Paint correction and CQuartz or Xpel clear bra???

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13 November 2014
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NorCal
Looking for some feedback or advice on this. Just picked up a 2005 berlina that was in storage for the last 3 years, paint needs work. I'm thinking of spending some extra money to protect after the paint after the correction, I don't drive my nsxs often, and never in the rain. Is Cquartz coating a good idea or should I spend the extra money to put on XPEL clear bra? again, i don't drive it often, maybe once a month on a nice day. I'm thinking Cquartz is good enough to keep the shine and should last me a long time since I won't be wash her often? let me know what you guys think or if you've had experience with ceramic coating and clear bras.


thank you.
 
Two significantly different products. Clear bra or paint protection film will provide flying bug, rock and door ding protection. CQuartz claims to leave a film on the paint that is around 1 micro-meter thick. A micro-meter is roughly 0.00004 in. thick. CQuartz could probably be lumped into the description of a heavy coating of wax. It definitely is not going to give you any rock or door ding protection.

I have 3M rather than Xpel PPF on my NSX. The only observation that I can make is that the 3M PPF on my car is not invisible and is not as shiny as well polished and waxed paint. You can also get an accumulation of wax at the edge of the PPF if you are not careful.

I applied one of those other fancy high priced liquid protectants on another car after a polish job. My personal opinion was that it was a waste of money. Indistinguishable from a good application of traditional carnauba wax. Perhaps the CQuartz lasts longer than the traditional wax.
 
XPel hands down. Talking to the creator, it's something like thousands of times more resistant to sandblasting and my personal experiences back that up. I clear bra all cars I care about and no longer worry.
 
I had my Berlina Black CQuartz'd and then Xpel Clear bra'd and then my detailer CQuartz'd the Xpel Clear Bra...the finish is very uniform and I know that the front end is protected and looks the best possible way it can look imo.
 
thanks the feedback guys, I think I'm going to look into getting the Xpel done at a local shop... hope it doesn't cost me too much.
 
Depends on how much of the car is covered. I did the complete front end of the car (everything forward of the doors), the mirrors and the spats behind the rear wheels. The cost was about $1300 Cdn $ about 5 years ago. Yours is a 2005 which means it is a T roof so I would also consider doing the front edge of the roof (top of the window frame). The T allows you to get away with doing just that front edge which takes the hits from bugs and other debris. If you paint is still pristine, consider getting the leading edges of the side scoops covered also.

Some of the PPF guys also offer protective covers for the front signal lights. Cheap insurance if you want to keep them looking good.
 
Xpel or Suntek are the top two best films with Suntek having a bit less texture making it slightly more clear then Xpel.

There's really no comparison from a film to a coating. Film will literally protect against rock chips and such where as the coatings can not.

And film will allow paint to actually live longer so the paint will not break down as quickly which being an 05 model car would be a huge benefit after a paint correction process.
 
I had my '92 paint corrected and cquartzed recently. It looks amazing afterwards.

Album: https://imgur.com/a/5E4aC

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robert
 

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I have Xpel on my Supra and Gallardo and have nothing but good things to say so far. No yellowing or discoloration. People often say Suntek is clearer but I have no first hand experience with it. Just be careful when you are waxing it to avoid the edges so the wax does not build up there.

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Got a quote today for both services, about $1800 for paint correction and CQuartz coating, and $3000 for Xpel. My question now is the car has some tiny rock chips on the fenders and front bumper, should I get this painted and pristine before I paid to get Xpel put on? would prefer to have original paint on the car.
 
Wow. I paid $400 for paint correction and CQuartz. I guess your paint must be in pretty bad shape?

robert
 
Got a quote today for both services, about $1800 for paint correction and CQuartz coating, and $3000 for Xpel. My question now is the car has some tiny rock chips on the fenders and front bumper, should I get this painted and pristine before I paid to get Xpel put on? would prefer to have original paint on the car.

This is a question that all owners of 90's classic cars must face at some point and honestly it just goes to what you can live with. Will having some stone chips with PPF over it bother you? Are you a perfectionist that wants it to look factory showroom perfect? How much is having original paint worth to you?
 
Pics of the chips?

Use Dr. Colorchip. That stuff is AMAZING. It fills in the chip and JUST the chip. If you take your time and build up the layers you can virtually eliminate the chips which visually looks good and will also make the clear bra stick better without little air pockets.

