Q: Where can I purchase Gtechniq products?
A: Gtechniq products can currently be purchased through various resellers across the globe.
Q: I am looking to protect my new car - what products shall I use?
A: 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.
Please note if Crystal Serum Ultra is misapplied it will need to be sanded off your car’s finish, therefore it can only be applied by one of our Accredited Detailers. Click here for pricing.
In addition to ceramic coatings, Gtechniq offers a full range of ultra-durable coatings for every other surface of your car, inside and out. For example G1 ClearVision Smart Glass will repel water, ice and dirt from your windscreen for as much as 20,000 miles. And our L1 Leather Guard offers great abrasion resistance to your leather seats and makes dye transfer easy to remove.
Q: Can I apply Gtechniq coatings myself?
A: 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.
Q: How do I find my nearest Gtechniq accredited detailer?
A: Take a look at our map to see which accredited detailer would be easier for you to visit.
Q: I have recently bought my car and had a dealership applied coating - can Gtechniq C1 Crystal Lacquer or Crystal Serum be applied over the top?
A: As C1 and Crystal Serum bond chemically with your car’s paintwork, you will have to remove previously applied products. This is done by machine polishing the coating - a single stage should be enough to remove most dealership applied protection.
Q: Gtechniq protection or Paint Protection Film (PPF)? I can't decide which.
A: 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.
Q: Can I use a wax over Gtechniq paintwork coatings?
A: 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.
Q: What affect will your coatings have if I need to get my car repainted?
A: 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.
Q: If my car has been repainted - how long do I need to wait before applying your coatings?
A: All our coatings are gas permeable and therefore do not prevent paint from "out-gassing" solvents. But, we do recommend leaving at least 72 hours between painting and coating.
Q: How much ceramic coating do I need to coat my car?
A: 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.
Q: Will any of your coatings peel or flake?
A: 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.
Q: Do your coatings prevent any damage to my paintwork caused by bird droppings?
A: This is a very important question and one that requires quite an involved answer. A lot of people mistakenly think that it is the chemicals in the bird droppings that are the primary reason bird droppings harm your paintwork. In fact the major cause of damage is related to mechanical issues of the areas beneath the insulating effect of the bird dropping not swelling and shrinking like the rest of your paintwork as it is exposed to sunlight.
What we have found through extensive real world testing, is that without the coating your clear coat can be compromised requiring repaint but whilst coatings such as C1, Crystal Serum Light, Platinum Crystal Coat and Crystal Serum Ultra do not completely prevent any marking from a bird dropping left on a car for a long period of time, the damage could be repaired through polishing thereby avoiding having to repaint.
Repair of this damage is covered under our guarantee (NB this guarantee is only valid if our coatings are applied by one of our Accredited Detailers). But our advice is always to remove bird droppings from your vehicle's paintwork as soon as you notice them.
Q: What about scratches and swirls?
A: 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.
Q: My car isn't beading water anymore - this must mean the coating has failed?
A: 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.
Product specific
Crystal Serum Ultra
Q: What is it?
A: Crystal Serum Ultra forms a composite of two inorganic layers of ceramic. The slightly softer layer migrates to and chemically bonds to the substrate (it can bond to any type of gel coat, vinyl and all kinds of paint - eg clear coat, acrylic, nitro-cellulose, two-pack, solid paint, metallic paint, pearlescent, urethane, polyurethane, matte etc.) whilst the thinner harder layer migrates to the surface. This combination offers significantly better swirl resistance than standard ceramic coatings (including so called 9h "super coatings"), plus Crystal Serum Ultra is resistant to the strongest acids and alkalis. It is also resistant to temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
Q: Why is Crystal Serum Ultra available to Accredited Detailers only?
A: Applied incorrectly, Crystal Serum Ultra can only be wet sanded off your vehicle's finish which means that we can only release this product to our fully trained Accredited Detailers. See here for a demonstration of this.
Q: Can Crystal Serum Ultra be applied on vinyl, wraps and matte finishes?
A: Yes, but we recommend C1 over coated with EXO as a more suitable solution.
Q: How long will Crystal Serum Ultra last on a car?
A: If a car is looked after well, washed using Gtechniq shampoos and accessories, then Crystal Serum Ultra will easily reach its 9 year guarantee.
Q: What's the best way to store opened bottles and how long do opened bottles "keep"?
