BYD Sealion Ceramic Coating With OPTiX FMJ Graphene

Barry brought his new BYD Sealion in for OPTiX FMJ Graphene ceramic coating.

This is the sort of job where people often only see the final photo and think the coating was simply wiped on.

That is not how we do it.

The coating is only one part of the job.

The preparation is where most of the time goes.

The process started with the wheels. Before touching the body, the wheels were cleaned using both OPTiX iron remover and APC to break down brake dust, grime and contamination.

Then the body was snow foamed, allowed to soak, and rinsed down.

After that, another layer of snow foam was applied before the hand wash started. The hand wash was done using the two-bucket method, an OPTiX Bluey microfibre wash mitt, and OPTiX Wash & Gloss shampoo.

That part matters because a new car can still pick up plenty of contamination before it even reaches the owner. Transport, storage, rain, dust, fallout and dealership handling all leave their mark.

After washing and rinsing, iron remover was sprayed onto the paint to help loosen iron particles and contamination stuck to the surface.

Only after that did the clay bar come out.

That is the order for a reason.

Iron remover loosens a lot of what the clay would otherwise have to drag across the paint. The less you need to force the clay, the better.

After claying, the car was rinsed again.

Then came the drying stage.

Blow drying and towel drying properly takes time, especially when you are chasing every drop of water.

People underestimate this part.

You do not want water hiding in mirrors, trims, badges, handles, lights or panel gaps when you are preparing for ceramic coating.

There are a few reasons.

First, masking tape does not stick properly to anything with moisture on it. If the tape does not stick, we cannot properly protect plastics, rubbers and trims from the machine polisher.

Second, when applying coating, even one drop of water on the applicator cloth can cause problems. It can make the coating spread too far or behave differently, increasing the risk of high spots, streaks or uneven application.

In winter, this matters even more.

Moisture can sit in gaps and crevices for more than a day if the car is not thoroughly blow dried. By the time you go to coat the car, water can still be hiding where you do not want it.

Once the BYD was dry, the masking started.

Anything we did not want the polishing pad to touch was masked properly. That protects the plastics and rubbers and lets us polish the paint safely.

The car then received a quick single-stage machine polish using a finishing compound.

This is not a heavy correction stage. We are not starting with a coarse or medium cutting compound because that would then need more stages to finish properly before coating.

This is a finishing enhancement.

The finishing polish increases gloss, improves clarity and removes old waxes, sealants or residues from the surface.

Even on a brand new car, polishing can make a very clear difference.

Especially on vehicles where the factory finish is not at its full potential. Some new cars come in at maybe 70 percent of what the paint could actually look like. A finishing polish can bring up that clarity and shine before protection goes on.

It also prepares the surface better for coating.

This is something we also see with PPF. Freshly polished paint gives film a stronger, cleaner surface to stick to. The difference in adhesion can be very noticeable. Coatings are similar in principle. A properly refined and cleaned surface gives the coating a much better foundation.

After polishing, the residue needs to be wiped off.

That is more work than most people realise.

Anyone who has waxed a car knows wiping product off takes effort. With polishing, you may wipe the same car multiple times. The amount of wiping involved can feel like waxing the car three times over.

Then comes cleanup after polishing.

Fine dust can sit on the glass, trims and in crevices. The masking tape is removed, the car is wiped down again, and then the entire exterior is wiped with isopropyl alcohol.

This helps remove oils, lubrication residues and any chemical left behind from the finishing compound.

Polishes and compounds need lubrication to work properly, but that residue must be removed before coating. The surface needs to be completely clean.

Only then do we start coating.

Before applying the first layer, we check the conditions.

Temperature matters. Humidity matters. Timing matters. Even what is happening in the shop matters.

You do not want to start coating and then get interrupted halfway through by a meeting, phone call or customer arrival. Once coating starts, you need to stay focused.

For the application itself, we use a three-towel system.

Towel one is the first wipe.

Towel two is the second wipe.

Towel three is for final checking and neighbouring panels.

Each towel is folded to expose one clean section at a time. Each towel has multiple usable sides, and the idea is to control where fresh, clean towel surfaces are used during the wipe-off process.

After coating a panel, towel one is used to work the coating and begin levelling it.

If the coating is coming off too easily, we may keep working it longer because we do not want all the coating staying trapped in the towel. We want it worked evenly across the surface.

On a hot day, the opposite can happen. The coating may flash quickly and need to be removed faster.

Technique changes depending on ambient temperature and coating behaviour.

Once the first wipe has done its job and the coating starts to go off, towel two is used to remove the remaining oily smear.

Then towel three comes in for final checking, especially around neighbouring panels.

This part is important.

You cannot coat the edge of one panel perfectly without risking a little transfer onto the next panel, a trim edge, glass or a neighbouring section. Even if you do not think you touched it, you still check and wipe it.

Because sometimes you cannot see the high spot until it is too late.

That process happens panel after panel across the entire car.

It is a lot of wiping.

This is where workmanship matters.

Some people wipe coating over half a car with one or two towels and call it good enough. That is how cars end up with high spots, oily smears or streaks that only show properly once the car is out in the sun.

Once the body was coated, the wheel faces were coated as well.

Not the inner barrels, but the visible spokes and faces that are seen from the outside.

After the first layer was complete, the windows were cleaned, tyre shine applied, interior vacuumed, aftercare kit organised, invoice prepared and warranty admin sorted.

Then the car was left to cure.

In summer, cure time between layers may be shorter. In winter, it can take longer. This BYD was done properly with the second layer applied the next day.

That is our standard approach.

The preparation creates the clarity and shine by refining the paint surface.

OPTiX FMJ Graphene then adds the tough bonded glass-like layer over the paint, increasing gloss, slickness, reflections and protection.

That is what Barry’s BYD Sealion received.

Not just coating wiped on.

A full preparation and coating process.

We are located on 5 Hines Road O’Connor 6163

 

Ceramic Coating Perth
For tough bonded protection and added gloss after proper preparation.
https://autofxwa.com.au/new-car-coating-package/

Paint Correction Perth
For clear coat refinement, gloss improvement and surface preparation before coating.
https://autofxwa.com.au/paint-correction/

Car Detailing Perth
For detailed washing, decontamination and preparation based on the vehicle condition.
https://autofxwa.com.au/services/car-detailing/

 

We are located in O’Connor 6163 Western Australia