I'd skip the CQuarts, especially at that price.
 
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I think having the paint chips will bother me, the chips are small but there is a lot on the fender and front. Just wondering how resale is going to be affected by not having original paint. The chip is on the driver side door, I'll look into Dr. ColorChip.
 

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It's amazing stuff. Spreading over the entire hood and bumper and it'll fill in all of those little chips. The bigger ones will require a little more work and layers but it'll blow you away.
 
Saw some YouTube footage on Dr. Colorchip. Seems very cool. Going to try it. I wonder if it cures hard enough to perform paint correction around or on it.

Question folks... Can you do Cquartz (or another coating) then add xpel on top of it should you choose to later? Any long term effects on the Cquartz if you don't let it breath?
 
Here's the DrColorchip demo video. Granted... it's on a white car with some overcast shade but it's pretty cool stuff. Going to try it.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O4rmx5EmsKY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Saw some YouTube footage on Dr. Colorchip. Seems very cool. Going to try it. I wonder if it cures hard enough to perform paint correction around or on it.

Question folks... Can you do Cquartz (or another coating) then add xpel on top of it should you choose to later? Any long term effects on the Cquartz if you don't let it breath?
Yes I've put clear bra over it and it doesn't pull it up. It's amazing stuff.
 
nice! Good to know [MENTION=16531]stuntman[/MENTION]. Any idea how Cquartz lasts over time when under Xpel?

btw.. this is a Dr. Colorchip endorsement from one of the youtube detailers I follow. This guy is a No B.S. kind of a guy so he tells it how it is.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ElacSGehdzA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Cquartz does nothing to protect the car. It's just another form of wax/sealant. You don't really want to wax your car before putting Xpel on it. I think it's a waste of time. Just clay bar, polish and maybe use something like Pinnacle's cleansing lotion, then let it sit for a few days before getting the clearbra installed.
 
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I think having the paint chips will bother me, the chips are small but there is a lot on the fender and front. Just wondering how resale is going to be affected by not having original paint. The chip is on the driver side door, I'll look into Dr. ColorChip.

At the risk of stating the obvious, black is the worst color in terms of showing paint flaws. In addition, once you do paint correction on black, it will make the rock chips and deeper scratches in the paint even more obvious. It is difficult to tell from the photos because of the glare from the flash; but, the chips in those photos are looking pretty extensive. My suggestion is that based on the condition of the paint in the photos, you do not want to put PPF on as is. If you want to do the PPF, I suggest that you either do a re spray first or try the Dr. Colorchip. If you try the Dr. Colorchip, you are going to have to do paint correction before applying the PPF. I suggest doing the Dr. Colorchip on a small test section of the car and then have paint correction carried out on that test section. That will give you some idea as to how durable the Dr. Colorchip is and whether the results with the Dr. Colorchip are going to satisfy you. Remember, once you have the PPF on any paint flaws become like a fly trapped in amber.

Your price for the PPF seems reasonable if you are doing the complete car. Your price for the paint correction seems out of the ball park unless your paint is really, really bad. If its that bad, I would think that you might be better to apply that money to a re spray. I would be inclined to get a second and perhaps third estimate for the paint correction.

With respect to your concern about the effect of a re spray on resale value. Original finish has value if the original finish is in good or very good condition considering the age of the car. Based upon your photos, I don't think your original finish is adding value and a re spray in the original color would likely add resale value. Re sprays in non original colors tend to be value destroying if you are trying to sell to a market that values original condition. I assume that you would be retaining the same color code as the factory finish.

As a final suggestion, go talk to the PPF guy about the condition of the paint. When I first enquired about PPF for the front of my car, the PPF guy looked at the bumper, hood and fenders and then did the "I can do the PPF if you really want it; but, you probably are not going to be happy with the appearance". His recommendation was repaint, wait a month or so and then PPF. If the PPF guy is a straight shooter, they may give you the best advice on whether you need to do a re spray or whether paint correction will do the trick.
 
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Had my entire front end done. I believe it was the expel film.

Covers both mirrors, fenders, entire hood, headlights and bumper.

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I paid $800 including the film. My tint guy is an artist and he gave me a break on the price. I put a nice chip in the 3M film on the way back from NSXPO.

This film is supposed to be much better and self healing.
 
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