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Paste wax over existing ceramic

clg82

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clg82

clg82

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Hey everyone, bought a 2020 ZL1 shadow gray metallic about 7 months ago. Previous owner had it ceramic coated drove it for 300 miles and traded it in. I’ve always used adams americana paste wax on all my weekend cruisers, and want to use it on this ZL1 as well. Is it bad to put a topper on the zl1 that is already ceramic coated with Americana paste wax? Previous cars I’ve used it on the paint really popped after the application but none of those were ceramic coated. Thoughts?

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clg82

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2 minutes ago, Chris@Adams said:

If you don’t care about the hydrophobic qualities of the Ceramic coating you can use the Americana. I personally wouldn’t, two different families one SI02 and the other carnauba.

 

So what would you suggest from the Adams line that I use to make the paint pop since it's already ceramic coated?

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clg82

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7 minutes ago, Chris@Adams said:

Have you tried CS3 or Graphene Detail Spray? You can use the as a quick Detailer or as a drying aid. They will both add pop & help maintain your coating.

I have used CS3, was just looking at something that i could use to add even more shine. So would it be safe to say using H2O Guard and Gloss on a ceramic coated vehicle is a no-no as well? Or even Brilliant Glaze is a no-no as well?

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Rich

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Graphene DS is what I use.  You want to use LIKE products. Think of it as Ceramics are black and Carnubas are white. When you mix the two together, you get gray.  You don't want gray.  Personally, I'd start with a good clay and polish (that's what brings out the best shine) before applying the Graphene Spray.   But if you like to wax, get the Ceramic Paste Wax and top with the Graphene Detail Spray. I think you'll be impressed.

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clg82

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22 minutes ago, Rich said:

Graphene DS is what I use.  You want to use LIKE products. Think of it as Ceramics are black and Carnubas are white. When you mix the two together, you get gray.  You don't want gray.  Personally, I'd start with a good clay and polish (that's what brings out the best shine) before applying the Graphene Spray.   But if you like to wax, get the Ceramic Paste Wax and top with the Graphene Detail Spray. I think you'll be impressed.

Wouldn't that remove the already existing ceramic coating? Sorry for my ignorance here, i am new to ceramic coatings and what works with them and what doesn't. And would you consider Brilliant Glaze and H2O GG, in the "don't top ceramic category"?

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WhiteShadow89

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7 minutes ago, clg82 said:

Wouldn't that remove the already existing ceramic coating? Sorry for my ignorance here, i am new to ceramic coatings and what works with them and what doesn't.

 

No, you should be fine on this.  All but one of my cars is ceramic coated and I top them with a little something something.  You just want to make sure that you are using products intended/safe for ceramic coating use.  I will second what some other people are saying, Graphene detail spray is a good choice.  

Since you are new to this, you may want to ensure that your shampoo and other cleaning products are ceramic safe.

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clg82

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2 minutes ago, WhiteShadow89 said:

 

No, you should be fine on this.  All but one of my cars is ceramic coated and I top them with a little something something.  You just want to make sure that you are using products intended/safe for ceramic coating use.  I will second what some other people are saying, Graphene detail spray is a good choice.  

Since you are new to this, you may want to ensure that your shampoo and other cleaning products are ceramic safe.

Everything I use is Adams, I use Adams shampoo with a foam gun, and Detail spray as a drying aid....am i hindering the shine of the ceramic with those two products?

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Chris@Adams

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1 hour ago, clg82 said:

I have used CS3, was just looking at something that i could use to add even more shine. So would it be safe to say using H2O Guard and Gloss on a ceramic coated vehicle is a no-no as well? Or even Brilliant Glaze is a no-no as well?

Yes, the new hybrid would work great.

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clg82

clg82

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17 minutes ago, clg82 said:

So a good clay with some old school Adams polish with my rotary polisher should bring some pop back and then a topper of graphene detail spray? Does that sound about correct?

 

5 minutes ago, Chris@Adams said:

Yes you can use H2O as long as it’s the new hybrid product.

