[dhodory]

I decided to DIY my m550i ceramic coat. Bought CarPro CQuartz UK 3.0, Glliss and Reload (as well as the other necessary prep chemicals) and have been gradually doing my car. Weather here is still spotty (below 40 degrees most days) so I've had to pick and choose which days and which panels to work on.

So far have completed rear deck lid and roof. Next up this weekend (weather permitting) will be the entire front clip (hood, bumper cover, front quarter panels) which all have PPF on them, so I will be using CarPro Skin (two coats) followed by Gliss and then Reload.

Once I've fnished the front clip will need to complete the door panels and rear quarters and then the wheels using Dlux.

I've also done CarPro's interior leather coating (Leather 2.0) as well as their glass coating (FlyBy30), which I topped with Reload and got really good results.

Very happy with results so far. The only part of the process that made me a bit nervous was the polishing. The car is black and had a new factory finish in good condition, but man, running an orbital on it with a very fine polish produced very good results. If you're someone who is even mildly capable and you'd like to save about $1,500 (and have the time) I highly recommend DIY.

Once I've fnished the front clip will need to complete the door panels and rear quarters and then the wheels using Dlux.

I will post pics when complete.

[Boosted_8]

The latest generation of these coatings are pretty easy to work with. You can get 90% of the results for 10% of the cost DIY.

[G30 B58]

Prosumer level ceramic coating FTW.

Buddy and I did our fresh from the factory 540. Because its white we did Iron-X to decontaminate the paint, then wash, then polish, the coat. We also did wheels off and did DLux and Gliss on them.

It's really labor intensive but should be MUCH easier to maintain. Washing the vehicle after a ceramic coat will also require a different shampoo and if you can, a water de-ionizer is a plus.

[430Scud]

I used CQuart UK 3.0 as well, and it is awesome. Reload offers nice gloss and hydrophobic qualities, but beware, it will not last unless your car is always garaged and never driven in rain. It will wash off quite quickly if the car is parked outside. ScottH a youtuber has found CarPro Reload will not last even 30 days under his tests. In fact the only product worse was that F11 crap. He has retesting Reload multiple times with the same results.

Much better products to use as a "topper" like Griot Garage 3 and 1 Ceramic Spray.
BTW his tests on CQuartz 3.0 show very good durability, out to around 2 years.
I really wish CarPro would update and revise Reload, pretty much every other topper is better than theirs.

Lots of great unbiased tests, he does not accept sponsor or advertisers.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ScottHD/videos

[admranger]

Originally Posted by 430Scud

I used CQuart UK 3.0 as well, and it is awesome. Reload offers nice gloss and hydrophobic qualities, but beware, it will not last unless your car is always garaged and never driven in rain. It will wash off quite quickly if the car is parked outside. ScottH a youtuber has found CarPro Reload will not last even 30 days under his tests. In fact the only product worse was that F11 crap. He has retesting Reload multiple times with the same results.

Much better products to use as a "topper" like Griot Garage 3 and 1 Ceramic Spray.
BTW his tests on CQuartz 3.0 show very good durability, out to around 2 years.
I really wish CarPro would update and revise Reload, pretty much every other topper is better than theirs.

Lots of great unbiased tests, he does not accept sponsor or advertisers.
https://www.youtube.com/c/ScottHD/videos

I didn’t care for cquartz UK when I used it when I lived in DC. Much harder to apply (for me) than Avalon King or a couple other coatings I’ve used in the past. May have been just a bad day to apply a coating but I had a devil of a time getting it to buff out level.

[430Scud]

Originally Posted by admranger

I didn’t care for cquartz UK when I used it when I lived in DC. Much harder to apply (for me) than Avalon King or a couple other coatings I’ve used in the past. May have been just a bad day to apply a coating but I had a devil of a time getting it to buff out level.

I wonder if ambient temp and humidity affect that? Assuming I choose a sunny dry day (apply in shade) the ambient humidity is actually quite low in Seattle, WA. Perhaps that helps?

[dhodory]

Well, this last weekend I completed the front clip (hood, bumper cover, front quarter panels) which all have PPF on them. After wash, decon, clay and re-wash, I used CarPro Skin (two coats) followed by Gliss and then Reload.

At this point just need to do the doors and rear quarter panels and wheels (with dlux) and I will be done other than the occasional re-application of re-load (or maybe some Shine Supply Clutch - still have a leftover bottle of that from my last vehicle).

Weather permitting, hoping to get this done over the next two weeks.

Will post pics when complete. Gotta say that so far, this hasn't been difficult, just time consuming. I'm taking my time to get it right and am being quite meticulous with the process (a little OCD if I'm honest). My neighbors must think I'm nuts (I probably am).

[dhodory]

Well, finally finished the full exterior (including PPF areas and wheels) with CarPro products (CQuartz UK 3.0, Gliss, Reload; Skin, Gliss, Reload on PPF areas; Dlux, Gliss and Reload on wheels; Forte, Reload on windows; Leather 2.0 on interior leather surfaces)
Turned out pretty well. Definitely a painstaking process (not helped by my OCD-ish nature). Not sure whether I will do this again (in 2 years) or not. Might just opt to "pay the guy" (whoever "the guy" ends up being). I probably have 30 hours in this (exterior and interior). I like how it looks and performs, but man, it was a LOT of work. Probably would have been easier with a better/larger garage and if I had waited until the weather was better (I started this back in March when I had very small windows of time where the weather was good enough to work on it).
The part I'm most proud of is how the paint correction turned out. There were already a few micro swirls from having taken the car through a car wash 2 - 3 times, as well as some not so perfect paint from the factory - I was able to correct all of these with CarPro Essence and a very light touch.
One interesting thing I did not expect: buffing the Xpel PPF had a noticeable effect on the sheen/shine of the PPF prior to ceramic coating it.

Anyway, pics attached.