Vette_Fan

Hey guys,

A week ago got my 1st 2008 Arctic White C6 and a 1st White car I've ever owned. I am not totally new to the process - in the past, I had a Black car - I'd use polish, glaze, sealant, carnauba wax (in that order). Now I am learning about Ceramic coating, which is a bit confusing.

My original plan was to do the same as - Polish, a White Glaze, Ceramic coating. GLAZE to me is important because it hides & fills the imperfections left behind by polishing. A clear/glossy sealant as top coat seals the deal. HOWEVER, Ceramic coating instructions clearly state that NO Glaze or other Polish is to be on the surface. This means I'd have to put the Ceramic coating on the "imperfect" surface. No matter how much I polish, a polish can't cover imperfections like glaze does.

What are my options - I do want to use ceramic coating for its long-lasting benefits, rinse-less wash, glossy shine, water sheeting, etc. But is there a way / or a product that can work with ceramic coating?

Thanks! I am sure others will benefit from the responses as well.

yamabob

See Ron!!!

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...and-gloss.html

BudgetPlan1

Polishing is to remove imperfections, not hide them. Indeed, if you want to with a ceramic coating, it has to be applied of bare paint. Usually reached by decontamination (physical=clay, chemical= Iron-X or similar) followed by defect removal via compounding and/or polishing.

While they are some polishes that do some very light filling while removing light swirls (CarPro Essence, Gyeon Primer...I think) generally you ant the paint corrected before applying the coating. this usually involved machine polishing.

This vid kinda gives a nice coating overview despite being Gyeon Mohs specific:
And here's some info I put together during my coating odyssey to find what works best for *me*.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1596726515

tractman

POLISHING is the key to perfect paint!!! If you polish and you still see marks and swirls then you haven't done the proper job. You need to change your polish/and or/pads and redo until you get the paint perfect. If you use a glaze to cover/fill you will waste your time as all coatings require the paint to be perfectly clean for the coating to properly bond. This cleaner will pull the glaze off the paint. When I did my Arctic White C7 I started with a Gyeon Foam Bath. Then I substituted a synthetic mitt for the clay bar....easier and faster and does a great job. Then I chose Sonax Perfect Finish applied with a yellow Rupes pad with a Flex 3401 RA. Inspected with an LED light to make sure I had removed any scratches/swrils in the clear coat. Did the entire car with Gyeon PREP (cleaner). Then I did two coates of Gyeon Mohs coating and topped with two coats of Gyeon of CURE. Very happy with the way it turned out.

Vette_Fan

Budgetplan1 & Tractman: I hear you guys and I know the process you're talking about. My concern is with a few things - first, a 2008 is a 10 years old car compared to a C7 it has been out for a lot longer, hence the paint quality won't be the same. Now I could polish (which I will), but I don't think I have the skills or it's even realistic to have expectations to have it ever look "flawless" paint work. Due to its age and my lack of skills it will never look flawless or like the C7, which is a newer car to begin with.

My question/dilemma is based on these realistic facts - henceforth I am looking for the best way to go about it. What are your recommendations? I still want to do Ceramic coating for 2 reasons: protection & longer intervals between washing (looking clean most of the time), and quick/ease of waterless washes in future.

Vette_Fan

Also, if you can mention the best polish/pad combo for this.

I was thinking Menzerna Intensive Polish + Orange pad.

Finish with the Menzerna Final Finish (still have it from few years back) with the White pad.

tractman

We all have to learn from someone......before I ever started I spent hours reviewing and learning from videos posted by two of the very best.....Todd Cooperider at Esoteric and Mike Phillips at Autogeek. After watching several "how to" videos I started on a daily driver that had lousy paint. I practiced and rewatched videos until I felt comfortable working on the Corvette. I learned every step of the way and just keep honing my skills. I have to admit I really enjoy doing this as I am now retired and have the extra time. I wouldn't worry about the age of your paint.....its clear coated and it will respond better than you might think. Just be careful with the sharp edges.....I tape them! There are a lot of really fine products in the market...everyone will have their favorites. I've tried almost everything out including the ones you have mentioned....they all will work....some better than others....but they work. I found that I kept coming back to Sonax Perfect Finish and the yellow Rupes foam pads. Go to these websites and spend time watching and learning.....it will help you immensely. Good luck and have fun in the garage.

