Polish before ceramic coat, or not?

[BoskoPColtrane]

Good to know! The perfectionist in me wants to sand down all the factory orange peel too, but NOPE! Not going anywhere near to that extent on this reportedly thin factory paint. I do not have a paint thickness gauge either.

Did you get a bad paint job. I haven’t noticed orange peel. My paint job is very smooth.

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[Reece @ DI]

Thanks for all the info! Regarding microfiber for coating removal, I picked up The Rag Company “Pearl” towels for this, as that’s what Gtechiq tech support recommended. A shorter knit fuzz and a tackier towel will pick up excess residue easier. Gtechniq does have their own MF1 towel for this purpose, but they are having some sort of stock or supplier issue and are out.

Not quite understanding how a towel will level a product that otherwise hardens to glass and is otherwise about 1 micron thick, but I guess I will learn! I’m assuming much of it has to do with wiping off runs before they harden.

As mentioned before, do not look for the word "Polishing" when it comes to anything but actual polishing. Wiping away excess coating, wax, sealant, etc. is not polishing the surface in any way and is simply a misuse of wording.

When looking for a microfiber towel you want something with a shorter nap, yet a good blend (70/30) and GSM around 300. This will provide you with a towel that will be safe on paint, while not bunching up when wiping closely bonded residue like that of a coating. I personally like the Rag Company Pearl towel you mentioned a lot, it is a go to for me on any coating job. Some other good options are Rag Company Edgeless 300, Autofiber Quadrant Wipe, or Gtechniq MF6 Haze Buster.

In terms of leveling, most coatings on the market level themselves out pretty well. Use different light sources to help target areas where the coating was applied thickly and wipe away any high areas to avoid streaking.

 

[Optimus]

Did you get a bad paint job. I haven’t noticed orange peel. My paint job is very smooth.

it’s a “B-“ as far as I’m concerned. Could be better, but I’ll have to be ok with it because I don’t dare color sand or do a heavy polish (ever??). My truck is black, so defect stuff shows up very well. Another vehicle we own (also black) had some major body work done, and their work came out amazing on new sheetmetal and is a notable improvement over the Mav’s factory finish. I’ve also seen much worse body work too, as I’m sure we all have. I would at least hope for either ”A”quality paint work, or at least the ability to color sand and flatten myself—but nope.

 

[BoskoPColtrane]

it’s a “B-“ as far as I’m concerned. Could be better, but I’ll have to be ok with it because I don’t dare color sand or do a heavy polish (ever??). My truck is black, so defect stuff shows up very well. Another vehicle we own (also black) had some major body work done, and their work came out amazing on new sheetmetal and is a notable improvement over the Mav’s factory finish. I’ve also seen much worse body work too, as I’m sure we all have. I would at least hope for either ”A”quality paint work, or at least the ability to color sand and flatten myself—but nope.

I’ve used scratch out compound for a scratch on my car. I was pretty aggressive and the paint held up fine. I’m a little baffled by people saying this truck has thin or bad paint.

 

[inline_five]

Just put on my DIY ceramic today. I clayed before hand but there was basically zero need to. If I were to do again I would just apply the iron remover, wash it, and use the alcohol/distilled water spray to clean off any water marks and apply the ceramic over that.

 

[Optimus]

I hope to do mine by this weekend. The seasons are quickly changing here in MN and I got tied up dealing with “outdoor chores” before the weather turns too harsh and winter sets in for good. Worst case I can do all this in our heated garage. I figure I will spend a good day pimping out the ceramic coatings, that I have 3 different variations purchased. One for PPF, one for glass, and one for paint. All so it can get splattered in road salt and sand for the next 5 months. I finally got my “Pearl” towels yesterday too. Couldn’t start until I got those anyway.

