Automotive Ceramic Coatings Anyone Have One on Their Car?

wvsig

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish...
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Aug 23, 2017
Messages
10,030
Location
VA
Rating - 100%
15   0   0
I am considering getting a Ceramic Coating on the wifes new ride. I know it won't prevent rock chips but it should protect the clear coat and the paint. Basically acting like a harder wax. Companies claim 5 to 9 years of protection but speaking with several quality detailers tell me that they will not last that long. They will not entirely prevent paint swirls or scratches but in 5 years I can strip it off and not be touching the actual paint.

In the past I have have done wash, clay, polish & sealant and or wax but those cars were used and had imperfections in the paint before they became mine. In the end I know it will not stay perfect forever because it is a daily driver and not a "garage queen" but looking for feedback from anyone who has done a ceramic coating on their cars. If you have done it what is your experience.? What did you use and would you do it again?

Thanks in advance.
 
How much would something like that cost?

It really depends on the condition of the car and the product being applied. DIY stuff if you can do the prep work can cost as little as $200 if it is done by a detailer $750 to $1300 again depending on the product and the amount of prep work needed. The coating itself is not that much but the prep work prior to application is what costs. A good shop will paint correct and polish the car before coating.

 
Last edited:
One of my customers had something like that done to his Viper and his Hellcat. I'll have to ask him the next time I see him what he thinks about it.
 
This comes up from time to time on garagejournal
 
Ended up doing a ceramic coating on the wifes M3. We went with Gtechniq Crystal Seru Ultra Black and EVO. I had it installed by Carolina Auto Image in Chesnee, South Carolina. The owner Brue was awesome to work with. Amazing customer service. http://www.carolinaautoimage.com

It came out great. The car really pops. Look better than when we picked it up at the dealer. The hydrophobic properties is amazing. Water simply runs off. It makes is much easier to wash and dry the car. It is like having another layer of clear coat on the car. It has that just washed wet look all the time. You still have to treat the coated surface just like you would the standard painted clear coat. It can still swirl and you can still scratch it but you are not scratching the paint itself. You can still seal and wax the car as you would normally. If you take care of it the coating should last between 5-9 years. If at anytime it shows excessive wear you can polish it out and do it again but you will still have your original paint.




yyWKgke.jpg


fjCmSYT.jpg
 
Last edited:
I’m gonna clay bar and polish my new to me truck I got the first of October. And then do a coating like this. Mequiars makes a spray on called Ultimate Quik Wax. Yellow and black bottle. It is a polymer based coating and repels water like you’re talking. I use it now but once I clay bar and polish the truck, I’ll probably order some top coat or something like that to use on it
 
I’m gonna clay bar and polish my new to me truck I got the first of October. And then do a coating like this. Mequiars makes a spray on called Ultimate Quik Wax. Yellow and black bottle. It is a polymer based coating and repels water like you’re talking. I use it now but once I clay bar and polish the truck, I’ll probably order some top coat or something like that to use on it

Check out the consumer product from Gtechniq. You do their Crystal Serum light and then a coat of EXO. If you are going to do the prep work and paint correction yourself their kit only costs $110. I am really impressed with the results from their professional product. Granted it has only been on the car for 3 weeks but so far I am impressed.

https://usa.gtechniq.com/products/auto/protect/exterior/paint/exo-and-crystal-serum-light
 
Last edited:
I should really read all the post before I ask questions! lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
My wife’s Camry has the ceramic coating. It is guaranteed for 7 years. That was one of the things the dealership included. My wife was almost done with Toyota (because of Modern In Boone and Winston), this was one of the extras that Mike Johnson Toyota did to convince her to buy from them. They still beat Modern’s price buy over $2k also.

It made the car insanely shiny. So far it still looks great, but she has only had it for a few months.
 
Last edited:
I hose my truck off once a month. Wash it once a season.

It's "silver", or alternately, "gray" when it's dirty. It shows no dirt. :D
 
Last edited:
I hose my truck off once a month. Wash it once a season.

It's "silver", or alternately, "gray" when it's dirty. It shows no dirt. :D

Yes I guess we could have gone that route. LOL That is pretty much how I treat my truck except
I do put a paint sealant on it twice a year and wash it once. Qtr.
 
Last edited:
Snazzy M3. My license would go bye bye within a week.

It is hard not to speed. For the first 1200 miles we had to keep it under 5000 RPM and under 105 MPH to properly break in the engine before its 1200 miles service. It was a long 2 months.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NKD
Yes I guess we could have gone that route. LOL That is pretty much how I treat my truck except
I do put a paint sealant on it twice a year and wash it once. Qtr.
My strategy only works with silver. I don't even like silver. lol
 
My friend had a ceramic coating done on his 2005 Tacoma, bright blue, very well taken care of, and he thought this would be a worthwhile way of protecting the paint for a long time.

Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be lasting a whole lot better than a good synthetic wax. He paid $700 for a full detail, clay, polish, ceramic coating. It’s been about 6mo now. He and I agree it’s only about 20-30% better than some of the best synthetic waxes. And he parks in the garage the majority of the time.

I’ll stick with my Meguiars Ultimate synthetic wax.
 
Last edited:
My friend had a ceramic coating done on his 2005 Tacoma, bright blue, very well taken care of, and he thought this would be a worthwhile way of protecting the paint for a long time.

Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be lasting a whole lot better than a good synthetic wax. He paid $700 for a full detail, clay, polish, ceramic coating. It’s been about 6mo now. He and I agree it’s only about 20-30% better than some of the best synthetic waxes. And he parks in the garage the majority of the time.

I’ll stick with my Meguiars Ultimate synthetic wax.

Interesting. What did the detailer apply? $700 for the complete detail of an older car with paint correction and the coating is super cheap. Lots of different products and the installer also makes a difference. What aspects of the ceramic coating is not "better"? Is it the shine and look? Hydrophobic properties. Ease of cleaning? I am not doubting you at all but and interested in what exactly was done and where the you guys feel the ceramic coating is not living up to the hype. @Jerzsubbie
 
Last edited:
Interesting. What did the detailer apply? $700 for the complete detail of an older car with paint correction and the coating is super cheap. Lots of different products and the installer also makes a difference. What aspects of the ceramic coating is not "better"? Is it the shine and look? Hydrophobic properties. Ease of cleaning? I am not doubting you at all but and interested in what exactly was done and where the you guys feel the ceramic coating is not living up to the hype. @Jerzsubbie
I don’t know what product the guy used. My friend did say it was one of the cheaper options. From what I recall the detailer washed, clayed, touched up any rock chips, polished, and applied the ceramic coating. Then it cured for a couple days before my friend could pick the truck back up.
It looked stunning when I first saw it! Now 6mo later, the paint still looks great, as it always has, but it’s not nearly as shiny. It was Teflon-like but now dirt and grime seem to stick better and water doesn’t bead off as well. He takes super good care of his truck and it’s usually garage parked so I chalk it up to an ineffective coating, be it product flaw or installation flaw. But I’ve gotten a solid 4-5mo out of Meguiars ultimate synthetic wax before it started to really lose the hydrophobic properties, and my vehicles are parked outdoors. A coworker has had excellent results with Klasse on his Porsche, particularly with preventing exhaust residue from sticking to his rear bumper. Klasse takes a little more effort to apply than wax but quite effective.
That is the basis for my belief that ceramic is not worth it.
 
I don’t know what product the guy used. My friend did say it was one of the cheaper options. From what I recall the detailer washed, clayed, touched up any rock chips, polished, and applied the ceramic coating. Then it cured for a couple days before my friend could pick the truck back up.
It looked stunning when I first saw it! Now 6mo later, the paint still looks great, as it always has, but it’s not nearly as shiny. It was Teflon-like but now dirt and grime seem to stick better and water doesn’t bead off as well. He takes super good care of his truck and it’s usually garage parked so I chalk it up to an ineffective coating, be it product flaw or installation flaw. But I’ve gotten a solid 4-5mo out of Meguiars ultimate synthetic wax before it started to really lose the hydrophobic properties, and my vehicles are parked outdoors. A coworker has had excellent results with Klasse on his Porsche, particularly with preventing exhaust residue from sticking to his rear bumper. Klasse takes a little more effort to apply than wax but quite effective.
That is the basis for my belief that ceramic is not worth it.

Yeah quality ceramic coating should hold its hydrophobic properties better longer than that. How does he wash his car? Does he use a foam gun and then the 2 bucket method? Does he use a lot of "touch less" car washes. Those things are hell on any wax, coating or sealant. Has he applied other waxes, or sealants after the ceramic coating?

I like Meguairs products. They do a solid job at a fair price. To me it sounds like a crappy coating was used. I do not believe that ceramic coating will last as long as many claim. I think that 70% of the "guaranteed" life of the coating is more realistic. So if you are getting a 7 year warranty it should last 5ish. If I were your buddy I would go back to the detailer. There is no way it should have lost its gloss or hydrophobic properties by now. If it was a good shop using a good coating he should have a warranty and they should do it again. To me it sound like he got a sealant not a ceramic coating. My experience with sealants is they has about 4-6 months depending how you wash. IMHO
 
Last edited:
@wvsig Exactly, the performance seems more in line with what you see from synthetic waxes/sealants. It was definitely sold to him as a ceramic coating, and I have no idea about any warranty. I'll mention it to him though.
As for wash method, "take it to a car wash"?!!? Who would ever dare destroy their car like that?! Nope! Seriously though, no foam gun but we both use microfiber mitt w/ 2 bucket method and a quality soap (I'm using Chemical guys right now, works great for tumbling brass too! No water spots.).
 
Back
Top Bottom