# Slickest Temporary Ceramic Coating Topper?



## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

I recently bought some CarPro CQuartz Lite, I've wanted some for a while to play around with a "lite" coating, but I was surprised by how much more "grabby" it was than other coatings I've used. Being a shorter term coating I'm loath to use something like CarPro Gliss v2 to add slickness to it, even though the Gliss would probably fail before the CQ Lite will, so at the moment I've used Reload as that's all I have but the increase is slickness was a lot smaller than I had hoped for.

Is anyone here aware of a temporary spray on buff off type of topper for a coating, the sort of thing that would probably last for a month or so, that will add a substantial amount of slickness to a silicon coating?


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## aslettd (Nov 29, 2016)

the slickest I've used recently have been beadmaker, meguiars hybrid ceramic spray wax and bouncers done and dusted Si


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

For a proper topper, Siramik SC Mist is the slickest I've felt.

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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

Brian1612 said:


> For a proper topper, Siramik SC Mist is the slickest I've felt.


Hmmm... it's a damn sight cheaper than any product from Polish Angel, which I'd assumed would be the best bet (Cosmic Spritz or High Gloss), so one I'll keep in mind :thumb:

(and I see "Forensics" has it in a shoot out so I'll watch that later)


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## roscopervis (Aug 22, 2006)

Fatboy40 said:


> I recently bought some CarPro CQuartz Lite, I've wanted some for a while to play around with a "lite" coating, but I was surprised by how much more "grabby" it was than other coatings I've used. Being a shorter term coating I'm loath to use something like CarPro Gliss v2 to add slickness to it, even though the Gliss would probably fail before the CQ Lite will, so at the moment I've used Reload as that's all I have but the increase is slickness was a lot smaller than I had hoped for.


Obviously it's marketed as a diet option to their 3.0 option, but I think you are underestimating how substantial it is. It's a decent step up from something like TAC Moonlight or Cancoat in terms of solids and will way exceed CarPro's durability claim of 6 months if applied properly and looked after with some sense. Putting Gliss on it wouldn't be a waste, but it is great as a stand alone or just used with any product that works on coatings. Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Detailer has very good performance on such a base layer, demonstrated on WaxMode's YouTube channel.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

We topped my father in laws CQ lite with Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Detailer and it worked insanely well. Slick, with great beading. It's also decently durable (chemical wise) and comes in a large bottle (I know megs still is expensive over there but it's $/ml should make it competitive). I'll try to get some beading shots of it, but it's crazy good.


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

TAC systems shinee wax
Carpro elixir 
Carbon collective speciale
Gtechniq C2 or QD. 

Keep it simple, keep it in the family of base type of product. And the ease of use and ability to apply it regularly


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## pina07 (Dec 13, 2009)

Hi, I agree with you about the CQuartz not being slick.....the reason for this is they are thicker coatings. I have applied Reload though on a couple of occasions and found it really slick. I was really impressed by how reload went on and behaved.
Regards 
Paul.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Is it just slickness you're after? The challenge when you're topping a coating is finding a compatible topper which adds the characteristics you want without compromising all the others.

For example, TAC Systems Shinee Wax is about as slick a product as I've felt but wouldn't be putting it on a coated car. Will mask your hydrophobicity and self cleaning. Beadmaker the same.


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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

atbalfour said:


> Is it just slickness you're after? The challenge when you're topping a coating is finding a compatible topper which adds the characteristics you want without compromising all the others.
> 
> For example, TAC Systems Shinee Wax is about as slick a product as I've felt but wouldn't be putting it on a coated car. Will mask your hydrophobicity and self cleaning. Beadmaker the same.


100% this, which I why I've asked my peers here to see what they're using in these circumstances.

Reload has behaved quite differently on CQ Lite from how it's been for me on other coatings, and so far it looks like I'll be buying a bottle of Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Detailer (due to comments here and the video's I've watched).

Update: Amazon has it for £16 so I've a bottle turning up tomorrow, same price as Halfords, so let's see how slick it feels compared to Reload on a test panel.


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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

A bit of Google sleuthing brought up a Meguiar's page listing the ingredients of Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, with two specific ones not mentioned, however I've a feeling that they may be the following...

https://imgur.com/6FY8guu.jpg

... based upon the terms used.

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that people have added CarPro HydrO2 to the homebrew detailer of Ech2O and Reload, and that Elixir definitely has a fluorinated silicon in it, so it's this giving the gloss and possibly also the slickness.

I'll play around with the Meguiar's, however I'm tempted now to get some more concentrated HydrO2 and mix a homebrew Ech2O + Reload + go heavy on the HydrO2 to see if a very slick spray topper is possible :speechles


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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

Well, I had a go at the weekend with the Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, on a prepared test panel with the Meguiar's plus Turtle Wax Dry & Shine and CarPro Reload to compare it against (with a stripe of the panel left bare as a control)...


It smells very nice, I like the apple scent.
It has that water based emulsion of silicon look, milky white, and is thinner than Reload.
A little goes a long way, and it was pretty much wipe on wipe off, whereas with Reload I leave it on the panel for a few moment before buffing it (the Meguiar's didn't want to dry / haze as much)
The 750ml bottle cost me £16, so quite good value for money.
... but unfortunately it was no slicker to the touch than Reload (and slightly less so). For me personally, on order of slickness (worst to best), bare panel -> Dry & Shine -> Meguiar's -> Reload. On water behavior though the Meguiar's and Reload were almost identical with Reload having a very tiny edge, and I was definitely impressed by it there for the price.

