How has your ceramic coating held up

[ElkoNV]

A-Pillars are included. It's not a great price but very fair for the area.

 

[Big Tup]

For those of you that have gotten ceramic coating done , how has it held up? How long since it was applied ? What product was used?
I am picking up my truck from detailer today, had CQUARTZ PRO 2 layers coated with all the prep work. Should it come with paperwork or door jamb sticker? Any way to make sure an inferior product wasn’t used? (Reviews are really good and shop is a certified spot by Carpro Cquartz)

Has anyone out there tried Griot's 3-in-1 Ceramic wax? I know there area alot of options out there (both professionally done and DIY), but I am specifically looking for feedback from anyone who has actually used Griot's 3-in-1 Ceramic wax (ease of applying, ease up removing, results, etc).

 

[SacRebel]

Funny you should ask, I was just noticing this yesterday. It's been about 2-years since I had my ceramic coating applied. No waxes or sealants used since then. Yesterday when I left work I couldn't help but notice how the water still beads up on the hood like it just got waxed. As I drove home the water would just roll off like nothing.

 

[Big Tup]

Funny you should ask, I was just noticing this yesterday. It's been about 2-years since I had my ceramic coating applied. No waxes or sealants used since then. Yesterday when I left work I couldn't help but notice how the water still beads up on the hood like it just got waxed. As I drove home the water would just roll off like nothing.

Thanks for the reply. You used the Griot's 3-in-one ceramic wax?

 

[Eltaco]

I’m interested in taking this on by myself. I don’t mind investing some money to purchase the equipment and taking the time, but it would be my first time. I’m sure there’s a bit of a learning curve, but I struggle to drop $1k+ to pay for professional coatings.

I honestly have some reservations for whether I’m the right candidate for a high-end graphene coating. I drive dirt roads once in a while during many months of the year and there are a couple of months where I spend a lot of time on dirt roads.

I truly don’t care if my truck is more glossy or shiny. I’m pretty well satisfied with that aspect without paint correction/polish.

I have only a couple of small scratches. I have never been through an automatic wash and don’t see any paint swirling.

I am however concerned about how fast my truck gets dirty and hate how my black truck looks especially after my kids brush against it or put hand prints all over the sides. I’m hoping a ceramic / graphene coating helps towards reducing buildup and allows for quicker washes. If I don’t get major benefits from the coating in these regards, I’d probably consider this a waste of my time/money.

I owned my last vehicle for 195k miles and never paint corrected it. It was white, and I was generally happy with it. I think the only reason I’m considering this is because of my black paint.

Curious for honest feedback.

 

[z0n3]

I’m interested in taking this on by myself. I don’t mind investing some money to purchase the equipment and taking the time, but it would be my first time. I’m sure there’s a bit of a learning curve, but I struggle to drop $1k+ to pay for professional coatings.

I honestly have some reservations for whether I’m the right candidate for a high-end graphene coating. I drive dirt roads once in a while during many months of the year and there are a couple of months where I spend a lot of time on dirt roads.

I truly don’t care if my truck is more glossy or shiny. I’m pretty well satisfied with that aspect without paint correction/polish.

I have only a couple of small scratches. I have never been through an automatic wash and don’t see any paint swirling.

I am however concerned about how fast my truck gets dirty and hate how my black truck looks especially after my kids brush against it or put hand prints all over the sides. I’m hoping a ceramic / graphene coating helps towards reducing buildup and allows for quicker washes. If I don’t get major benefits from the coating in these regards, I’d probably consider this a waste of my time/money.

I owned my last vehicle for 195k miles and never paint corrected it. It was white, and I was generally happy with it. I think the only reason I’m considering this is because of my black paint.

Curious for honest feedback.

You really don’t need to dump a lot of money to get the correct tools for doing this. I started from scratch and the most expensive tool was my polisher that I got on Amazon for $70. In addition to that I bought a few griots pads, meguiars compound, polish and I went to work. The second time around I bought a pad kit that works with my drill with smaller pads which makes doing the mirror caps and fender flares easier.

 

[bill-e]

So I had mine done with Kenzo back in early November paint correction and all. Total cost with wheels was $1625. I have no desire to do it myself though I know I could and even have a nice Festool DA sander/polisher.

We're coming out of winter now...still a foot on the ground but at least some of the days warm up above freezing now. I used my portable pressure washer and 5 gal pails of water to wash the truck, probably six times between December and now. I used a foam snow broom to clear the snow trying to not actually touch the paint with it.

