Ceramic coating, yay or nay?

[Patriotmobiledetail]

Or you could go to Walmart or Amazon and get turtle wax ceramic coating spray for around $15. I put one coat of that on my truck which is black and normally spots after a rain shower. After being on for one week it came just a few drops of rain enough to get the truck wet and after drying there were hardly any spots on the black paint! It only took me about 15 minutes to coat the whole truck! Two coats is supposed to last one year per the instructions! I have no idea about the longevity but I do know that it only takes a few minutes to put a coat on! I always hand wash my vehicle and use a California duster when it gets dusty!

California dusters are not good.
In my on expertise and experience ..especially w a dark colored car...if there is enough dust to be visible you can def induce microscratches on the Clearcoat when using any duster
I would much rather wait a little bit and water mist it and use a stream of air to dry w a plush microfiber drying towel

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

Honestly if you aren't comfortable doing a ceramic yourself, but still want ridiculous hydrophobic properties that last a year or so AND is idiot proof to use, you should check out CarPro's Gliss. I used Gliss as a topper over my Cquartz, but it can be used as a stand alone product and it might be the easiest product I have ever used with great results.

You can also use Gtechniqe's EXO overcoat or standalone
Provides more robustness to the coating and makes it almost waterproof

 

[z0n3]

It was worth it to me to do it myself. I did it with gtechniq CSL and its been great. I dont think I would be willing to pay what people are paying to have it done though.

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

For about $1500, there is a really well reviewed shop in my city that can do the Ceramic Pro with a 7 year warranty. 7 years would be my "lifetime" of the vehicle, as I'll probably trade it at around 5-6-7 years, so that works for me.

If my truck wasn't black, and was a silver or white or similar lighter color, I probably wouldn't do it myself. But for a pure black truck, I'm going to give it a try, see if it helps make washes easier and less stressful on the paint.

Here is a silver one I did.
The pics don't do it justice. The last one is a silver gray rover....thats crystal serum light w 11 hrs of correction

 

[thrillracing]

Here is a silver one I did.
The pics don't do it justice. The last one is a silver gray rover....thats crystal serum light w 11 hrs of correction

Those look really good!

 

[dutchman187]

Here is a silver one I did.
The pics don't do it justice. The last one is a silver gray rover....thats crystal serum light w 11 hrs of correction

Great work on it.

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

Those look really good!

Thank u sir
Like I said my prices are 700 thru 1000 usually and thats UP to 8 hrs of correction.
1500 1700 is way steep

 

[Bearman95]

California dusters are not good.
In my on expertise and experience ..especially w a dark colored car...if there is enough dust to be visible you can def induce microscratches on the Clearcoat when using any duster
I would much rather wait a little bit and water mist it and use a stream of air to dry w a plush microfiber drying towel

I have been using them for 30 years or more And in my experience they are great! Most of my vehicles have been black including my Corvettes and never a problem with scratches! Don’t use them if you don’t want to but I think they’re great!

 

[UnloosedChewtoy]

Thank u sir
Like I said my prices are 700 thru 1000 usually and thats UP to 8 hrs of correction.
1500 1700 is way steep

However, I thought you said yours was a 2 year or so warranty? I figured that was the difference, $500 or so for the extra warranty length.

That and thats the prices around here (I've checked other shops). If I was closer to CO, I'd consider utilizing your services, thats for sure!

 

[SilverNight2020]

Here is a silver one I did.
The pics don't do it justice. The last one is a silver gray rover....thats crystal serum light w 11 hrs of correction

I clearly notice the ceramic coating on the Rover, but the RAM just looks like it got a good detail. Not saying it doesn't look good or you didn't do a good job, but that's really why I haven't decided it's worth the money on a silver truck.

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

Or you could go to Walmart or Amazon and get turtle wax ceramic coating spray for around $15. I put one coat of that on my truck which is black and normally spots after a rain shower. After being on for one week it came just a few drops of rain enough to get the truck wet and after drying there were hardly any spots on the black paint! It only took me about 15 minutes to coat the whole truck! Two coats is supposed to last one year per the instructions! I have no idea about the longevity but I do know that it only takes a few minutes to put a coat on! I always hand wash my vehicle and use a California duster when it gets dusty!

Wow it took me like 7 hours .... but that includes full chemical decon and I was working in full sun so one panel at a time

 

[Rebel20]

I just had mine done today. This is the first vehicle I've ceramic coated so not sure if I can answer whether or not it is worth it. but the shine is incredible. As far as protection and making washes easier we shall see. My truck stays parked outside mostly so figured I would do all I could to protect the paint.

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

I clearly notice the ceramic coating on the Rover, but the RAM just looks like it got a good detail. Not saying it doesn't look good or you didn't do a good job, but that's really why I haven't decided it's worth the money on a silver truck.

