Getting ready to detail and fix all the winter damage to the car. First time I'll be applying CQuartz on my car. Kids and family doesn't allow me to do all this from start to finish so I'm doing this in stages. I'd like to put down two coats of CQuartz but I know I'll only be able to do one at a time on different days. I'll obviously have to use the car between coats. How should I prep the car for the second coat without ruining the first? Another IPA wipe down? Another wash with dawn or my usual car soap?
If I HAD to do it this way I would, depending on how dirty it gets, do a standard wash, preferably a waterless/rinseless wash. Fully dry the car and then get to coating!
It's so easy to do, you should be able to do 2 coats at once. You put the first coat on, wait 1 hour (I think), put the second coat on, wait an hour (again I think) and buff. That's not the exact steps as i am missing a couple, but it goes really fast. Application shouldn't take more than 30-40 minutes per coat, depending on how many sections of the car you do at a time.
Work in small sections until you get the flash time correct. Depending on using Cquartz or Cquartz UK they have different flash times. I believe that Cquartz is now almost wipe on wipe off, you want to apply and let flash for a minute. By flash I mean start to evaporate and turn rainbowy (think oil slick in a puddle). Cquartz UK is a little different, it flashes within a few minutes depending on weather conditions. You want a touch of resistance when you wipe it off but you don't want to have to put a ton of pressure or it means it flashed to long. I suggest getting suede microfiber for the initial wipe down (you will throw these away when done) and then a plush microfiber to go back over the initial wipe down. This helps minimize high spots which, if you get high spots you can dab a little polish on them until they come off.
