Ceramic Coating Cost

[x50]

I'm looking to get my truck coated. I found a local place that is highly recommended and has great reviews. They do classic cars, exotics, and normal everyday cars. I called to get pricing. The owner says the cost varies from $1500 to $2500 depending on which level I wanted. Level 1, 2, or 3. Said level 3 would take 2 full days.

I would love to hear opinions from those who got it done and those in the detailing business who do it. What other questions should I be asking and should I have any concerns.

Thanks in advance!

 

[djevox]

My detailer wanted 4 days of cure time, and my cost for level 1 with System X was $1575. Sounds like his prices are on par with my guy.

 

[Cajun_]

I'm looking to get my truck coated. I found a local place that is highly recommended and has great reviews. They do classic cars, exotics, and normal everyday cars. I called to get pricing. The owner says the cost varies from $1500 to $2500 depending on which level I wanted. Level 1, 2, or 3. Said level 3 would take 2 full days.

I would love to hear opinions from those who got it done and those in the detailing business who do it. What other questions should I be asking and should I have any concerns.

Thanks in advance!

My guy charged 1600 for the gold package which sounds like his level 3. Does it include paint correction and keeping the vehicle to cure it?

 

[SacRebel]

Sounds about right. It's not like you can hire any clown to wash and wax your rig. Ceramic coating needs to be carefully applied and wiped off. Failure to do so will result in streaks, meaning he'll have to strip it all off and do it again. I had mine done on-site so I could just leave my truck in the garage afterwards. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Don't skimp on the ceramic coating.

 

[scottmoyer]

Or, if you can do this yourself, it'll save you a ton.

A few weeks back, I washed, clayed, compounded and polished mine. The next day, I applied the ceramic coating to the entire truck, bumpers, grill, windows, etc. I let the truck sit for 2 days in the garage, and at least 1 week to cure before washing. I paid $150 for the ceramic coating (multiple bottles).

Applying ceramic coating is not difficult at all. The paint correction is more difficult.

 

[securityguy]

Or, if you can do this yourself, it'll save you a ton.

A few weeks back, I washed, clayed, compounded and polished mine. The next day, I applied the ceramic coating to the entire truck, bumpers, grill, windows, etc. I let the truck sit for 2 days in the garage, and at least 1 week to cure before washing. I paid $150 for the ceramic coating (multiple bottles).

Applying ceramic coating is not difficult at all. The paint correction is more difficult.

THIS^^^

Very easy and cheap to do it yourself.

 

[Cajun_]

THIS^^^

Very easy and cheap to do it yourself.

need to be willing to do a good job with the paint correction. Gyeon came out with an evo line thats great for diy

 

[Cda3488]

My detailer wanted 4 days of cure time, and my cost for level 1 with System X was $1575. Sounds like his prices are on par with my guy.

I do it for $750 on average depending on paint correction needed.

 

[djevox]

I do it for $750 on average depending on paint correction needed.

Congrats?

 

[ferraiolo1]

It is a lot cheaper to do yourself if you dont need a full paint correction, but if you screw it up its on you. Generally when its done at a shop they give you a warranty.

Ive used avalon king on my vehicles and so far its holding up well, jut allot yourself about three days in a garage to do everything properly.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

My dealership has a contract with a local shop and do the outside AND the inside for $900. It's been holding up well so far, however there was no paint correction involved, and I'm betting it will only last a couple of years, even with refreshers (like Adam's CS3). It also comes with a 5-year interior and exterior wear warranty, and it's fairly comprehensive.

I'm sure 3rd party jobs are more thorough and will hold up better for longer with proper maintenance, but for my needs the dealer job was sufficient.

 

[Cajun_]

if a 3 million dollar Ferrari needs paint correction right from the factory before coating then your truck will too. Its worth it.

 

[securityguy]

if a 3 million dollar Ferrari needs paint correction right from the factory before coating then your truck will too. Its worth it.

And you can easily paint correct it yourself too!

 

[djevox]

And you can easily paint correct it yourself too!

It doesn’t always pay to DIY. There’s going to be guys who don’t want to deal with that. Some of us weigh money vs time when making these decisions.

For example: I can sit on my couch and make more money than my detail guy’s charges averaged per hour.

Another example: I learned how to do window tint very well, but hate it with a passion. I’ll gladly pay someone so I don’t have to do something I hate.

Things are not always cut and dried.

 

[AngelPhoenix]

It doesn’t always pay to DIY. There’s going to be guys who don’t want to deal with that. Some of us weigh money vs time when making these decisions.

For example: I can sit on my couch and make more money than my detail guy’s charges averaged per hour.

Another example: I learned how to do window tint very well, but hate it with a passion. I’ll gladly pay someone so I don’t have to do something I hate.

Things are not always cut and dried.

I feel this.

I've very teach savvy and can fix most software and many hardware issues I and my family run into. But it drives me up a wall dealing with it, even though I'm good at it. I feel like this stuff should just work, at least most of the time, but a plethora of bugs, glitches, user errors, etc. make it so that computers are on the fritz (or just not performing optimally) more often than not.

My wife once said to me, "I don't understand why you don't do this for a living." And I said, "Have you seen my face while I'm doing it? You couldn't pay me enough."

 

[ferraiolo1]

Some people also find satisfaction in doing it, and actually pretty easy, just time consuming, i throw in some headphones and just zone out all day while doing it .

That said i would never want to do it for anyone else than my personal vehicles.

 

[djevox]

I just had a talk with my detailing guy. He still has my wheels and he’s having a hard time professionally ceramic coating them because of the Gyeon Q2 Rim coating I put on them when I first got the wheels. He and I talked extensively about it, and me not working in small sections and not leveling the coating caused a lot of issues for him when he tried to remove the coating and prep for the new one. If you do a DIY application, follow the instructions to a T. Don’t take anecdotal evidence from people online about application- it will just make it harder on you later on.

 

[SnowBlaZR2]

if a 3 million dollar Ferrari needs paint correction right from the factory before coating then your truck will too. Its worth it.

Guess I just got lucky that mine didn't need it.

 

[securityguy]

I just had a talk with my detailing guy. He still has my wheels and he’s having a hard time professionally ceramic coating them because of the Gyeon Q2 Rim coating I put on them when I first got the wheels. He and I talked extensively about it, and me not working in small sections and not leveling the coating caused a lot of issues for him when he tried to remove the coating and prep for the new one. If you do a DIY application, follow the instructions to a T. Don’t take anecdotal evidence from people online about application- it will just make it harder on you later on.

Sorry to hear you had issues. However, you do realize that this was all your mistake. If you read the instructions and watch a YT video…or two…the messages are all the same. Prep correctly, work in small sections and let cure for 1-5 minutes based on temp and humidity. If you don’t want to read instructions or watch a few vids, then you deserve what you get.

 

[djevox]

Sorry to hear you had issues. However, you do realize that this was all your mistake. If you read the instructions and watch a YT video…or two…the messages are all the same. Prep correctly, work in small sections and let cure for 1-5 minutes based on temp and humidity. If you don’t want to read instructions or watch a few vids, then you deserve what you get.

Yes I stated my mistake, so I’m not sure why you reiterated that. However, 5 minutes is apparently too long to let that sit, because that’s what I did for each section.