CUSTOMER REVIEW BY SHAYNE
About Me:
I'm a retired engineer with limited spray painting experience. However, I am pretty good with my
hands and a bit of a perfectionist.
Car:
2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor "Stealth" Performance
Midnight Silver Metallic
Objective:
My aim is to use CDP FX vinyl paint to provide some level of paint protection. The simplicity of
application, very low cost, DIY (single person), removability, ability to easily touch up or repaint a
panel etc., make it a way better option in my opinion.
Materials:
3 x 4 litre - CDP FX Satin Clear
I chose to apply satin clear over the existing metallic paint which is in very good condition. By using
clear, there is very little colour change around door jambs etc.
In the following notes, I mention the specific brands of products I used, but similar products should
work. I already had most of the products I used.
Equipment:
# Wagner Flexio 590
# 3M Spraying Respirator Kit
Location and Date:
I painted the car in my Canberra driveway during July 2022 (around 12C each day). These are not ideal conditions, but the area is sheltered with little to no wind and little dust and other junk in the air.
Preparation:
Before you start, I suggest you watch some YouTube videos to get a feel for how liquid vinyl should be applied.
There is lots of good advice out there, and many hours of videos to watch.
Test Panel:
I started by spraying a single panel (bottom part of boot lid) to get a feel for the product and the spray equipment.
I prepared the panel using Bowden's Flash Prep as I had some on hand (I ended up
using Concept Paints Wax & Grease Remover when I did the whole car)
As per the website, CDP FX is very forgiving and is easy to apply. When it goes on, it is very textured,
but dries to a flat finish. I sprayed over the badges resulting in a very nice brushed chrome look.
The day after I sprayed this panel, I noticed some very small brown stains under the clear vinyl.I removed the vinyl (very easy) and found that the spots were caused by iron particles that are normally picked up from the road and brakes (more on this below).
Cleaning the original paint:
I used Autoglym Liquid Clay (bulk version of Magma) to remove iron particle contaminants from the entire car. This liquid converts iron particles to a bright purple liquid which can be rinsed off. It was
amazing to see so much iron on the paint, especially as the Tesla very rarely uses the brakes (regen is used to stop the car in most cases).
After using the Liquid Clay, I washed the car using Autoglym Foaming Car Wash (plain shampoo with no waxes, silicons etc.)
Finally, I went over the entire car with Concept Paints Wax & Grease Remover. I used the two-cloth method. That is, I used one microfibre cloth to apply the cleaner, and another cloth the quickly
remove the cleaner (and contaminants) before it evaporated.
Masking the car:
I spent a lot of time masking the car. It took much longer than I expected, but I wanted to get it right.
I paid particular attention to ensure that the masking didn't bridge any gaps. The only difficulty I had was where the chrome trim above the doors runs along the roof rail.
In most other places, there was enough of a gap to minimise the chance of bridging between a painted surface and the masking tape.
I masked internal edges around the bonnet, boot lid and the doors. The tape was placed around 10mm from the external edges of each panel to ensure good paint coverage of panel edges.
I went over the car again with Wax & Grease Remover to ensure that any hand/finger prints from the masking process were removed.
Painting the car:
As per the CDP FX website (and the many YouTube videos I watched), I started with two light "dusting coats". These coats dried very quickly, even in the cold Canberra winter.
After each coat, I checked over the surface for any contaminants (required because I was painting in my driveway rather than a spray booth).
I found that most contaminants were little insects that
could be mostly removed by lightly rubbing over them with a microfibre cloth after the paint had dried.
After the two dusting coats, I started to apply wet coats. Between each coat, I removed contaminants wherever possible.
After two or three coats, I lost power and the spray gun dribbled paint down the front passenger door. Annoying, but not too hard to fix. I let the paint dry and then peeled it off.
I then repainted the
door with two or three coats to match the level of paint on the rest of the car.
I purchased 12 litres of paint and applied about 11.5 litres to the car. I kept a little over 0.5 litres for touch ups etc. Each coat took around 0.8 litres (the entire roof of the Tesla is glass, so you don't
need as much paint).
I lost count of the number of coats I applied, but it must have been around 12 given that each coat used around 0.8 litres and that I applied several additional coats to the front of the car.
Note that I don’t think counting coats was that useful. It is more important to know how much paint you apply. I applied around 11.5 litres.
Removing the masking:
I left the car for two days before removing the masking (overnight would probably be OK, but it was raining).
Most of the masking came off with no problems because it was not in contact with painted areas.
However, there were some places where the masking tape was close to painted areas (around lights for example). In these cases, the vinyl paint bridged the gap. When removing the masking tape in
these areas, the vinyl could lift. To avoid this, I used a scalpel to carefully score the surface of the vinyl, so that it tore along the score line rather than lifting off the car. It turns out that lifted vinyl can be easily fixed as described below.
