I ordered some ceramic coating and opted for CarPro CQ UK3.0 as it appears to be user friendly. Has loads of positive feedback and most importantly for me there are lots of YouTube videos showing how to apply it etc Anyway work started in ernest by cleaning the 2 bikes. This is hard work, you really do need to clean the bike as much as you possibly can, wash, degrease, clay bar, wash and dry. I then did a light machine polish where necessary just because A. I have a DA polisher and B. This would get my paint as good as is possible without shed loads more work. A final rub down using IPA (alcohol based solution) to clear any polish left over oils etc from surface. This is now the best your bike should be as the coating will lock in this finish for up to 2 years. Now it was the scary bit, actually using the ceramic coating. This stuff can harden and will not be easily removed so you want to get it right. Well it was dead easy and very friendly to work with. Dont mistake that as doing this is 5 minute job because it's not. To do 2 bikes 2 coats each took a total of about 6 hours plus several hours cleaning them beforehand. Did both of them in my garage as rain in the air and they cannot have water on them till cured 12 to 24hrs later, leave longer if possible. At this point I realised I forgot to take some before photos so I will do this when I do the cars to show before n after. The stuff I bought is a bit like oil so a little on the cloth really does go a long way. I did each panel at a time, wipe coating on and then wipe off with microfiber then quick polish with a different microfiber. Move onto next panel. The reality was it was ready to wipe off by the time I finished the panel so no worrying about flashing times etc First coat done and I thought ....well it looks pretty much the same but so long as it protects the paint then still worthwhile Moved onto next bike. By the time I finis8the second bike the first bike was looking a lot better. A more glossy finish to it, so it obviously looks better as it starts to cure. Anyway put a second coat on both and then you REALLY start to see the extra gloss I had heard about. When I finished I was very impressed with the deeper colour showing and high gloss look to it. I might even try a 3rd coat to see if that enhances it further.
Some after pics which dont really show the improvement but to the naked eye the finish is very impressive and high gloss looking.
Thanks for the write up Paul, I’m looking at doing something about the soft finish on my 2013 blade, this coating might be it. Does it cover up micro scratches?
Good job that! Looks lovely The ironic thing is that since i coated mine Im even more detailed in my cleaning regime!
Let me get back to you tomorrow on that. I would say it does but only to a degree BUT the look and finish definitely improves as it drys and cures so I will check after it's been left overnight. The second coat gave a major lift to the finish so I wouldn't recommend a single coat go for at least 2 as they recommend. I was very wary as I saw a youtube disaster on a bmw 3 series (poss an m3?) Where he applied the coating to the whole car before attempting to wipe and polish it off. Well of course it was already hardening by then so left his car looking a right mess. However just working in smallish areas at a time and it's easy peasy if hard work.
You can everything if you want to. I did all plastics , forks and wheels on the blade. I did the red frame too on my beemer. I think you said you had some coating but havent used it? If so what brand is it
@John Tuck As I mentioned I machine polished my bikes before applying so they had very little to no swirl like Mark's showing. I've checked them today and I would say that the coating will help disguise any tiny paint Mark's but not scratches. 10 mins with a machine polisher would eradicate 80% of minor wear Mark's and is a worthwhile process before coating. If your in Newcastle area let me know you can bring it my house and we can machine it here
I've used this on the car and bikes. Great stuff. Done them in the shade then after a few hours put outside in the sun to help cure. Did you get the bottle of reload maintenance spray with it?
I did get a bottle of reload but havent used it yet. Still thinking about whether its worthwhile getting the Gliss and putting that on as a finishing coat but it's about £50 & then using the reload as a maintenance top up. Carpro dont recommend putting gliss on top of rel8ad hence why I'm still chewing it over, what's your thoughts? No problem mate but happy to help any other members out if they in north east and want a quick machine polish or what ever. If you can get the bike done it will make all the difference before putting a ceramic coating on.
Another shameful trip to the bottle bank coming up. I just pretend its months worth of bottles rather than the truth !
A tad ocd putting the empty bottles back in the boxes For got to reply I don't know what make the ceramic coating is and I cant find it !
It keeps my garage nice and neat I finished the bikes off yesterday with a top coat of the reload. They had 2 days of dry cure time in the garage and then a quick pass over with the reload bottle. 20 mins for each bike so quick and easy. I decided against the Gliss top coat purely on cost another £50 put me off. The gloss finish definitely improves with time so I am very pleased with that side of it. I got a 50ml bottle and a 2 thorough coats on each bike has used about a third of it so 2/3rds left for the cars. Reload used about 10% of the bottle so that should last a little while too. Obviously the proof of the pudding ...will be how easy it is to keep them clean going forward. I'm hoping the flies and general crap will just wipe off and underneath it will go back to looking like they do now with far less effort. Initial thoughts though are that it's an exercise that can easily be done at home if you have a dry space / garage / shed and the results are bloody fantastic. The paint looks deeper the colour more rich and the gloss finish literally like glass. Non of my hundreds of products from auto glym, meguiars etc can get to the same level of finish as this has. The down side is, it's quite expensive, it Must remain dry to start the cure process (min 12 hours but total cure time is about 5 days) so longer the better . Lastly the cleaning beforehand ...is a pain...takes a while but the better it's done the better the results! Cant wait to start on the cars but they dont fit in garage so I'm now weather dependent for them I need a good dry day to clean them, leave over night wipe down and start with the coating and then need another 12 to 24 hours of pure dry weather. Might take all summer to get the weather right and to coincide with me being off work but the will get done especially my car which is black and I'm sure will look stunning once done
I didn't bother with the second product either, just the reload equivalent, was quite happy with the results of couple of coats of the primary ceramic coat. IMO it too early to ceramic coat this time of year if you do not have cover, one for the changeable weather, the amount of particulates in the air especially pollen, petals etc and also the amount of morning dew. IIRC I did the car during the August Bank Holiday, it was under a cheapo gazebo just in case! You had thoughts on the foam, shampoo or just sticking with the carpro recommended?
I'm going to stick with my existing foam and shampoos. Bilt Hamber foam and meguiars gold class shampoo will be the order of the day with a reload top up as and when. I also like auto glym shampoo but that does leave it's own residue / protection which may well work against the carpro finish so I will leave that to one side for now and see how it goes. Your right about the time of year and weather but If i prep a car on day 1, start early day 2 with the IPA wipe and coating then hopefully by the time of any overnight dew it should have had 6 hours plus to dry though like you i might stick the cheap gazebo over it just in case! A good idea
Cool I've only just started using BH autofoam and autowash as the recommend manufacturer stuff is pretty pricey. Just experimenting how low the dilution can go for the autofoam, 4% works very well all most too well and probably not needed that strong on a ceramic coat!, might dial down to 2% and see how it goes
I cant pretend to be that accurate with my foam and shampoo amounts I just chuck it together so long as the foam foams and shampoo suds I'm happy
