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Adam's Graphene


German

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I got some Adam's Graphene coating over the holidays and have now done two cars - our SRX and the Camaro. To be frank, I don't know if I'll do the Corvette because I am very satisfied with conventional materials on it. But I'm keeping an open mind.

 

The Graphene that I used is the one in a spray jar, not the little bottle. This is supposed to be about 50% strength of the bottle version so that it can work in the sprayer, according to Adan's videos (YouTube channel). Consequently, it lasts less time - they say one year, but the video says likely more with decent care. I think one year is plenty for any coating, so I prefer this to something that stays on forever - times change and new things arrive.

 

First, let me say that the results are terrific - but like anything having to do with paint, it's all in the prep work. The better you prep, the better the result is going to be. Each car took me about 12 to 15 hours over a couple of days, compared to about 20 hours in the Corvette for conventional polish, sealant, glaze. Let's look at the steps I took (for better or worse).

 

1. Wash the car - conventional wash, like always. Griot's or Adam's car soap.

2. Clay bar the whole car. I always do this before a polishing job for outdoor cars like the SRX. For indoor cars, I generally clay only where needed, usually hood, roof, trunk, door tops (areas that face the sky). For this project, I did it all.

3. Polish the car. I use a pair of Adam's random orbital polishers (5.5" and 3"). I used Adam's white pads and Adam's Polish or Griot's Correcting Cream. Each car had a couple of spots that I hit with Compound and a blue (stiffer) pad, then re-polished. This polishing step is where the bulk of the time is spent.

4. During the polishing process, I'm constantly evaluating the area just worked to ensure I'm doing just enough. There's no sense in hitting the clear coat any harder than necessary. I'll leave polishing technique out of this post as that's a whole subject to itself.

5. Wash the car again - minimize touching and rubbing. If you can rinse, foam, and rinse without any touching that's good for this step. Same for drying - air cannon for as much as possible, or at least minimize rubbing. Don't use any drying agents, spray wax, etc. as they will make the next step more difficult.

6. Use a mask and gloves for the next steps. You don't want skin contact or fume breathing if possible. Do this part outdoors if at all possible or at a minimum with very good flow-through ventilation.

7. Completely clean the car with the Adam's Surface Prep. This is essentially denatured alcohol. Spray it on a clean microfiber and wipe down the panel. It's best to do the whole car at once, otherwise you'll wish you did at every panel edge when you're cleaning next to an already coated panel. Change applicator cloth frequently. one panel per quarter side is plenty.

8. Spray the graphene onto the Adam's microfiber applicator (about 4"x3" applicator). A little goes a long way - spread it on a 2' x 2" section of the panel in a criss-cross (tic tac toe) pattern. It has an oily consistency and spreads easily, it's very easy to see your coverage. Let it dry/cure until it visibly turns rainbow shade (like an oil slick). If you're doing a white car, this is hard to see; set a timer for two to three minutes, that's plenty.

9. Wipe the coating off with a clean microfiber towel. Medium pressure followed by light pressure seems to get it off best. 

10. Repeat until done! This is about three hours of time at my pace (unhurried).

11. Keep it out of rain for four to six hours.

12. Adam's also makes a Graphene detail spray. It isn't for general cleanup like normal detailers; it is meant to be used on a clean car to give it a bit of extra shine. I did this on the SRX and it really did add yet more shine. I just finished the Camaro last night so I haven't done this extra (and not required) step.

13. Water beading on the SRX after the recent rains was fantastic. Also, bird poop seems to come off much easier now.

 

A couple of quick pictures below. I'll take some better ones later this week when work lets up a bit.

 

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2 hours ago, German said:

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6. Use a mask and gloves for the next steps. You don't want skin contact or fume breathing if possible.


that was going to be my first comment.
Please use caution when using graphene…

I’ve been reading some scary articles about that stuff. 

And use the same precautions with the detail - touch up spray. 
 

Other than that. It looks boouutifull. 

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  • 1 month later...

Thanks for the first hand review as I have purchased the same product and hope that that same success. Hoping to do mine in the next couple of weeks as they the temperature is perfect this time of year.

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If you happen to have a good UV light, it's very useful for checking your work as you go. Any missed spots are immediately apparent. I use a UV Beast (V3) flashlight as it is a true 365 nm light (395 nm is more common but a bit less "true"). I bought it on Amazon.

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