I did a quick inspection of it when I washed it the other day and I did not find any scratches or swirls so I was happy with that. The truck looks great though my tires are in dire need of dressing

I realize it's only been one winter but I would absolutely do it again.

 

[ElkoNV]

I’m interested in taking this on by myself. I don’t mind investing some money to purchase the equipment and taking the time, but it would be my first time. I’m sure there’s a bit of a learning curve, but I struggle to drop $1k+ to pay for professional coatings.

I honestly have some reservations for whether I’m the right candidate for a high-end graphene coating. I drive dirt roads once in a while during many months of the year and there are a couple of months where I spend a lot of time on dirt roads.

I truly don’t care if my truck is more glossy or shiny. I’m pretty well satisfied with that aspect without paint correction/polish.

I have only a couple of small scratches. I have never been through an automatic wash and don’t see any paint swirling.

I am however concerned about how fast my truck gets dirty and hate how my black truck looks especially after my kids brush against it or put hand prints all over the sides. I’m hoping a ceramic / graphene coating helps towards reducing buildup and allows for quicker washes. If I don’t get major benefits from the coating in these regards, I’d probably consider this a waste of my time/money.

I owned my last vehicle for 195k miles and never paint corrected it. It was white, and I was generally happy with it. I think the only reason I’m considering this is because of my black paint.

Curious for honest feedback.

Ceramic coating will offer a very small improvement in how fast your truck gets dirty, black is just going to show everything. It will offer a huge improvement in how easy it is to clean. It's not magic, but on a black truck very worth the money. And I mean the do it yourself money. If you have shade or a garage to work in I would recommend Cquartz 3.0, do a small section at a time, and buff off. If you try to large a section it will not be level and you will see it. Personally, I have been using it for years and find it to be a good combination of difficulty to apply, cost, and longevity. I have not tried Avalon King yet myself but it is getting great reviews, based on what I have seen I would not expect it to last as long but easier to apply. MY truck is on order, once it gets here I will put a base coat of Cquartz and then maintain the top with Avalon King for a while and see how it goes. With the ceramic coating, it will be easier to dry too without water spots.

 

[Eltaco]

Ceramic coating will offer a very small improvement in how fast your truck gets dirty, black is just going to show everything. It will offer a huge improvement in how easy it is to clean. It's not magic, but on a black truck very worth the money. And I mean the do it yourself money. If you have shade or a garage to work in I would recommend Cquartz 3.0, do a small section at a time, and buff off. If you try to large a section it will not be level and you will see it. Personally, I have been using it for years and find it to be a good combination of difficulty to apply, cost, and longevity. I have not tried Avalon King yet myself but it is getting great reviews, based on what I have seen I would not expect it to last as long but easier to apply. MY truck is on order, once it gets here I will put a base coat of Cquartz and then maintain the top with Avalon King for a while and see how it goes. With the ceramic coating, it will be easier to dry too without water spots.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

I jumped in head first this weekend and researched this a ton. Decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going the DIY route. I have loaded up a cart at Auto Geek and ready to hit submit. I’m basically starting from scratch (pun intended). Feel free to correct my list if you see errors or omissions. For anyone else interested, you get 20% off at Auto Geek, and if you submit your email they send you a separate code for $25 off. You can use the $25 off the polisher, and 20% off everything else. I’ve decided on the following:

Lastly, I had already chosen the 303 Graphene spray and not sure if I should just continue with it or try one of the other options such as Cquartz. It’s going to be a load of effort to get to the coating phase, so I don’t want all that to be wasted effort, but if I have all of the tools I don’t mind doing this once a year, either. Certainly I’ll have some new scratches to polish out in a years time. Thoughts?

 

[securityguy]

Lastly, I had already chosen the 303 Graphene spray and not sure if I should just continue with it or try one of the other options such as Cquartz. It’s going to be a load of effort to get to the coating phase, so I don’t want all that to be wasted effort, but if I have all of the tools I don’t mind doing this once a year, either. Certainly I’ll have some new scratches to polish out in a years time. Thoughts?

The sprays like 303 are only temporary and you may get 3-6 months. Not a true ceramic coat. If you go with a true ceramic, which is more involved than a spray on, you will get at last 2 years and you can use the 303 as a maintenance coat every 6 months.