I did have a 2006 Arctic White/Red coupe.....the coatings weren't redially available when I owned this Corvette.....my synthetic clay/polish (was using Menzerna products at the time) process is unchanged....and at the time was using Blackfire Sealant which is a synthetic product that made that car look totally incredible....and with the sealant on the paint it was very easy to maintain the car and keeping it looking really nice.








https://www.youtube.com/user/Esoteri...os?app=desktop

https://www.autogeek.net/detailingtips.html

ronkh57

tractman

Looking Good Ron.....hope you are feeling better and making progress!!!!

ronkh57

Doing ok thanks.

Need more pics of your beauty.

Vette_Fan

I never liked White cars, especially a sports car. Always thought Black is the color (maybe Red). But I'm drooooling all over White now! I feel totally transformed OMG...

That C6 looks good enough to eat...hehe. Good thing I haven't bought any new products yet (they're still in the cart though). So upon your recommendation, the Sonax Perfect Finish & Yellow Rupes foam pad should be the Combo? Is this the first polish, or final polish, or ........ I mean what method are you using to go from higher abrasive to lower abrasives? My guess is it's either the polish, or the pad, or sometimes same polish with a lower abrasive pad... A bit confusing though...


Thanks All. Keep the info coming - Summer is almost here - many will benefit from this.

tractman

Anything in particular???

tractman

OK....if you are going use Sonax Perfect Finish then make sure you watch Todd's video....he walks you through how to properly use the product to get the results you want.....pay particular attention to "how little" product he actually uses...this is so important. If you use too much your pads will keep gumming up and you have to switch pads or stop and clean the one you are using. I always have a min of 4 pads available along with a pad brush to extend the use of the pad........watch this video...


I'm confident you will like the results; however, if you fee the need do more with a fine finishing polish this is the one I have used and like....

http://www.esotericcarcare.com/jesca...ishing-polish/

Here's the video on the Finishing polish....

http://www.esotericcarcare.com/jesca...ishing-polish/

If you will ceramic coat your car.....make sure you watch his video on Gyeon Mohs......he'll take you step by step through the proper use.

One piece of advice when you are working on your car....TAKE YOUR TIME AND BE PATIENT!!! Trying to hurry the process will create issues that you will have to correct.

Also, since your car has some age you should do a chemical decontamination prior to the clay or synthetic mitt process.....this removes any embedded metal contamination that is most likely hiding on the paint surface and you cannot see.....but it will be there....trust me! Simply spray it on a cool surface out of the sun and let it work for a few minutes....it will start turning purple.....then you rinse if off. Here's the product I use...

http://www.esotericcarcare.com/gyeon-q2m-iron/

Have fun in the garage!!!

Vette_Fan

I've been watching videos for 3 days, but to get someone from CF to validate is awesome.

So here's my NEW items in the cart (still haven't paid) -

- Iron X
- Meg's Clay kit
- Sonax Pefect Finish
- Jescar Micro Finishing Polish (isn't this similar to the old Menz Final Polish?)
- Batch of Lake Country Pads: 1 Yellow (cutting), 2 Orange (light cut), 2 White (polishing) 1 Black (top coat/non-cut) (i've used these with Porter Cable DA before. Do I still need to get the Rupes Yellow pad?
- Bug/Tar Remover
- Microfiber towels
- Drying Microfiber Towel.
- Turtle interior spray
- Leather cleaner/conditioner
- Meg's Wheel Brightener
- Megs's Tire Shine (gel)
- 303 Glass cleaner
- Carpro Ech20 Waterless wash/spray (for future use when Carpro ceramic coating is done).

Still need - -
* A good carwash/shampoo.
* Need new wash buckets.
* Wash Mitt
* Raggtopp kit for the Convertible top.
* And obviously, the Carpro ceramic 50ml kit.

HOLY C**P.... $$$$ Just adding up. BTW, do I need to delete or add something else?