The good and the bad , My personal review CQUK

[krazygraphics]

As of now my 2014 Jeep Cherokee is all done other than the roof. I will make a list of some things I did notice.

#1 making the paint look deeper / darker ? Didn't see this in mine at all ( My Jeep is a darker color so maybe that is why ) ?
#2 Sheeting ? I washed the car down after it was 100% complete with all steps including Reload , nothing is sheeting any different than normal wax
#3 I still see streaking marks in it from wipe down, for the life of me I can not get any smear marks off the car unless I use ( ERASER ) < CAN this be used as a detailer ??

( I just took a drive with some water on my hood doing about 50MPH and the water is still on the hood ) What could cause this ?

At no time did I take any short cuts during the process , I probably spent about 6 hours doing the whole job over 2 days.

I also tried the ( scratch the paint test ) I saw this on a youtube video , unfortunately I took a chip out of my paint.

Not sure what I could have done wrong during this procedure but at this point I must say it's NOT what I thought it would be sadly.

 

[Dr_Pain]

You do know that UK does become fully cured over time, right? I could be wrong but I remember a conversation about 30 days.

Is it 6hrs today from wash to clay decontamination and IronX decontamination, to polishing, and coating?? If you skipped any of the prior steps you may be left with contaminants which would indeed interfere with the 'departure angle'. Contaminants do increase surface friction which may explain the lack of flying beads. Other reason I could speculate would be aerodynamics of the area you were observing. Please share some close up pics of beads and if you can a driving video with beads on the hood so we can see the 'behavior'. If it has been a while you coated then it may be time for Reset or IronX and Reset?!?

 

[fdresq4]

FWIW,

We just CQUK my buddys wif's Pathfinder and I have it sitting in my garage for 24 hours. I thought it needed "curing time."
As far as the streak marks, what and how did you remove the UK? We followed Corey's and others suggestions on application and removal with no issues.

The only issue we had was with the Reload but Dr. Claude cleared that up.

Steve

 

[krazygraphics]

You do know that UK does become fully cured over time, right? I could be wrong but I remember a conversation about 30 days.

Is it 6hrs today from wash to clay decontamination and IronX decontamination, to polishing, and coating?? If you skipped any of the prior steps you may be left with contaminants which would indeed interfere with the 'departure angle'. Contaminants do increase surface friction which may explain the lack of flying beads. Other reason I could speculate would be aerodynamics of the area you were observing. Please share some close up pics of beads and if you can a driving video with beads on the hood so we can see the 'behavior'. If it has been a while you coated then it may be time for Reset or IronX and Reset?!?

Hello , 6 hours was for the CQUK only ..

I did it in the following steps ( after clay bar )

Washed the car with normal wash , washed it again with IronX .. Let ironX sit on it for a while then washed it lightly with a sponge.
Used ERASER
CQUK , once I got this wiped down I did the Reload
Complete

What would you suggest I use to get the wipe marks off ? Can Eraser be used as a detailer spray without having to use reloader ?

 

[krazygraphics]

FWIW,

We just CQUK my buddys wif's Pathfinder and I have it sitting in my garage for 24 hours. I thought it needed "curing time."
As far as the streak marks, what and how did you remove the UK? We followed Corey's and others suggestions on application and removal with no issues.

The only issue we had was with the Reload but Dr. Claude cleared that up.

Steve

Was removed with suede cloth , Also I did it panel by panel .. I wanted to make sure I took my time and didn't skip over anything.
I used a grand total of 18 16x16 suede cloths , again I just wanted to make sure I did it right.

 

[Mark]

Six hours seems like a hellishly long time just to apply the final coating?

When I did the bottom of my '97 Tahoe, meaning Hood, 4 Doors, Front Fenders, Rear Quarters, and Rear Tailgate, I don't think it took me more than 40 minutes, and while I didn't time the application, I actually think it was closer to a 1/2 hour from start to finish.

It went very fast for me, I had good temps to apply, and while I tried thinking of tips, either Corey's, with his video, and other's experiences, I pretty much went about it with the seat of my pants.