 

[z0n3]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

I jumped in head first this weekend and researched this a ton. Decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going the DIY route. I have loaded up a cart at Auto Geek and ready to hit submit. I’m basically starting from scratch (pun intended). Feel free to correct my list if you see errors or omissions. For anyone else interested, you get 20% off at Auto Geek, and if you submit your email they send you a separate code for $25 off. You can use the $25 off the polisher, and 20% off everything else. I’ve decided on the following:

Lastly, I had already chosen the 303 Graphene spray and not sure if I should just continue with it or try one of the other options such as Cquartz. It’s going to be a load of effort to get to the coating phase, so I don’t want all that to be wasted effort, but if I have all of the tools I don’t mind doing this once a year, either. Certainly I’ll have some new scratches to polish out in a years time. Thoughts?

All the items in your cart are solid. The polisher is very nice. As mentioned above I would get a true coating and not just a spray if you're going to go through the process of paint correction. You can use the 303 spray as a maintenance once you ceramic coat it. For coatings I would recommend gtechniq CSL, Adam's graphene ceramic and cQuartz. All of those will be forgiving and easy to apply for your first go around. I liked the Adams polish as it was easy to coat the plastic trim and glass.

 

[Eltaco]

Thanks for the input, guys.

Looks like that will increase my total spend to about $320 to get my feet wet.

I’ll take the plunge and post some results to another thread when I’m done. Just need to find a weekend that offers 10hrs of free time...

 

[ScottChurch]

Thanks for the input, guys.

Looks like that will increase my total spend to about $320 to get my feet wet.

I’ll take the plunge and post some results to another thread when I’m done. Just need to find a weekend that offers 10hrs of free time...

I guess I will throw my opinion in on this. I used the turtle wax spray ceramic on both my truck and my wife’s car. I can say that over a year later that the coating has held up perfectly, the water beads the same as it did on day one and washing both vehicles is much easier now. My wife’s car is black and I feel like it takes her car at least twice as long as to look dirty with the ceramic as it did before the ceramic. I will caveat this by saying I use the turtle wax ceramic wash, ceramic wax and ceramic detailing spray to maintain the finish. Perhaps that is why ours has held up so great.

 

[securityguy]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

I jumped in head first this weekend and researched this a ton. Decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going the DIY route. I have loaded up a cart at Auto Geek and ready to hit submit. I’m basically starting from scratch (pun intended). Feel free to correct my list if you see errors or omissions. For anyone else interested, you get 20% off at Auto Geek, and if you submit your email they send you a separate code for $25 off. You can use the $25 off the polisher, and 20% off everything else.

The Griots G9 is the best orbital on the market with a lifetime warranty. I have both a G9 and a G8 for tight spots. Even with $320 into this, it is still far cheaper than paying someone $1500-$2500 to do it for you and you'll probably do a better job anyway

 

[RamLink83]

My truck is coated with Opti Coat Pro Plus. It has a 7 year warranty. So far I'm in one year with it. It does make clean up easier and noticed the truck stays cleaner longer (rain does a good job rinsing dirt off compared to non-coated vehicle). Would I get this again? Probably not.

I've been using Hydrosilex Recharge on my wife's car and I'm pretty impressed. It's relatively cheap, very easy to apply and lasts pretty long (at least 6 months to a year). It's not a real ceramic coating, just a hybrid si02 coating. After the initial coating, you get better results coating it a few more times (1 week in between applications). Great hydrophobic quality and makes the paint smooth as glass (as long as you do the easy initial prep).

 

[z0n3]

I think I probably spent about $350 when I first got into it as well. However, next time you need to coat your truck again you can paint correct and recoat and the only cost will be some new coating and possibly new pads.

 

[securityguy]

My truck is coated with Opti Coat Pro Plus. It has a 7 year warranty. So far I'm in one year with it. It does make clean up easier and noticed the truck stays cleaner longer (rain does a good job rinsing dirt off compared to non-coated vehicle). Would I get this again? Probably not.

I've been using Hydrosilex Recharge on my wife's car and I'm pretty impressed. It's relatively cheap, very easy to apply and lasts pretty long (at least 6 months to a year). It's not a real ceramic coating, just a hybrid si02 coating. After the initial coating, you get better results coating it a few more times (1 week in between applications). Great hydrophobic quality and makes the paint smooth as glass (as long as you do the easy initial prep).

I have used Hydrosilex too and was very happy with it. Great for a maintenance coating as well.

