Ceramic Coating

[mrbojangles]

On 5/9/2021 at 1:30 PM, JAS21 said:

 

One of the biggest problems in Thailand is bird poo ... with the heat some will eat into your clear coat quite quickly. Best way to remove bird poo is to wet some 'unused' toilet tissue and then place it over the poo until it softens enough to allow it to be gently wiped off ....

 

Got some of that yesterday. Got out of immigration and the car was splattered. There was enough poo, that I can only imagine an Elephant flew over head. I got straight home and wet it all down before a soapy sponging. However, there are still faint blemishes left. I've tried soda water, WD40 and just been out and bought some of this but they are still there.

 

 

If anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear them ????

[Jai Dee]

12 minutes ago, mrbojangles said:

I've tried soda water, WD40 and just been out and bought some of this but they are still there.

 

Did you leave the WD40 there for a minute or more before you wiped it off?

 

Don't worry about leaving it a bit longer if there are residual spots after the first application... just spray them again and wait 1-2 minutes before wiping them off. You won't affect the paintwork.

[mrbojangles]

6 minutes ago, Jai Dee said:

 

Did you leave the WD40 there for a minute or more before you wiped it off?

 

Don't worry about leaving it a bit longer if there are residual spots after the first application... just spray them again and wait 1-2 minutes before wiping them off. You won't affect the paintwork.

 

Yeah JD, left it on for over a minute and tried it a couple of times. It's the ones on the bonnet that are being stubborn. Probably got baked on from the engine heat as I was driving home. I'll give it another whirl and leave it longer ????

[canthai55]

Bird poo is both acidic and caustic.

If it has damaged the clear coat the only option is to have the clear coat buffed out to get past the damage to some undamaged layer.

Jury out on how thick the clear coat is, how long you can buff before you break thru.

 

[JAS21]

1 hour ago, mrbojangles said:

 

Got some of that yesterday. Got out of immigration and the car was splattered. There was enough poo, that I can only imagine an Elephant flew over head. I got straight home and wet it all down before a soapy sponging. However, there are still faint blemishes left. I've tried soda water, WD40 and just been out and bought some of this but they are still there.

 

 

If anyone has any other ideas I'd love to hear them ????

Personally I wouldn’t use that.

 

It shouldn’t have eaten into the clear coat that quick so has probably just stained it. It might bleach out with the sun.

 

Failing that take it to a proper detailing shop eg Block C. Someone like that should be able to sort for you.

 

Whatever you are using to protect your clear coat… I suggest it may be an idea to try something else…

 

Some bird poo is really evil especially combined with the present hot weather.

 

 

[mrbojangles]

8 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

Whatever you are using to protect your clear coat… I suggest it may be an idea to try something else…

 

I've only had the car a few weeks. When I went to the dealers to collect they had washed and polished it in their own detailing area. What they put on I don't know but I'll have to try something else as I don't want to have to go through this every time a bird passes by and decides to drop off a parcel

[Lacessit]

Ceramic coating IMO is a complete misnomer. Ceramics are glass compounds that are baked onto steel at temperatures between 800 and 2000 degrees C.

All one is getting is a paint resin which has a filler akin to powdered glass, so effectively it's just another coat of paint. From what I gather, quite an expensive one.

[JAS21]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Ceramic coating IMO is a complete misnomer. Ceramics are glass compounds that are baked onto steel at temperatures between 800 and 2000 degrees C.

All one is getting is a paint resin which has a filler akin to powdered glass, so effectively it's just another coat of paint. From what I gather, quite an expensive one.

Actually all the cars/pickups that we have had since 2012 I have coated them myself. Except for what we bought a couple of years ago. I just put opti-seal on it every couple of weeks and when I can be bothered optimum instant detailer and gloss enhancer on top.

 

There are a lot of similar products…but whatever you use won’t last long….

 

The Honda that my wife had, new four years ago, what I used was not so good and the bird poo attacked the clear coat…. So I got someone to put opticoat paint guard on it. I think Honda clear coat might be a bit soft.

[mrbojangles]

6 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

I just put opti-seal on it every couple of weeks and when I can be bothered optimum instant detailer and gloss enhancer on top.

 

Have you got any piccies of those JAS?

[JAS21]

3 hours ago, mrbojangles said:

 

Have you got any piccies of those JAS?

TBH these wipe on wipe off sealants are reasonably similar. I just happen to use Optimum products as my friend owns the Bloc c shops and is opti-coat certified. I always wash the car myself, don’t even let the dealer do it.

 

How long products last depends somewhat on the care you take when applying .. plenty of info on YouTube.  ONR is worth trying … when we go away I take a spray bottle containing ONR and also a cloth soaked in ONR, keep in a plastic bag. Less chance of scratching the paint, when removing the baked on poo.

 

Opti-seal takes about five minutes to go around the car. Spray once on your cloth and another on the panel … wipe over the panel  … turn the cloth over and wipe it off … next panel.  That bottle of Opti-seal is 18 months old and is still half full ....

 

I haven’t found anything to use that after a couple of weeks or so the paintwork still feels silky smooth.