Used the CP Foam Block, and cut some 8"x8" CP MF Suede Sheets into 4"x4" size.

I applied to each panel, smoothed in a recommended cross hatch pattern both ways, once that was accomplished, all looked really well at that point, under bright lights flashing occurred quite evenly, and it really looked so smooth and level, it was like I almost felt like I didn't even have to come behind with anything else.....but of course I did. I simply wiped each panel with a regular short nap MF Towel immediately after each panel was coated .

By the time I walked around the truck, I had about another 1/2 hour or so wait, before applying Reload over the top. Just simply walked around the truck again with the bottle of Reload, and a CP Boa Towel

At around the 2 hour mark after application, I did experiment with a scratch test with my fingernails, first very lightly, and then gradually harder and harder, and was both surprised, and completely satisfied with how hard a finish I just laid down on my truck.

On 17 year old paint, the choice of CQ UK had a few good reasons, figuring my paint surely wasn't getting any younger, I wanted a product that would last, that I didn't have to continually monkey with the paint every few months. And the other was a desire for greater mar resistance.

I have noted with other products I've used, and the need of me having to use a Covercraft NOAH Cover, I was noticing marring occurring due to the winds, and dusts in combination with the Cover rubbing.

No other sealant or wax I've ever used prior seemed to have such hardness, and mar resistance, so I think I made a very wise choice with UK.

White is a very hard color to showcase gloss, depth, and the beauty of a finish, but trust me when I say the finish on this vehicle didn't stun as much as even when the keys were placed in my hands back in 1997. These three pictures can't do justice as to how good the finish looks.

Of course, the hard work was the prep, a good 6 hour's worth on those panels I previously mention.
Sure wish I had a garage, I would've quit for the day with the prep, and then did the coating the following day. I was quite burnt out when the coating went on, but all went beautifully, and was quite easy in my experience.
Mark

 

[Cooter]

What size kit did you buy and how much was left in the bottle when you were done?

 

[ChrisDA]

View attachment 215View attachment 216View attachment 217

Six hours seems like a hellishly long time just to apply the final coating?

When I did the bottom of my '97 Tahoe, meaning Hood, 4 Doors, Front Fenders, Rear Quarters, and Rear Tailgate, I don't think it took me more than 40 minutes, and while I didn't time the application, I actually think it was closer to a 1/2 hour from start to finish.

It went very fast for me, I had good temps to apply, and while I tried thinking of tips, either Corey's, with his video, and other's experiences, I pretty much went about it with the seat of my pants.

Used the CP Foam Block, and cut some 8"x8" CP MF Suede Sheets into 4"x4" size.

I applied to each panel, smoothed in a recommended cross hatch pattern both ways, once that was accomplished, all looked really well at that point, under bright lights flashing occurred quite evenly, and it really looked so smooth and level, it was like I almost felt like I didn't even have to come behind with anything else.....but of course I did. I simply wiped each panel with a regular short nap MF Towel immediately after each panel was coated .

By the time I walked around the truck, I had about another 1/2 hour or so wait, before applying Reload over the top. Just simply walked around the truck again with the bottle of Reload, and a CP Boa Towel

At around the 2 hour mark after application, I did experiment with a scratch test with my fingernails, first very lightly, and then gradually harder and harder, and was both surprised, and completely satisfied with how hard a finish I just laid down on my truck.

On 17 year old paint, the choice of CQ UK had a few good reasons, figuring my paint surely wasn't getting any younger, I wanted a product that would last, that I didn't have to continually monkey with the paint every few months. And the other was a desire for greater mar resistance.

I have noted with other products I've used, and the need of me having to use a Covercraft NOAH Cover, I was noticing marring occurring due to the winds, and dusts in combination with the Cover rubbing.

No other sealant or wax I've ever used prior seemed to have such hardness, and mar resistance, so I think I made a very wise choice with UK.

