Moving forward a few months...got myself some sanding disc and this time using an ROB....


After compounding....roxx, check out the 'finish' from Trizact p3000 sanding disc


End result...




This was a few years back. All in all I've already sanded my waja twice. So far haven't punch through the clear coat yet and the paint is still healthy. Even the front engine bonnet which had seen lots and lots of testing of compounds/polishes is still with its original paintwork. Paint thickness is still above 100 microns throughout the car.

Fast forward today, my waja has develops quite some swirls and marring since I haven't had the chance to give her another round of pampering. But, with the reduction of OP, standing at a distance, even with all the swirls and dirt on it, the paint still look *almost* like new....

That's a very subjective and difficult question to answer.........  

Just put it this way la...if properly maintained, all these coatings can easily go through the 1 year mark. I have the 22ple VX1 Pro on my current ride and it's still beading and sheeting cleanly after 2 1/2 years, but the horizontal panel barely scrape through the 2 yrs mark....though I blame that to the crazy haze and dry spell that we had early this year.

But these coatings aren't 'bullet proof' and they're also prone to water marks and wash marring. Although still beading and sheeting water very well, I can see swirls has developed on my car and soon, I'd need to remove the coating and re-apply. So, even if the coating do last very long, they aren't swirl/damage-proof. I'm of the opinion that people like us don't really need to spend money for something that can last 3 years, or 5 years or 'permanent' coatings. It's just an alternative to normal wax/sealant so as to provide a TEMPORARY protection for the paint. To me, the main advantage of these coatings is you don't need to re-apply them as often as normal wax/sealants. The thickness and hardness of the coatings also provide SOME advantage against normal wax/sealant but the main reason is what I've stated before.

Thanks for still sticking around. Any info shared from somebody who's been long using a particular product from a particular brand is very much appreciated. I for one, am getting old and a little tired of trying out and comparing such and such products so that people can get a more un-biased info instead of getting them straight from the seller/marketeer or brand representatives. Furthermore, recently there's been quite a surge of new products coming out from several manufacturers and, damn they're getting more and more attractive....

Just keep an open mind bro. There's really no such thing as THE best product or THE best technique/method; there's only what's BEST SUITED to each individuals when it comes to personal use. Commercial professionals, and especially those who are committed to a particular brand, has the responsibilities to push their product and utilies the products strong points to the fullest. Most would withhold the products' weaknesses so that others won't take advantage of those weaknesses to gain that certain commercial edge. So, in other word, when it comes to the already established brands, it's not about the brand/product, it's about the person representing them.

Here in the DIY world, we look for both the strong points and the weaknesses and relay/share that info so that others can make a more 'educative' decisions based on their own personal preferences and limitations.

Heheh....still remember some little bit and pieces of them....
(ps: oh....and I edited a little mistake on the last character there....should be "人" instead of "天"...my bad)

Aha....Choose NanoTech CeramicPro 9H. Got it from a seller/marketeer who came by the car wash below my office a while back. RM230/50ml bottle. Try calling him up again to get the sealant but the number is already out of service. It's quite an ok coating....comparable to CQuartz but just a little bit easier to apply but not as easy as DDJ IS. Got it past the 6 months mark before heavy watermarks started to develop (not washing off) and contaminants started to stick onto it. Beading was still there when I tried cleaning the watermarks up with some Megs WB then it just went totally flat. I'd say it's one of those 2yrs ceramic coatings type...quite durable in our weather with 'normal' washing every week...but need to watch out for water spots. I think it would be much better if your friend can also get their Nano Coat (which is the sealant) put on top of the coating....should be able to minimise damages caused by waterspots.

Permanent eh? Well...I've read their fb descriptions....3yrs....5yrs...and lifetime warranty. I'm guessing those warranty comes in maintenance packages whereby you'd need to strictly adhered to. I wonder whether the detailing centre itself would even be running for that long....

Talking about pictures. These are the best i could get out of my camera.

Well, i haven't seen MORE than holograms so i guess that's a consolation.

Yeah, that Maximus guy suggested that compound polish is required (ie. 3 layer polish + 1 layer of wax). Ordinary 2 layers won't cut it anymore because the whole process has been ruined during the polishing procedure. The original detailer offered to fixed it for me but I am afraid of taking my car back to them again. Since they sucked the first time, they most probably sucked the second time and subject my car paint to another abuse by them, is just stupid.

Hmm, how do they measure? Maybe i should ask this Maximus guy to measure it. I know for once they say Honda paints are very soft.

Talking about orange peel. I have several stone chips on my front hood. Very very small. The black pain is already gone revealing a white base but after that disastrous polishing and waxing, one of the chips reveals orange base =(

Is that bad? Do i need to take care of it?

Not to say that i actually bought into the hacking job because of its price. My initial intention was to only have the car waxed and that's it. The last time i have the car waxed was at least 1 and half years ago. I didn't know these bunch of clowns would actually do this to my car. I asked them if they know how to do it and the convincingly answered "Yes! No problem". My bad for trusting idiot so yeah, this is my fault to bear but then again the least that people could be good at is not to LIE.

You are right at me being "somewhat knowledgeable" but not entirely knowledgeable =(