 

These so called wipe on wipe off ceramics are water based, as is opti-seal so you can’t expect them to last like solvent based products.

 

And Yes as suggested, try WD40 for a longer period. Soak a tissue with it. Also WD40 is great for removing road tar.

 

 

[DavisH]

Bird poo can etch the clear coat, as has been said. Got a few marks on my wifes car from that. Even hand applying compound cannot fully remove it. I've had a few droppings on my car as well, but they don't seem to have as much effect on the paint - maybe the ceramic coat helps a bit there, as there is an added layer of protection. After 2 years there are still no paint belmishes - only a couple of minor dings in the roog from heavy seed pods. But the 41K baht quoted is way too much. 

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/28/2021 at 8:14 AM, mistral53 said:

At least some people have reading comprehension - not sure the luddite commenting to my post will read yours and gets properly educated on what polishing does.............lol

The  luddite  uses the word  POLISH as that's  what the manufacturer  calls  it, use as needed it says on their label.  I use this.

[Rampant Rabbit]

8 hours ago, JAS21 said:

TBH these wipe on wipe off sealants are reasonably similar. I just happen to use Optimum products as my friend owns the Bloc c shops and is opti-coat certified. I always wash the car myself, don’t even let the dealer do it.

 

How long products last depends somewhat on the care you take when applying .. plenty of info on YouTube.  ONR is worth trying … when we go away I take a spray bottle containing ONR and also a cloth soaked in ONR, keep in a plastic bag. Less chance of scratching the paint, when removing the baked on poo.

 

Opti-seal takes about five minutes to go around the car. Spray once on your cloth and another on the panel … wipe over the panel  … turn the cloth over and wipe it off … next panel.  That bottle of Opti-seal is 18 months old and is still half full ....

 

I haven’t found anything to use that after a couple of weeks or so the paintwork still feels silky smooth.

 

These so called wipe on wipe off ceramics are water based, as is opti-seal so you can’t expect them to last like solvent based products.

 

And Yes as suggested, try WD40 for a longer period. Soak a tissue with it. Also WD40 is great for removing road tar.

 

 

Protect the paint but the orange  peel on that   is  atrocious, I  cut  all mine   out . Then polished it, yes I say  polish as thats what autoglym call it.

[JAS21]

On 6/5/2021 at 5:38 AM, Rampant Rabbit said:

Protect the paint but the orange  peel on that   is  atrocious, I  cut  all mine   out . Then polished it, yes I say  polish as thats what autoglym call it.

 

“Protect the paint but the orange peel on that is atrocious” ...YES it is heading that way isn’t it. Of course that photograph was taken of a curved panel and probably from not exactly the best direction either, it looks a little better on the flat panels. As you can see it is an E-Class and just two years old. Built in the same month as we purchased.

 

MB paintwork does look good from a distance or close up until you shine the light!. Of course that is common with many cars now.

 

YES, removing the orange peel, especially on a red makes it look very good. But as you rightly say it causes a loss of protection. TBH I’m not in favour of doing that.

 

Also of course ‘reds’ in the past tended to fade very badly due to UVA/UVB ... quite a bit of that about in Thailand ... but I think things have improved quite some from those days

 

For those interested or bored and want something to read ... have a look at www.newoldcars.com/tech  ... some very interesting and informative articles.

[Rampant Rabbit]

8 minutes ago, JAS21 said:

common with many cars now.

Yep and  Ford's were one of the worst I've seen as  well  as  Mazda's, took me  3  days to cut out the orange peel on that Nissan as its what I call "cutting"  not  "polishing"

That was  about 4  years  ago  now, still  looks  ok, polished  about every 2  months. Laquer on the wing  mirrors has  peeled  right off  the top surface so will  have to re laquer those sometime, they're  plastic, rest of  paintwork is  fine including bumpers which are also plastic although think  the  car  will be sold  in the next 12  months.

[JAS21]

8 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

Yep and  Ford's were one of the worst I've seen as  well  as  Mazda's, took me  3  days to cut out the orange peel on that Nissan as its what I call "cutting"  not  "polishing"

That was  about 4  years  ago  now, still  looks  ok, polished  about every 2  months. Laquer on the wing  mirrors has  peeled  right off  the top surface so will  have to re laquer those sometime, they're  plastic, rest of  paintwork is  fine including bumpers which are also plastic although think  the  car  will be sold  in the next 12  months.

Did you wet sand it ... or were you not brave enough LOL

[Rampant Rabbit]

7 hours ago, JAS21 said:

Did you wet sand it ... or were you not brave enough LOL

Nope, its  too  thin for  that. Friend in the paint dept at major  manufacturer told me they  just use some 1  coat stuff  now  no  primer or anything, even he  thought it was krap. 

Modern paint finsihes are  pretty  appalling for orange  peel but then it's  only there for decoration now with everything  fully  galvanised, you  just dont see rusty cars  much these  days. Once had a  Fiat back in the 80's 2  years  old door  bottoms  already bubbling  up.  They improved things   in the  early  90's I  believe. Alfa's legendary for disintegrating before your  eyes back then.