Fixing smudged ceramic coating

[Roady68]

I have been detailing cars for a while, it was a side gig to make extra cash in way back in college. So I decided to try applying ceramic coating on my new Mach 1. I have a fairly bright garage but its evident I misses fully removing the excess in a couple of spots. There are some rainbow effect smudges here and there if the light hits right. I don't notice it in the sun, or at night, but low light indirect sun you can see the few spots. Is there a way to fix that? Do I get the buffer out and try to remove and reapply? I see a lot of YouTube videos to apply but haven't come across any to fix mistakes. I'll keep looking though. Thanks.

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[Schnder95]

Call someone that is certified in appying ceramic coatings.

 

[geep81]

I recently made the same mistake to my wife's car. Thought garage light was good enough, didn't want to do outside and get it dirty while I applied. Big mistake.

1) It will wear off over time, so you could just do nothing
2) P&S Brake cleaner mixed with some dilution of water (per a YouTube detailer you'll find if you google the subject)
3) A more aggressive chemical remover

I did a weak coat of option #2 to my wife's car, it helped. Didn't want to go too far. Am leaning more now towards letting it fall off naturally and then trying again.

 

[cerbomark]

or put light polish on a cloth and hand rub the area. that should cut it down a little.

 

[Bobn57]

I have been detailing cars for a while, it was a side gig to make extra cash in way back in college. So I decided to try applying ceramic coating on my new Mach 1. I have a fairly bright garage but its evident I misses fully removing the excess in a couple of spots. There are some rainbow effect smudges here and there if the light hits right. I don't notice it in the sun, or at night, but low light indirect sun you can see the few spots. Is there a way to fix that? Do I get the buffer out and try to remove and reapply? I see a lot of YouTube videos to apply but haven't come across any to fix mistakes. I'll keep looking though. Thanks.

I would contact the coating manufacturer. Before I coated my S550 with Gyeon EVO, I contacted their customer service team to make sure I had all the steps and materials. They were a great help and I'm very happy with the results. Hopefully they can offer assistance since they make the product.

 

[cerbomark]

the consumer products we are buying are easily removed.
The 3 cars I have done have all been white, much more forgiving . Darker colors will show high spots more easily.

 

[MAGS1]

You can try applying another coat of the coating in that area, sometimes that’s enough to level it out. Otherwise, as already mentioned, a light hand polish in that area should level it down (you will likely need to reapply the coating in that spot afterwards).

 

[DFB5.0]

More information here -

Ceramic Coatings and High Spots | 2015+ S550 Mustang Forum (GT, EcoBoost, GT350, GT500, Bullitt, Mach 1) - Mustang6G.com

 

[kilobravo]

You beat me to the link, D. <chuckling>

OP, there's your answer.

I've done ceramic on two vehicles and I did leave one high spot on the first attempt. Of course, I didn't notice it until it had cured. Tried more of the product which helped but it still took a couple minutes with compound and polisher to get it all off. Easy peazy to apply another coat on the small area afterward.

 

[Roady68]

Thanks all. I didn't think to call it a high spot. I'll work on it tonight.

 

[CorvZ061]

How long has it been applied? If it’s been a day or 2 you may get lucky and go over it with more coating, it can rehydrate it and let you level it out. Otherwise it’ll be buff it off and reapply coating. If it comes to that buff the panel and reapply to the whole panel. You’ll be fine, consumer grade Coatings come off pretty easily.

I’ll try to find the video, but Adam’s did one about this very subject.

edit: here’s the link.

 

[skinnyb]

I had it happen on my Adams graphene spray coating. I caught it the next morning, just re applied the coating and wiped off immediately and was good to go. Now on my current coating, there is a high spot under the spoiler on the top of the quarter panel that got missed. Not the end of the world as it can't be seen unless the trunk lid is open but it does bug me to know its there. But I don't want to repolish and coat again.

 

[kilobravo]

D: Since it was mentioned in the thread, are there actually "consumer-grade" and "commercial-grade" ceramic coatings? It seems to me that everything any of us would normally purchase would be considered "consumer." Or, are we drawing a line between sprays and liquid applications?

I for one am cornfused. :-)

 

[DFB5.0]

D: Since it was mentioned in the thread, are there actually "consumer-grade" and "commercial-grade" ceramic coatings? It seems to me that everything any of us would normally purchase would be considered "consumer." Or, are we drawing a line between sprays and liquid applications?

I for one am cornfused. :-)

Absolutely.

Professional grade ceramic coatings are only available to those who have completed the coating manufacturers recommended training procedure or program. Most brands will have a pro-only range, which typically last longer and have higher pH tolerances. They are also more intense to apply, usually with ultra-fast flash times to improve productivity in an environment where time is money. Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra or Carpro DQuartz would be examples.

Consumer grade ceramic coatings are available for anyone to purchase. They are typically more forgiving and have slower flash times to cater to all experience levels. Your Cquartz UK would be a prime example, but any coating available to order on a website will be considered a "consumer" coating.

In both cases, the application is process is the same, apart for the above-mentioned flash times.

 

[kilobravo]

Thanks for the additional information, D, I knew you'd have the answer.

With that in mind, are the properties of commercial-grade ceramics responsible for creating a thicker, more protective layer or do they exist solely for pro shops who need to move quickly?

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