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As promised. I was being rushed a little, so not the best pictures.

 

Finally got around to applying the 303 Graphene. The instructions make it sound fairly intense from a hazardous to your health standpoint. That said, it was fairly easy to apply. Just more time consuming that I was anticipating.

I started off with a paint correction using the Chemical Guys Hexlogic 5" pads and Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Then came back and applied the Graphene.



Unfortunately, I have to park outside since my wife has the nicer vehicle and we can only fit one car in the garage currently. I noticed this morning that dew/frost was all over the truck except for like 2 spots. So I'm wondering if I missed a "square" or two while applying or if some other factor prevented it from sticking to those spots.

I'm thinking I'll do another application of it after I wash it next. Spraying it with water should really tell if I missed a spot....or at least I would think that it should.

Bottle says that it lasts up to 1 year....we'll see about that.

 

my neighbor used it on his truck and it lasted about 6 months. he said he kinda didn't expect much different considering it's a spray on products. he went ahead and ceramic coated his vehicle now.

 

6 months is about what I was expecting. We shall see.

Here's another after completion. Paint looks pretty good for 12 years old and parked outside for the last 3.



I'm pretty sure that I missed a spot though. This was from the dew/frost this morning:



So I guess I'll be washing it again in the near future and putting another coat on the hood at a minimum. Any reason why I shouldn't do another application so quickly?

 

paint does look pretty good! but yea....looks like you may have left a "high spot". i would think you could add another layer a week after application without any issues. that seems to be a fairly versatile product and it wouldn't affect it. See what the bottle says about it. If in doubt, could prob reach out to 303 about it and ask.

 

Looks great. May have to look into it

 

I tried 303 Graphene, and was underwhelmed. Found the removal to be a little oily and problematic. The bottle now sits on the shelf waiting for someone to ask for it. Gave Dr Beasleys LS-10 a try, much more user friendly and better gloss. It's 7 months old right now, and still going strong.

 

Well, I sprayed it with water today, as it's supposed to rain anyway. No difference in water characteristics compared to anywhere else on the vehicle.



So I'm unsure as to why I had that one bare square in the morning frost.

I also sort of expected the water to just run off the paint, but I'm parked at a slight incline so the hood is mostly level and flat. I guess I bought into some of the Instagram hype of how amazing products are in this new age of detailing.

 

I'll say that back when I had my old house and parked outside, if I didn't apply/remove a product properly, I could see the marks and patterns in the dew. But in rain or during wash, you couldn't tell. The water hits and sits differently from having more volume of water landing on the paint vs dew.
In terms of the water sheeting off, that can happen easily by how you apply the water to your vehicle. I have a water nozzle that I take off and let the water pour out at a medium flow to "flood dry" the vehicle making it have very little water to dry off the vehicle. When you do it with the spray nozzle, lots of water droplets land on it making it harder to allow it sheet off when the water collects together and runs off together.
-kinda hard to explain, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say.

 

303 replied to me and said that there is no harm or reason why I couldn't do another coat. They just advised that it be clean and dry, so maybe I will do another application on the hood.

I appreciate the reply!

 

Recommendations for a good single stage polish?

I've been using the Meguiars Ultimate Polish, but I'm almost out and kind of itching to try something else. Right now, I'm leaning toward the M205 or Adams One Step Polish. Also considered the Chemical Guys VSS.

I plan to apply the Color N Drive ceramic to the (black) Expedition once I get the correction done.

Side note, from what I gather, the Ultimate Polish is derived from M205 but uses more "polishing oils". So while they are very similar, the M205 should give a slightly better finished product.

 

Oh, and I found a 303 product that I don't love. The jury is still out on the Graphene, so I can't comment on that one yet.

The tire shine is "meh" at best. It is water-based, so it shouldn't stain concrete driveways. That's a plus, but the application of it is a little weird and the results aren't that great.