White is a very hard color to showcase gloss, depth, and the beauty of a finish, but trust me when I say the finish on this vehicle didn't stun as much as even when the keys were placed in my hands back in 1997. These three pictures can't do justice as to how good the finish looks.

Of course, the hard work was the prep, a good 6 hour's worth on those panels I previously mention.
Sure wish I had a garage, I would've quit for the day with the prep, and then did the coating the following day. I was quite burnt out when the coating went on, but all went beautifully, and was quite easy in my experience.
Mark

30mins, I don't think so. Certainly not properly on a vehicle that size.

 

[krazygraphics]

What size kit did you buy and how much was left in the bottle when you were done?

30ml , I got about 1/3 left ..My whole roof on my jeep is a sunroof so hardly was used up top at all.

I might have went overboard on the time, but I took my time and went over it really good as if it was a Lamborghini !

 

[Mark]

30mins, I don't think so. Certainly not properly on a vehicle that size.

I didn't time myself with a stopwatch, but was keeping basic time, due to wanting to know what time I started, and when it would then be OK to begin Reload application.
I allowed one hour.

I did not dawdle, I went quickly, and did carefuly insure overlapping, so that no areas were missed. I would guess took me no longer than 3-4 minutes to apply UK to the smaller panels and I wasn't really rushing the application, I applied similarly to like Corey's Vid shows.

And how long I let UK sit before wiping wih a towel, was about the time it took for me to place the bottle of UK and applicator on a bench, walk the few feet, then pick up the MF Towel to wipe and smooth. Vaguely about 10-14 seconds time would pass after I was assured each panel was fully coated with product. I did not rub like crazy,just a smooth light straight line wipe on each panel.

Keep in mind I had done the roof about a week or so before, that was of course the hardest because the truck is tall.

I wasn't about to take a chance by letting UK sit too long before I began smoothing because I was worried about dragging, and smearing the finish. I could see the product had basically flashed, smoothed and leveled all by itself before coming behind and wiping.

Now, with that being said, you think I should've let UK sit longer before wiping?

I would imagine that time "might" be a variable due to temps, and humidity levels.

If you want to figure in the time it previously took to coat the whole roof and add the two times together, then I would say the total time for the CQ UK Application on the Tahoe took roughly an hour's time. I did also coat he Tail Lights, and the Rear Corner Plastic Panels as well, and all was good with that also.

Temps I think were about 70f degrees.

 

[Mark]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rAM78oDffM

As Corey says in this good Vid, "Don't turn the application into Brain Surgery", and I didn't.

The differences I noted on my White Paint from Corey's Vid, that I was seeing no evidence of the smearing seen like you see here where you see evidence of the applicator trails that stuck around that long, and some areas flashing quicker than others.

When I applied, it was just like I was laying down a layer of "Liquid Glass".

And I was using a bright 500W halogen Light at each an every panel due to knowing with white things get hard to see. I of course looked at every panel under a multitude of angles during application, and wipe off.

In Corey's Vid here, you do see a break-cut in the Vid, where he then picks up the MF Suede to smooth-level.

I cannot say if any time passed during this cut in the Vid (perhaps Corey can chime in with this) but in essence, as long as it shows in the Vid the amount of time passing before wiping was approximately how long I took to begin the final wipe.

There's only one regret with my CQ UK Application. That instead of waiting an hour, and then applying Reload, I wish I had the time, and the garage, that I would've simply applied another coat of UK! I had another full unopened bottle of UK just in case I ran out with the first bottle.

In retrospect though, I did feel I did apply quite a thickish coat of UK. I wasn't worried-concerned about cheaping out, or running out, of having to worry about how much product was left versus how much square footage was left, thus I wasn't trying to stretch the product when I applied it.

There was that "ace in the hole", another unopened 50ml bottle of UK in the wings waiting if I needed it. I did not.

Total useage of the first 50ml bottle, I was left with about a 1/5th of the bottle left. Consider I also coated 4 brand new 22" wheels in and out, the entire truck top to bottom including the entire roof rack, tail lights, rear trim panels, and I also did coat the recently repainted grill.