Internal edges:
I used a 10mm paint brush to apply CDP FX to all of the internal edges (door jambs, inside boot and bonnet) in order to "blend" the masked internal edges into the original paint and to help ensure that
the vinyl doesn't lift.
Note that, CDP FX vinyl paint dries very quickly. So, when using a paint brush, you need to apply the vinyl paint in a single brush stroke. If you use several strokes, you will end up with a mess. If you
need to apply more paint, wait for it to dry first.
Don't worry too much about brush marks etc. The vinyl paint dries to a flat finish with very little signs of brush marks.
Touchups:
As described above, there were a number of places where the vinyl lifted while removing the masking. To fix this, I used a small paint brush to apply liquid vinyl around these areas.
In most cases the vinyl sat back down and was barely noticeable.
I plan to check for, and repair lifting as the car is used and washed in coming months.
303 Protectant:
The CDP FX website suggests using 303 Protectant to protect the vinyl from UV. I have used this product for years and have found it great for internal surfaces.
However, when I applied the 303 I had on hand (303 "Automotive" Protectant), I found that it didn't standup too well to rain and morning due. When wet, the 303 left faint spots and streaks. While these were easily removed by buffing with a microfibre cloth, it was annoying.
I am still waiting to see how 303 performs in the coming months, but I have noticed that after a couple of days and additional buffing, the spots no longer seem to appear when the car get wet. So, all good so far.
Lessons:
1/ Good preparation is essential. Don't skip on cleaning and do the best masking job you can. Make sure you go over every part of the paint with wax and grease remover before applying the vinyl.
2/ Watch lots of Youtube videos to learn as much as you can from others who have applied liquid vinyl.
3/ If you are not using a spray booth (or garage), check for contaminants on the surface between each coat. In many cases, contaminants such a small insects can be removed or smoothed over using a microfibre cloth after each coat of paint dries.
4/ Be carefull when removing masking tape that is close to the vinyl coating. Some people suggest removing masking tape while the vinyl is still wet. This seems to work, but is not that easy by yourself, and because CDP FX dries so quickly (around 10 minutes).
5/ Relax and don't panic. CDP is very forgiving. You can peel it off a panel and start again if required. You can also use a brush to touch up small defects - the brushed on paint dries to a flat finish.
Summary:
The results are very impressive. The car looks great and the vinyl should offer some paint protection.
It will be interesting to see how it holds up over the next year or so.
I'm a retired engineer with limited spray painting experience. However, I am pretty good with my
hands and a bit of a perfectionist.
Car:
2019 Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor "Stealth" Performance
Midnight Silver Metallic
Objective:
My aim is to use CDP FX vinyl paint to provide some level of paint protection. The simplicity of
application, very low cost, DIY (single person), removability, ability to easily touch up or repaint a
panel etc., make it a way better option in my opinion.
Materials:
3 x 4 litre - CDP FX Satin Clear
I chose to apply satin clear over the existing metallic paint which is in very good condition. By using
clear, there is very little colour change around door jambs etc.
In the following notes, I mention the specific brands of products I used, but similar products should
work. I already had most of the products I used.
Equipment:
# Wagner Flexio 590
# 3M Spraying Respirator Kit
Location and Date:
I painted the car in my Canberra driveway during July 2022 (around 12C each day). These are not ideal conditions, but the area is sheltered with little to no wind and little dust and other junk in the air.
Preparation:
Before you start, I suggest you watch some YouTube videos to get a feel for how liquid vinyl should be applied.
There is lots of good advice out there, and many hours of videos to watch.
Test Panel:
I started by spraying a single panel (bottom part of boot lid) to get a feel for the product and the spray equipment.
I prepared the panel using Bowden's Flash Prep as I had some on hand (I ended up
using Concept Paints Wax & Grease Remover when I did the whole car)
As per the website, CDP FX is very forgiving and is easy to apply. When it goes on, it is very textured,
but dries to a flat finish. I sprayed over the badges resulting in a very nice brushed chrome look.
The day after I sprayed this panel, I noticed some very small brown stains under the clear vinyl.I removed the vinyl (very easy) and found that the spots were caused by iron particles that are normally picked up from the road and brakes (more on this below).
Cleaning the original paint:
I used Autoglym Liquid Clay (bulk version of Magma) to remove iron particle contaminants from the entire car. This liquid converts iron particles to a bright purple liquid which can be rinsed off. It was
amazing to see so much iron on the paint, especially as the Tesla very rarely uses the brakes (regen is used to stop the car in most cases).
After using the Liquid Clay, I washed the car using Autoglym Foaming Car Wash (plain shampoo with no waxes, silicons etc.)
Finally, I went over the entire car with Concept Paints Wax & Grease Remover. I used the two-cloth method. That is, I used one microfibre cloth to apply the cleaner, and another cloth the quickly
remove the cleaner (and contaminants) before it evaporated.
