After customs held onto my package for a week, I finally went to the post office to get the Aquartz, Aquartz+, Iron Cut, and Clean Air sample from Avi. First, I would like to say that I am extremely impressed by the shipping time since it took 3 days to go from ordering it to it arriving in Los Angeles. Second, I am very happy about how much information about all the products was included (MSDS, product info, etc). I have been reading about the various application techniques and I think I will avoid the rotary for now but will be testing the application by hand and via my PC. I will be doing a writeup as well as I am going to IPA my car tonight and apply tomorrow! Sorry if this thread seems pointless, it has been a while since I have been this excited to try a car care product.
It ended up being 23 euros plus shipping which, to be honest, is actually very reasonable assuming it lives up to its claims. I am mainly interested in the increased scratch/marring resistance and avoiding water marks and etching. Since this stuff is hydrophilic (does not bead), I will be treating it like paint and will be applying my regular waxes and quick detailers to the car. If Avi is on here; is Aquartz able to be layered? Should I just do one coat or two?
This product dries and cures, with heat and friction. I have also been told that static electricity also plays its hand in this also. Continue wiping for a few minutes, until you are happy the product has cured. This is when you can speed up the application process, by using a hot air gun if desired. I will aid the user to full cure the lower layer prior to the second application on Aquartz, as recommended by the manufacturer. The user can also leave the car in sunshine or a warm place to aid curing. Once the first layer has cured then apply Aquartz+(I recommended you apply a second coat, then Aquartz+) . Leave 1 hour before applying a second layer of Aquartz if warmth or heat gun is not used. I layer, 2nd layer-Aaquartz+
is the kit only cost you euro 23 including shipping??? :shead: I thought both Aquartz 80ml and A+ 50ml cost euro 35 exclude shipping ...
I am copy and pasting this in from DW because I want to keep you guys in the loop as far as what my results with Aquartz are so far. I am not talking negatively of the product as I am a beginner to this type of coating and am sure it is my fault thus far. I sectioned off an area of my hood to work one with Aquartz with my PC and a 4" blue LC CCS pad. After 3 IPA wipedowns, I used two spritzs of Aquartz and started working it in for roughly 2 minutes on speed 4. I then stopped after it went somewhat clear and used a hairdryer on the section for another 2-3 minutes and went to buff it off... Well, I will try it again later by hand but the finish was not exactly what I thought it would be. The pictures below will show what I started with and what the results were: Before: Here are the afters. Notice that the Aquartz side is hazy and significantly darker than the untouched paint. There was no residue perse but it had a distinctive line and hazy look to it that I am not sure what I did to cause it with DA application: On the left: On the right: On the left: Notice the right is significantly darkened: I applied Aquartz by hand with the same technique used to get great results for the LS430 on this car's (Saab) front bumper and it worked like a charm with no haze, a beautiful slick shine, and no issues whatsoever on the solid black which is why I will give the hood another go with my hand application. The coating seemed to come off with a few passes of IPA as I didn't want it to set like that if I could get some insight as to why it happened so I can give it another shot. Any ideas as to what I did wrong? (only one layer, no Aquartz+ this time)
you did nothing wrong you're not the only one who has got the hazy finish after application Final Aquartz review + Lotus Exige Scura - Detailing World
You are right about that, I have been talking to Jesse but I am still not going to give up until I can absolutely say I cannot try anything else. I was a bit disappointed but thankfully UPS showed up with my Walbro 255 fuel pump for my car which will let me unleash all the potential of my setup safely! My experience today was a bit of a mixed bag of results on my car. This is using the 'Hand' method on my front fender after one layer. It worked like a charm, so I am going to go panel by panel until the whole car is done as it worked with no streaking except for a few areas that needed a 1/4 spritz on the MF to make it look even (dark patches) but after a couple minutes of working it in with a microfiber, I used the hairdryer for another few and then buffed it with a plush MF and it came out fantastic. Before: After: the panel was slightly darkened yet again, but it literally looked like an additional layer of clearcoat was on the paint which I really liked. I hope all the pictures show that there was a super sharp, smear free finish after one layer. My second layer, however, was not quite as successful. When I was done, there were patches that were slightly hazy which would have been fine since I was able to reapply Aquartz and they would go away. This time, they didn't so I am not sure what happened as I was thrilled with my one previous layer. This stuff seems to have a good learning curve involved, I really don't want to give up on it as I think the product in principle is everything I need in a paint protection system but I guess I will look at all the application videos again and go from there.
I ordered mine directly through Avi and my package was mailed directly from South Korea. Shipping was shockingly quick as well as the great customer service they offer.
I think I have found the issue regarding any haze or smears that are being left over on the paint. I have been experimenting with applying Aquartz today on the lower panels and bumpers on my car and have found that working in an area smaller than 30"x30" yields the best results as you only need one spritz of Aquartz per section and if you immediately start working the product in, has no problems with streaking and leaves a beautiful, sharp finish. I will keep test to reconfirm but it has also left a great looking satin dressed look on all the plastic exterior trim I have Aquartz to dress.
I thought about all the suggestions I have recieved from people regarding Aquartz and went back to my car to try it again. The problem I have been having has most likely due to the fact that I was working on too large of an area as I started applying Aquartz to sections smaller than 30x30 and it worked 100% as I knew it should have. I would use one spray for that area and immediately start buffing for a couple minutes which left no dark patches, streaking, or unwieldy residue. I have yet to try a second layer but I effectively applied one spray of Aquartz to an area, immediately buffed in the product, used a hair dryer for a couple minutes, and then left it so sit for a little while until a final buff which revealed a super slick, smear free black paint finish. Here are the results just by flash and LED, in person there is no haze or smears visible: So thanks to all who have helped, I will continue my way around the lower panels of the car before I move up to the upper panels but I am now comfortable in saying that I have found a technique that works well on my paint. I have also applied it to a number of plastic exterior trim pieces and I love the look Aquartz gives as it looks like you dressed the plastic with a satin sheen which I personally like.
So, I have to be completely honest in saying that I never got on with Aquartz 100% and have not applied it to any more of my car than the lower panels because they will see the most abuse. However, I have been using Aquartz to permanently dress and restore all the trim on my parent's cars as well as my own and think that it is simply awesome for that function. I figured I would post this before and after just to show the perfect factory fresh finish it leaves behind on plastic trim: Before: a bit shiny in the picture, but the trim was faded slightly and let down my fresh blitz of po85rd on the sparkling paint. After: one coat, worked into the button for about 30 seconds and buffed with a clean MF. Perfect factory finish. Like I said, I cannot say I am 100% happy with Aquartz on my paint but it is simply awesome on trim.