 

[Corey]

Thanks for the review and great details Mark!
As I recall no significant time is cut - just deleting something stupid I said [emoji6]

 

[Mark]

Thanks for the review and great details Mark!
As I recall no significant time is cut - just deleting something stupid I said [emoji6]

I simply followed all the basic guidelines required for application. I of course did a single full Eraser wipe down prior to coating, but thinking back, I did not really get too OCD about it.

The only dislike I had, and have mentioned before with my CQ UK experience was noting that while my paint by bare hand felt as smooth as glass after all the prep of washing, claying, polishing, I could still feel some slight bumpiness in the paint via the baggie test.

This minor hiccup appeared to not in any way compromise the application process. And I of course do not hold any product used, or not used correctly as fault, but rather a fault of my own, and perhaps a lack of having some more specialized products on hand to aid me.

Thus, for the future, I think I will invest in some of the newer decon products that are now being used versus Clay. This way next time around when the time comes, I'll be better able to address the surface before coating again.

The way it appears to me now, this is going to be a long long time from now! I have complete faith in the CQ UK lasting.

PS: Wanted to add, that application of Reload, both v2013, and the newer v2014, the one reputed to be more difficult with possible streaking, or an oily film gave me absolutely no problems on the Tahoe. The v2014 did produce oily hollograms on my red kia though, and I am at a loss to explain why on one vehicle, and why none on the other? Will never figure that one out.

 

[ChrisDA]

I didn't time myself with a stopwatch, but was keeping basic time, due to wanting to know what time I started, and when it would then be OK to begin Reload application.
I allowed one hour.

I did not dawdle, I went quickly, and did carefuly insure overlapping, so that no areas were missed. I would guess took me no longer than 3-4 minutes to apply UK to the smaller panels and I wasn't really rushing the application, I applied similarly to like Corey's Vid shows.

And how long I let UK sit before wiping wih a towel, was about the time it took for me to place the bottle of UK and applicator on a bench, walk the few feet, then pick up the MF Towel to wipe and smooth. Vaguely about 10-14 seconds time would pass after I was assured each panel was fully coated with product. I did not rub like crazy,just a smooth light straight line wipe on each panel.

Keep in mind I had done the roof about a week or so before, that was of course the hardest because the truck is tall.

I wasn't about to take a chance by letting UK sit too long before I began smoothing because I was worried about dragging, and smearing the finish. I could see the product had basically flashed, smoothed and leveled all by itself before coming behind and wiping.

Now, with that being said, you think I should've let UK sit longer before wiping?

I would imagine that time "might" be a variable due to temps, and humidity levels.

If you want to figure in the time it previously took to coat the whole roof and add the two times together, then I would say the total time for the CQ UK Application on the Tahoe took roughly an hour's time. I did also coat he Tail Lights, and the Rear Corner Plastic Panels as well, and all was good with that also.

Temps I think were about 70f degrees.

Oh, so you wiped right off. I usually let it sit for a minute or two before wiping. That's why I thought 30mins was strange.

 

[krazygraphics]

um... so can anyone advise me of the questions I did ask ? Somehow my thread got taken over it seems..

 

[Mark]

Oh, so you wiped right off. I usually let it sit for a minute or two before wiping. That's why I thought 30mins was strange.

Hi. Yes, pretty much mirroring-mimicking the speed of removal that Corey does in his Vid I earlier linked to.

One thing I cannot stress and elaborate on enough, was the ease of application on the Tahoe.

As I said, the application with Foam Block and MF Suede went so easy and effortlessly, and evidenced by the good bright lighting I had on hand, when I came behind with the MF Towel to further finesse the finish, I found again no difficulty, and no need to continuously wipe and wipe and wipe.

Again, the final wipe with MF Towel was a breeze in my experience, I figured the more rubbing I would do would only perhaps upset the coating, and also possibly remove much of that precious coating which I just laid down.

