REVIEW: Carpro Essence Plus

Merlin

Merlin

I love shiny things
My personal experience...

I have a client that I installed CQuartz FINEST on his vehicle about a year and a half ago.
He brought the vehicle in to me today. The CQF coating was "flat" (no beading/sheeting).
There were swirls, minimal in some places and lots of noticeable swirls in other areas.

Marketing...
Essence Plus is a non abrasive top coat jeweler that adds gloss and repairs fine swirls on a coated vehicle.

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I told the client Essence PLUS is supposed to repair the swirls and not remove the coating.
I let him know that I have not tried Essence PLUS yet, but I'd like to try it on his vehicle.
He stated that I could give it a try. He left it up to me to do what I thought was best.

SIDE NOTE: This is the third vehicle I done for him. He is a very picky post inspection client.

My first time REAL WORLD use...
After I polished a panel and the swirls were gone, I thought to myself what do I need to do now?
Nothing!!! Once around the vehicle with the machine. Swirls gone! LSP done! (It felt like cheating)

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Application:
Rupes Bigfoot 5" Backing plate, a 5" Carpro Gloss pad & Essence PLUS (4 peas sized drops)
No down pressure on machine & slow speed. Let the product work. Wiped it of with a BOA.
In a few cases it took 4-5 passes to completely "fill" the swirls. I was amazed. It truly works!
Wipe off was easy, almost like wiping off cream/butter. No dry spots that can give you grief.
Essence PLUS filled in 95%+ of the swirls. Very few areas needed any "touch up" or recoat.

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No, that's not dust...Essence Plus kicks up the gloss way up. The metallic really pops now!
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The "Merlin Shot"
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Another Side Note: I gave him a take home "Magic Elixir" QD. (2oz EcH2o 10:1 & then I mixed in 2oz Reload)

Epilogue:
This is a review of a product I personally purchased and used on a repeat clients vehicle.
 
Thanks Mike. I actually tried it out on my own truck. Funny is used my Rupes LHR 15 with Gloss pad and same method. Bingo!

Thanks for sharing.

Steve
 
Thank you Mike , would be great if you could share your experience in other forums as well.
 
DARK HORSE said:
Very, very nice Mike! Thanks for making time to share!
Click to expand...

Thanks.
Not a prob.

SIDE NOTE: On the pic below, if you look close, you will notice the hood is actually opened and propped up a bit.
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Every time I put the bottle on the hood (with the hood closed) it would slide right off! (BIG GRIN)
 
For all the years the "snake oil salesmen", sold magic in a bottle, carpro products have proven to be actual magic in a bottle. Thanks for the review.
 
We mixed up a bit of the "Magic Elixir" mentioned, what a great multi-purpose QD! Thanks for sharing your experience with E+ and the secret QD formula, Mike!
 
I finally got to try out my bottle of essence plus on the hood of my wife's Mazda and I'm very happy as well. The Mazda is coated with Cquartz UK and over time it has developed some defects, especially after it got washed while at the body shop for repair work on one of the doors. I was planning to polish it down and recoat but when this came out I decided to wait. It definitely filled in the light marring. made the troublesome stuff less noticeable and brought back the gloss. Very easy to apply and then admire :)

I do have a question though, if this is filling in defects and "healing" the coating to some degree is there a risk of particles hardening in the pad like you experience with the suede applicators? I washed my pads immediately afterwards but I just wanted to know if I had to be worried about it or not.
 
Merlin -

OT, but since you were doing a gloss pad run on the coating....with EP+, any additional prep steps as par for the course post wash. I'm going to assume Reset Wash. Iron X or fine clay, claying without real polishing has it's drawbacks...Eraser ?

Just kurious from a pro standpoint, what entailed between post wash-EP+ application.
 
shineyRX ,

Coating Suedes applicators get trashed. Initial coating Buffs, - large Suedes are also considered consumables.

I don't have the answer re: product / pad, but generally, when I'm working with stuff that has ~sealing~ properties, I generally am using 1 towel per panel already. In the case of coatings, I have a secondary pass MF that does get reused/rewashed. I don't want the product to SET, so I already have a small bucket of Hot Water/APC and I toss them into the bucket as I go through each panel.

Be curious what the official take is on product/pad. I could see myself doing the same with EP+ and multiple pads.....recycle more frequently and dunk and soak as I go.
 
Thanks for the review! Even though it will cost me money. I have been loving Essence, now I have to get this. The Cquartz I put on my dad's Honda is still doing well but on close inspection I have noticed a few swirls. Seems like this will allow me to move back a re-coat. It's been on for 28 months so I can't complain about longevity at all. Wondering how much longer it will go using this.

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i feel that essence+ tends to lost hydrophobicity after one or two shampoo wash, tried on 4cars and it does the same result, follow instruction same as Merlin did.

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AbsoLust CarCare said:
i feel that essence+ tends to lost hydrophobicity after one or two shampoo wash, tried on 4cars and it does the same result, follow instruction same as Merlin did.
Click to expand...

I don't think of Essence+ as a LSP (although it has LSP qualities) I'd use Reload or "Merlin's Magic Elixer" to restore hydrophobic properties.
 
Hmm. I don't have a gloss pad and am time short to get one by Friday. What application method do you guys recommend? Hand with an applicator foam? For buffing? Thanks
 
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