Ceramic Coating?

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Ross Taylor said:

And that's with the Gtechniq C2V3, right ? @aviatoreb   I've got a 1000ml bottle on the way, arriving tomorrow.  I also have a bottle of Rejex which arrived this week...but it sure looks like the C2 is the way to go.  Nice!

Right. That the stuff - C2V3.  I got and used up the 500ml bottle - in case I didn’t like it.  Well I loooove it!  I will definitely buy again!

Trick is to spritz just a tiny tiny bit at a time remembering you are smearing a micro layer.  This let’s you work very quickly.

Dont forget to post pics!  Shine on good buddy!

 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by aviatoreb

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, PJClark said:

Yikes! Now I gotta go do mine twice more!  Looking good EB!

Twice more?!! Now that will be 3.  If yours had 3 then I’ll have to do 3!

remember - wax on wax off.  Well not really - spritz on wipe off.

[exM20K]

I had my plane detailed and ceramic coated (Sapphire) in May of 2017.  Holy cow: it's hard to believe it was three years ago.  The plane was looking a little unloved, so I took it back to the great detail shop at KARR, Real Clean Aircraft, for an in/out wash and detail.  My plane lives indoors, so this is in no way a stress test of the ceramic coating, but to say I was pleased with the result would be an understatement7

All they did on the exterior was a wash/wax.  

Some exterior pictures are here.  They're too big to upload to MS. will try to upload some lower res ones later.

So if you're wondering how well a ceramic coating holds up after several years, consider this a datapoint.

Also, in the interior detail job, they steam cleaned the seat belt webbing.  It makes a huge curb appeal difference. seat belts get nasty.

I don't think the plane looked this good when it was new.

-dan

Edited May 11, 2020 by exM20K

[carusoam]

My Hangar elves are up in arms... 

Great pics Erik and Dan!

Best regards,

-a-

[Danb]

I finished my detail after seeing this thread I decided to do ceramic to see if I could get it richer and more lustrous. First I’d touch chips and so on. Well four colors a million rivets, finished touch up yesterday, will blend in with compound this week then ceramic, plane already looks new, I’ll shoot some pictures when done. Being productive during house arrest, seems like the best outcome of Covid-19 is a bunch of Mooney beauties. Now who’s organizing a flyin lunch. MIKE where are you.

[EricJ]

My annual is this week, so I complied with FAR 43 Appendix D (a) and "thoroughly cleaned the aircraft".   In the past I'd used various 3M products for polishing, but this time used the Optimum Hyper Polish that Merhdad at Aviana Aircraft Detailing told us about and uses in his vids.   That stuff rocks.   It's very good, very easy to use, and a little goes a long way.   I was mostly doing touch-up spots and didn't polish the entire airplane, but did enough to get a feel for the stuff.   The spots that got polished got a new coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid synthetic wax, and then Panel Wipe and GTechniq C2V3.   This is stuff is all like cheating.   The process is so much easier with the new products it's amazing, and the results are awesome.   I did go over everything with the ceramic coating as a last step.

My paint is about 25 years old, spent 20 years parked outside in southern Nevada (BVU), but now looks pretty decent, especially from a distance. 

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by EricJ

[tmo]

28 minutes ago, EricJ said:

new coat of Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid synthetic wax, and then Panel Wipe and GTechniq C2V3

Somehow I missed that the C2V3 goes on top of Meguiar's...  So I need two more elixirs... :\

[EricJ]

Just now, tmo said:

Somehow I missed that the C2V3 goes on top of Meguiar's...  So I need two more elixirs... :\

Doesn't have to.   It can be used on top of other finishes or as a final coat.   My paint needs a lot of help.   When I washed it the water was still beading really well everywhere from the previous coat of Meguiar's, so I touched that up and just put the ceramic on top.   The ceramic definitely makes a difference, and also adds another protective/sacrificial layer.  

