Ceramic Coating - Is Lifetime Really Lifetime?

[wegasque]

I'm looking to get a professional ceramic coating put on my truck. I figured if I pay someone else to do it, I will spend the extra for the 'lifetime' application. So far, I've gotten one quote back form Ceramic Pro on their Ceramic Pro Gold coating. I found a Ceramic Pro Elite Dealer in Phoenix and he says all of their packages come with "ceramic coating of the faces of wheels, glass, and also plastics. We also do a ceramic coating prep polish on the paint to remove any dealer applied waxes or sealants, bring a lot more shine to the paint, and guarantee a clean surface for the ceramic coating to bond to". I'm interested in Ceramic Pro because I am hoping to move from Phoenix to E. TN in the next couple of years and there's a Ceramic Pro dealer in Knoxville.

I haven't ever had a ceramic coating done before and know little about them. I have some questions for those who do have them.

1. Is the 'lifetime' application truly lifetime? I know they warranty it for lifetime, but are they banking on people trading their vehicles in 5 years or so making the warranty null? How long does the coating truly last?
2. What's a reasonable cost for a lifetime application? Their quote was $2,100 which seems pretty reasonable for a lifetime warranty. How much have others spent?

Any assistance you can give is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Their Gold package includes: Detailed wash, detail wheels, clay bar paint, ceramic coating prep polish, 5 layers of ceramic coating on your paint ceramic coat of wheel faces, glass, and plastics also.

 

[db9]

1. Absolutely not. Lucky if you get a year. Ceramics are good but the way they are marketed as the be all end all is very snake oily. The ceramic package and application that the dealerships offer may be the worst of all. Also, how you gonna prove that it "failed"?

2. Way, way, way too much money. If anything let someone do the paint correction/polishing and then apply a ceramic coating yourself for about $250. Me, I enjoy doing it all myself. I give more attention to detail to my own truck. My dad used the "best around" ceramic shop and they missed all kinds of corners and still had swirls, which they then sealed in behind the ceramic. Shotty at best.

 

[wegasque]

1. Absolutely not. Lucky if you get a year. Ceramics are good but the way they are marketed as the be all end all is very snake oily. The ceramic package and application that the dealerships offer may be the worst of all. Also, how you gonna prove that it "failed"?

2. Way, way, way too much money. If anything let someone do the paint correction/polishing and then apply a ceramic coating yourself for about $250. Me, I enjoy doing it all myself. I give more attention to detail to my own truck. My dad used the "best around" ceramic shop and they missed all kinds of corners and still had swirls, which they then sealed in behind the ceramic. Shotty at best.

Thanks. I appreciate the feedback from folks with experience in this.

 

[badpewterz]

the warranties are very very vague.
almost all of them require"yearly maintenance" (read as deep clean and re-apply on your dime but w/o the paint correction so as to save labor costs) otherwise warranty is not valid

 

[GMetal]

I bought Chemical Guys Ceramic "wax" WAC22196 it goes on super easy and buffs off easy. Took me a few hours to apply to all the panels and roof. Water just beads up and rolls off. Cleaning the truck is really fast now. That "professional" ceramic is very snake oil sales like. Nothing is your lifetime. Its always the lifetime of the product like others said. The wax I bought is expensive ($30/16oz) but it goes a long way. its 3/4 full and Ive waxed my truck, wheels, and car. Seems to hold up well to 2-3 car washes a week for the last 3 months

 

[HSKR R/T]

Quality professionally installed ceramic coating, which should include paint correction, will indeed last years. It doesn't sound like your shop does full paint correction They aren't the same as the OTC stuff the average hobbyist can buy and apply in their driveway. They have to be manufacturer certified to apply the product. As mentioned, most require an annual maintenance wash, but read the contract. The contract should also spell out what they consider "lifetime". I paid for a 7-year coating on my truck which has a warranty, and also included an interior treatment that has a guarantee against rips, tears, or stains on the interior for 7-years. It also gets reported to Carfax and will show up on Carfax report if you do decide to sell. Warranty is transferable, but I have no intention of selling. I paid $1400 for mine. I can't imagine any coating will truly last a "lifetime" of owner, so read the contract. I need to get mine back in because there are some dull spots on the coating now.

I'm not 100% happy with the shop that did mine, but they use a proprietary coating they supposedly developed in house. I have had them do a previous car when they used Cquartz coatings, but between that car and my truck, they switched to their own ceramic products, and also their head detailer left. the quality isn't the same but am kind of stuck with them until the warranty in my coating is up. Unless I want to pay to have another shop strip off the current coating and re-apply different stuff.