The application of UK was IMO easier than any WOWA Sealant I have used to date.(3) With the WOWA's, I've never been able to apply without seeing some minor hazing, and having to go back again with an MF Towel to remove.

Well, enough of my ramblings, but I do hope the original poster chimes back in, perhaps can offer some further input, and observations-ideas why his experience was ultimately less than favorable.

 

[Mark]

As of now my 2014 Jeep Cherokee is all done other than the roof. I will make a list of some things I did notice.

#1 making the paint look deeper / darker ? Didn't see this in mine at all ( My Jeep is a darker color so maybe that is why ) ?
#2 Sheeting ? I washed the car down after it was 100% complete with all steps including Reload , nothing is sheeting any different than normal wax
#3 I still see streaking marks in it from wipe down, for the life of me I can not get any smear marks off the car unless I use ( ERASER ) < CAN this be used as a detailer ??

( I just took a drive with some water on my hood doing about 50MPH and the water is still on the hood ) What could cause this ?

At no time did I take any short cuts during the process , I probably spent about 6 hours doing the whole job over 2 days.

I also tried the ( scratch the paint test ) I saw this on a youtube video , unfortunately I took a chip out of my paint.

Not sure what I could have done wrong during this procedure but at this point I must say it's NOT what I thought it would be sadly.

Responding to you directly, may I make some assumptions, and ask some questions.

Well, a 2014 vehicle should certainly have a paint condition that is more intact than my 1997 Tahoe. Truth be told though, the condition of my Tahoe's paint rivals many fresh out of the showroom vehicles for cleanliness, lack of swirling, or any other paint-body damage to be found other than some small number of random minor paint chips on the finish, and some road rash on the underside due to the tires throwing up rocks. Those were addressed beforehand with the Dr Colorchip System.


Can I assume the dealer threw no specialized type of Protectants on the vehicle? I assume you are the original owner, correct?

Was any Polishing done to the vehicle beforehand? If so, by hand, by DA, or? What products if so used?

When I coated my truck, I waited a full two weeks before bringing any water near the vehicle.

Only then did I do a minor wipe down on certain areas with clear water just to remove dust and to inspect. All looked good.

When I did my little scratch test, I of course didn't dig up a disposable lighter like I seen in one vid, and began hacking away at the finish. I didn't expect CQuartz to somehow magically "bulletproof" the finish, but I do believe the paint finish now has a harder paint protection than it ever has in 17 years, and I'm saying this in comparison to any quality wax, or sealant that I've ever used in those 17 years, such as "all" of the Collinite Waxes, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0, Menzerna Powerlock, Meg's #20 Pro Poly Sealant, Meg's #21, and Zaino Z2.

Now down here in the southwest, if a large "Tumbling Tumbleweed" or a large Cardboard Box traveling from high winds at 40mph across the road should catch me, you can be sure of damage no matter what you use.

At what point did you then notice streaking? After CQuartz, or after Reload? If with Reload, which version? v2014? If so, some have reported streaking with it and some oiliness on darker Colors. Hopefully you'll further elaborate, and you can get some further advice on how to address such.

As for a darkening effect, maybe one might not see that much on a pristine brand new paint finish, but some should be noticeable on darker colors, and under the correct lighting. Midday sun may not be the best lighting to judge such.

 

[Cooter]

Was it washed at the dealership prior to delivery??
When I bought my truck last year, the dealership didnt wash it. I polished it with CarPro Reflect before applying UK.

 

[krazygraphics]

Hello

We used the DA polisher with Carpro Reflect
Then IronX was used
Then ERASER
then CQUK.

I have no sheeting / water dripping at all from what I can tell , Here is a picture and this is a good 2 hours after the rain has stopped

http://oi59.tinypic.com/t5ivis.jpg

 

[Cooter]

Thanks for clearing that up about using the DA and Reflect. I cant find that on any of your previous posts in this thread.

As for sheeting. I dont think you'll have sheeting. The water will look like its snaking across the paint (the water will stream together). You will have snaking and beading.