Advice on car with Williams Ceramic Coat

soram

Hi All,
My first post to this forum and hoping for some advice. I bough a 141 520d Estate (F11) a few weeks ago and it looks like it has had 'Williams Ceramic Coat' applied. At least there is a sticker in the window with those words on it.
I am guessing the coating was done when it was bought first in the UK so it is probably on it 3 years now. I have tried Google etc but I can't find anything about the best way of maintaining or refreshing this.
I have seen with CarPro and others that there are refresh and other products but nothing recommended for the Williams coat.

Anybody have any recommendations?

Many thanks!

Stephen

Curran

Dont know much about the Williams Range, but considering its not a major player in the nano/ceramic sector of Detailing circles, it is questionable how good it performs.
Had a quick look and they claim its good for 5 years, so if it performs as they claim, then it is possible that the previous owners didnt use the best products to maintain the finish.

It is possible that a good cleanse of the coating (in the same way you would paintwork) might help rejuvenate it; so a good wash, de-tar, de-iron, and perhaps a wipedown with a product to break down mineral deposits (perhaps hard water is the issue it seems its dying off)

If that hasnt been successful, then CarPro's Essence Plus....emphasis on the Plus, as there is Essence and Essence Plus - the former being a light polish and base coat for a coaing; the latter, Plus, is the repair product. Can be applied by hand or machine to help put life back into coatings.

ronnie3585

Some discussion over on DetailingWorld...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=388229&highlight=williams
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=389076&highlight=williams

soram

Thanks for the responses.

The car has unfortunately been parked under some trees over the last week and got really dirty with the recent dust in the air. There was a lot of resin and crap so I eventually got to wash it this evening. The resin just power washed off. I had some autoglym shampoo and wheel cleaner and it looks actually pretty good.
The paint looks really glassy with no swirl scratches and the wheels are clean except for some tar spots - I don't have a tar cleaner at the moment. The windows look coated as the water beads off them after washing but there is obviously a residue or build up on the paint.

To my humble eye it looks quite good and just needs possibly a surface clean of some sort. Just not sure what to use. It's dark now but if I can I'll post some photos tomorrow.

soram

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Some discussion over on DetailingWorld...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=388229&highlight=williams
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=389076&highlight=williams

I looked at those links and it would appear to be a nightmare! However, that is not really what I am seeing on the car. It looks pretty good and there are no swirls or scratches that I can see at all - a couple of big scratches alright from rubbing something but no wash marks. To my untrained eye it does look good but the surface is rough to the touch. It was probably just washed a little over the three years and nothing else though I suppose the coating is supposed to allow for that.
I have attached a couple of photos.

So I reckon I need to give it a surface clean without wrecking the coating too much - whatever might be left of it! Any recommendation here appreciated.

Stephen

Curran

It is possible to inflict wash damage to a coating too but they are harder than the paint finish. It's probably been hardly washed...often people who buy coatings as a new car package like the idea of the protection and easier care....versus say someonewho would bring it to a detailer to have a coating applied.
With little washing, it means less chance of wash damage but also, less chance of using poor products that may accelerate the deterioration of the he coating.

If you feel they coating seems to be performing well and that it's bonded contamination that's causing the roughness then a fallout remover will improve it drastically, and I'd try out mineral deposit remover too.

soram

Thanks for the reply..

So something like IronX for the fallout? What would be good for the mineral deposit?

Curran

Yes, CarPro IronX from the fallout remover and CarPro Spotless for the mineral deposits.

soram

Curran wrote: »

Yes, CarPro IronX from the fallout remover and CarPro Spotless for the mineral deposits.

Many thanks - just ordered a bunch of stuff! I'll see what it looks like next week.

soram

Right,
Spent the last 4 hours washing, IronXing and TarXing. It was still rough so I did a light clay. I came up pretty well. It is a little hydrophobic but not like wax but I believe all ceramic coats are similar. It is a 3 year old car and I would guess had little love so all in all I cannot fault the Williams coating in spite of the horror reports from the UK!

Many thanks for the tips. Next job to make my 141 Ducato camper bug proof! Any tips appreciated!

S

ianobrien

soram wrote: »

Right,
Next job to make my 141 Ducato camper bug proof! Any tips appreciated!

S

I know it's a bit late replying as I didn't spot it 'til now. My current preferred one is Collinite 845, two coats applied one day apart. I've used that successfully on multiple motorhomes. Washing then is the usual microfibre and a sandwich trick to soften and wash with BH Autofoam. Just be gentle on the rinse.

Most of the Caravan and Motorhome cleaners that are on the market are very severe as they are designed to strip off the black streaks. They work well also on bug stains and any wax you've applied..........