 

[wegasque]

Quality professionally installed ceramic coating, which should include paint correction, will indeed last years. It doesn't sound like your shop does full paint correction They aren't the same as the OTC stuff the average hobbyist can buy and apply in their driveway. They have to be manufacturer certified to apply the product. As mentioned, most require an annual maintenance wash, but read the contract. The contract should also spell out what they consider "lifetime". I paid for a 7-year coating on my truck which has a warranty, and also included an interior treatment that has a guarantee against rips, tears, or stains on the interior for 7-years. It also gets reported to Carfax and will show up on Carfax report if you do decide to sell. Warranty is transferable, but I have no intention of selling. I paid $1400 for mine. I can't imagine any coating will truly last a "lifetime" of owner, so read the contract. I need to get mine back in because there are some dull spots on the coating now.

I'm not 100% happy with the shop that did mine, but they use a proprietary coating they supposedly developed in house. I have had them do a previous car when they used Cquartz coatings, but between that car and my truck, they switched to their own ceramic products, and also their head detailer left. the quality isn't the same but am kind of stuck with them until the warranty in my coating is up. Unless I want to pay to have another shop strip off the current coating and re-apply different stuff.

Thanks. What would you include in full paint protection? Are you talking about scratch removal?

After reading the replies, I'm not fully dissuaded on a professional doing it. I just got more information on the warranty and it does appear that the annual "inspection" which includes exterior wash, decontamination and inspection and possible reapplication of coating within 30 days of the anniversary date. If you miss an inspection, the lifetime warranty would turn into a 5-year warranty from the date of the last inspection. I'm still not fully sold, but not ready to move on yet either.

 

[wegasque]

the warranties are very very vague.
almost all of them require"yearly maintenance" (read as deep clean and re-apply on your dime but w/o the paint correction so as to save labor costs) otherwise warranty is not valid

Thanks. Yes, I'm finding that out. It's hard to find the correct warranty information.

 

[wegasque]

I bought Chemical Guys Ceramic "wax" WAC22196 it goes on super easy and buffs off easy. Took me a few hours to apply to all the panels and roof. Water just beads up and rolls off. Cleaning the truck is really fast now. That "professional" ceramic is very snake oil sales like. Nothing is your lifetime. Its always the lifetime of the product like others said. The wax I bought is expensive ($30/16oz) but it goes a long way. its 3/4 full and Ive waxed my truck, wheels, and car. Seems to hold up well to 2-3 car washes a week for the last 3 months

Thanks, that looks like a decent product. If it holds up well, it's not really all that expensive, all things considered.

 

[esquare]

I got a quote locally for my previous Jeep Grand Cherokee and I think it was over $3k and was guaranteed for 3 years I believe. I decided to do it myself on the Jeep and on my current Ram 1500. Took 4 days for the Ram and my shoulders still hurt. I used Chemical Guys HydroSlick (Lasts 2 years i think) on the Jeep but didn't have it long enough to comment on durability/longevity. I used AvalonKing (supposed to last 2 - 5 years) on the Ram and that was 2 months ago so again, can't comment on longevity. The ceramic portion of the process was ridiculously easy, its the prep that takes forever and is the most important.

2 things jump out at me with your quote, they don't seem to do as much prep and paint correction as I did and they say "5 layers of ceramic coating on your paint". It is my understanding that ceramic doesn't layer on itself and while you may want to put 2 layers to make sure you don't miss any spots 5 layers seems like a marketing ploy.

Just my 2 cents and I am not a professional so I don't really know what I'm talking about,

 

[HSKR R/T]

I got a quote locally for my previous Jeep Grand Cherokee and I think it was over $3k and was guaranteed for 3 years I believe. I decided to do it myself on the Jeep and on my current Ram 1500. Took 4 days for the Ram and my shoulders still hurt. I used Chemical Guys HydroSlick (Lasts 2 years i think) on the Jeep but didn't have it long enough to comment on durability/longevity. I used AvalonKing (supposed to last 2 - 5 years) on the Ram and that was 2 months ago so again, can't comment on longevity. The ceramic portion of the process was ridiculously easy, its the prep that takes forever and is the most important.

2 things jump out at me with your quote, they don't seem to do as much prep and paint correction as I did and they say "5 layers of ceramic coating on your paint". It is my understanding that ceramic doesn't layer on itself and while you may want to put 2 layers to make sure you don't miss any spots 5 layers seems like a marketing ploy.

