This is the way I read it:

Only mats/ingredients are becoming NQ/HQ. Final products can still be +1+2+3 by this procedure:

Taking a HQ gear (sword+1) and combining it with another item will turn it into a sword+2 and so on by means of a higher level recipe.

I could be wrong, but again that's just the way I read it. Based on what he said here:

Originally Posted by Naoki_Yoshida:

"In addition, there will be higher level synthesis recipes that use “Cobalt Sabatons” as an ingredient. In this case, if “Cobalt Sabatons HQ” is used as an ingredient along with other HQ ingredients, an even higher level HQ item can be crafted"

Meaning your +2 and +3's ????

Would like a Rep to clarify this.