Hi Everyone,

Disclaimer: This was my first time ever detailing my car with using a DA and Ceramic coat. Learned a lot from Car Craft Auto Detailing Youtube channel.

Over the past week, I have been detailing my brand new car a little bit at a time, from wash, decon with IronX, clay, polish (did not compound since its brand new straight from the factory, did not sit on lot) and then used Erase. The wash was done outside, but everything else was done in my garage which is not temp controlled btw so it was just as cold as outside (20-30 degrees F temp and overnight got below 20)

My temps have been in the 20-30 degrees F and my original plan was to apply two coats of UK 3.0. I ended up applying one because it took me about 5 hours to apply it to my new SUV. And it has been a miserable journey over the past week washing detailing my new car in the freezing temp.

The instructions said flash time is 1-2 minutes (I understand in ideal conditions) and my understanding on how to tell when the coat flashes is when it shows a rainbowish tint (correct me if I'm wrong). I also thought I should feel a little "grabbiness" when leveling out.

I noticed in my freezing temp in some areas I would even wait 15+ minutes and it would still not flash. I continued to wipe/level the coat and it buffed off easily still after all that time.

Questions:
1. Did I just waste my time, money and ceramic coat by attempting in these freezing temps?

2. I bought a 50ML bottle and only ended up using about a third on my SUV (4runner if that give you an idea on the size). I figured since its freezing and it's not reacting the way it should, I would stick with one coat to hopefully then I can add a second coat when spring time comes and its warmer out. I applied Reload 24 hours later. Can I still apply a second coat when it gets warmer out, or I would have to start over completely with the whole process?

3. I left the applicator pads that I used on the car in my garage in the same environment my car has been sitting since I applied the coat and they are still just as soft and flimsy as before. None of them have hardened. I tried putting a space heater in my garage as I do not own an IR lamp and I would move it around the garage and car. The pads still have not hardened and its been 48-72 hours now since application. How else can I tell if I actually successfully put a coat on my car since idk if I actually wiped it all off without the coat bonding to my paint.

4. Can I layer Reload since I still have half the bottle the UK 3.0 came with? Is there any actual benefit to layering Reload? Just wondering because the reload was a lot easier to apply for obvious reason. Given the freezing temps, was my attempt at applying the reload 24 hours later even effective?

5. Any other suggestions moving forward?

I know this is a lot to read through so if you actually made it to the bottom here, I really appreciate your time.

-Cheers