 

Ahh ok got it, so thoughts on my above post i quoted?

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WhiteShadow89

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3 hours ago, clg82 said:

Everything I use is Adams, I use Adams shampoo with a foam gun, and Detail spray as a drying aid....am i hindering the shine of the ceramic with those two products?

 

You shouldn't be, no.  Their regular shampoo is safe for a ceramic vehicle.   The regular detail spray I would probably swap out for the Graphene DS.

 

3 hours ago, clg82 said:

So a good clay with some old school Adams polish with my rotary polisher should bring some pop back and then a topper of graphene detail spray? Does that sound about correct?

I am not a fan of claying and polishing a ceramic.  The reason why is that you are introducing the chance to mar the surface.  Marring will require correction to fix, which isn't ideal for a ceramic.  If it were me I would do a ceramic decon wash.  I would take adams shampoo (regular ph neutral) and adams iron spray.  The iron spray will dissolve the contaminants that are in the microscopic cracks of your body work.  
 

EDIT:  Process for a ceramic decon - should be done 1-2 times a year pending where you live clime wise.  
1.  Adam's Mega foam - Pre wash to break down grime prior to touching the car with shampoo and mitts.  It also acts as a lubricant to reduce marring on body work.  
2. Adam's Shampoo- Ideally with the foam still there to act as lubrication begin to clean the car with your mitts.

3. Rinse
4. Adam's Iron Srpay- Spray the car, let dwell but not dry at any capacity, to eat away at contaminants.  Unless you have heavy over cast, canaopy or a garage you should work in sections to ensure it doesn't dry.

5. Rinse very thoroughly.  Stuff can require you to go around the car 2 to 3 times.  

6. Graphene DS and dry

Edited by WhiteShadow89
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clg82

clg82

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Looks like i opened a can of ceramic worms haha i was just looking at add some shine to the already ceramic coated car, now i'm having to do a 10 step process to keep it fresh lol, may just have it removed and go back to the age old wash and waxing...

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WhiteShadow89

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1 hour ago, clg82 said:

Looks like i opened a can of ceramic worms haha i was just looking at add some shine to the already ceramic coated car, now i'm having to do a 10 step process to keep it fresh lol, may just have it removed and go back to the age old wash and waxing...

Chirs, my apologies for any confusion.  My lengthy post was addressing your comment to have your ceramic coated car clayed and polished.  That would be inadvisable imo.  I was giving an alternative to claying/polishing a ceramic coated vehicle if you felt the need to do something like that, not ontop of.  Removing a ceramic that is good still could be opening up a can of warms lol.  My best advice is to enjoy the many benefits of owning a ceramic coated vehicle, once you live with one it is hard to go back.  I would add in graphene DS, but that is it.  

 

To be clear the 6 steps I provided are recommended (IMO) as part of regular car care, whether ceramic coated or not.  The only changes for a non ceramic coated car would be adding in claying and polishing to everything else. 1-2 times a year.  Obviously not all avg joe's do this, but they really should.  

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ResJudicata

ResJudicata

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On 9/30/2021 at 2:40 PM, clg82 said:

Looks like i opened a can of ceramic worms haha i was just looking at add some shine to the already ceramic coated car, now i'm having to do a 10 step process to keep it fresh lol, may just have it removed and go back to the age old wash and waxing...


I’ve been trying the same as you to find something. Nothing gives the pop on the ceramic coating that I’ve seen yet. 
Brilliant Glaze does give a pop, but it’s supposed to remove and wear down the coating with its solvents. 

 

I’ve always used the graphene tire shine; but now I’ve tried the graphene shampoo, graphene cs3 and I plan to pickup some graphene detail spray. 


there is ceramic products, but I haven’t tried them. While I haven’t compared them, I’d probably recommend trying the Graphene detail spray. The cs3 is kinda streaky compared to regular cs3. 
 

I’ll let you know when I try the graphene detail spray to compare to the regular pink spray. 

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