It doesn't spray on evenly, so I used a shop rag to spread it around and wipe off the excess the first time I used it. That resulted in barely being able to tell that there was any "shine" on the tires. The second time, I used an applicator sponge to spread it around. The shine is much better, but not overwhelming, but you can see the runs and the coverage isn't uniform.

303 says to just spray it on and leave it. I'll try that next time, but I'm not impressed as of right now.

 

When you say 'single stage'......do you mean for single stage paint?

 

Try CarPro Perl. I use it full strength. Spray it onto applicator, and then wipe onto the tire. Nice even coverage. Typical of most dressings, lasts a couple weeks.

 

No, this is for "modern" paint. I don't think I need anything as aggressive as a compound, so really just a solid polish that provides good results without having to do multiple passes with either different pads or products.

I guess I'm just looking for recommendation on a "good polish".

 

There are some good hybrids out there....3D One is one of them. You control the cut by pad choice. Finishes very well...wipeoff can be a little bit oily. Griots Garage Perfecting Cream is my go-to straight polish.

 

Tried out both Hydro2 and The Gauntlet. Happy with both so far.

 

Well, I went with what I had on hand. Meguiars Ultimate Polish. I'm not overly happy with the result. It got rid of the water spots and most of the cobweb swirls, but didn't do much for scratches. I used it on an orange CG hexlogic pad. It didn't do anything on the white pad. I also tried Ultimate Compound on an orange pad and it had the same result as the Polish, so I figured I should go with the less aggressive since it got the same result.

I applied the Color N Drive ceramic coating after I was done polishing. Hopefully that protects the paint a lot better. I'll get a picture of it in the sunlight before the day is over.

Here is a "before" anything in the sun:




Here's an "after" everything on one of those pieces that goes between the glass. Which is where I saw the most improvement.


and lastly, an "after" in the garage lighting.



There is some pitting in the paint and some scratches that I couldn't get out. I did use an iron remover before and started to clay bar a section where I could visibly see the pitting and it had no effect. So I stopped the clay bar after a few small sections as it did not appear to be working. Though I'm starting to wonder if the MATCC clay is just crap. I'm pretty sure that it is....so I'll be picking up some "proper" clay again.....I wanted to see if cheap clay was as effective, and it seems as though it was a complete waste of money.

I would have preferred to get the paint "perfect" before the ceramic coating, but had to settle for "worlds better." Time and temp dictated that I go ahead and do the ceramic as opposed to waiting. We have several clear days where the temps should be ideal for curing before we get rain and freezing temps.

 

The clay bar is to remove imbedded (bonded) contaminants in the clearcoat. If, by "pitting", you mean what I think you do, the clay bar will not help with that, regardless of what you buy. I'm hoping you did a panel prep prior to applying you coating....I did not see that in your write up. There can always be scratches that are simply too deep to take care of. I used Xtreme Solutions LVR403 on my truck prior to coating it. The acrylic properties did a very good job of filling. Once it cured, it was an excellent base for the coating.

 

You now have me fearing that I didn't research enough and may have missed a crucial step. I did a strip wash, polish and then the ceramic kit, which came with a "surface prep" that I think was probably a water based mixture that helped the sponge to glide.

 

If the kit came with a panel prep, it's job is to dissolve polishing oils that can impact the coatings ability to bond with the clearcoat. I see that kit comes with a 'pre treatment' spray...which is your panel prep. You did not miss a step. Let us know how it holds up for you...that is a coating I'm not familiar with

 

Checked out the paint in direct sunlight yesterday. The "cobweb" swirls were still there, just WAY less pronounced. I'm content, but not quite satisfied...if that makes sense.

I am anxious to see how I like the ceramic as well.

I'm supposed to throw away the towels that came with the kit and were used to apply the coating, rihgt? One of them, the buffing cloth, left a TON of lint on the finish. I ended up having to go back over it with a different microfiber to collect all (most) of the lint left behind.