Just my 2 cents and I am not a professional so I don't really know what I'm talking about,

The more layers the longer the warranty. That's kind of how it works with the professional applications. The professional coatings last longer than any DIY application the average user can purchase. That's how they offer warrantys on the coating.

I do agree, with the description he gave, they aren't really doing a full paint correction. More or less, they are just doing a clay bar and probably iron removing. A true paint correction will remove any swirls, and quite a bit of the factory orange peel on the paint

 

[db9]

Y'all got more money to blow than me, lol.

 

[wegasque]

I did find out more information from the Ceramic Pro dealer. They include a Level 1 paint correction. With 3600 miles on my truck in 8 months, the paint is not in bad shape (to my novice eyes).

Their warranty does require annual maintenance visits to keep up the lifetime warranty, which cost $200 each maintenance visit. You could actually get the maintenance visit done at any Ceramic Pro dealer in the US. Like @HSKR R/T stated, it is logged into Carfax so you have that record.

@HSKR R/T : based on your experience, would you go the professional route again?

 

[HSKR R/T]

I did find out more information from the Ceramic Pro dealer. They include a Level 1 paint correction. With 3600 miles on my truck in 8 months, the paint is not in bad shape (to my novice eyes).

Their warranty does require annual maintenance visits to keep up the lifetime warranty, which cost $200 each maintenance visit. You could actually get the maintenance visit done at any Ceramic Pro dealer in the US. Like @HSKR R/T stated, it is logged into Carfax so you have that record.

@HSKR R/T : based on your experience, would you go the professional route again?

Most definitely would have it professionally applied again. Just won't use the same detail shop

 

[wegasque]

Most definitely would have it professionally applied again. Just won't use the same detail shop

Thanks.

 

[Paco]

I had a dealer do mine when I bought my 2014 eco diesel.
The best $900:00 dollars I have ever spent.
I sold it last year and the paint still impressed me.
Thats my experience, they did show me pictures of them doing it, and it was impressive.

 

[bigdodge]

I'm looking to get a professional ceramic coating put on my truck. I figured if I pay someone else to do it, I will spend the extra for the 'lifetime' application. So far, I've gotten one quote back form Ceramic Pro on their Ceramic Pro Gold coating. I found a Ceramic Pro Elite Dealer in Phoenix and he says all of their packages come with "ceramic coating of the faces of wheels, glass, and also plastics. We also do a ceramic coating prep polish on the paint to remove any dealer applied waxes or sealants, bring a lot more shine to the paint, and guarantee a clean surface for the ceramic coating to bond to". I'm interested in Ceramic Pro because I am hoping to move from Phoenix to E. TN in the next couple of years and there's a Ceramic Pro dealer in Knoxville.

I haven't ever had a ceramic coating done before and know little about them. I have some questions for those who do have them.

1. Is the 'lifetime' application truly lifetime? I know they warranty it for lifetime, but are they banking on people trading their vehicles in 5 years or so making the warranty null? How long does the coating truly last?
2. What's a reasonable cost for a lifetime application? Their quote was $2,100 which seems pretty reasonable for a lifetime warranty. How much have others spent?

Any assistance you can give is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Their Gold package includes: Detailed wash, detail wheels, clay bar paint, ceramic coating prep polish, 5 layers of ceramic coating on your paint ceramic coat of wheel faces, glass, and plastics also.

ceramic pro has a good product and the lifetime warranty works if you take it back every year for an application of an update.

they do paint correction, they had my truck for 5 days and it really looks good.

after a year it still looks like it was done yesterday
I use this whenever it looks dirty

Rinse Free Wash And Shine Complete Hoseless Car Wash | Chemical Guys

Rinse-Free is the innovative car wash shampoo that uses next-generation rinseless technology to safely remove dirt, filth, and grime from any car with no hose, no mess, and no scratching or swirling.

www.chemicalguys.com

 

[djevox]

The shop I like had mine for 4 days doing the coating and I couldn’t find any problems with it under a light. It was expensive, but worth it just for how easy it is to clean bugs and dirt off.

 

[frisby5]

Thanks.

Are you still in AZ ? I am having my truck ceramic coated at AZ Aesthetics its next to Mesa Gateway ,i went to visit the shop and they have a good setup and took me for a tour and they had some high end cars in there.

 

[Nascar Tommy]

Hi, has anyone had Ziebart Zgloss ceramic coating applied to a vehicle?
Ziebart is one of my few options and I do like the people there.
I've used them for my bed liner my Bakflip and had the wife's car detailed there.
Unless I hear something really bad I'm probably gonna end up there.
Ziebart of Winamac, IN.