Washed the 4Runner / 13 Months of Ceramic Coating Check-In

[MM54]

So back in... (checks kinja backups)... 20 October of last year, I completed applying 'Crystal Serum Light' to my 4Runner as mostly an experiment to see how it held up on a car that actually got used, which is hard to find instances of online. Since then, it has been:

• Daily driven through the winter, parked indoors
• Run through the touch-free car wash 8-10 times between October and April
• Sat in the driveway from mid-May until now, occasionally making an outing to a camp, the airport, etc.

Yesterday after work I gave it the first proper wash it's had since April or so, taking advantage of having an open spot indoors while the Fiata is getting its hair did. It cleaned up pretty well.

So how is the CSL holding up?
I'd say decently. While the hood and roof are starting to look like what, on a "normal" finish, I'd say is getting close to needing a wax, the vertical panels still bead water fairly well, and the whole thing washed much easier than an uncoated car that sat outside for that long would have. I've been told that the coating may be "contaminated" on the hood, but I'm not about to buy a special new product to clean it then let it sit outside all winter. We'll see how it is in the spring.

Would I do it again? Maybe. I'm in no rush to coat the 124 since, frankly, it's small enough that a wash and wax doesn't take all that long or require too much effort. Having the coating gives me the sense of not wanting to damage the coating, whether it be via clay on a tough spot, polishing a scuff, etc. - with a car that's sealed/waxed, just fix the spot and re-apply the sealant and/or wax. That said, I do have some CSL left over from a year ago, and if it's still liquidy in the bottle, I'll probably put it on the 124's winter wheels for S&G.

[A Former User]

Did you just apply CSL or did you apply Exo v4 on top of it?

As to the "contamination," a coated car will still act like a normal paint job, just with a much hardier sacrificial layer. So most likely it just needs to come chemical decomomaniation. You don't have to stick to Gtechniq stuff, but I happen to also use Gtechniq for iron and fallout remover. Their specific product is W6. I'd say your 4runner would use a 500ml bottle.

[Chariotoflove]

I have a big car that I get to hand wax maybe once a year. Do I want to use this?

[MM54]

@his_stigness said in Washed the 4Runner / 13 Months of Ceramic Coating Check-In:

Did you just apply CSL or did you apply Exo v4 on top of it?

As to the "contamination," a coated car will still act like a normal paint job, just with a much hardier sacrificial layer. So most likely it just needs to come chemical decomomaniation. You don't have to stick to Gtechniq stuff, but I happen to also use Gtechniq for iron and fallout remover. Their specific product is W6. I'd say your 4runner would use a 500ml bottle.

I did apply the EXOv4 on top per the instructions (two coats if I recall correctly).

@chariotoflove said in Washed the 4Runner / 13 Months of Ceramic Coating Check-In:

I have a big car that I get to hand wax maybe once a year. Do I want to use this?

That's up to you - this isn't just a "wax on" sort of product - the paint needs to be completely clean both mechanically and chemically to apply it so it's a ton of labor. I believe start to finish I had about 18 hours in doing the 4Runner, wash -> compound -> degrease -> CSL -> EXO, then a 12 hour cure time.

[Chariotoflove]

@mm54 So, that would be a “no”. Thanks though!

[FTTOHG]

I need something like this on my Raptor. Probably would pay a shop to do it though... I don't have the patience for cleaning vehicles that I did when I was younger.

[svend]

@mm54
Any contamination can build up and bond over time and not necessarily cause a failure of the product but hinder the abilities of the product under the contamination.
EDITED after re-read it has been washed quite regularly.
That said, the life of EXOv4 is 18 to 24 months.

[svend]

@fttohg you still need to wash the vehicle to stop build up of contamination which would hinder the workings of the coating. The CSL is there to protect the paint and clearcote, the EXOv4 is there it's sheeting ability, slow dirt contaminant build up and aid cleaning.

[MM54]

@svend said in Washed the 4Runner / 13 Months of Ceramic Coating Check-In:

@mm54 are you doing regular washes and topping up the protection with Gtechniq C2v3/CarPro Reload/Gyeon Cure, etc... with each wash or couple or so washes?
...

Nope. This is/was to test how it holds up on a car that is used like a normal car - if I were going to do a special wash every month, I'd just wax it thereafter

Edit-post-svend-edit: Washed regularly over the winter by whatever the touch-free automatic place uses and the occasional rinseless wash, then sat in the driveway ignored most of the summer. Based on original-application-to-now, by spring I'm expecting it to essentially no longer be coated on horizontal surfaces (which would be 18 months, so not unreasonable).

[svend]

@mm54 I edited my last reply after re-reading the post again.

[svend]

@mm54 doesn't need to be a special wash, just a regular wash in Gtechniq Gwash shampoo, it contains no fillers or gloss enhancers and removes the dirt leaving the coatings to do it's thing. You can top up the protection by using C2v3/Reload/Cure, etc... as drying aid.
An easy way to top up protection (if you have a snow foam lance) is to foam the car in CarPro Hydro2Foam. It's a snow foam applied sealant that on lightly soiled cars car be used as a shampoo and sealant in one but otherwise simply wash, while still wet, foam CarPro Hydro2Foam onto the car, let dwell for a minute and thoroughly rinse off and then dry.