I finished my wife's new car a few weeks ago because I wanted to get some sealant on it quickly. Her office has trees dropping clear sap on the car. She says there is no where else for her to park so I had to get it done. For my CX-5 I am past due and trees at my work are also creating issues even though I park in between the canopies.
Since her new car was fairly clean (not detailed) from the dealer it was not a full day effort.
Two bucket method with new microfiber mitts and Optimum No Rinse
Carpro Iron-x - it was amazing to see the contaminants come out of new paint.
Nanomitt with detail spray to clean a bit more
Carpro Eraser with new microfiber towels
Wolfgang 3.0 High Gloss sealant on the paint, glass and wheels (because that's what I have at the moment)
Buffed lightly with microfiber towels
All microfiber towels were tossed in the laundry and not used twice during the process
Mine I expecting to be a two full day effort. I had not heard of the Carpro Essence so I may look into that. I have Menzerna 4500 with various pads with a Porter-Cable 5" DA. I've used on the CX-5 on the last time I detailed. I've let it get way too dirty this time. The Iron-X is some pretty amazing stuff and makes claying/nanomitt easier.
If I put in a solid effort I may consider Carpro Cquartz and I will also get a bottle of Carpro Reload. I have a friend at work that is also a DIY fanatic in detailing his new GTI. He just put the Cquartz and Reload after a solid prep effort and it looks amazing. We were talking about it using the coating and he was nervous about the timing of how to apply it and take it off. It turned out with the temperature and humidity of the day it was 3 minutes for him. I am a bit nervous about getting it right as well. Amazing to see his car looked freshly detailed even after driving to work in the rain.
I figure I should be putting in the same prep work regardless if it is a coating or a sealant so I might as well consider giving the sealant a try.
Edit: and I am having trouble convincing my wife not to wipe her paint with a dry towel. The first time I caught her she was about to wipe off the dust with an old dirty rough wash towel. The next time she told me she wiped it with a dry microfiber towel. I told her she was essentially sanding the car hoping it would scare her, but it doesn't. I told her to wait until I could wash it with ONR. Ugh!! If one of you guys were to tell her maybe she will listen