A: The best place to store opened bottles is next to your bottles of Chateau Laffite 1953 (we assume only the best for Gtechniq customers!) - ie at a cool stable temperature, dry and out of direct sunlight. We recommend using up the bottle within 3 months of opening.
Q: Can it be layered/stacked?
A: We do not recommend stacking layers of Crystal Serum Ultra over previous layers of Serum Ultra (you can but our tests have shown that it doesn't offer an advantage), but you can stack layers of EXO or C2 over Serum Ultra to give surfaces the ultimate dirt and water repellency.
Q: How long after applying CSU can I apply EXO or C2?
A: Because Crystal Serum cures very quickly, you can apply these ultra hydrophobic top coats (this is optional!), right after finishing your CSU application. Just start at the same start point and follow the same order of panels you did when you applied CSU.
Q: How long after application does the coating need to keep dry?
A: We recommend you allow this coating cure for 12 hours before you get it wet.
Q: What's the best way to maintain my vehicle's finish once this product has been applied?
A: Even though, when compared to traditional waxes and sealants, this product is exceptionally durable, we have built an entire and fully compatible maintenance line. All of the products you find here have been tested for 100 wash cycles on EXO, C1, Crystal Serum Ultra and Platinum without damage to the coatings.
Q: I've seen how hard it is to polish off excess Crystal Serum Ultra that hasn't been applied correctly - what happens if my car needs repainting or I need my detailer polish out scratches?
A: Whilst your detailer or body shop will find it somewhat harder to polish a Serum Ultra treated surface it is entirely possible and will present them with no great obstacle. The reason incorrectly applied Serum Ultra is so hard to remove is that it forms a very uneven finish and the same way that polishing does not remove "orange peel" from a vehicle's finish, polishing will not remove incorrectly applied Serum Ultra.
Q: Does it really last 9 years?
A: Yes! In fact due to it's chemical bonding mechanism, Crystal Serum Ultra, Crystal Serum Ultra Light and C1 become the functional surface of your vehicle's paintwork. In essence they bond permanently to your vehicle's paintwork. Our stock answer to the question "how long does C1 or Crystal Serum Ultra last?" is that this is the wrong question. The right question is how particular you are about your paintwork and how carefully you clean your paintwork. If you are, like us, very very fussy about swirls etc. on your paintwork but at the same time have a poor wash technique then, even though Serum Ultra is highly and C1 is somewhat resistant to swirls, you may find that you will want your car to be repolished in a shorter period than someone who is less particular about swirls but uses a very good wash technique.
Q: Why doesn't the application cloth go hard once the product has cured?
A: Standard quartz coatings freely react with air to form crystals. Crystal Serum Ultra (and Crystal Serum Light) only forms a film when it reacts with the surface of your car’s paintwork where it produces a composite film that comfortably outperforms industry standard air curing 9h coatings.
EXO Ultra Durable Hybrid Coating
Q: What is it?
A: EXO is a hybrid of a chemically bonding inorganic base layer (it can bond to any type of gel coat, vinyl and all kinds of paint - eg clear coat, acrylic, nitro-cellulose, two-pack, solid paint, metallic paint, pearlescent, urethane, polyurethane, matte etc.) with an organic top layer that provides incredible water and dirt repellency plus surface slickness and incredible gloss.
Q: Is it ok to top up EXO after 6 months?
A: If a car is washed correctly using pH neutral shampoo and a wash mitt, then EXO can last for up to 18 months and still be effective.
However, in some cases where a car has not been maintained correctly the EXO will wear away. In this case the product can be reapplied, however before application ensure the surface is clinically clean and use Gtechniq Panel Wipe to prepare the surface.
Q: Can EXO be used on top of other coatings?
A: EXO can be applied to on top of C1 Crystal Lacquer, Crystal Serum Light, Crystal Serum Ultra, or as a standalone product. We would not advise EXO be applied over any other brand of coating – we cannot guarantee how the product will react.
Q: How can EXO be removed?
A: EXO will need to be polished off to ensure it is removed efficiently.
Q: Will EXO mean bird droppings will no longer stick to my car?
A: EXO is a very hydrophobic coating designed to repel water and dirt, helping to make your car easier to maintain. While it is unlikely that a bird dropping would completely slide off the surface, EXO would certainly make the mark easier to remove.
