First attempt at using Gloss Coat

[Rwlucas85]

I will be the first to admit this is by no means my profession, and I am far from knowledgeable about many of the intricacies of detailing. I am a chemical engineering supervisor by day, and attempting to keep the family cars clean and looking good is therapeutic for me after long days at work. I recently purchased a new car at the beginning of October and wanted to try a coating for the first time. I chose to stick with the recent theme of Optimum products and chose Gloss Coat. I had read nothing but good things and most said it was rather user friendly. 

I live in Florida and applied Gloss Coat to my car on Tuesday. Most videos that I had watched online allowed a few minutes of time for the product to flash before wiping away any excess or leveling high spots. I assume the conditions, (about 80 degrees outside and humid) which made it even warmer in the garage resulted in different behavior. By the time I finished a panel, the start of the panel had pretty much already flashed off. I only coated the paint and trim of my mid sized sedan, and I used what looks to be between 4 to 5 mL. 

The car stayed in the garage, untouched, until this afternoon. With the quick flashing time, I'm a bit unsure of whether I got full coverage or if I used enough product. Is there any way of determining that this coating application was done correctly or if I need to polish and reapply in some spots. Unfortunately my garage is not as well lit as I would like, so it's entirely possible that there are spots where not enough product was on the applicator or I wiped off too quickly based on my interpretation of the flashing time. 

[A&J]

lovely work...the car looks super glossy. I love the color.

Once youll wash the car youll see if you mised anything...if you did just wipe the panel with paint prep and re-coat it.

[Ron@Optimum]

As A&J states, if you think you missed a spot, just clean and apply again.  The amount of Gloss-Coat used is on the light side but if you didn't coat glass or wheels, your should be good.  By the way, you should coat the windows and wheels - wipers will polish Gloss-Coat off the front windshield but the others are good and you'll find your wheels are so much easier to clean after coating.

[BradB]

Can (or should) you give a second coat of Gloss Coat on the paint? I did my whole Audi TT with less than half a vial of Gloss Coat. It seems like maybe I should have used more. (?)  

Any advantages or disadvantages to doing a second coat of Gloss Coat? 

Good tip about the glass. I assume a good Windex cleaning is enough for a new cars glass?

[The Guz]

If you do end up with high spots, paint prep may not be enough to remove them if the coating has cured.  If that does not work you will have to polish and re-coat.

33 minutes ago, BradB said:

Can (or should) you give a second coat of Gloss Coat on the paint? I did my whole Audi TT with less than half a vial of Gloss Coat. It seems like maybe I should have used more. (?)  

Any advantages or disadvantages to doing a second coat of Gloss Coat? 

Good tip about the glass. I assume a good Windex cleaning is enough for a new cars glass?

The advantage is you ensure even coverage.    It is up to the user to a second coat.  If it looks fine based on washing then leave it as is.  Like most modern day products, less is more. 

[BradB]

Thanks, Guz. Appreciate the help as always. 

[Rwlucas85]

I was planning to do the wheels but had not because I wanted to make sure I would have enough for the paint first. Also had read that it wasn't suggested for glass so had not done that either. Will wash car later this week and go from there. 

[Ron@Optimum]

The glass recommendation is due to wiper abrasion, so durability is not the same as paint.  Additional coats do not increase durability, but ensure complete coverage, can even high spots, and add sheen (so I've been told).

[model3-415]

Well done. Curious similar question. I will be applying gloss coat for the first time on my new white model 3. I am not a professional by any means but an eager DIYer. Assuming there are no major blemishes, can I just use the following in the following steps: 1) ONR, 2) Paint Prep, 3) Optimum Gloss Coat? If there is any marring, it should be minor but would hand polishing it with hyper polish do the trick? What do you suggest to apply the hyper polish with?

Lastly, other than the windshield, what should gloss coat NOT be applied to on the outside. From reading around, I assume can be applied to any hard exterior surface (lights, chrome, wheels, plastic)?

[Ron@Optimum]

Your methodology is fine.  Hyper Polish can be applied by hand with a microfiber or pad.  You can apply Gloss-Coat to any exterior hard surface, including glass - the admonition against glass is that wipers will remove the Coating, greatly reducing the durability.  It works great on wiperless glass.

[Detail Mutant]

As a minimum I would add claying the painted surfaces (while washing with ONR) to remove any bonded contaminants.  Highly likely that your new 3 series has been sitting outside exposed to the elements at both the factory and dealership for a period of time  which will be subject to industrial fallout.  I would also consider using Ferex (or some other iron remover) prior to ONR wash and clay especially since your car is white.  Last thing you want is little orange spots ( iron contaminants corroding ) showing up under your Gloss Coat application. In theory just clay should remove the iron contaminants but Ferex is much more effective.