[tmo]

I already have the Meguiar's Wax 2.0 and other stuff, need the C2V3 - might have to forgo the Panel Wipe, possibly find a substitute, as getting stuff from the US gets complicated.  My paint (the silver) needs much more help than yours does, I'm pretty sure of that; for some reason the black is great, the silver is not.  But oil change first.

[EricJ]

Just now, tmo said:

I already have the Meguiar's Wax 2.0 and other stuff, need the C2V3 - might have to forgo the Panel Wipe, possibly find a substitute, as getting stuff from the US gets complicated.  My paint (the silver) needs much more help than yours does, I'm pretty sure of that; for some reason the black is great, the silver is not.  But oil change first.

I think the Panel Wipe is not necessarily a key ingredient, it just helps remove residue (remaining oil or polishing compound, etc.) before applying the final finish.   

If you have dull paint, polishing compound, or a good polish, or some sort of cutting agent will do more for restoring shine than a top finish will.   My airplane was all very badly oxidized when I bought it, and a lot of polishing (like, more than a week) brought back the white and blue paint pretty well.   The reds are still a bit challenged, but the Optimum Hyper Polish seemed to do a better job of restoring the red than stuff I'd used previously.   I think silver is similarly hard to restore as red.   Silver tends to not age well on cars, either.

 

[tmo]

TBH, I believe the paint was not applied correctly, but that's besides the point.  I do have a bottle of Autoglym Super Resin Polish - not willing to bring out any bigger guns, it's not an airworthiness item.  If things don't go sideways in the next few years, its turn for a respray will come in due course.

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, EricJ said:

My paint is about 25 years old, spent 20 years parked outside in southern Nevada (BVU), but now looks pretty decent, especially from a distance. 
 

 

 

I think your airplane is a great testament to this stuff works for a renewal elixir.  Application to my airplane is different thing - making an almost new paint job look even better.  Yours is a great example of making an old paint job look great.

[carusoam]

Some pigments are more chemically stable than others...

Reds get oxidized more easily and are more UV sensitive...

Unfortunately the way to restore paint is to remove molecules from the surface, exposing a new layer...

Our paint is pretty thin to begin with... there are only so many times a cleaner-wax can be used... before the base coat will show through...

Cleaner-waxes are the traditional stuff that both cleans and waxes using a buffer or clean cloth... 

You will see the old pigments on the cloth when you are done...

It will be nice if the new ceramics have the ability to block O₂ and UV from contacting the pigments...

Best regards,

-a-

[ArtVandelay]

Has anyone have experience with gtechniq c2v3 over time? I’m wondering how it looks as it ages: does it yellow, does it peel off, or does it just slowly fade or erode off like wax?

[PTK]

2 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Has anyone have experience with gtechniq c2v3 over time? I’m wondering how it looks as it ages: does it yellow, does it peel off, or does it just slowly fade or erode off like wax?

I’m wondering about this also. I would like to see and read its chemistry before using it but have been unable to find anything. Not sure if its posted some where. That will shed light into these questions. 

[aviatoreb]

2 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Has anyone have experience with gtechniq c2v3 over time? I’m wondering how it looks as it ages: does it yellow, does it peel off, or does it just slowly fade or erode off like wax?

Well / two weeks in mine looks nice.

[mike_elliott]

I have close to a year on it with my car. C2V3 was used as a sacrificial layer on top of ceramic coating done by pros on top of PPF after 3 stage paint correction. Finish is impeccable. Thanks Mathias for steering me right (albeit expensive) way to do it and have done.

 

[ArtVandelay]

I had a coating on my car when I bought it, it lasted about 2 years parked outside in the Florida sun, but then it started to peel and it looked awful.
If this happens then it would require stripping it which sounds like a terrible job.

[PJClark]

I first did mine in January and it looks fantastic.  It's in a heated hangar though

[mike_elliott]

I had a coating on my car when I bought it, it lasted about 2 years parked outside in the Florida sun, but then it started to peel and it looked awful.

