GTECHNIQ Crystal Serum Light, 1,7 fl oz (50ml)

FAQ’s

I Am Looking To Protect My New Car - What Products Shall I Use?

See the table below for a breakdown of characteristics of each of our paint protection products.  Key to long-term gloss retention is swirl resistance – the main cause of degradation in gloss is the build up of micro scratches made when your car gets washed.

As you will see from the table for the swirl resistant products, C1 and Crystal Serum Light and Crystal Serum Ultra, we also recommend an over coating of either C2 or EXO. The reason for this is that these coatings offer much better water and dirt repellency, as well as surface slickness. The combination of not having to wash your car so often or so aggressively, and the swirl resistance of the C1 or Serum, offers unparalleled surface protection.

Can I Apply Gtechniq Coatings Myself?

Yes you can, apart from Crystal Serum Ultra which can only be applied by our international network of Accredited Detailers. Please note Gtechniq is based on very different technology to traditional waxes or polymer sealants.  So unless you are familiar with this tech we strongly advise you take a look through our YouTube channel and product pages for instructions.

If you are tackling one of our covalent bonding coatings such as C1 or EXO – we strongly recommend you do this undercover. Even a quiet multi-story car park is preferable to taking a chance with the weather.

Gtechniq Protection Or Paint Protection Film (PPF)? I Can't Decide Which.

A question we get asked a lot and there’s no right or wrong answer.  In our opinion it really depends on your car and how you plan to use it. If you are looking at using your car heavily and are looking to reduce stone chips then PPF is probably a good move. In many cases owners choose only to have leading edges – front bumper, part or whole of the bonnet and wing mirrors – protected with PPF film, and then coat the rest of the car with Gtechniq to prevent premature dulling from wash swirls.

One thing to bear in mind is that PPF can be porous and therefore contaminants will stick and be difficult to remove, coating your car with HALO Flexible Film Coating will prevent your film from UV damage and make it much easier to look after.

As a side note on this: ceramic or any other type of paint coating, no matter how much their marketing claims tell you otherwise, cannot offer any meaningful protection against stone chipping as in order to absorb the impact of a pebble travelling at triple digit speeds, you need to have a relatively thick and relatively soft membrane.  PPF film is approximately 150 microns thick and our coatings are approximately 1 micron thick (please be very sceptical if you hear marketing claims of coatings that say they offer more than this).  And whilst a thick and soft film works very well at absorbing stone chips, it is much more susceptible to micro marring (some newer films self-heal which addresses this issue) whereas a thin hard film such as Crystal Serum Light, Ultra, or Crystal Lacquer, provides optimum protection against micro marring.

Can I Use A Wax Over Gtechniq Paintwork Coatings?

You can as the wax will not damage any of our coatings.  But we recommend you don’t for a number of reasons.  Firstly, if you have an extremely hydrophobic product such as EXO or C2, the wax will dull this effect.  Also all our coatings are designed to prevent contaminant bonding and are non-yellowing.  Wax on the other hand is a soft finish into which contaminants easily bond and wax is not optically clear.

What Affect Will Your Coatings Have If I Need To Get My Car Repainted?

Our coatings have no adverse effects on correct repaint procedure.  Also, none of our coatings produce airborne silicones and so will not cause any body shop contamination.

How Much Ceramic Coating Do I Need To Coat My Car?

For EXO, C1 and Crystal Serum Light, 30ml is sufficient for all vehicles up to and including a medium sized saloon such as a BMW 5 series.  For anything larger you will need the 50ml bottle.

Will Any Of Your Coatings Peel Or Flake?

So long as you follow the instructions then none of our coatings will ever peel or flake. But if you do not remove residue as instructed, the excess product can peel, flake or turn into a white crystalline powder.

What About Scratches And Swirls?

Whilst coatings such as C1 Crystal Lacquer, Crystal Serum Light and Crystal Serum Ultra have class leading abrasion resistance, there is a limit to the amount of resistance a 1 micron layer of hard ceramic can offer to hedges, automatic car washes or contaminants in wash mitts. Whilst, on their own, these products are phenomenally hard (C1 is 7h on the pencil hardness scale, CSL 9h and CSU 10h), they will typically only add between 2 and 3h on the pencil hardness scale to the paintwork being protected.

Therefore.  If your vehicle is painted with a very soft paint measuring HB on the pencil hardness test, coating it with Crystal Serum Ultra will change this to a 2H rated finish.  So whilst this is a considerable improvement, it is still softer than an unprotected high solid painted car which can be as hard as 3h meaning that no matter how careful you are, some degree of surface scratching is inevitable.

All we can say is that due to the benefits of your coated car staying cleaner for longer, being easier to clean and having added hardness, swirls and scratches will be minimised.

My Car Isn't Beading Water Anymore - This Must Mean The Coating Has Failed?

This is a common question.  The perception is that if a surface is not repelling water anymore then the protection must have failed.  This is only partly right.  One of the things to note here is that the surface of what you may think is a clean car may actually be slightly contaminated with road grime.  Removing this with W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner will often return the hydrophobic function.

But.  It may be that the hydrophobic layer is no longer present.  Please note that our guarantee does not cover this as whilst our hydrophobic products, C2 Liquid Crystal and EXO have class leading durability, the maximum durability they have is 2 years.

So even if the hydrophobic layer has stopped working, the base coating of either C1, Crystal Serum Light or Crystal Serum Ultra will still be present as these coatings bond permanently with your paintwork.  So, this layer will still be there working to keep swirls and scratches to a minimum and helping to prevent loss of gloss through surface staining or oxidation.