💦 Detailing What’s the consensus on Ceramic Coatings?
- Thread starter cacicgtp7
- Start date
I wouldnt do it again. My car still looks great but there are a ton of weird imperfections baked it the ceramic or clear or whatever. Part of that is because I didnt take very good care of it, especially in the winter.
I kind of feel like a good polish and seal is better for a daily. Thats the route I'll be going this year.
I kind of feel like a good polish and seal is better for a daily. Thats the route I'll be going this year.
Best thing to do if you do the prep right. Going on 4 years on the car and still performs well. Car sees all seasons. Prep is everything. I just did a $9 one from amazon on my wife's car. Prep is a bitch, but I'll see how this "cheaper" ceramic holds up. I did some on the windshield of my own car 2 years ago. Still acts like permanent rain-x
I actually sort of agree with
Mook . I put cquartz on my bmw a little over a year ago now, and it's definitely been nice, but since that car is outside way more than its in, and due to the elements out here of the sun/heat/dust/grit, it's effectiveness over the last year has been greatly diminished. I might try to refresh it w/ a good polish/sealant, but I don't know that i'd reapply it to that car again. Now my GTO, which sees more garage time than outside time...... There's more of an argument to be made for ceramic on that. It would last a lot longer on that car, and there is no denying the ease of which you can clean the car when it's got a good coat of ceramic on it.
Mook . I put cquartz on my bmw a little over a year ago now, and it's definitely been nice, but since that car is outside way more than its in, and due to the elements out here of the sun/heat/dust/grit, it's effectiveness over the last year has been greatly diminished. I might try to refresh it w/ a good polish/sealant, but I don't know that i'd reapply it to that car again. Now my GTO, which sees more garage time than outside time...... There's more of an argument to be made for ceramic on that. It would last a lot longer on that car, and there is no denying the ease of which you can clean the car when it's got a good coat of ceramic on it.
Ceramic coating is good stuff. A lot of the marketing is BS though. It's not going to stop scratches or rock chips.
It doesn't provide a slick feeling like wax does. It almost feels like that paint is bare. It gives the paint a lot of gloss, but doesn't have the wet look that a quality carnauba wax leaves.
The ceramic coating bonds to the paint surface, so it provides better protection from UV and chemicals.
Keeping a car clean is a lot easier with ceramic. I've driven my boss 302 several times since I coated it in November and I have yet to wash it. I just blow any dirt or dust off with my cordless leaf blower and use waterless wash on any spots the leaf blower couldn't get.
I still use wax on my daily driver. I put a coat of Collinite 845 on it 2-3 times per year and use Duragloss Aquawax after every wash. Super cheap, easy to use products with very nice gloss and durability.
It doesn't provide a slick feeling like wax does. It almost feels like that paint is bare. It gives the paint a lot of gloss, but doesn't have the wet look that a quality carnauba wax leaves.
The ceramic coating bonds to the paint surface, so it provides better protection from UV and chemicals.
Keeping a car clean is a lot easier with ceramic. I've driven my boss 302 several times since I coated it in November and I have yet to wash it. I just blow any dirt or dust off with my cordless leaf blower and use waterless wash on any spots the leaf blower couldn't get.
I still use wax on my daily driver. I put a coat of Collinite 845 on it 2-3 times per year and use Duragloss Aquawax after every wash. Super cheap, easy to use products with very nice gloss and durability.
I had my Taco truck C coated by a co worker in September and over the winter I ran it thru a gas station touch less car wash yea yea I was in a hurry. After that the water was like a sheet of water, no more water beeding. I was shocked it came off that easy. Now I just spray c- coat it after 2-3 washes and it looks better than the day I got her.
I did CQuartz UK 3.0 on my truck last June and I'm happy with it. Used Reload in the fall and then again in the spring and the coating seems to still be shining and repelling as good as it was last year.
Here is a pic today I took after a quick wash.
Here is a pic today I took after a quick wash.
I did CQuartz UK 3.0 on my truck last June and I'm happy with it. Used Reload in the fall and then again in the spring and the coating seems to still be shining and repelling as good as it was last year.
Here is a pic today I took after a quick wash.
well fuck
that looks good. dunno if i saw the new wheel/tire combo on there yet.
I just got quotes for:
$1,050 for a "5 year warranty" of Ceramic Pro
$1,199 for Kenzo by igl coatings which is a 4-5 year coating
$1,000 for Pro ceramic 2.0 (whatever that means, it's probably just ceramic pro)
$800 for CQuartz 3.0
All prices include at least a stage one paint correction and full exterior detail before application. Also all of the above (except the CQuartz guy) require a "maint" package where you come back yearly for I'm assuming reload or some top coat which is 100-150. It's a money making self licking ice cream cone.
Seems like we have a mixed bag on reviews which is exactly how I thought this would go haha. Still leaning towards doing a 2 stage paint correction and then a good sealant. Plus after looking at the TW Seal and Shine thread...I'm a believer that shit works and at 8 bucks a bottle I could apply it year long for like 20 bucks. I like the idea (and I'm lazy) that if want to go through a tunnel carwash in the winter when it's 28 degrees outside, I won't shit my pants about ruining my thousand dollar ceramic job.
Not worth it, not even close. I ceramic coated my own truck summer of 2018. I prepped the paint perfectly and the coating looked great at first (except for a couple high spots, my fault), but I hated how it wasn't smooth. Then after 5-6 months it ended up with water spots permanently etched in to the coating, which pissed me off to no end. It looked worse than a regular polish would, yet people pay $1k+ to have this done. Wat. BTW I used blackfire ceramic coating.
I left it on over winter for the protection and buffed it off last year. Now I have wolfgang sealant on there.
I left it on over winter for the protection and buffed it off last year. Now I have wolfgang sealant on there.
Ceramic coating can be good if you do it yourself. I would never pay for a shop to do it at their exorbitant costs. The product is more expensive and does have some better durability characteristics, but I like the value of sealants plus the fact I think they look better/feel slicker.
The *only* thing it did better than polish was to keep swirls from forming. So underneath the high spots (which formed incredibly fast btw, like less than 30 seconds), and ugly water spots all over, my paint looked pretty good lol.
It's like the plastic sheets that italian grandma's put on furniture. They don't look great and they feel like shit, but your couch is in good shape
It's like the plastic sheets that italian grandma's put on furniture. They don't look great and they feel like shit, but your couch is in good shape
can't you wax on top of ceramic to provide the wet look? I've been considering a ceramic coating for my new truck in the hopes of being able to effectively do a "touchless" wash on it to avoid swirls. (i.e. hit it with the foam cannon, spray off foam, blow off water with rinse aid + leaf blower.) I seem to get swirls no matter what even with supposed "high quality" microfiber drying towels so I'm thinking of ways to avoid touching the paint.
Using Reload gives mine that smooth feeling. Not quite as soft a feeling as a good wax, but it's smooth.
Agree with the high spots, I have a couple of them too.
I was kind of paying the most attention to this thread for this subject... Once I get the car repainted the best way to protect it...
Are people still doing clear films over their paint to help with chips and all that shit?
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 and NEVER look back. The shit it pure gold in terms of vibrance and pop.
Yeah, know a dude that had his whole car clear wrapped
Thread Info
-
Created -
59Replies
-
2KViews
-
Participants list
