09-10-2017, 10:52 PM | #1 |
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DIY New Car Prep (and maintenance)
I have a LBB M2 arriving late October, and as a co-incidence, my wife is going on vacation for two weeks in early November, and I'm taking time off work to look after the kids. This is going to give me some time to focus on my new M2 while she's away and the kids are at school.
I'm planning to have the front end PPF'd as soon as I pick up the car, but have always done my own polishing and coating in the past. It's something that I take pride in, and I have plenty of tools (Porter Cable, Flex, Rotary, Air Compressor, Tornador Black, DI Water System and Pressure Washer etc.) I coated my current car (2012 Jaguar XF, Black), and my wife's car (2016 Honda Pilot, also Black) with CQuartz in around May last year, and it's holding up well, but I'd say it will probably need re-coating (after first polishing to remove the existing coating) in about spring next year. The coating is still present and doing a good job of resisting swirls etc. but it's not quite as hydrophobic as it used to be. In terms of polish, I've tried several, but have actually had the most success with these two cars using Meguiars Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound combined with Lake Country Hybrid (now called Force Hybrid I believe) pads. For spot polishing, I've also found the Meguiars 4" soft buff pads to be effective on a cordless drill, obviously followed with a DA to remove any buffer trails. I'm running out of the Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound, and wondering what a good set of polish / compound would be good to replace them with. The things I don't like about the Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish is that they both contain quite a bit of polishing oils, which I have to remove with IPA before moving on to a coating or sealant. The Ultimate Compound also dusts quite a bit, which is annoying, but tolerable. Finally, both the Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish can sometimes be difficult to buff off, and in these cases, I need to use IPA to get off the residue. Finally, coating... I still have some CQuartz and DLUX left from the work I did in May, and I've not checked, but this may have expired by now, even though they've been kept inside the house since then. I'm therefore interested in DIY coating solutions that I might try as a replacement for CQuartz. I'm very happy with CQuartz actually, but did find that the installation on the two black cars I have was slightly fussy. In Norther California, the weather is dry and warm, and I found that I had to buff off the coating almost as soon as I applied it. If I left it more than about 5 minutes, I'd end up with streaks that couldn't be removed without polishing out. As long as I worked within this limitation, everything was fine though, so I'm happy to try CQuartz again if that is still a good and well regarded option. For maintenance, I have plenty of Reload, Reset and Iron-X, as well as Ultima Waterless Wash+ as a QD and rinse-less wash if the car is only dusty. I'd rather not throw these things away, so if possible I'd like to choose a coating that's compatible with these products. To summarise, I'm looking for the following:
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2018 ///M2 LCI, LBB, 6MT...
Current Performance Mods: CSF FMIC, ER CP, Fabspeed Cat, Aquamist WMI, GFB DV+, NGK 97506, BM3 (Stage 2 93 OTS), CDV delete, UCP, M2C/M3/M4 Strut Brace, M3/M4 Reinforcement Rings |
09-11-2017, 06:39 AM | #2 |
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Coating
Regardless of the polish, you should always do a an oil remover wipe down prior to the application of any coating.
I also would not use the coating that you already have. I would buy a new bottle since you really have no way to knowing if the coating you have is still good or not. Bruce |
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04-01-2021, 12:05 PM | #3 |
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I can say that you have very huge plans for that car. When I bought mine, I also had a lot of ideas about what can I do with them. Believe me, when you will get in, you will think from another point of view. I got my M2 last year from the Copart car auction. I wanted to make from the stock M2 and CS M2. But, when the car arrived I was very pleased with the stock settings. The only problem was with the transportation of the car. A lot of companies wanted from me some crazy money. Luckily, I found Guardian transporting company. They delivered me the car in tame and for a nice price.
Last edited by JaneBower; 04-05-2021 at 08:11 AM.. |
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04-01-2021, 03:53 PM | #4 | |
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Coating suggestion would be to look into gtechniq line (exo/csl combo). They will be compatible with your mentioned products. Have fun! |
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04-01-2021, 06:50 PM | #5 |
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I used cquartz uk on mine, was super happy with the results. Going on a year now (through Michigan winter and not kept in the garage). Still is pretty hydrophobic. Will probably recoat in a month or two.
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08-28-2021, 11:07 PM | #6 | ||
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Drives: 2020 M2 CS
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Location: Toronto
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