If this happens then it would require stripping it which sounds like a terrible job.

Ceramic coat? Or one of the shiney polimars pushed a few years ago that looked awful after 6 months?

Mathias Baucum, an Ovation owner and car guy supreme is who recommended the process to me. Did I mention he lives in Phoenix, where the intensity of the sun pales our poor Floridas attempt at light?

If you want your plane done RIGHT, I can't recommend Mathias high enough.

 

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[aviatoreb]

12 minutes ago, PJClark said:

I first did mine in January and it looks fantastic.  It's in a heated hangar though

Mine is in an unheated hangar - that gets awfully cold on a January night.  I wonder whats better for endurance of the finish - cold or warm?

[ArtVandelay]

Ceramic coat? Or one of the shiney polimars pushed a few years ago that looked awful after 6 months? Mathias Baucum, an Ovation owner and car guy supreme is who recommended the process to me. Did I mention he lives in Phoenix, where the intensity of the sun pales our poor Floridas attempt at light?
If you want your plane done RIGHT, I can't recommend Mathias high enough.

It was in 2013, I’d still feel better if we had some more longer term experience.

[mike_elliott]

Ceramic coating lasts about 3 years, and hasn't been shown to crack peel fade or yellow in that time per all the mfrg claims and cars that have had it applied 3 years ago here in the Florida sun. If your looking for a longer term solution before reapplication and the biggie, re surface preparation, this isn't it.

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[aviatoreb]

29 minutes ago, mike_elliott said:

Ceramic coating lasts about 3 years, and hasn't been shown to crack peel fade or yellow in that time per all the mfrg claims and cars that have had it applied 3 years ago here in the Florida sun. If your looking for a longer term solution before reapplication and the biggie, re surface preparation, this isn't it.

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You did the full on professional stuff. It is good to hear it is holding up so well.

I did the  Gtechniq C2V3 stuff, which on top of my otherwise almost new paint job took no extra prep beyond a standard quick wash to get the pollen and particles off.  So all in a single coat o the airplane took maybe an hour?  I did two coats.  It looks fabulous.

But I am guessing this home-grown variant will not be as durable as what you have Mike.  That said, it is so easy to apply - much easier than a wax job, and I was already in for a wax job twice a year or so, and with this both easier than a wax job (by a lot!) and looks better than a standard wax job (by a lot!) I would be perfectly happy to re-apple this stuff every several months if it needed to be.  Oh - it was $30.  So if it lasts a year even, then all the better.  I figure I am ahead as long as it does not do worst case scenario - ruin the pain job by other peeling or yellow.  I figure if that happens - which I am thinking it won't since it has been an available product for a little while anyway, then I bet it could be removed I hope with a lot of elbow grease and restoring wax.  

 

[mike_elliott]

You did the full on professional stuff. It is good to hear it is holding up so well.
I did the  Gtechniq C2V3 stuff, which on top of my otherwise almost new paint job took no extra prep beyond a standard quick wash to get the pollen and particles off.  So all in a single coat o the airplane took maybe an hour?  I did two coats.  It looks fabulous.
But I am guessing this home-grown variant will not be as durable as what you have Mike.  That said, it is so easy to apply - much easier than a wax job, and I was already in for a wax job twice a year or so, and with this both easier than a wax job (by a lot!) and looks better than a standard wax job (by a lot!) I would be perfectly happy to re-apple this stuff every several months if it needed to be.  Oh - it was $30.  So if it lasts a year even, then all the better.  I figure I am ahead as long as it does not do worst case scenario - ruin the pain job by other peeling or yellow.  I figure if that happens - which I am thinking it won't since it has been an available product for a little while anyway, then I bet it could be removed I hope with a lot of elbow grease and restoring wax.  
 

I drove the car from the delivery center straight to the detailer. He still had to remove the factory installed swirl marks

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