The Ultimate GYEON Detail: Plum Crazy Hellcat

This article is written by Jeff McEachran, National Brand Ambassador for GYEON quartz USA and Owner of Denver Auto Shield.

With the rising popularity of ceramic coatings, they tend to take over much of the conversation in terms of a car care brands offering. While GYEON is very well known globally for producing ceramic coatings, they are also a full fledged car care products manufacturer with over 80 individual sku’s in the line. So I thought it would be fun to throw as many GYEON products as we could at this Plum Crazy Dodge Hellcat! We’ll chat over each product along the way and discuss the why and how of its use. Here we go:

The first step to any detailing project is always a proper and thorough decontamination and cleaning of the surfaces to be worked on. Today, we chose to tackle the wheels first. To clean the wheels we are using Q²M Iron. Q²M Iron will break down any embedded ferrous particles and other contaminants in the wheels finish. Spray the product liberally on the wheels. Let it dwell for about 2 mins, noting the purple color change where the product is working. Do not let Q²M Iron dry on the wheel and make sure the wheel is cool to the touch before applying. Rinse the wheels thoroughly when done, and repeat if necessary until the purple color change no longer takes place.

While we are letting Q²M Iron dwell on the wheels, we have the perfect chance to deep clean the tires with Q²M TireCleaner. We want to pull all oils and previous dressings out of the tire before we apply new. Spray Q²M TireCleaner directly on to the rubber and agitate with a firm brush. Rinse thoroughly when done, and repeat the process until the suds are perfectly white and no longer turning brown as you work the cleaner.

Now that the wheels are sorted out, we pre soak the rest of the car with Q²M Foam. Q²M Foam will help remove as much loose dirt and contaminant from the paints surface as possible before we physically touch the finish with our wash medium. Dilute Q²M Foam to 1:5 in a foam cannon and apply generously to the entire car. Let it dwell a minute or two before rinsing thoroughly.

At this stage, we go back and apply Q²M Iron to the Hellcat’s paint. We want the chemical to break down ferrous particles and contaminant in the same fashion it did for the wheels. Spray liberally directly on to the paint and allow Q²M Iron to dwell for about 2 minutes before rinsing.

We are now ready to wash the car. For this, we use Q²M Bathe and the Q²M Smoothie Wash Mitt. Q²M Bathe is a highly lubricated wash soap that when paired with the Q²M Smoothie Wash Mitt will safely lift the dirt and debris from the paints finish.

The final step in cleaning and decontaminating the paint is the clay bar. We wait until the car is clean to do this so that we don’t trap any loose debris between our clay bar and paint and scratch it. For this, we use Q²M CLayMild and Q²M ClayLube. This combination will in a sense exfoliate any bonded contaminant that could not be chemically removed in the stages above. You can introduce marring in the clay stage so be careful.

With the car clean and decontaminated we dry it with the Q²M SilkDrier. This is an incredibly high performing drying towel with a dual sided microfiber weave. The long pointed fibers face downward and draw the water in to the towel where it is stored in the very tightly knit waffle weave back side.

Now on to paint refinement! The paint on the Hellcat was in pretty good condition. It did have the expected texture and orange peel, but in terms of scratches and defects it was pretty clean. GYEON produces a very good line of polishes and pads. They are low oils, contain no silicons or fillers, and use very high quality diminishing abrasives. On this paint we went with the Blue Polishing Pad and Q²M Polish.

Apply 3 drops evenly spaced around the pad. With the machine set on speed 4, and applying moderate pressure work the polish over the surface in a controllable shoulder width area. You want to cycle Q²M Polish until the paste is nearly invisible on the surface. This will tell you that you’ve worked the diminishing abrasives down thoroughly and will have a very easy wipe off.

Since we will be ceramic coating this car, it is best to perform a degreasing wash to make perfectly sure that we have removed all oils and lubricants from the polishing stage. Once complete, we perform our final wipe down with Q²M Prep. Q²M Prep will leave a static free surface ready to accept the ceramic coating. Make sure to use a high quality microfiber towel like the Q²M SoftWipe to ensure the product is removed easily, as this will be your final surface before coating.

