Tried Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light
06-27-2016, 08:26 PM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Tried Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light
CliffsNotes: Corvette owner coated his Chevy Cruze with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light (which we don't hear about often). Owner is impressed with the ease of application of the product and it's water beading performance and will monitor beading performance over time.
Background:
When I bought my C7 late last year I ended up coating it with BlackFire Crystal Coat and have been impressed with the performance of the coating, but wasn't super impressed with the way that it coated when applying it. When applying it, it would never flatten out like I thought it should and would require quite a bit of buffing. In hindsight, I think the brand new bottle was simply old or had begun curing already. With a good amount of buffing, it worked out and I've been happy with the results. I did take it through the dawn wash, clay bar, polish, and degreasing routine so I don't believe that my process played a role in its behavior.
Fast Forward:
After getting my C7, I ended up getting a Cruze for my daily driver and wanted to coat it. A few months back, I came across a good buy on Gtechniq's Crystal Serum Light and thought I'd give it a try. I finally got around to applying it to the Cruze over the weekend using the following process:
1. Washed in Dawn.
2. "Clay barred" with Eagle 1 clay mitt
3. Polished with Menzerna SF-3800 using 6" Lake County Black Foam Pad
4. Wiped down with 20% IPA.
5. Coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light using a Lake County foam applicator
6. Coating was allowed to cure for 24 hrs.
I found that the Crystal Serum Light flattened out super nice and dried nice and clear. It needed a little buffing, but NOTHING compared to the BlackFire Crystal Coat. The two products appear to be very similar in nature, but I think the big difference is the way that the product is packaged. The Gtechniq comes in a nice sealed glass bottle where the BlackFire CC comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, that I suspect does not seal as well as the glass bottle and therefore begins curing prematurely. The instructions on the Gtechniq website indicate to use it within 1 year of purchase and 3 months after opening. I couldn't find any similar storage guidance for the BFCC. So after allowing the GCSL to cure for 24 hrs, I hit it with some water and am impressed with the beading action so far. Since the Cruze is my daily, I'm anxious to see how well the coating holds up. According to the Gtechniq website, it has a 3 to 5 year durability. If it continues to hold up as well as the BFCC that's on my C7, the Gtechniq will be my go to coating going forward. Here's a little video of how it beads...
Background:
When I bought my C7 late last year I ended up coating it with BlackFire Crystal Coat and have been impressed with the performance of the coating, but wasn't super impressed with the way that it coated when applying it. When applying it, it would never flatten out like I thought it should and would require quite a bit of buffing. In hindsight, I think the brand new bottle was simply old or had begun curing already. With a good amount of buffing, it worked out and I've been happy with the results. I did take it through the dawn wash, clay bar, polish, and degreasing routine so I don't believe that my process played a role in its behavior.
Fast Forward:
After getting my C7, I ended up getting a Cruze for my daily driver and wanted to coat it. A few months back, I came across a good buy on Gtechniq's Crystal Serum Light and thought I'd give it a try. I finally got around to applying it to the Cruze over the weekend using the following process:
1. Washed in Dawn.
2. "Clay barred" with Eagle 1 clay mitt
3. Polished with Menzerna SF-3800 using 6" Lake County Black Foam Pad
4. Wiped down with 20% IPA.
5. Coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light using a Lake County foam applicator
6. Coating was allowed to cure for 24 hrs.
I found that the Crystal Serum Light flattened out super nice and dried nice and clear. It needed a little buffing, but NOTHING compared to the BlackFire Crystal Coat. The two products appear to be very similar in nature, but I think the big difference is the way that the product is packaged. The Gtechniq comes in a nice sealed glass bottle where the BlackFire CC comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, that I suspect does not seal as well as the glass bottle and therefore begins curing prematurely. The instructions on the Gtechniq website indicate to use it within 1 year of purchase and 3 months after opening. I couldn't find any similar storage guidance for the BFCC. So after allowing the GCSL to cure for 24 hrs, I hit it with some water and am impressed with the beading action so far. Since the Cruze is my daily, I'm anxious to see how well the coating holds up. According to the Gtechniq website, it has a 3 to 5 year durability. If it continues to hold up as well as the BFCC that's on my C7, the Gtechniq will be my go to coating going forward. Here's a little video of how it beads...
Last edited by lakemg; 06-27-2016 at 08:45 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by lakemg:
joemessman (06-28-2016),
ronkh57 (06-27-2016)
06-27-2016, 08:30 PM
#2
Team Owner
Member Since: Mar 2012
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St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Is this a thread about a Cruze or is it a thread selling stuff? 
06-27-2016, 08:36 PM
#3
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
It's about a product that you can use on your Corvette, your rustang, your lawn mower, your Camaro, whatever you choose. Just giving others a product review, in case they are on the fence about trying a new detail product...
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red62vette (12-19-2017)
06-27-2016, 09:34 PM
#7
Thanks for posting.
I got a csl/exo kit in garage right now.
I got a csl/exo kit in garage right now.
06-27-2016, 10:24 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Thanks guys!!!
Hey Ron - That's the kit I got too, but I held off on applying the EXO to see how the CSL beading performance looked by itself because I couldn't find a whole lot of video observations on line with just the CSL applied. I plan to top the CSL with the EXO the next time I get some freetime. I read that both are great stand alone products, but they are really great when used together. I will report back once I get a chance to apply the EXO...
