[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by djessence

Thank you so much for your reply. I really needed help with these issues. I'm sure i speak for everyone on this forum when I say that you are a great resource and we are lucky to have you here to help us out!

Happy to help!

-Zach

[Stahliniho]

Hi Zach,

Had a search through the 85 pages or so but can't track what I'm looking for down.

I have many small light scratches on the windscreen of my E90 - is there anything you can recommend to remove these? I've cleaned the windscreen and new wipers blades but cant stop the haze or remove the scratches.

Any ideas?

Thank you in advance.

[Detailed Image]

Hi - unfortunately glass can and will develop light scratches from use of the wipers over time. There are glass polishing pads and special glass polish that some say can remove these very light scratches, however I have personally not had great results with these products in the one time I have attempted it (so I have little to no personal experience). Glass is very, very hard relative to what we are used to when it comes to correcting defects in automotive paint, so removing even the faintest of scratches can be a real challenge on glass.

CarPro Ceriglass
Glass Polishing Pads


Hope that helps! Let me know if I can answer anything else for you.

-Zach

[Supacat]

Hi guys,

New to the coating world and recently was quoted $975 for a 5 year Ceramic Pro 9H not including the paint correction which is offered as a deal for free.

Is that a reasonable price to have it done professionally?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by Supacat

Hi guys,

New to the coating world and recently was quoted $975 for a 5 year Ceramic Pro 9H not including the paint correction which is offered as a deal for free.

Is that a reasonable price to have it done professionally?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Pricing for these services can vary drastically depending on the market in your area... call around and see what other reputable shops are charging for similar services.

-Zach

[claycourter01]

Zach—I would greatly appreciate any advice you can provide on a difficulty I had with a Blackfire Crystal Coat application.

I believe the car was well prepped with a citrus wash (2 buckets with grit guards), auto-claying with Nanoskin pad with orbital polisher, regular clay by hand, another citrus wash, polish with Klasse AIO, and prep with CarPro Eraser. At that point, the paint (BMW Space Gray, on a 2012 335i coupe) looked great.

When I did the Blackfire Crystal Coat application, I found that it was streaky and blotchy, and I could not get it to level off. I may have been using too much of the product; the label does not mention the amount to use, but doing more research afterwards I see that only 1-2 drops per panel are needed. Or perhaps it interacted with Klasse as well? After 3 hours of hand buffing I cannot get the streaks and blotches to improve.

What can I do to recover? I know this is very long-lasting product. I don’t want to ruin the paint and am willing to wait if needed, but I would like to get the streaks and blotches out.

At this point I certainly wished I had just spayed on some liquid wax after the AIO polish. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[Detailed Image]

I have not actually used the Blackfire Crystal Coating, however based on your description of your process, the one thing that immediately jumps out at me is your use of Klasse AIO for polishing.

KAIO is meant to leave it's own durable layer of protection on the paint (hence the term "all in one" which means it will polish and protect the finish). This is absolutely not the type of product you want to use before a coating because the surface of the paint needs to be perfectly bare. Free of any waxes, sealants, or polishing oils. If the surface is not completely bare, we have experienced difficulties applying coatings.

Unfortunately you will basically need to start over to make sure your coating works as it should. This means the car should be properly washed and dried. I doubt there are any bonded contaminates on the vehicle if you had properly decontaminated it recently, so you can probably skip the clay bar. You should then machine polish the entire vehicle with a traditional polish like Meguiar's M205. If you need something more aggressive to remove any streaks or defects, then consider a medium polish like Griot's Garage Correcting Cream or a cutting compound like Griot's Garage Fast Correcting Cream.

Once the entire vehicle has been properly machine polished, wipe the entire vehicle with CarPro Eraser on a clean, plush microfiber towel. Apply a liberal amount of Eraser to one panel of the vehicle, and use your towel to "Wash" the panel. Use another clean towel to buff to a streak free finish. Work your way around the car until you are certain the paint is perfectly clean and ready for coating. Now apply your coating. Do not over apply. You want a thin, even layer of product.


Let me know if you have any questions.

-Zach

[claycourter01]

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

I have not actually used the Blackfire Crystal Coating, however based on your description of your process, the one thing that immediately jumps out at me is your use of Klasse AIO for polishing.

KAIO is meant to leave it's own durable layer of protection on the paint (hence the term "all in one" which means it will polish and protect the finish). This is absolutely not the type of product you want to use before a coating because the surface of the paint needs to be perfectly bare. Free of any waxes, sealants, or polishing oils. If the surface is not completely bare, we have experienced difficulties applying coatings.

Unfortunately you will basically need to start over to make sure your coating works as it should. This means the car should be properly washed and dried. I doubt there are any bonded contaminates on the vehicle if you had properly decontaminated it recently, so you can probably skip the clay bar. You should then machine polish the entire vehicle with a traditional polish like Meguiar's M205. If you need something more aggressive to remove any streaks or defects, then consider a medium polish like Griot's Garage Correcting Cream or a cutting compound like Griot's Garage Fast Correcting Cream.

Once the entire vehicle has been properly machine polished, wipe the entire vehicle with CarPro Eraser on a clean, plush microfiber towel. Apply a liberal amount of Eraser to one panel of the vehicle, and use your towel to "Wash" the panel. Use another clean towel to buff to a streak free finish. Work your way around the car until you are certain the paint is perfectly clean and ready for coating. Now apply your coating. Do not over apply. You want a thin, even layer of product.


Let me know if you have any questions.

-Zach

Thanks so much Zach--that does make sense; I always think of KAIO as a polish and did not think that it is a sealant also. That, and I probably used too much product.