Now on to the ceramic coating. For this project we chose Q² MOHS. Q² MOHS is the longest running ceramic coating in the GYEON line. It has consistently performed above expectation for years on many cars globally. Don’t let the 18 month durability mark on the packaging fool you. GYEON is very conservative in their durability claims, and are referring to the time that the original hydrophobic properties perform without top up and not the time table that the coating remains on the paint protecting from UV and chemical damage. We have seen Q² MOHS protect well in to the 3-5 year range.

Q² MOHS should be applied in two thick layers, no less than one hour apart. Apply in a cross hatch pattern about shoulder width apart. Wipe off excess product using a quality microfiber towel. The wipe off window with Q² MOHS will be anywhere within the 15 second to 1 minute range depending on temp and humidity. The higher the humidity, the faster the solvent carrier will begin to flash and the sooner you will want to remove excess product from the surface. This initial bond between the coating and the paint happens within the first 5 seconds, so there is no performance difference between the removal times and no benefit to leaving it on the surface longer. We are looking for the sweet spot that makes removal easy and efficient.

For the factory matte finished hood on the Hellcat we are applying Q² Matte which is specifically designed for matte or satin paint, vinyl, or paint protection film. It is easy to apply, will not add any gloss, will protect from chemical and UV damage, and leave a very rich finish.

The trick to protecting matte or satin finishes is getting an even look to the final result. To do this, go on a bit heavier with Q² Matte than you would with a paint coating. You want the material to absorb the coating fully. Wipe off any excess product immediately.

A big part of the look of this Hellcat is the sharp contrast between the Plum Crazy, very glossy paint and the satin and matte finishes on the car. To make sure we keep the contrast popping we will treat all of the exterior trim with Q² TRIM. Q² TRIM will protect the plastics from UV fading and leave a very healthy sheen. Apply the product liberally to the exterior and engine bay plastic and wipe off the excess material completely. It is very important to make sure the plastics are clean and free of any prior applied dressing. Perform a heavy decontamination wash prior using an APC.

The windshield is up next with Q² VIEW. Q² VIEW is a two part glass coating designed to increase visibility in poor weather driving conditions by creating a surface that will actively repel water at speeds above about 30 mph. The two products within the kit are CLEANSE and REPEL. CLEANSE is to be applied first, and will act as a binding agent between the glass and the fluorine based REPEL, which is where we get the beading and rejection. It is also important to apply REPEL to your wiper blades so they don’t hop or chatter across the windshield.

Now we’ll round out the wheel setup with Q² RIM and Q² TIRE. Q² RIM is a ceramic coating designed specifically for wheels and other high temp areas like exhaust tips. It can be applied in a single layer, or two layers for extended durability with 4 hours in between each layer. Apply a fair amount to the wheel in controllable sections. I like to divide the wheel in to four quadrants to make sure I keep my application and removal timing consistent. Wipe off excess material within 15 seconds or so depending on humidity.

With RIM complete, we can finish off with Q² TIRE. Q² TIRE is a long lasting tire gel that will protect the rubber from UV and contaminant while leaving a healthy satin sheen. To get the most out of the application, heat the tire prior to applying. This will open the pores of the rubber and let as much product as possible be absorbed. Go around each tire with a light second layer.

The final step of this project is to tighten up the interior with Q²M LeatherCleaner Mild and Q² LeatherCoat. This is a low mileage car so the leather wasn’t overly contaminated, but to get the best out of the leather coating we want a clean and prepped surface. Q² LeatherCoat is very easy to apply and will offer about 4 months of performance. Simply spray a moderate amount on to a microfiber towel or applicator and work in to the clean leather sections at a time. It will repel dirt and grime, protect from UV, and leave a very healthy satin finish that looks great.

And that is it! This Hellcat has been properly GYEONized! Check out the final shots!