# Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light - underwhelmed!!



## Peter_222 (Jun 24, 2015)

After reading so much about Gtechniq ceramic coating I finally got to examine a car 2 weeks after it was coated with crystal serum light and exo. This was applied by a professional accredited detailer. 

To say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. I washed the car using ph neutral snow foam, 2 bucket method with bilt hamber auto wash and meguiars microfibre wash mitt. Washed in dull mild day and dried with leaf blower. 

The beading wasn’t any better than I’ve experienced with waxes or sealants and the gloss wasn’t that special either. The main gripe was how bug splatter has impacted onto the coating and needed a strong apc to remove which has then caused slight marring!!! I can’t comment on their longevity but if this was my car I’d be looking to polish out the bug marring and reapply a coating which obviously you wouldn’t want to do with a ceramic. 

Does anyone have any thoughts?? 


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## Neilvx (Mar 11, 2014)

I have the same coating on my bmw 1 series and got to watch it being applied. It did richen the colour and you could see a difference on the bonnet etc. As for beading it’s good but nothing I haven’t seen with Sonex BSD or a good wax. 

As for washing all the bug splat I had the last wash jetted right off, had to get the jet wash close but it did the job without having to scrub it off by hand.


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## Peter_222 (Jun 24, 2015)

I had presumed with the coating the bug splatter would just hose off or come off rather easily... maybe the fella had left them on to harden too long... thanks for your input 

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## garycha (Mar 29, 2012)

I have same. Soaking with citrus prewash or bug remover and leaving wet for min 10 mins does trick if they are baked on. Cover front of car with wetted off bed sheet if its sunny.

Or just wash after a rainy night when nature does the softening for you.


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## liamsxa (Nov 3, 2007)

It's because of they videos online ceramics should hold that just waxed look for 2 odd years and the beading should last aswell with reapplication every few months


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## Peter_222 (Jun 24, 2015)

I think I was just expecting too much. I think they're the same as everything. If the car isn't looked after well following the application it's not going to compete with a well looked after waxed car.

I was extremely tempted to buy that combo of ceramics but when I saw my friends I'm happy I didn't. I enjoy giving my car a thorough going over regularly and like trying new things especially with my multiple polishing machines 

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## jonjay (Feb 28, 2008)

I applied it to my friends Audi S4 and it is still going strong 9 months later. 

It depends how well it was applied by the detailer. Did he machine polish the car? Did he do a proper wipe down with IPA...so many different factors to take into account.


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## garycha (Mar 29, 2012)

Peter_222 said:


> I think I was just expecting too much. I think they're the same as everything. If the car isn't looked after well following the application it's not going to compete with a well looked after waxed car.
> 
> I was extremely tempted to buy that combo of ceramics but when I saw my friends I'm happy I didn't. *I enjoy giving my car a thorough going over regularly and like trying new things espe*cially with my multiple polishing machines
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This last para shows that ceramics probably aren't for you. Light DA very 15-18 months is all I do. So not too much going over and tinkering as you describe. But, plenty of different tinkering for pre wash stages and reactivation of coatings etc.

It's important to understand that the ceramics seem to continue to cure over first few weeks, and beyond the 12hours 'safe to use' manufacturer period.

They need careful treatment for those first few weeks IME. 
Once fully cured, the CS Exo combo is imho requiring far less maintenance than any waxed car I ever ran. (Quite a few btw).

The maintenance also requires a different approach. I am guilty of opposite, but you really do not want to be putting anything on top of Exo fir some months - and that includes shampoo with glosses, added sio2, QDs etc. After a few months, I am messing around with ONR, BSD, Cure Q2 and C2v3. That's the tinkering equivalent that waxers enjoy. But you shouldn't need to...

Confine you tinkering to more detail touch-less and low impact Pre wash stages, e.g. snow foam with APC under, to soften flys, dirt, loosen brake dust etc. That really means maximising dwell times and pre wash before you lay a finger on car.

Then, suddenly you realise that your 2BM is faster, your DI Sheeting easier, pat towel drying with less to absorb.

Post wash beading not the arbiter for me. That's a rain thang. It's the Sheeting dry that counts.

This is where you may introduce C2 misted as drying aid, or a little QD on rogue spots.

Car should look pretty much as it did when headed over by detailer after washes.
Did you see this car when first done?

Find a bug loosener APC that works for your regime, bearing in mind that baked bug is a tough substance, so therefore allow them to fully absorb that APC. 
Gtechniq W5 bug remover is popular with some. I use VP Citrus PW 10:1 on front end, then BH AF on top and leave for 10 mins, while I do other stuff. Pressure washer then removes week sun baked bugs quite easily. 
A very little QD (BSD) did any residues post wash.

As for gloss etc, compared to what else you are used to, with ceramics, it's glass and therefore a complete clear view of underlying clearcoat, warts and all. That's why prep is everything, and the car you refer to after 2 weeks, should look like it did on prep day.

