, coating the paint and tires, cleaning the windows and such plus clean up.
 
512detail said:
man thats a good looking car

great work!
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Thanks. This car is a blast to drive all while staying under the radar. A lot of people dont notice it and those that do who compliment it still are not sure what it is ha. Its the best of both worlds, especially when having a spirited drive through some nice twisty back roads.
 
Nautical said:
Thanks. This car is a blast to drive all while staying under the radar. A lot of people dont notice it and those that do who compliment it still are not sure what it is ha. Its the best of both worlds, especially when having a spirited drive through some nice twisty back roads.
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Yea IMO thats the best looking hot hatch type car out there. Ford hit the mark with that vehicle for sure
 
A faster Ford Focus is supposed to go on sale soon. I imagine 350hp in a car that size will be a kick to drive. That is a great looking car and you did a great job on it. I like your list of supplies. Many new to the forum folks ask what to get started with, your list is a very good example of what is needed to make a car look fantastic.
 
rlmccarty2000 said:
A faster Ford Focus is supposed to go on sale soon. I imagine 350hp in a car that size will be a kick to drive. That is a great looking car and you did a great job on it. I like your list of supplies. Many new to the forum folks ask what to get started with, your list is a very good example of what is needed to make a car look fantastic.
Click to expand...

Thank you. And yeah, I actually debated holding off on buying this car and waiting for an RS but from everything saw, I wasn`t a fan of the styling. The AWD and extra horsepower would be nice but this car is pretty well rounded as it is. It is also tail happy if you`ve ever seen videos of these at the track, I just have yet to get it to a track and see what I can do with it and have some fun.

As for the supply list, I remember when I was originally researching details when I first started I was interested in knowing what people were using. So I kept that in mind when I was putting this together so hopefully it can give others that see this an idea of stuff to look into. It also allows an opportunity for them to inquire about anything I used.
 
Figured I`d do a small update after almost a week. First, it seems that this coating really makes the metallic flake in the paint more noticeable. The past sealants I`ve used seemed to have muted the flake a little and since I`ve noticed this question comes up once and awhile I figured I`d address it. Second is that I am thoroughly impressed with how easy removing bird bombs are, which was a big reason I went with the coating in the first place.
 
Thanks for providing a follow up/update to your initial post Nautical.

While trying to learn more about Essence by searching various forums, I believe I read somewhere along the way that Essence and Gloss-Coat were not recommended to be used together. I certainly don`t see why not, and I`m glad to see you tried it!

Will be curious to see how it works on your vehicle over time...
 
Nautical said:
Figured I`d do a small update after almost a week. First, it seems that this coating really makes the metallic flake in the paint more noticeable. The past sealants I`ve used seemed to have muted the flake a little and since I`ve noticed this question comes up once and awhile I figured I`d address it. Second is that I am thoroughly impressed with how easy removing bird bombs are, which was a big reason I went with the coating in the first place.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update. I think the longer you have it on the car, the more you`re going to love coatings. Have you washed it yet? Watching all the dirt slide off the car after only rinsing fun. Which shampoo will you be using for maintenance? I would recommend getting a blower to dry most of the car without touching it in the future.

I can`t wait to Gloss-Coat my bike. I`ve had a syringe of Gloss-Coat on my desk for months now. But I told myself I`m going to wait for the RUPES iBrid Nano to polish the bike before coating it.
 
BadgerRivFan said:
Thanks for providing a follow up/update to your initial post Nautical.

While trying to learn more about Essence by searching various forums, I believe I read somewhere along the way that Essence and Gloss-Coat were not recommended to be used together. I certainly don`t see why not, and I`m glad to see you tried it!

Will be curious to see how it works on your vehicle over time...
Click to expand...

From what I was seeing, CarPro really couldn`t comment on how it`d work with other coatings, which is to be expected. I went in knowing there is always the possibility of premature failure, but that`s just how it is without several long term tests being posted.

Vega@Autopia said:
Thanks for the update. I think the longer you have it on the car, the more you`re going to love coatings. Have you washed it yet? Watching all the dirt slide off the car after only rinsing fun. Which shampoo will you be using for maintenance? I would recommend getting a blower to dry most of the car without touching it in the future.

I can`t wait to Gloss-Coat my bike. I`ve had a syringe of Gloss-Coat on my desk for months now. But I told myself I`m going to wait for the RUPES iBrid Nano to polish the bike before coating it.
Click to expand...

I haven`t washed it yet but I`m excited to see how it differs from the sealants I was accustomed to. As for soap, I have DP Wash & Gloss, Blackfire Wet Diamond and Hyper Wash. I plan to try each one and see if there is any noticeable difference. And for drying, I`ve been using the DP blower which is also a reason I went with a coating. Once the sealants start losing their hydrophobic properties it becomes a lengthy process trying to blow dry the whole car.
 
Came out great.

The optimum guys have said gloss coat is not compatible with essence. Even on the FB detailing groups. But keep us updated on how both work out.

I imagine it would hard to tell if the coating fails prematurely given that Essence states a durability of 1 year.
 
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