Again silver is extremely hard to photograph
Also I laugh at car guys bc let's face it we cheap Fukers lol
My point is the 2 most expensive things on your car is paint and engine we won't think twice of spending 4k on wheels that are also round and get us from a to b.
Yes the optical clearance and reflection of a coating is awesome but what u can't "measure" sometimes even with appearance is that sacrificial layer that has been applied over your existing Clearcoat whether that is worth 800 or 1850 thats in what shop u go w ..how involved the correction is etc
Also mileage and year means zero to me
I've seen cars w 35 miles on the odometer that were washed poorly by dealer and then paper toweled and windexed off by lot techs.
Then I've seen 150k plus daily drivers that have been meticulously clawed handwashed only ad garaged that have minor swirling to fix prior to ceramic application

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

However, I thought you said yours was a 2 year or so warranty? I figured that was the difference, $500 or so for the extra warranty length.

That and thats the prices around here (I've checked other shops). If I was closer to CO, I'd consider utilizing your services, thats for sure!

The 2 years is correct however I do a five yr which is liquid armor proline..3 coats which is rated up to 7 .so 5 to 7 that's around 1300
You can tell the difference of the coating in application bc of the thickness of it.
I get what you are saying

 

[SilverNight2020]

Again silver is extremely hard to photograph
Also I laugh at car guys bc let's face it we cheap Fukers lol
My point is the 2 most expensive things on your car is paint and engine we won't think twice of spending 4k on wheels that are also round and get us from a to b.
Yes the optical clearance and reflection of a coating is awesome but what u can't "measure" sometimes even with appearance is that sacrificial layer that has been applied over your existing Clearcoat whether that is worth 800 or 1850 thats in what shop u go w ..how involved the correction is etc
Also mileage and year means zero to me
I've seen cars w 35 miles on the odometer that were washed poorly by dealer and then paper toweled and windexed off by lot techs.
Then I've seen 150k plus daily drivers that have been meticulously clawed handwashed only ad garaged that have minor swirling to fix prior to ceramic application

Touche...some very good points you make there Sir.

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

Touche...some very good points you make there Sir.

Very welcome

 

[Paultg]

I think the other part of this is deciding for yourself what you see and how happy you need to be with the finished product.

Detailers / professionals see scratches and imperfections a typical owner doesn’t. They offer their services to correct things that might not really bother you. Any paint “correction” is removing some of your clear coat or the product they use is masking the imperfection/scratch. If corrected (at least in my mind) that means layers were removed. That’s why if scratches don't come off by buffing they wet sand.

I’ve never done my own ceramic coating, I think I am going to do it myself on my new ram though. I want to see the condition of the paint first. I suspect a simple clay bar will be enough to prep the fresh paint. At least I hope so.

I want the coating for the ease of cleaning and the longevity.
I've used clay bar, fine cut cleaner, Klasse AIO polish and Sealer with a lot of success on previous vehicles. Success: I smile when I see it done, and normal folks take notice and ask me about them when they see it. Sure I’m not a pro. And a Pro could probably tell me a million things wrong with it. But: a non-Pro will never notice the stuff a Pro doe

The truck will live outside more than previous vehicles. If the truck is in good shape paint wise from factory I think just coating it will be satisfactory for me.
If some wants to show up with a super duper light and show me micro scratches with a microscope than so be it.

The place Im am having the truck oil coated also sells this kit. I was thinking for $119 this is a pretty good deal. They have YouTube videos.

NHOU® Ceramic Coating Kit | NH Oil Undercoating

The NHOU® ceramic coating kit includes everything you need to protect the interior and exterior surface of your vehicle. Purchase to get started today.

nhoilundercoating.com

Anyone have any opinions on actual DIY coating kits?

Paul G.

 

[Patriotmobiledetail]

For 119
Use Gtechniqe crystal serum light
WAY better and pretty DIY friendly.
When u compound sand or polish you do remove clear but u do realize that most will remove miniscule amounts
That's why any REAL detailer needs to live by this motto
The least abrasive and aggressive method that fixes the scratch swirl or issue.

Now ....I dont like covering hiding or filling scratches im.not in the business of masking things I like to.FIX things permanently bit thats my way of operating

Good luck with your project

 

[TheRealCanadier]

Here is a silver one I did.
The pics don't do it justice. The last one is a silver gray rover....thats crystal serum light w 11 hrs of correction

Do you have an opinion on Turtle Wax's Ceramic Spray? And what do you consider regular maintenance; just washing, or doing decon/clay barring?

 

[shrubs2000]

I've never had a vehicle coated before but I have many friends who have. Decided to get the truck done (Mar 2020) and I'm very happy with the results. Also had PPF installed on the hood (partial), the a-pillars, and the area between the headlights and fog lights. The truck paint looks better than the day I drove it home from the dealer.

It sits outside and takes the weather well. Cleaning is a breeze. I no longer use car washes but once a month wash at the house. Drying is via good microfiber towels. The guy that did it gave me a bottle of spray to do every few months while I'm drying it.