Regular readers of this blog will know that I recently applied a ceramic coating to my car at home on the driveway. The coating of choice that I used was CQuartz Lite by CarPro.
When I was ordering all of the supplies I needed to coat my TT, I also picked up a few extra products that were recommended to maintain the coating and make sure that it was performing as intended for as long as possible.
For those of you who are familiar with coatings, you will know that it is important to use a suitable shampoo designed to work with ceramics, and also to use maintenance products which act as “toppers” for the coatings.
The toppers that I chose to compliment my Cquartz coating were:
The claimed protection lifespan for Cquartz lite is about 6-9 months, 4 of those have already passed since I originally coated the car. Although the protection is holding up very well ( with the help of Elixir ), I have noticed a very slight drop off in performance when it comes to water behaviour.
When I saw this begin to happen, I knew it was time to break out the CarPro Reload Spray Sealant and give my coating the freshen up that it needed. Below is a video of how water was reacting on the surface of the coating. Although it still looks quite impressive, it was not as good as it was directly after the initial application.
It was time to bring the coating back to its former glory and apply a coat of CarPro Reload Spray Sealant!
According to CarPro :
“Originally formulated to maintain the protection and finish quality of CQUARTZ coatings, Reload has also proven itself as a stand-alone sealant, where it can offer up to 4-months of protection on daily drivers. Reload’s easy to use waterborne formula can be applied to all vehicle surfaces, and even on damp surfaces, making it perfect for quickly topping up your vehicle’s protection and shine”
Reload is a spray sealant which contains about 5% SiO2. (For Reference, the Cquartz lite coating I applied is about 45% SiO2 & TiO2)
I had read some great reviews online and after previous success with CarPro Elixir, I was looking forward to trying it out!
The application process for CarPro Reload is thankfully quite straight forward (Similar to other Spray Sealants ). The products you will need at hand to complete the application are :
Before beginning the application there are some points you should note.
Grab Your Bottle of CarPro Reload and your application cloth of choice.
Spray 2-3 sprays directly onto a microfiber towel or the paint.
As I worked my way around the car I alternated between spraying onto the towel and directly on the paint and I found that spraying directly onto the paint worked better for me and made the application slightly easier.
A little goes a long way with Reload so be careful how much you use, it’s not a case of the more the better! Below is a picture of roughly how much I was using per panel.
Take your application microfiber towel and spread over a 2′ x 2′ sized panel. Once spread, flip the towel to a clean side and wipe away the product residue.
Grab the second towel and wipe the area again ensuring no residue is left on the surface. The key to applying any sort of product that contains SiO2 is to not overspread as this could lead to the product flashing too quickly and leaving high spots.
In the unlikely event that you are left with some streaking or spotting using CarPro Reload, you can grab a third microfiber towel and spritz it with some water.
Wipe the surface with the damp towel and follow up with a wipe from the dry side of the towel and this should eliminate any issues you encounter.
Unlike true ceramics, there is no “cure” time for reload and it should be pretty much good to go after it has been buffed off. You can choose to apply a second coat if you like but in my case, i didn’t feel that I needed to.
I was immediately impressed with the finish that was left behind after the reload application and the levels of gloss that were present. I was told by some users that reload would not be as glossy when compared with Elixir, but that it would offer longer protection. In my case i think the paintwork looked better than Elixir after the Reload application!
It returned levels of gloss that were comparable to when I initially applied the ceramic coating. Here are some of the after pictures.
The durability of CarPro reload is about 6 months of protection(Claimed). It will be hard for me to judge on my car as I am using Reload as a topper for my Cquartz coating which already provides substantial protection.
If I were to hazard a guess I would say real-life protection using Reload as a stand-alone sealant with no other products would be about 3 months give or take. You will more than likely to be able to achieve this or more using the correct wash methods with a good shampoo and by using Elixir as a drying aid during a weekly maintenance wash. As spray sealants, go Reload has the reputation of being quite durable.
My recommendation would be to apply a coat of Reload about every 3 months. In between applications you can use Elixir to maintain the sealant and keep it performing well.
I have read reports of some users applying to reload on their car’s glass, however, i would not recommend it as Reload was originally designed for paintwork. If you are looking for real protection on your glass you should opt for a dedicated glass coating such as CarPro flyby forte
During my application, I made sure to keep reload away from any glass surfaces on my car.
Reload is safe to use on exterior plastics and you should run into no issues, however, you may be better off using a dedicated product like CarPro PERL.
CarPro Reload can be easily diluted with distilled or de-ionized water to use as a quick detailer or drying aid. Since my application of Reload, I have tried this method and have been having great success with it so far.
I have seen recommendations to dilute it 1:1, but I have been using a weaker concentration and still find it excellent. I have a feeling this bottle of Reload is going to last me a long time!
Although I can’t comment on Reload as a standalone sealant, I found that it was an excellent product to use in conjunction with my Cquartz coating and I feel that this where Reload really excels.
I used Reload with the sole purpose of giving my coating a refresh and it has done exactly that! The price point is quite fair when you consider this product can be diluted down even further and I think that it is going to allow me to get the best longevity with my Ceramic Coating.
Since the application, it has rained a lot here in Ireland (Surprise Surprise!) and I can confirm that Reload has brought back some awesome beading and water behaviour on the surface of the car.
If you want to try CarPro Reload – please consider purchasing it through my Amazon Link HERE
This helps me keep this blog up and running at no extra cost to you.
Have you tried this product already? If so please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Until Next time,
Happy Detailing!
Darren is the founder of the DriveDetailed blog and is a keen detailing enthusiast living in the rainy south of Ireland. When he is not cleaning his car he is always researching ways he can improve his techniques and enjoys testing out out new products.
Darren currently drives an Audi TTRS and is a big fan of performance cars.
You can follow Darren on Instagram @darrenoharacork
