đź’¦ Detailing What’s the consensus on Ceramic Coatings?

Yaj Yak

Gladys
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Damn wasn’t expecting these responses. My cars freshly painted so no need for polish but was considering ceramic until I read this thread. Anyone recommend a good sealant?


my wife's crv when we got it new we ceramic coated it.

i like it. she's not one to go out of her way to get her vehicle washed, so a quick drive through touchless does wonders 95% of the time.
 
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Yaj Yak

Gladys
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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.

0502b93c235d9943c73ea212b3771a19.jpg


what wheels are those?
 

Chet Donnelly

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what wheels are those?
Vorsteiner Venomrex vr-601's in carbon graphite color. They're 20x9, but a +12 offset vs a +44 stock, so they fill out the wheel well without sticking way out. Tires are 33 inch Nitto Ridge Grapplers, so one inch taller than stock.

Was trying to widen the stance a little, without going huge bro deep dish wheels, and keeping them light so I wasn't adding any rotational mass (each wheel/tire ended up about 7 pounds less than stock).
 
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cacicgtp7

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That seems like a lot of money

I concur - way too much, which sparked this thread haha.

Yeah, know a dude that had his whole car clear wrapped

That has to cost similar to vinyl wraps no? Like 2-3K?

Maintaining is key... Something I didn't do initially.

Another reason I think I'm out. Maintaining every year is more investment, and for a daily it doesn't sound like I'd get even close to 3-5 years out of this protection anyway. Time to check into this Wolfgang 3.0.




Appreciate the comments from everyone, it's been a very helpful thread and quickly steered me in a new direction.
 

Chet Donnelly

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less weight than stock is fucking incredible while going to a taller tire. that's awesome.

im assuming also then it's not an E range tire as well?
Yeah, they're 4 ply, same as stock. I wanted the 305 width tires, but they only came E rated and I didn't want each tire weighing ~70lbs, so I settled for 275's.
 
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jason05gt

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Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 and NEVER look back. The shit it pure gold in terms of vibrance and pop.


It’s the best. I’ve been using it for years and it checks all the boxes. Longevity, gloss and ease of application. Plus a bottle goes a long ways, so the cost per application is reasonable.
 
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cdh027

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RedBeard

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Wow, kind of surprised at the negative thoughts on ceramic. I guess I also had the same expectations of this being a mostly “set it and forget it” with just occasional Reload application.

Kind of makes sense though. The detailers on YouTube that rave about it are the ones willing to do the maintenance work so they see those results.

For a daily it seems like a polish, sealant and then regular wax applications would be the easiest.
 

jason05gt

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Turtle Wax’s Seal & Shine and Hybrid Ceramics are nice too. I use those them with every wash.

Also, if you have a ceramic coating don’t give up on it. CarPro makes a product called Essence that “jewels” the coating. It makes a huge difference in gloss and even lightly corrects the coating.
 

Bird1989

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Here goes my opinion after applying a wide variety of ceramic coatings over the last 5 years on pretty much every type of vehicle from vehicles that see 50k+ a year to vehicles that are concourse quality... I'm actually on the opposite end of the spectrum believing that it is much better to apply to a daily driven vehicle compared to a vehicle that never sees light. There is a also a huge difference between applying what I consider a true coating such as Gtechniq Exo/Exo,Crystal Serum Light, Crystal Serum Ultra, any of the CQuartz Coatings, and any of the Carpro Coatings vs a spray on ceramic coating or wax/sealant like any of the megs products such as their new ceramic wax. I believe that the newer the paint the better the product adheres to the vehicle no matter how much prep goes into prior to application. I have noticed certain paints seem to hold onto the hydrophobic qualities of the product and some of them sheet, and this is after an application that took place years prior. As far as slickness goes with any of the Gtechniq products I've used its extremely slick and slowly loses it's slickness over time. On my 20 year old jeep that I coated over 3.5 years ago with crystal serum ultra it was holding up extremely well until this past winter where I have finally started to lose its hydrophobic properties after not washing it much over the winter. I feel everyone is gonna have a different result on their vehicle pending what product they use and how they prep it prior to application.
 

Shawn1112

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I'm torn between yes and no. Yes it makes washes easier, but paint never pops as it would with a good sealant or wax.
I 100% would not pay for a shop to do it, even if I didnt know how to do it myself.
Didnt do my Hawk as it has a 3 stage paint with pearl and want to experiment with different coatings. Will be doing it on the Wifeys 2020 Cherokee because its white. Imo white never really pops more or less with different coatings, its white lol. I'll do hers again for ease of washes and a little bit of protection.
 
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IDAFC21

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Also, if you have a ceramic coating don’t give up on it. CarPro makes a product called Essence that “jewels” the coating. It makes a huge difference in gloss and even lightly corrects the coating.

This is what I will probably be doing with my car. Tho now that temps are regularly above 100 again, I think I will wait until winter once this state is no longer on fire.

To clarify on what I said earlier, I don't regret going ceramic. It is fantastic stuff, but as many have already said in this thread, everyones mileage will vary depending on what kinda use your car gets, the environment its in, and yes, how well you actually maintain it. Thats the decision you have to make for yourself. I probably didn't do as good a job as I should have maintaining mine, but with the way things are out here, its not always possible, or convenient. Got the devils anus blasting heat down on the thing all the time, sandstorms, monsoons....god, people were not meant to live out here!! I did apply Reload to it periodically, but again, I probably didn't maintain a frequent enough schedule for that, and I've also grown quite fond of Hydro2 lite. Literally just spray it on as youre washing and rinse it off, and you get instant extra hydrophobic protection, and it leaves the paint fairly slick as well. I probably should have been doing that every time I washed the car, but I didnt. I also was never disappointed w/ the slickness either. Yeah when you first apply it and it cures, it's not slick. But after it cured and I put that first layer of Reload on I was quite happy with it.

If you decide the goods outweigh the bads and are confident in doing it yourself, I say go for it. The actual application of the ceramic itself was VERY easy, it's all the damn prep work you have to do BEFORE that that's the pain in the ass :LOL:
 

Great White Drake

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Boom. Didn’t seem like a bad deal, got the sealant, spray detailer, microfiber towel and application pad for $50. Thank you, can’t wait to try it when the cars done.

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