 

[inline_five]

I hope to do mine by this weekend. The seasons are quickly changing here in MN and I got tied up dealing with “outdoor chores” before the weather turns too harsh and winter sets in for good. Worst case I can do all this in our heated garage. I figure I will spend a good day pimping out the ceramic coatings, that I have 3 different variations purchased. One for PPF, one for glass, and one for paint. All so it can get splattered in road salt and sand for the next 5 months. I finally got my “Pearl” towels yesterday too. Couldn’t start until I got those anyway.

The CSL goes on really easy. Way different feel once on - it's extremely slick to the touch vs even the new paint feel which feels "sticky" by comparison.

I had some left over and did a second thicker coat on the hood (because it's horizontal and will take more of a beating) and put a coat on my windshield. I actually put too much on the hood, it's no longer as glossy as it was before. In retrospect, I wish I would have used slightly more overall on the car vs a second heavy coating on the hood.

The windshield went on without issue and I have zero haze or anything that some people report.

Applying the CSL was an interesting experiment but I'm just going to use the Turtle Wax ceramic spray from now on. It's cheap and lasts a long time, probably at least a year for us since we don't drive much.

 

[JP4AZ]

What post #20 said. I did that on the blue Maverick in my photo and it came out great. The yellow Maverick is having some paint and graphic work done. I will ceramic coat that when the paint is cured enough. Polishing is not necessary (if you are happy with the finish "as is").
MY Paint guy measured the thickness of the paint and said it is very thin, but common in today's vehicles. He has 50 years experience. This was his first cyber orange project and he is super impressed with the amount of different colors in the Cyber Orange.
Good luck and happy Coating/protecting your Maverick.

 

[jphii]

As mentioned I've done 5 cars 2 motorcycles and I find life is simpler to buy the "Ceramic Coating Kits" that include all the chemicals, application pads, microfiber polishing rags, etc all in one box and detail instructions on application. It is not hard, just follow instructions.

Which kit do you prefer?

 

[Edge Haley]

No specific preference. Most of them are mail order in the $100-120 dollar range....My experience has been that those sold at major brand names, like Turtle, Mcguires are for mass marketing (cheaper) and probably not as good. I've used the automotive off the shelf brands for claybar - which are most all adequate. The $100 ceramic kit I bought 5 yrs ago has done a Porsche, 2 motorcycles, one Maverick and each vehicle still beads. The most important part of ceramic coating are the micro-fiber rags. All micro-fiber rags are not the same...some are much higher quality for polishing ceramic coatings...and are quite important. Another important part is follow the directions on the Ceramic bottle. My Maverick claybar and ceramic coating took 7.5 hours...hardest part was the roof and hood from a ladder...most important not to get CC wet for 24 hours.

 

[Earl313]

Wash
High grade polish
Wipe and wash
Adams ceramic coat

just finished today. May do second coat in one or two days
Different grades of polish. Some remove blemishes and help correct paint flaws. Some polishes just enhance the depth of color.

 

[JP4AZ]

I used a Clay towel with soapy water on my truck last night. I could feel the slight drag on the paint the first 1 or 2 strokes, then it was super smooth after that. The night before I did an iron remover spray then rinsed with water. After the clay towel, I rinsed the truck off and used alcohol/water mix to get it super clean and grease free. I then put on 2 coats of FORTOO 10H ceramic/graphene (from Amazon) on the truck (3 hours apart for the coats). The coating went on the paint and the black trim and looks great. I also used Permashine on the tires.

 

[Optimus]

As an update to my progress, I have since completed all steps through ceramic coatings done. Photos attached. I’ll update more later, regarding the full experience as a first-timer for doing a DYI true ceramic. Note that I did NOT end up polishing. Not even a little bit. There was minimal scratching or swirl marks to begin with, and they are darn near impossible to see short of using a recommended hand or spot-light during the ceramic coating “leveling” process.

these photos include about 2 weeks of “garage dust” that has since collected on it too. I have not re-washed the truck again AFTER finishing the coatings 2 weeks ago.

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