Q: What's the best way to store opened bottles and how long do opened bottles "keep"?
A: The best place to store opened bottles is next to your bottles of Chateau Laffite 1953 (we assume only the best for Gtechniq customers!) - ie at a cool stable temperature, dry and out of direct sunlight. We recommend using up the bottle within 3 months of opening.
Q: Can I use on paint protection film, matte paint, powder coat, carbon fibre and vinyl?
A: Yes to all! EXO is ideal for PPF and vinyl but be sure that you don't apply EXO first as PPF film and vinyl won't stick to your paint with EXO applied. EXO is good on matte finishes but C1 EXO is best.
Q: Can it be layered/stacked?
A: For optimal results we recommend two layers of EXO. These can be applied one right after the other (but be sure start on the same panel and work in the same sequence). Further layers can be applied but to little extra advantage.
Q: How long after application does the coating need to keep dry?
A: We recommend you allow this coating cure for 12 hours before you get it wet.
Q: What about water spots?
A: As with many things in life, there are often downsides to great things. With any hydrophobic (water repelling) coating be it a wax, sealant or coating, if dirty water and in particular hard tap water is left on the surface to dry, it often leaves any residues that were in the water behind as unsightly spots on your beautifully glossy paintwork. In most cases these will wash off. But in some cases, particularly with hard water which leaves white spots of calcium and magnesium behind, they don’t. In which case we suggest using our W9 Water Spot Remover followed by a neat application of our W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner or a light hand polish and reapplication of EXO. Our best advice to prevent this happening is to never allow tap water dry out on your vehicle.
Q: What's the best way to maintain my vehicle's finish once this product has been applied?
A: Even though, when compared to traditional waxes and sealants, this product is exceptionally durable, we have built an entire and fully compatible maintenance line. All of the products you find here have been tested for 100 wash cycles on EXO, C1, Crystal Serum Light and Ultra and Platinum without damage to the coatings.
Q: How to I reapply/refresh my EXO coating?
A: In many cases your EXO coating can be refreshed by a thorough decontamination including an application of undiluted W5 Citrus All Purpose Cleaner and or W6 Iron and General Fallout Remover. In many cases the horizontal surfaces of your vehicle will have a fine film of contaminants that a normal wash routine does not remove. This film blocks the function of the hydrophobic ligands and W5 and or W6 will, in many cases, remove these contaminants thereby refreshing the coating. If after doing this the coating is still not functioning, you can reapply a new layer of EXO using the standard application technique.
Q: Water no longer beads on my bonnet/hood/roof/bootlid/trunk but the sides of my vehicle are fine. Is there a solution?
A: See the solution in the point above for our recommendation.
Q: I applied EXO to a perfect finish and now I can see fine scratches/marring - what did I do wrong?
A: There are two things to note. First is prep. If you applied to polished paint without first using Gtechniq Panel Wipe, it may be that the solvents in the coating have removed polish residues which were masking finer scratches in your finish.
Second. If your paintwork is extremely soft the movement of the application pad and buff cloth can sometimes introduce very fine scratches into your finish. In order to minimise this risk you should firstly load the AP2 pad with significantly more product than normal as this will allow it to glide over the surface much better without using significantly more product.
Also you may find that a buff cloth with a lower polyamide content may help. Polyamide is what makes a microfibre cloth grab residues from the surface. The higher the content the better this works which is normally desirable but a lower polyamide content cloth will grab the surface more weakly which can help to minimise fine marring in super soft paint. Low polyamide content cloths are typically found in outlets such as Costco/ASDA/Wallmart.
G1 ClearVision Smart Glass
Q: I have applied G1 to my car windows, but my window wipers are juddering is this supposed to happen?
A: This is unusual but not unheard of. In 90% of cases the juddering window wipers will cease after a few weeks. But there are some things that often cure this. First is to ensure your blades are thoroughly cleaned, and if partly worn we would recommend they are changed. Another solution is to apply some G1 directly to the wiper blade without removing it with G2 Residue Remover. If the issue persists and you need to remove the coating you can either do this by using a machine polisher with a hard foam compounding pad using either G4 Nanotech Glass Polish or by hand using a "cerium oxide" based polish.
Q: Do I apply G1 ClearVision Smart Glass only to the front windscreen?