I will start over as you recommend. Given that the product is advertised to last for up to 2 years, should I wait a certain amount of time before correcting?

Thanks again.

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by claycourter01

Thanks so much Zach--that does make sense; I always think of KAIO as a polish and did not think that it is a sealant also. That, and I probably used too much product.

I will start over as you recommend. Given that the product is advertised to last for up to 2 years, should I wait a certain amount of time before correcting?

Thanks again.

Once the coating has been applied, the only real way to remove it is to use an abrasive on it (i.e. A polish, compound, sand paper, etc). This means that as long as you are able to keep your finish swirl free, and clean, there is no need to correct the paint in any way, however once you do decide you need to polish the vehicle to restore clarity and gloss, you will have to reapply the coating all over again.

I personally do a light polish on our vehicles every 1.5-3 years, and I will then reapply a coating of my choice. In between applications, I simply wash the vehicles regularly (especially important if you live in an area with harsh environmental conditions) and apply coating toppers such as CarPro Reload, GTechniq C2, 22ple VS1, etc.

-Zach

[claycourter01]

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

Once the coating has been applied, the only real way to remove it is to use an abrasive on it (i.e. A polish, compound, sand paper, etc). This means that as long as you are able to keep your finish swirl free, and clean, there is no need to correct the paint in any way, however once you do decide you need to polish the vehicle to restore clarity and gloss, you will have to reapply the coating all over again.

I personally do a light polish on our vehicles every 1.5-3 years, and I will then reapply a coating of my choice. In between applications, I simply wash the vehicles regularly (especially important if you live in an area with harsh environmental conditions) and apply coating toppers such as CarPro Reload, GTechniq C2, 22ple VS1, etc.

-Zach

thanks Zach-- I was not intending to use the term "correct" in the technical sense of paint correction. I just was not sure how soon I could try to remove this coating of the Crystal Coat. I assume it's OK to try to polish off this coating at any time?

thanks again.

[Detailed Image]

Yes - the sooner the better!

-Zach

[claycourter01]

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

Yes - the sooner the better!

-Zach

thanks Zach--ordering some DI products and will work on it.

[NoGuru]

After I wash my car, often through a touch-less car wash, I usually wash my outside windows with window cleaner.
Is this a good method or should I leave the wax on there to build up?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by NoGuru

After I wash my car, often through a touch-less car wash, I usually wash my outside windows with window cleaner.
Is this a good method or should I leave the wax on there to build up?

The "wax" sprayed on the car via a touch less car wash is not something that is particularly durable. It will make no difference if you leave it on your glass or not in my opinion.

[MacE90]

In between annual trips to the detail person, I usually visit my local wash bay and spray down the car. I never use the wash brush as I want to avoid swirl marks on my freshly resprayed front end. The result is a fine layer of grime that is never really washed away.

Is there a product that I can spray on while using the power washer at the car wash that will actually get the car clean and not leave behind dirt while I spot dry the car?

[Detailed Image]

Originally Posted by MacE90

In between annual trips to the detail person, I usually visit my local wash bay and spray down the car. I never use the wash brush as I want to avoid swirl marks on my freshly resprayed front end. The result is a fine layer of grime that is never really washed away.

Is there a product that I can spray on while using the power washer at the car wash that will actually get the car clean and not leave behind dirt while I spot dry the car?

Unfortunately there is no way to completely clean your vehicle without touching it... so no, there are no products that you can simply spray on the car prior to pressure washing that will enable you to remove all of the dirt.

If you are unable to perform a traditional hand wash, here are your options...

What you need to do is, after pressure washing and rinsing the vehicle with the spot-free rinse, use a quick detailer, waterless wash, or rinseless washing product to properly remove the remaining dirt from the surface of the paint. A waterless wash is your best option if you're going to the local car wash...

In this video, I go over a quick review of CarPro EcH2O Waterless wash and how to properly use a waterless wash.

Waterless washes provide considerably more cleaning power and lubrication than a traditional quick detailer, which is why I personally recommend this as the best choice for cleaning your vehicle without buckets of water and/or hoses.

Let me know if you've got any questions!

-Zach

[330iE90spt]

To any of you that have headlight restoration experience, what grit sandpaper should I start with based on the pics. My headlights on my 2006 330i need some TLC.

Thoughts on what I should start with? 600? 800? 1000?

Thanks.

[Detailed Image]

Those look exceptionally bad.

I would say 600 is a safe bet... but you may want to start as 400 and work your way up to 2000-3000 grit making sure you have completely removed all of the sanding marks from the previous step before moving on to the next one.

Then compound and polish.

Follow the steps outlined in this article...
Restore Your Heavily Oxidized Headlights by Kevin George

Post some before/after pictures!!!!

[330iE90spt]

Thank you for the response. Yeah, they are pretty bad, but wasn't sure how far to go down on the grit! Yup, planning on going through the whole process! I'll post before and after when I'm done. Thanks.

[WallyF]

Has anyone had any experience with Xzilon Green sealer? A friend gave me a can to try.

wally

[MILLER335I]

I have some engine bay matte black plastic parts that have been scratched. Is there a way to polish out the scratches or another method to remove them without making the part shiny? This is an example of the finish on the parts I am talking about. Thanks! Jeff

[NoGuru]

Originally Posted by MILLER335I

I have some engine bay matte black plastic parts that have been scratched. Is there a way to polish out the scratches or another method to remove them without making the part shiny? This is an example of the finish on the parts I am talking about. Thanks! Jeff

Do some light sanding or repaint.