Don't confuse curing time with removal time, they are different altogether..
Have not tried the 1st gen AQuartz but the 2nd gen AQuartz is a royal pain to remove. I have tried different methods incl immediate WOWO all the way to 5mins waiting time and they are just PITA to use! on darker coloured cars the problem are compounded and especially apparent. I don't like to use coating products that takes lots of elbow grease buffing to remove especially after I spent 20 man hours preparing the surface to perfection. So for me (2nd gen) AQuartz are discounted off hand..per my test on lighter coloured cars, the durability of the coating is below 3 months. Non of the hardness (claimed to be 9H *cough cough!*), anti-scratch property etc etc that was touted are there to be seen. I have numerous phone calls with Avi explaining my findings but he couldn't offered me any answers or solutions other than it is the best coating products in the market, period?!?!?
Now that he has been cut off from Rionix supply did he come out and claim the AQuartz is sub-standard and that it should not be considered (talk about a hypocrite) and that his new CQuartz are now the best, even claiming that it is better than another brand's top-end product which are around 3x the price, although he have not personally tested it or at least verify his claim. He marketed CQuartz to have a durability of 1-2 years although he was just then having received the product a month or two prior.
I was send several sets to test before launch and now about 5+ months later the coating while is still intact, it has lost >50% of it's effectiveness (I noticed a big drop in performance after the 4th month) so I'm guessing a less than 8~9 months durability at best (I define durability as a coating having loss 2/3 of it's initial effectiveness per my observation, which tho is not very scientific but having played around with various coating systems for the past 4 years, I have some good idea what to look for) for CQuartz, which is a big improvement over AQuartz, but of course at multiple times the price premium. So while it's decent, it's not considered good enough for me IMO. Also no way CQuartz has a hardness of anywhere close to 9H which I considered a mere marketing bullshit..remember he also claimed AQuartz to be 9H which is a total lie (I can say that officially now since Avi has admitted as such!)
OK most coating products takes around 3~5 days to fully cure unless you employed infra red curing aid. within the 1st 6~12 hours after coating, the car should be kept off elements (rain, dirt etc) as much as possible to ensure proper bonding and maximum durability. after that time, it can be driven in the rain without problem. So curing time have no bearing on durability since for my test all cars are kept indoor for the first 12 hours after coating and tests observed after 2, 4, 8, 12 weeks and after 6 months respectively. No special treatment was accorded and cars are washed by owners as and when necessary without any particular discipline being imposed.
FWIW there are at least a couple of coating systems which I considered to be vastly superior to CQuartz at the same price point!
Disclaimer: all test are done on my test car and at least 2 other clients cars, all indifferent colours. coating methods are per manufacturer's recommendation taking into account our hot climate, but all works are done indoor whenever possible or away from direct sun (usually after 7pm). Your experience may vary so please share your observation.
Just saw this as been away. That's precisely my point as the car from DIT is driven straight away in the elements and I didn't read correctly if Krismas immediately wash the car or not. Anyway, just wondering if there's any recent developments with Aquartz usage? Cheers.