A: G1 can be applied to all windows. With a car we recommend starting on the front window screen removing residue, moving around the car coating each window and finally giving the front windscreen a second coat. Take a look at the G1 ClearVision Smart Glass application video.
Q: How do I reapply G1?
A: Fresh G1 can be applied in the normal way over the top of an existing layer by simply preparing the glass using G6, polishing using G4 and then recleaning with G6.
Q: How long after application does the coating need to keep dry?
A: We recommend you allow this coating cure for 3 hours before you get it wet.
Q: Will glass cleaners or screen wash chemicals affect the durability of G1?
A: Neither will have any impact on G1's durability.
Q: How do I remove it?
A: G1 can be removed either by machine using a regular rotary or dual action polisher, a hard foam pad and Gtechniq G4 Nanotech Glass Polish or by hand using a liquid cerium oxide based glass polish.
Q: When my wiper blade passes over the screen it creates a temporary streak - is this normal?
A: All rain repellent glass coatings cause this to a greater or lesser degree. Whilst G1 doesn't suffer too much from this issue, it can appear particularly when it is drizzling.
Q: Can I spot repair the coating by reapplying fresh layers over old layers?
A: Yes. Just follow the same procedure you did when first applying by first using the G4 Nanotech Glass Polish and G6 Perfect Glass to prepare and then apply as normal.
Q: G1 or G5? Which is right for me?
A: For cars, we always recommend G1. The reason is that even though the G5 is more repellent, the durability of the G1 makes it the better choice. But if you are looking for a product to minimise water spotting on, for example, shower screens, marine glass or building windows, G5 is the right choice as this application will require the very best water repellency.
C1 Crystal Lacquer
Q: What is it?
A: Crystal Lacquer is a chemically bonding quartz (ceramic) paint coating. It can bond to any type of gel coat, vinyl and all kinds of paint - eg clear coat, acrylic, nitro-cellulose, two-pack, solid paint, metallic paint, pearlescent, urethane, polyurethane, matte etc. As C1 is a relatively thin and relatively hard it offers good swirl resistance but we recommend over coating it with either C2 or EXO to give your finish the ultimate in dirt and water repellency, gloss and slickness. C1 is also resistant to temperatures up to 500 degrees celcius.
Q: How long will C1 last on my car?
A: If C1 has been applied correctly, and is maintained using Gtechniq shampoos and cleaning products, it has potential outlast its 5 year guarantee. If mistreated and looked after incorrectly, then the lifespan of the coating will be substantially reduced.
Q: How long does C1 Crystal Lacquer have to cure before coating EXO over the top?
A: You need to leave C1 to cure for at least 3 hours but no longer than 12 before coating EXO over the top.
Q: What's the best way to store opened bottles and how long do opened bottles "keep"?
A: The best place to store opened bottles is next to your bottles of Chateau Laffite 1953 (we assume only the best for Gtechniq customers!) - ie at a cool stable temperature, dry and out of direct sunlight. We recommend using up the bottle within 3 months of opening. (NB this also applies to C4 and C5)
Q: How long after application does the coating need to keep dry?
A: We recommend you allow this coating cure for 12 hours before you get it wet.
Q: What's the best way to maintain my vehicle's finish once this product has been applied?
A: Even though, when compared to traditional waxes and sealants, this product is exceptionally durable, we have built an entire and fully compatible maintenance line. All of the products you find here have been tested for 100 wash cycles on EXO, C1, Crystal Serum Light and Ultra and Platinum without damage to the coatings.
C4 Permanent Trim Restorer
Q: My trim has gone blotchy. What's wrong and how do I fix it?
A: This normally only happens with highly textured trim where you didn't manage to get the excess product from the "valleys" of the trim. Once cured, those little lakes turn into a solid piece of quartz which can shatter into a white powder. See below for an example of this.
To remove, you should agitate the surface with a medium stiff brush and a strong mix of Gtechniq W2 Universal Cleaner Concentrate (1:2). And once removed you can reapply making sure that you remove the residue completely (you may need a longer pile microfibre for this task)
Further support
Please note we are very active members of the UK’s most popular forum devoted to car care and car detailing products. This is populated and contributed to by, without doubt, the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable customer base known to man. We take part and respond to all and every enquiry about our products directed into our ‘manufacturers’ section.
It has a great search function but feel free to post – we will pick up on your post quickly and answer to the best of our abilities.
Take a look at the Gtechniq section of the forum.