Absolutely, you can apply more coats. I imagine you will start getting diminishing returns but 2-3 coats would be great.
And yes, doing a one step paint correction after clay bar is highly recommended. You've got a good plan.
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Absolutely, you can apply more coats. I imagine you will start getting diminishing returns but 2-3 coats would be great.
And yes, doing a one step paint correction after clay bar is highly recommended. You've got a good plan.
Ya, you should barely be able to see the layer that is being applied. That is the correct amount of product. The combination of using too much product and doing the entire car in under an hour would explain the haziness.
How intimidated should I be about polishing with an orbital polisher? I really don't want to spend $1300 on ceramic being done professionally (and the car being offline for days). I've done the other stuff like clay bar and have a good background in detailing my previous vehicles, but the paint correction side worries me.
Sorry for DP. I suppose I could do a single panel and see how it goes. I used zaino on a different car like 10 years ago, cool to see that it's still a thing.
As long as you have the appropriate cutting/polishing pads, you shouldn't feel intimidated at all! Start with light cut polish and softer pad and try it on an inconspicuous area. A dual action polisher is pretty safe to use; you'd almost have to be trying to damage your paint to actually do damage.
Think about how good you're going to feel saving that money plus the self satisfaction of having done it yourself and go for it! Spend some time on autogeek.com if you are unsure.
Thanks. I think I'm good with saving the 1300 bucks I've been quoted. Still going to pay for the clear bra though.
invalid
Member
Was curious if you guys who applied ceramic put it in the chrome pieces as well?
Looking to do mine once I get my car, and likely paint correct before I have the frontal PPF installed. Wasn’t sure about the chrome. Seems like would want to tape it off.
Looking to do mine once I get my car, and likely paint correct before I have the frontal PPF installed. Wasn’t sure about the chrome. Seems like would want to tape it off.
invalid
Member
I’d agree. Clashing doesn’t take too long, and if you’re going to polish it, you really want to make sure those particles are out else you’re just embedding them more.
The clay was actually getting stuck in places that had film from the factory. There wasn’t many contaminants on it either. As far as time, you have to go over the whole car which does take time. I mean, it’s as easy as adding the ceramic, but with all the steps, you end up going over the car like 8 times. The whole car is either fiber glass or carbon fiber so, I’m not sure if that made a difference.
I guess I’ll give it a another go and see how it turns out on the M3.
I guess I’ll give it a another go and see how it turns out on the M3.
That's the whole point of detailing and getting it done right the first time. It's getting stuck because it has stuff on the clearcoat. Otherwise it should be super smooth going over it. It's important to get it off because sealing it with ceramic, ppf, etc will just seal in the contaminants.
It was getting stuck on the edge of the film and between the paint, it’s not cuz it was picking anything up. I actually spent way more time than I should trying to remove it. I don’t think Tesla puts on any film from the factory, so it probably won’t be an issue.
You can look at the clay to see what it’s picking up and there wasn’t much. I’d think a new car would be the same, but maybe I’m wrong. I suppose you’re right, it’s worth trying to see what it grabs. It was an 8 hour job for me, and I was just thinking I could cut an hour off.
I hear some ppl say it takes 16-20 hours and I don’t see how unless the paint is really really bad. I applied 3 coats and spent half the time polishing.
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I picked up my car on Thursday and noticed some areas for rough and not smooth. The worst area for me was the front hood which I spent a good hour with multiple passes to pick up the overspray. So I highly recommend you claybar even if you don't see it, but of course, that's up to you on how perfect you want the car to be.
sperkin
Active Member
I did mine with Cquatz UK 3.0 and Gliss. I was hesitate to another car because I thought I did a great job but there was a streak on the passenger door. Turns out this is a paint defect on the Model 3 because when I went to pick up my Silver Model 3, the other MSM MODEL 3s had the same streak. It's like the paint gun missed a layer of paint there.
I think Cquatz and Gliss was easy to apply so don't be afraid to DIY it. It just took me a long time to do it. It was like 8 hours on 1st day and 4 hours on second day. Just buy lots of micro fiber towels. I threw one away after a large section so 2 coats of Cquatz and 2 coats of Gliss used up 16 towels.
I did headlights, taillights, and chrome. I skipped the windows since if I get a streak there it would drive me crazy. Now I'm willing to do another car during the next 3 day weekend.
I think Cquatz and Gliss was easy to apply so don't be afraid to DIY it. It just took me a long time to do it. It was like 8 hours on 1st day and 4 hours on second day. Just buy lots of micro fiber towels. I threw one away after a large section so 2 coats of Cquatz and 2 coats of Gliss used up 16 towels.
I did headlights, taillights, and chrome. I skipped the windows since if I get a streak there it would drive me crazy. Now I'm willing to do another car during the next 3 day weekend.
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