Question about wiping down a ceramic coated car with a ceramic sealant after wash

[Cobra_X5MC]

I have two vehicles, my 2022 X5MC and my daily a 2023 Corolla XSE. Both cars have Feynlab 5 year ceramic coating.

I initially had to get the ceramic redone on the X5MC as the Feynlab coating failed and thankfully it was covered under their warranty. It was to a point where the detailer said there was no coating on the car at all basically.

I am now noticing in some areas of the Corolla its not as "hydrophobic" if I wait a couple washes between applying the sealant.

I wash both cars with Feynlab products only, do a prewash, spray it off wash with a mitt and Feynlab pure wash. I do wash my cars at a DIY place and wonder if the hard water is affecting it, I use a blower to dry the car.

I am wondering if my wiping down the car with ceramic sealant is actually hurting my coating? My thoughts have always been a top layer of ceramic sealant refreshes the top layer of the coating. I use Car Pro's Reload which I've always known to be top notch stuff.

I know with these coatings you're not supposed to touch them much but I always feel after a wash with the mitt a top off with the ceramic sealant gives the car a nice finished look.

Am I causing my coatings to fail prematurely by doing this? Is there anything I can do to restore the hydrophobic effect naturally assuming the coating may be clogged?

[MADBMWX5MC]

Great question, been wondering this myself as all my vehicles are ceramic coated, but I just blow dry them and appy nothing else. Ocassionally, I use a waterless wash, but that's it. Hopefully, some folks will chime in and educate both of us.

[p0p]

Maybe look at the soap you are using

How I read it; it is a preparation deep cleaning soap designed to clean the car to get ready for CC. Yes it says Maintenance but will leave nothing behind; like you said "there was no coating on the car at all"

Info taken from their website: https://www.feynlab.com/product/pure-wash/

"FEYNLAB® PURE WASH is an impressive deep cleaning car wash soap! IDEAL for the Preparation & Maintenance of Ceramic Coatings because NOTHING is left behind on the surface."

"Ideal Preparation Wash for all Vehicle Surfaces Prior to Ceramic Coating Application"

[Cobra_X5MC]

Wow. Great find, thank you!

I assumed because it's their recommended wash to maintain the coating that it would be the best to use.

Prior vehicles I've used CarPro Reset and never had issues. Wonder if it's time to switch back......

[tracer bullet]

I'd suggest that in addition to posting here you contact them, they'd know best about what's up and what to try.

[louielouie]

I've been using the same CarPro Reset soap for the past 5+ years on all my coated cars and haven't had any issues. I bought CarPro Reload at the same time and hated it - it was difficult to level so I switched to Gyeon Wet Coat. It's easier to apply as well.

A decent coating should be relatively resilient. You might just need to use a proper maintenance soap then go from there.

[cbpip]

Reset and Elixir (homemade version)after washing for maintenance.

[Dochere2]

When you say you prewash, do you mean pre rinse or do you actually mean using the pre-wash that the car wash offers? If the latter, I'd stop that practice immediately. Pre-wash products offered at diy car wash places are often extremely alkaline, though I'd venture to guess some may be on the acidic side as well. I wouldn't use a product like that until I knew exactly what it was. A buddy of mine owns a few Superwash car wash centers. The product they use for pre-wash has a pH just shy of 12.

As to Reload after every maintenance wash, you're a better detailer than I, that stuff is a biatch to remove. It's a great product every few months but definitely not a regular use product. Merlin's Magic Elixir would be a much better LSP and it's far easier to work with; Much more economical to boot. I think if I used Reload every wash I'd end up buffing the ceramic coating right off the car trying to level Reload.

Not a fan of Feynlab products in general so not much to say there.

I'd personally switch to Reset or something else. I'm a fan of Actifoam, which I use now a bit more than Reset. In any case, I actually don't use either every wash. I use Ech20 as my regular maintenance wash a couple times a week and I use Reset/Actifoam as needed, which is every 3-4 weeks or so.

Beyond the wash, I'd switch to a better, more fitting LSP. I use the previously mentioned MME as an LSP, whether as a drying aid, for touch-ups after blow drying or as an actual LSP. As louielouie mentioned, Wet Coat is an easy to use product with great results and it plays well with non Gyeon coatings.

Get the maintenance down so that you know the coating is working, continuously, then reintroduce something like Reload as needed, with more proper intervals.

My final thought is that if it fails again, switch to a different coating. With all the Reload work you've done, applying a different coating should be a piece of cake.

[pikkagtr]

If it's a high quality coating, you should not need anything
I've had the supra 2 yrs now and have washed it countless times , I don't touch it to dry as I use a blower and deionized water.
It is still the same as when it was coated

[Cobra_X5MC]

Thanks everyone for all of the feedback! I have ordered Reset and will start using that again. I have used it prior on my ceramic coated cars and never had an issue. Just assumed using the Feynlab stuff with the Feynlab coating would work.

When I say prerinse I throw some Feynlab Pure Rinseless, which is their waterless wash in a spray bottle with some water and spray that on all the panels of the car before spraying off the car.

I do this because I noticed it actually lifts the dirt off the surface. (The Corolla is white and it made a huge difference). Once the Pure Rinseless sets in, I spray off the car which gets off a majority of the dirt off. Next I wash it with the mitt. The thought process here was the less dirt on the car and mitt the less chance of marring/scratching the coating.

I am realizing that by applying reload I never truly know if my coating is working since I'm applying a layer of protection every wash so I will take everyone's advice and lay off it of for a bit.

I thin out the reload and mix it in a separate spray bottle with some water. The product alone is impossible to apply and remove without streaking.

What I am going to do is hit the car with some Iron X to unclog the coating and see if that helps to restore the hydrophobic qualities as well.

Also note I am a little OCD lol! This practice affects the corolla more than the X5MC as it sits outside and the X5M is garaged 100% of the time.

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Cobra_X5MC

Thanks everyone for all of the feedback! I have ordered Reset and will start using that again. I have used it prior on my ceramic coated cars and never had an issue. Just assumed using the Feynlab stuff with the Feynlab coating would work.

When I say prerinse I throw some Feynlab Pure Rinseless, which is their waterless wash in a spray bottle with some water and spray that on all the panels of the car before spraying off the car.

I do this because I noticed it actually lifts the dirt off the surface. (The Corolla is white and it made a huge difference). Once the Pure Rinseless sets in, I spray off the car which gets off a majority of the dirt off. Next I wash it with the mitt. The thought process here was the less dirt on the car and mitt the less chance of marring/scratching the coating.

I am realizing that by applying reload I never truly know if my coating is working since I'm applying a layer of protection every wash so I will take everyone's advice and lay off it of for a bit.

I thin out the reload and mix it in a separate spray bottle with some water. The product alone is impossible to apply and remove without streaking.

What I am going to do is hit the car with some Iron X to unclog the coating and see if that helps to restore the hydrophobic qualities as well.

Also note I am a little OCD lol! This practice affects the corolla more than the X5MC as it sits outside and the X5M is garaged 100% of the time.

FYI - Unless your car is exposed more often to ferrous ridden areas, you shouldn't need to decon more than once or twice a year. Iron X is not cheap either.

I switched to Korrosol to BH last year. Works the same, smells better.