Hey Ron - That's the kit I got too, but I held off on applying the EXO to see how the CSL beading performance looked by itself because I couldn't find a whole lot of video observations on line with just the CSL applied. I plan to top the CSL with the EXO the next time I get some freetime. I read that both are great stand alone products, but they are really great when used together. I will report back once I get a chance to apply the EXO...
06-27-2016, 10:36 PM
#9
Race Director
Member Since: Sep 2013
Location: Ft Lauderdale
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Tech Contributor
Well done, there are so many products out there these days to make it easy to keep your car in good shape. i've heard more negative things about blackfire Crystal coat that I have positive.
06-27-2016, 10:46 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
I read a bad review of the BFCC somewhere and the reviewer described similar issues to what I experienced, so it's nice knowing that there are good alternatives available out there for us.
06-27-2016, 10:48 PM
#11
CliffsNotes: Corvette owner coated his Chevy Cruze with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light (which we don't hear about often). Owner is impressed with the ease of application of the product and it's water beading performance and will monitor beading performance over time.
Background:
When I bought my C7 late last year I ended up coating it with BlackFire Crystal Coat and have been impressed with the performance of the coating, but wasn't super impressed with the way that it coated when applying it. When applying it, it would never flatten out like I thought it should and would require quite a bit of buffing. In hindsight, I think the brand new bottle was simply old or had begun curing already. With a good amount of buffing, it worked out and I've been happy with the results. I did take it through the dawn wash, clay bar, polish, and degreasing routine so I don't believe that my process played a role in its behavior.
Fast Forward:
After getting my C7, I ended up getting a Cruze for my daily driver and wanted to coat it. A few months back, I came across a good buy on Gtechniq's Crystal Serum Light and thought I'd give it a try. I finally got around to applying it to the Cruze over the weekend using the following process:
1. Washed in Dawn.
2. "Clay barred" with Eagle 1 clay mitt
3. Polished with Menzerna SF-3800 using 6" Lake County Black Foam Pad
4. Wiped down with 20% IPA.
5. Coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light using a Lake County foam applicator
6. Coating was allowed to cure for 24 hrs.
I found that the Crystal Serum Light flattened out super nice and dried nice and clear. It needed a little buffing, but NOTHING compared to the BlackFire Crystal Coat. The two products appear to be very similar in nature, but I think the big difference is the way that the product is packaged. The Gtechniq comes in a nice sealed glass bottle where the BlackFire CC comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, that I suspect does not seal as well as the glass bottle and therefore begins curing prematurely. The instructions on the Gtechniq website indicate to use it within 1 year of purchase and 3 months after opening. I couldn't find any similar storage guidance for the BFCC. So after allowing the GCSL to cure for 24 hrs, I hit it with some water and am impressed with the beading action so far. Since the Cruze is my daily, I'm anxious to see how well the coating holds up. According to the Gtechniq website, it has a 3 to 5 year durability. If it continues to hold up as well as the BFCC that's on my C7, the Gtechniq will be my go to coating going forward. Here's a little video of how it beads...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVbuh6KlowY
Background:
When I bought my C7 late last year I ended up coating it with BlackFire Crystal Coat and have been impressed with the performance of the coating, but wasn't super impressed with the way that it coated when applying it. When applying it, it would never flatten out like I thought it should and would require quite a bit of buffing. In hindsight, I think the brand new bottle was simply old or had begun curing already. With a good amount of buffing, it worked out and I've been happy with the results. I did take it through the dawn wash, clay bar, polish, and degreasing routine so I don't believe that my process played a role in its behavior.
Fast Forward:
After getting my C7, I ended up getting a Cruze for my daily driver and wanted to coat it. A few months back, I came across a good buy on Gtechniq's Crystal Serum Light and thought I'd give it a try. I finally got around to applying it to the Cruze over the weekend using the following process:
1. Washed in Dawn.
2. "Clay barred" with Eagle 1 clay mitt
3. Polished with Menzerna SF-3800 using 6" Lake County Black Foam Pad
4. Wiped down with 20% IPA.
5. Coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light using a Lake County foam applicator
6. Coating was allowed to cure for 24 hrs.
I found that the Crystal Serum Light flattened out super nice and dried nice and clear. It needed a little buffing, but NOTHING compared to the BlackFire Crystal Coat. The two products appear to be very similar in nature, but I think the big difference is the way that the product is packaged. The Gtechniq comes in a nice sealed glass bottle where the BlackFire CC comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, that I suspect does not seal as well as the glass bottle and therefore begins curing prematurely. The instructions on the Gtechniq website indicate to use it within 1 year of purchase and 3 months after opening. I couldn't find any similar storage guidance for the BFCC. So after allowing the GCSL to cure for 24 hrs, I hit it with some water and am impressed with the beading action so far. Since the Cruze is my daily, I'm anxious to see how well the coating holds up. According to the Gtechniq website, it has a 3 to 5 year durability. If it continues to hold up as well as the BFCC that's on my C7, the Gtechniq will be my go to coating going forward. Here's a little video of how it beads...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVbuh6KlowY
..
12-19-2017, 10:40 PM
#12
Instructor
Thanks for the review. I looking to try this in the spring.