Masking the car:
I spent a lot of time masking the car. It took much longer than I expected, but I wanted to get it right.
I paid particular attention to ensure that the masking didn't bridge any gaps. The only difficulty I had was where the chrome trim above the doors runs along the roof rail.
In most other places, there was enough of a gap to minimise the chance of bridging between a painted surface and the masking tape.
I masked internal edges around the bonnet, boot lid and the doors. The tape was placed around 10mm from the external edges of each panel to ensure good paint coverage of panel edges.
I went over the car again with Wax & Grease Remover to ensure that any hand/finger prints from the masking process were removed.
Painting the car:
As per the CDP FX website (and the many YouTube videos I watched), I started with two light "dusting coats". These coats dried very quickly, even in the cold Canberra winter.
After each coat, I checked over the surface for any contaminants (required because I was painting in my driveway rather than a spray booth).
I found that most contaminants were little insects that
could be mostly removed by lightly rubbing over them with a microfibre cloth after the paint had dried.
After the two dusting coats, I started to apply wet coats. Between each coat, I removed contaminants wherever possible.
After two or three coats, I lost power and the spray gun dribbled paint down the front passenger door. Annoying, but not too hard to fix. I let the paint dry and then peeled it off.
I then repainted the
door with two or three coats to match the level of paint on the rest of the car.
I purchased 12 litres of paint and applied about 11.5 litres to the car. I kept a little over 0.5 litres for touch ups etc. Each coat took around 0.8 litres (the entire roof of the Tesla is glass, so you don't
need as much paint).
I lost count of the number of coats I applied, but it must have been around 12 given that each coat used around 0.8 litres and that I applied several additional coats to the front of the car.
Note that I don’t think counting coats was that useful. It is more important to know how much paint you apply. I applied around 11.5 litres.
Removing the masking:
I left the car for two days before removing the masking (overnight would probably be OK, but it was raining).
Most of the masking came off with no problems because it was not in contact with painted areas.
However, there were some places where the masking tape was close to painted areas (around lights for example). In these cases, the vinyl paint bridged the gap. When removing the masking tape in
these areas, the vinyl could lift. To avoid this, I used a scalpel to carefully score the surface of the vinyl, so that it tore along the score line rather than lifting off the car. It turns out that lifted vinyl can be easily fixed as described below.
Internal edges:
I used a 10mm paint brush to apply CDP FX to all of the internal edges (door jambs, inside boot and bonnet) in order to "blend" the masked internal edges into the original paint and to help ensure that
the vinyl doesn't lift.
Note that, CDP FX vinyl paint dries very quickly. So, when using a paint brush, you need to apply the vinyl paint in a single brush stroke. If you use several strokes, you will end up with a mess. If you
need to apply more paint, wait for it to dry first.
Don't worry too much about brush marks etc. The vinyl paint dries to a flat finish with very little signs of brush marks.
Touchups:
As described above, there were a number of places where the vinyl lifted while removing the masking. To fix this, I used a small paint brush to apply liquid vinyl around these areas.
In most cases the vinyl sat back down and was barely noticeable.
I plan to check for, and repair lifting as the car is used and washed in coming months.
303 Protectant:
The CDP FX website suggests using 303 Protectant to protect the vinyl from UV. I have used this product for years and have found it great for internal surfaces.
However, when I applied the 303 I had on hand (303 "Automotive" Protectant), I found that it didn't standup too well to rain and morning due. When wet, the 303 left faint spots and streaks. While these were easily removed by buffing with a microfibre cloth, it was annoying.
I am still waiting to see how 303 performs in the coming months, but I have noticed that after a couple of days and additional buffing, the spots no longer seem to appear when the car get wet. So, all good so far.
Lessons:
1/ Good preparation is essential. Don't skip on cleaning and do the best masking job you can. Make sure you go over every part of the paint with wax and grease remover before applying the vinyl.
2/ Watch lots of Youtube videos to learn as much as you can from others who have applied liquid vinyl.
3/ If you are not using a spray booth (or garage), check for contaminants on the surface between each coat. In many cases, contaminants such a small insects can be removed or smoothed over using a microfibre cloth after each coat of paint dries.
4/ Be carefull when removing masking tape that is close to the vinyl coating. Some people suggest removing masking tape while the vinyl is still wet. This seems to work, but is not that easy by yourself, and because CDP FX dries so quickly (around 10 minutes).
5/ Relax and don't panic. CDP is very forgiving. You can peel it off a panel and start again if required. You can also use a brush to touch up small defects - the brushed on paint dries to a flat finish.
Summary:
The results are very impressive. The car looks great and the vinyl should offer some paint protection.
It will be interesting to see how it holds up over the next year or so.