....unless it was cleaned with old rags n jif, which I doubt.

Long answer to shorty question, but it's about expectations and a shift in maintenance approach.

Don't DA out the bugs from new ceramic. Next time you wash, maybe consider some of above pointers.


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## wish wash (Aug 25, 2011)

People seem to think coatings are some sort of bullet proof armour for you car that requires little maintenance. It requires a stricter and more thorough maintenance compared to a wax. Half the time people don't get the results because they are not applying it correctly or using overly aggressive cleaning methods which degrade the hydrophobic and hydrophilic abilities of it.


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## garycha (Mar 29, 2012)

wish wash said:


> People seem to think coatings are some sort of bullet proof armour for you car that requires little maintenance. It requires a stricter and more thorough maintenance compared to a wax. Half the time people don't get the results because they are not applying it correctly or using overly aggressive cleaning methods which degrade the hydrophobic and hydrophilic abilities of it.


Succinctly said. :thumb:


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

I applied CSL and EXO V2 to one side of my car August 2016. It was applied outside with no cover and left outside over night. 

It's still performing better than any other product I've used before, beading is still excellent and is so easy to wash off compared to those panels with conventional waxes and sealants. 

When family time allows I'll be applying it to the majority of panels on the wife's car.


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## Guest (Jun 13, 2018)

wish wash said:


> It requires a stricter and more thorough maintenance compared to a wax.


I don't get this at all and it doesn't chime with my experience.

I've tried all sorts of the latest hotshot waxes for years all the way up to having a car professionally corrected and then finished with Zymol Royale.

No wax has ever lasted well for me on a a car that's actually used in the UK. Looks nice and shiny - quite possibly better for a while than ceramics - doesn't last. It all may as well be snakeoil in my experience.

I could not go back from ceramic coatings now (Gtechniq works for me - others may be as good of better - don't know/not bothered).

My maintenance is very slack on the daily drivers (sometimes months go by). I prefer to leave alone if I don't have time to do it properly. The only thing which seems to need care is anything like bird poo and possibly leaving bugs too long. But I don't think that's particularly different for ceramic coatings compared to wax.


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## dannyd21 (Sep 2, 2008)

stuartb said:


> I don't get this at all and it doesn't chime with my experience.
> 
> I've tried all sorts of the latest hotshot waxes for years all the way up to having a car professionally corrected and then finished with Zymol Royale.
> 
> ...


But why are people using citrus washes with ceramic coatings? Surely the point of the ceramic coating is you don't require so many stages of cleaning, ph neutral snowfoam, 2bm(if absolutely filthy) and dry?

I think stricter in the sense of less aggressive cleaners are needed ?


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## Peter_222 (Jun 24, 2015)

I’ve a question about ceramic maintenance. 

What happens when you need to de tar, clay and remove fallout from a coated car?? Surely doing this twice a year will diminish the coating??


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## fatdazza (Dec 29, 2010)

Peter_222 said:


> I've a question about ceramic maintenance.
> 
> What happens when you need to de tar, clay and remove fallout from a coated car?? Surely doing this twice a year will diminish the coating??
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Broadly speaking ceramic type coatings are inorganic and thus resistant to solvents designed to remove organic (e.g. tar) materials.

Also the reaction for iron fallout removers is mildly acidic, and ceramics are resistant to acids (more so than strong alkali cleaners).

Clay being abrasive will diminish the coating.


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## Triggauk (Feb 1, 2017)

I think Crystal Serum Lite is one of, if not the best consumer grade Coatings on the market in terms of application, curing times, finish and durability it ticks all the boxes. I’ve coated quite a few cars that I get to detail sometime after (the longest being an Aston Martin after 2 years) and the water repellency and silky smooth feel are still very apparent. Second to this is Kamikaze ISM but I find that needs 2 layers minimum and is twice the price of CS Lite.


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## winceyette (Feb 19, 2017)

Just had our TT detailed with Gtechniq Chrystal serum light. Would using something like Autoglyms tar and glue remover and bug remover be safe to use without it affecting the sealant? TIA


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## bigkahunaburger (Jun 27, 2012)

winceyette said:


> Just had our TT detailed with Gtechniq Chrystal serum light. Would using something like Autoglyms tar and glue remover and bug remover be safe to use without it affecting the sealant? TIA


You would be better off buying their versions (W7 for Tar and Glue) as they are guaranteed to be safe with their coatings. They do a bug remover too I believe.


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## steeve (Feb 28, 2011)

I did my wife's Mini just over two years ago with Nanolex Si3D and other than occasionally washing it with reactivating shampoo and other times using a PH neutral shampoo never reapplied it. But it's still gleams when cleaned, bugs etc come off very easily as does tar spots.

I did my Focus RS with GT CSL and now my Golf and really rate it. I think a lot is down to ensuring the paint is clean and uncontaminated with wax etc.


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