I bought this stuff last year after reading good reviews about it and we have a black VW Golf car in the family now. No matter how careful I was cleaning the Golf and daily wear and tear driving, the odd swirl mark etc always appeared on the paint work. I finally did the golf a few weeks and the results are fantastic. The metallic black paint looks deeper and richer and the metallic fleck pops in the sun.
Earlier in the week I detailed my mums new dark grey Mitsubishi Colt and finished that with the cQuartz and again the paint was transformed.
Yesterday I decided to do my M3 and even though it's metallic silver the results finishing with the cQuartz are the best I've got since having the car.
Prep work is paramount before using this stuff though. As its a sealant which is as tough as glass once it's cured, if you don't correct the paintwork before hand you will just seal in defects, swirls, scratches etc.
As i'm a keen detailer my paintwork is always relatively clean and scratch free, but it's been sometime since I'd given the old girl a good detail.
Order of prep work consisted of,
1. Wash with Adams car shampoo
2, Citrus pre wash on lower panels to remove any tar spots.
3, Clay using Dodo juice clay and diluted Meguiars Quick detailer spray.
4, Wash again with Adams.
5, Dry with towel.
6, Compound the paint with 3M cutting compound and a cutting pad on my DA polisher.
7, Polish with 3M polish on a polishing pad on the DA.
After this the paintwork looked fantastic with all swirl marks removed and the surface was smooth as glass. Next I would usually go straight to applying my Adams Patriot Wax, but this time it's time to apply the cQuartz. To make this bond to the paint properly, you have to remove any excess oils/silicones that are on the paint, so I applied a misting of CarPro Eraser and then wiped this off each panel with a micro fibre cloth. Any I.P.A liquid will do the same, but I've been happy with the other CarPro products I've used so I used their Eraser product.
I then applied the cQuartz. You put a few small drops onto a suede cloth which is wrapped around a sponge block and apply to one panel at a time, wait five minutes then buff off with a suede towel. Do the rest of the car and in total let it all cure for an hour. You can then either apply another coat, or go onto the next stage. I opted for the latter. The next product is called Reload, which you spray on top of the cQuartz then buff off and it helps seal everything in.
Now you leave the car overnight in a garage as it can't get wet as the curing process takes up to 24 hours.
Silver cars are hard to make the paint really stand out compared to darker colours, but I'm very impressed with the results.
Other areas done after the paint was done are,
Wheels washed with Meguiars wheel cleaner, Ezee brush and hog hair brushes.
Wheels then dried and G Technic C5 sealant applied then a coating of Poorboys wax applied.
Tyres dressed using Adams Tire Shine
Bonnet vent and wiper scuttle had G Technic C4 plastic restorer applied ( fantastic stuff, last time I did it was two years ago ) it's that good
Exhaust tips polished with Meguiars metal polish applied with a polishing ball attached to a drill
Rubber window trim and door seals coated with Sonax GummiPfleger.
Interior plastics wiped over with Adams Interior Detailer.
All glass cleaned with Meguiars glass cleaner using two cloths, one to wipe on and one to buff off.
Finally coated the paint with a light misting of Zaino Z8.
A lot of work, but the cQuartz should last 18 months, so now it's just a case of doing my bi-weekly wash to keep her in tip top condition.
Proof in the pudding as they say, my wife's Golf had two weeks of daily grime on it, mainly pollen dust, dusty road dust and the odd dirt, rain and fly squat marks on it. I tentatively applied a misting of detail spray on the bonnet and wiped off with a quality micro fibre towel and nothing but glossy black paint work. No swirls, marring or scratches, very very happy.
Pictures of my car after it's pampering.
Car has just turned over 100,000 miles yesterday, got a couple of small rust bubbles appearing on both rear arches where the bumper/ arch meet. This is a common issue as the bits are clipped together by a metal clip which over times rubs on the arch taking the paint away. I'm hopefully getting this sorted later in the year. New shocks also on order. Apart from that she's good. I've had her for over two years now and put 22,000 miles on her.
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