So, the quest for a very slick temporary ceramic coating topper goes on. I'm starting to think that it's a good chance that Polish Angel will produce something close to what I'm after, but would it be Cosmic Spritz or High Gloss


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2020)

I don't actually understand why people are so obsessed with slickness and how paint feels... You are touching your paint way too much if you are petting it all the time  

Ceramic by its very nature is grippy, because when it cures it is not smooth at the microscopic level, It is this surface structure that causes the low surface tension that gives the extreme hydrophobics that ceramics do so well. There are few toppers that out perform a bare coating, and the most hydrophobic topped such as BSD are grippy for the same reason.

So why cover up the base ceramic just to give the sensation of slickness? Do you gain protection or better water behaviour with any of them over the base coating?


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

DannyRS3 said:


> So why cover up the base ceramic just to give the sensation of slickness? Do you gain protection or better water behaviour with any of them over the base coating?


Ceramic coatings were very prone to water spotting when first released and this is why 'toppers' came into being and were subsequently offered by the coating manufacturers.

To avoid water spotting these 'toppers' need to be slicker and more hydrophobic than the base ceramic coating or else it defeats their purpose.

Alan W


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Fatboy40 said:


> Well, I had a go at the weekend with the Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, on a prepared test panel with the Meguiar's plus Turtle Wax Dry & Shine and CarPro Reload to compare it against (with a stripe of the panel left bare as a control)...
> 
> 
> It smells very nice, I like the apple scent.
> ...


Cosmic Spritz and High Gloss will certainly outbead those you have tried - there are very few LSPs as measurably glossy and also give some of the best self cleaning possible along with Kamikaze Overcoat.

I'd call them slick products, maybe not the absolute slickest compared to something like TAC Shinee Wax or Beadmaker but these products are of a completely different chemical composition.

If slickness is the most important thing to you - each to their own - I'd seriously consider a topcoat of Gliss. I found EXO V4 to be very slick and Gliss is slicker again. The challenge you'll then have is 4 months down the line when you want to 'boost' it, you're back to square 1.


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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

atbalfour said:


> If slickness is the most important thing to you - each to their own - I'd seriously consider a topcoat of Gliss.


The wife's car has Gliss v2 on it, lovely and slick, but on my daily driver I want something not as permanent so that a month or so down the road I can easily remove it and play around with something else 

Polish Angel said that Cosmic Spritz should be the best option for me so roll on pay day...


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Interested to hear if cosmic is slick? 

Titans new ultra has blown me away. As has the coating sample I have. 

I've really understood coatings better and the topper is so important. The base product does the heavy lifting and safety aspect. The toppers etc give the performance and slickness etc everyone wants.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

gally said:


> Interested to hear if cosmic is slick?
> 
> Titans new ultra has blown me away. As has the coating sample I have.
> 
> I've really understood coatings better and the topper is so important. The base product does the heavy lifting and safety aspect. The toppers etc give the performance and slickness etc everyone wants.


It looks superb gally. Awaiting the results of your test (and depleting my own supply) before taking the plunge on some, it's at the Kamikaze Overcoat pricepoint... it'd need to be good lol!

Re. slickness and with this thread in mind I did some YouTube searching earlier and testing has shown High Gloss (which has a very similar composition to Spritz) is as slick as Z8 with much better durability, chemical resistance, darkening effect and water behaviour.


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

You know, I wasn't even sure how much it cost. I've been testing it for months but it's blown me away for a topper. Their products are solid! 

When the consumer coating comes out, they are going to upset some serious players. 

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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

gally said:


> You know, I wasn't even sure how much it cost. I've been testing it for months but it's blown me away for a topper. Their products are solid!
> 
> When the consumer coating comes out, they are going to upset some serious players.
> 
> Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk


If I recall you are testing it vs. C2V3 which is a very underwhelming product and it will likely beat comfortably. I am very interested to put it up against something more capable like Overcoat. I was speaking to Titan a while ago and they themselves mentioned it's a 'water based quartz top coat sealant, most compare it to Overcoat'. They recommend 2 layers, chemical resistance is 2-11 and a detergent took 10-15 attempts to degrade it after a 24 hour cure.

I don't think science allows a slick product to bead more than Kamikaze have done with Overcoat but it's the anti-static properties I'm most interested in. They definitely sound like they know their stuff and Ultra seems to have a growing following.


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

https://nvcarcare.com.au/collections/nova-series/products/nv-nova-jet-hydrophobic-spray-coating

Seen a lot of good stuff from this brand down under. The Nova Jet is supposed to be extremely good. Might be worth trying to get it shipped to the UK?

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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Brian1612 said:


> https://nvcarcare.com.au/collections/nova-series/products/nv-nova-jet-hydrophobic-spray-coating
> 
> Seen a lot of good stuff from this brand down under. The Nova Jet is supposed to be extremely good. Might be worth trying to get it shipped to the UK?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk


Funny was watching some stuff on their coating earlier! Whipped Kamikaze Miyabi in Car Crafts review.


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## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Fatboy40 said:


> Well, I had a go at the weekend with the Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, on a prepared test panel with the Meguiar's plus Turtle Wax Dry & Shine and CarPro Reload to compare it against (with a stripe of the panel left bare as a control)...
> 
> 
> It smells very nice, I like the apple scent.
> ...


Did you give it a few hours before evaluating slickness? The one thing you're not stating about HCD is that it's also a Detailer, so it doesn't need the most perfect paint to do its thing, and I've shown that it can bind and perform to damn near any surface condition (polymers left from ONR didn't affect it).


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## Fatboy40 (Apr 15, 2013)

Sheep said:


> Did you give it a few hours before evaluating slickness?..


I was popping in and out of the garage most of the day so touched it as I walked past it, nothing changed unfortunately. I'll keep the Meguiar's as it will do very nicely once my Reload runs out, but I've a virtual IOU now for Polish Angel


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