Also, I forgot to reply yesterday on the clay bar comment. I'm familiar with clay bar and have been using it for years. The MATCC clay on Amazon is crap. It is very tacky and hard to remove from the container, but just glides right over the stuff that is embedded in the paint. As for the "pitting", I initially thought that it was a surface contaminant, but not sure if it is a surface contaminant or pitting in the paint. It is consistent across the hood though. I'm probably going to pick up some Meguiars or Mothers clay, as that is what I've used in the past and liked. It'll be a while before I try it on the Expedition though, as I just did the ceramic. My truck needs a good clay as well though.

 

*I'll throw some info in, but the experts may come in and correct it and/or agree, idk yet.*
in terms of the ceramic stuff....yes...throw away the applicator pads once used. not sure what brand you used, but they'll usually harden up and will not be as soft.
the buffing/leveling cloth.....i used a high quality one that was lint free. first time, i used the one that came with the Avalon King kit, but the second time I applied the cuartz, i ordered some carpro microsuede cloths to remove and felt it did better and all. lint free. but i feel like if you have a little bit of lint left behind, that when doing the IPA wipedown before coating should remove the little bit of lint that was left behind. but defintely try to get it off before moving forward with applying the ceramic.

 

The instructions for the ceramic coating were to apply the surface prep, wipe on the ceramic, wet a microfiber towel to spread it around and finally buff off with the buffing towel. This last step of the buffing towel is what was leaving the lint everywhere.

This is the kit that I used: https://colorndrive.com/en/ceramic-coating

Here's the video I followed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_ahLQRX8FA

So far, it doesn't seem as though the lint is sticking around, so I think I'm ok...

 

If any of y'all are on Instagram, I've got a couple of pics posted to the OverlandOutdoor page. It's supposed to be dedicated to camping and wheeling, but right now has been more along the lines of car care....I have too many young kids to get out and explore like we are used to doing....

https://www.instagram.com/overlandoutdoor/

 

ok. i misunderstood what was leaving behind the lint. my bad. but it seems you've got it straight now. have you put it in the sunlight yet?

 

Yes. It's the family vehicle, so keeping it out of the sun isn't going to happen. I had a hard enough time getting my wife to agree to leaving it in the garage over the weekend and not driving it after I polished it. Polished Saturday, Ceramic Coating applied Sunday evening. I told her it was ok to drive as long as she didn't get it wet. Forecast for temps and precipitation are favorable with a chance of rain tomorrow. So that gets me past the minimum 48 hours before getting wet cure time. I think it can take 2-3 weeks for a full cure, but not sure if that is a generic ceramic coating time or if it is specific to the Color N Drive.

As for "in the sun" results, it looks much better than before. I think the results could have been better if I had a better polish. Or maybe I need a more aggressive pad? In the garage lighting, I was getting the same results whether I used Ultimate Compound or Polish....so I just went with the polish. In terms of the "cobweb" swirls, they went from being very defined right at the reflection of the sun to pretty faint and about 5" out from the reflection of the sun.

 

You sound like me the first time I was coating in terms of not getting the results i wanted, but it was at least better than i started. I also started with the "ultimate" line. I moved to the mirror glaze line and used the M105 and M205 with different pads according to the detailing threads here.
i coated all of mine on saturday nights, so I was able to let sit in the sun on sunday rimshot to help it cure and bake into it. no water/rain was forseen for at least 2 or 3 days. both coatings i've used have said no washes for 7-10 days. i use a pH neutral soap, so i was washing on day 7 each time. i was itching to wash it! haha. correcting swirls and all are difficult the first few times. i'm still not to the skill level i'd like to be, but getting better!

 

Picked up a

$20 Nanoskin AUTOSCRUB Surface Prep Towel - General Grade 7" x 7" - Patented Clay Bar Replacement Tool to Remove Embedded Contaminants Before Wax & Coating | Safe for Painted Surface, Glass, Plastic, Metal & More

Nanoskin Handy Towel on sale. I thought the towel might be better at contours than the mitt I currently have.