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      08-21-2020, 08:06 AM   #1
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DIY Ceramic Coating

I am thinking about applying Ceramic coating myself. I am NOT a professional detailer, and purchased AvalonKing. I was curious if others have done this themselves. What was your experience? How did it turn out? Any tips to share?

Thanks in advance!
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      08-21-2020, 08:25 AM   #2
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I did mine myself. Used CQuartz UK and Carpro Gliss top coat. Turned out pretty good, not perfect, but close. Was my first time ever trying it.

If you havent already researched it, heres basically the steps I did.

1) Wash
2) Clay bar
3) De-iron
4) Rinse
5) Polish (if needed)
6) IPA wipe
7) Coat of CQuartz UK
8) Coat of Carpro Gliss

So the biggest thing here is to take your time. All the steps are important if you want to have a good result.

I did a perfect job up until I got to the first coat of cquartz. I did a pretty good job here, but had some high spots, you wont really notice these until the coating starts to try. You can typically remove them with a LIGHT buffing compound by hand. But remember to hit those areas with another layer of coating. Thats the part I did not do. When I was the car now, I can notice the areas that I polished high spots out of (the water does not bead on them). Fortunately, it's not noticeable any other time.

If you just take your time, and only do 1 panel at a time, you'll be fine.

Hope this helps!
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      08-21-2020, 05:25 PM   #3
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I’ve probably done it about a dozen times now on a various cars, and my friends/family. As mentioned above, the most important thing you can do is take your time. Get the paint as perfect as you can before applying. If you find high spots later, no worries, just some hand polish to remove the high spots. They typically come off pretty easy since it’s actually the oils in the coating that rise to the top. Once done, add a little more coating on top to make sure you have even coverage.

A lot of coatings have a top coat. I actually recommend doing that after your first wash, unless the directions indicate otherwise. This way, when/if you find a high spot, you can address that without having to reapply both the top coat and base coat. Good luck, take your time, and it’s going to come out just fine!
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      08-21-2020, 06:06 PM   #4
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This was the first thing, I did after taking delivery to keep the prep down to a minimum.

Using detroitm2's format...

1. Detail - dealer
2. Drive home
3. Wash
4. Inspected for trash and scratches, didn't need to clay or polish
5. GYEON Q2M Iron Remover (De-iron step)
6. GYEON Q2M Prep (IPA step)
7. GYEON Q2 Pure
7a. Coat the rear diffuser give's it a nice matte sheen and keeps it looking nice and clean.
8. Let dry for 3-4 days- 1-2 days should be more than enough time.

Prior to delivery, I purchased a set of 763M rims and from the box, I used...
1. GYEON Q2M Prep (IPA step)
2. GYEON Q2 Rim

Neither was difficult. Rims were tedious. Wear a mask!

Since these both worked so well, I also applied GYEON Q2 View to the windows. It doesn't appear to be any better than RainX. Knowing what I know now, I would not apply it to the windshield b/c bugs don't come off easily with the wiper fluid and wipers and the windshield gets spotty until I was the car and then they come off very easily.

Last edited by omasou; 08-23-2020 at 08:47 AM..
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      08-22-2020, 05:09 PM   #5
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Sorry for the rookie question, but what is a “high spot”? I am using Avalon King, seemed relatively legit throughout all the noise.

Today, I applied it to calipers and wheels as kind of a test. Letting it dry and will pull it out of garage tomorrow and evaluate the quality of my work.
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      08-22-2020, 05:14 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by papibigred View Post
Sorry for the rookie question, but what is a “high spot”? I am using Avalon King, seemed relatively legit throughout all the noise.

Today, I applied it to calipers and wheels as kind of a test. Letting it dry and will pull it out of garage tomorrow and evaluate the quality of my work.
A high spot occurs when you don’t level off/wipe off the residue well enough. It looks like streaks in the coating. It could also look like a rainbow patch in the coating.
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      08-23-2020, 07:50 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pz619 View Post
A high spot occurs when you don’t level off/wipe off the residue well enough. It looks like streaks in the coating. It could also look like a rainbow patch in the coating.
GOT IT!!!! Thanks for clarifying.
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      08-23-2020, 05:06 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by papibigred View Post
I am thinking about applying Ceramic coating myself. I am NOT a professional detailer, and purchased AvalonKing. I was curious if others have done this themselves. What was your experience? How did it turn out? Any tips to share?

Thanks in advance!
It's basically a synthetic wax, so application will be as easy/difficult as any other wax, but how shiny it looks afterwards will depend on the preparation.

So, as everyone else appears to have said.
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      09-20-2020, 04:47 PM   #9
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I thought I would report back on the level of success. Prep took about 5 hours. Wash, IronX, tar removal, chemical guys clean slate wash to remove wax, IPA. Car only has 400 miles with full front and rocker panel PPF, so skipped the clay.

Spent 3 hours putting the first coat on. Let dry for 2 hours and spent another 2 hours with second coat.

I haven't rolled her out of the garage yet to test in daylight but 4500 LUMENS of 5000k LED spotlights say I did ok. The shine is amazing but I'm still wondering if it was worth 12 hours of my life I'll never get back.
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      09-28-2020, 08:35 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by omasou View Post
This was the first thing, I did after taking delivery to keep the prep down to a minimum.

Using detroitm2's format...

1. Detail - dealer
2. Drive home
3. Wash
4. Inspected for trash and scratches, didn't need to clay or polish
5. GYEON Q2M Iron Remover (De-iron step)
6. GYEON Q2M Prep (IPA step)
7. GYEON Q2 Pure
7a. Coat the rear diffuser give's it a nice matte sheen and keeps it looking nice and clean.
8. Let dry for 3-4 days- 1-2 days should be more than enough time.

Prior to delivery, I purchased a set of 763M rims and from the box, I used...
1. GYEON Q2M Prep (IPA step)
2. GYEON Q2 Rim

Neither was difficult. Rims were tedious. Wear a mask!

Since these both worked so well, I also applied GYEON Q2 View to the windows. It doesn't appear to be any better than RainX. Knowing what I know now, I would not apply it to the windshield b/c bugs don't come off easily with the wiper fluid and wipers and the windshield gets spotty until I was the car and then they come off very easily.
I follow the same process and products - super easy (but time consuming). Give yourself a full weekend to do the car and rims. Timing and patience will yield good results.
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