[chris_fifty]

I recently had Xpel and cQuartz Finest installed on my new 50th edition SS. It turned out great and I highly recommend the guy who worked on it, Chris Kelly. He owns 'Kelly's Detail and Restoration' which is a small shop with just a few people. I haven't dealt with a lot of detailers but I've heard some anecdotes about really poor jobs done. Chris is super OCD about the cars he works on which is probably a good trait for a detailer. Anyway, I highly recommend him if anyone lives nearby. Enjoy the pics!

[Glen e]

How much for the CQ finest?

[SS 1LE]

Can you please give me more info, like pricing for both. I am looking for someone to do a clear bra and ceramic coating for when I get my car. PM me if you prefer.

[megaphone]

Originally Posted by SS 1LE

Can you please give me more info, like pricing for both. I am looking for someone to do a clear bra and ceramic coating for when I get my car. PM me if you prefer.

I am interested as well if you choose to share info!

[chris_fifty]

There may be some variation in pricing due to paint correction requirements which is done to prep for cQuartz (you want it looking perfect before sealing it). For my car (which had 200 mi), this cost $500. For 2 coats of cQuartz, it was $1100 which included the wheels and calipers. For the Xpel, the Front bumper was $700 and $570 for the fender, mirrors, partial hood, and upper bumper. He also cut around the matte stripes so that it won't look two tone (gloss and matte). The ground effects part of the front bumper had to be custom cut, but he included that for free since I had so much done. I shopped around first, and this was probably the cheapest I'd seen for everything he did. The films for the gen 6 camaro front bumper are expensive because it is so complicated.

I wasn't really sold on cQuartz at first. I was planning on doing ceramic pro, but I learned the difference isn't so much the coating but the installers. Just about any detailer can become a certified installer for ceramic pro, opticoat, and some others. For cQuartz finest though, they reject about 95% of applicants because they don't do a good enough job. Their 'final exam' is to do a paint correction and cquartz install on a black car which I guess is the hardest to do. If it's not perfect, then they get rejected. To become an installer for the other coatings, they basically just need to fill out some forms.

The paint correction probably seems a bit steep for a new car, but he showed me under his lights where some scratches and paint defects had already happened before he did the correction. If you're in the neighborhood it's definitely worth checking him out.

http://www.kelleysdetail.com/

[Glen e]

Your prices are not out of whack at all, correction is labor intensive and good detailers is a skill, just like any other professional. 8 hours of correction is not unusual to any degree.

[SS 1LE]

Thanks, I will contact him about the Xpel in the near future.

I can't get over how expensive the cQuartz is. Being that my car is going to be a nice weather weekend cruiser (3000~ miles a year), I am not sure if it worth while doing that.

Is there a less expensive alternative that would suit my needs better?

I was thinking about having the initial detailing (correction/clay/polish/wax/etc) done by a pro, and then applying a sealant myself, as I have read on here it is not hard to do?

Glen, you have any input?

[Glen e]

Have a detailer polish the car, you lay on the sealant...coatings are cheap , the 8 hours of polishing is not. It's the prep that costs....

Sealant is not coating,,,CQUARTZ is a coating....you are gonna get confused by reading too much here, call me and we'll sort out what works for you and your budget when your car arrives....

[SS 1LE]

Originally Posted by Glen e

Have a detailer polish the car, you lay on the sealant...coatings are cheap , the 8 hours of polishing is not. It's the prep that costs....

Sealant is not coating,,,CQUARTZ is a coating....you are gonna get confused by reading too much here, call me and we'll sort out what works for you and your budget when your car arrives....

Will do on that, I appreciate your knowledge. I am an old school type still (polish/wax), but all these new sealants and coatings seem to good to pass up.

I know a coating will last longer, but a sealant should last me awhile due to how I will use the car. Plus, it seems less expensive and I can apply it...