 

[z0n3]

The Griots G9 is the best orbital on the market with a lifetime warranty. I have both a G9 and a G8 for tight spots. Even with $320 into this, it is still far cheaper than paying someone $1500-$2500 to do it for you and you'll probably do a better job anyway

That's a good setup. I have a cheap $70 amazon 6" DA and I use a pad attachment kit for my cordless drill similar to this. The drill works very good for fender flares, mirror caps and some of the bumper sections. I will need to get a Griots DA once my amazon one craps out.

 

[ElkoNV]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.

I jumped in head first this weekend and researched this a ton. Decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going the DIY route. I have loaded up a cart at Auto Geek and ready to hit submit. I’m basically starting from scratch (pun intended). Feel free to correct my list if you see errors or omissions. For anyone else interested, you get 20% off at Auto Geek, and if you submit your email they send you a separate code for $25 off. You can use the $25 off the polisher, and 20% off everything else. I’ve decided on the following:

Lastly, I had already chosen the 303 Graphene spray and not sure if I should just continue with it or try one of the other options such as Cquartz. It’s going to be a load of effort to get to the coating phase, so I don’t want all that to be wasted effort, but if I have all of the tools I don’t mind doing this once a year, either. Certainly I’ll have some new scratches to polish out in a years time. Thoughts?

That's a solid kit. The RA polisher will last you a lifetime. Since this is your first time I am going to throw in a few pointers, maybe some other members can join in with what I miss, if you already know all this maybe it will help the next person.

Grab some cheap microfiber towels off amazon for removing the ceramic. They don't have to be 400 gsm plush ones. Fold two of them in half twice so you are working with 1/4 of the towel. Use the first one to get 90% off follow up with the second then flip for the second section. Then fold the other way for the next spot etc. Do not keep using the same spot on the towel throughout the sections where you do your application. When you're done throw them away. The ceramic will dry on the towels then you are scratching the surface you spent so much time polishing, that's why the cheapo towels and the ceramic will not come out in the washing machine. I usually look for one color, I have one color for interior one color for wheels, etc.

Be really careful not to contaminate your polishing pads. If your polisher falls over hits the ground throw that pad away!

If you want to save the pad when you are done because you think it has more life left in it, put it in a gallon Ziploc bag with the same bottle of polish you used on the pad. Then next time you know what pad goes with what polish.

That Iron X is gonna stink. I think it's sulfuric acid. When you are done put that in a gallon Ziploc bag as well or you will get whiffs of it walking through the garage.

Be liberal with the spray when using a clay mitt. My experience is sometimes the mitt material can transfer to the vehicle and it is like tar to get off. You want enough solution to allow that mitt to glide. If you run out of solution any soapy car wash without wax will work.

I am not familiar with DP prep spray I usually use Dawn to wash off any wax, then a final pass with straight rubbing alcohol on one of those cheapo microfibers the last thing before applying the coating.

Don't be in a hurry, enjoy the process, work in small areas at a time, you will achieve professional results.

Congrats on your decision.

 

[securityguy]

That's a solid kit. The RA polisher will last you a lifetime. Since this is your first time I am going to throw in a few pointers, maybe some other members can join in with what I miss, if you already know all this maybe it will help the next person.

Grab some cheap microfiber towels off amazon for removing the ceramic. They don't have to be 400 gsm plush ones. Fold two of them in half twice so you are working with 1/4 of the towel. Use the first one to get 90% off follow up with the second then flip for the second section. Then fold the other way for the next spot etc. Do not keep using the same spot on the towel throughout the sections where you do your application. When you're done throw them away. The ceramic will dry on the towels then you are scratching the surface you spent so much time polishing, that's why the cheapo towels and the ceramic will not come out in the washing machine. I usually look for one color, I have one color for interior one color for wheels, etc.

Be really careful not to contaminate your polishing pads. If your polisher falls over hits the ground throw that pad away!

If you want to save the pad when you are done because you think it has more life left in it, put it in a gallon Ziploc bag with the same bottle of polish you used on the pad. Then next time you know what pad goes with what polish.

That Iron X is gonna stink. I think it's sulfuric acid. When you are done put that in a gallon Ziploc bag as well or you will get whiffs of it walking through the garage.

Be liberal with the spray when using a clay mitt. My experience is sometimes the mitt material can transfer to the vehicle and it is like tar to get off. You want enough solution to allow that mitt to glide. If you run out of solution any soapy car wash without wax will work.

I am not familiar with DP prep spray I usually use Dawn to wash off any wax, then a final pass with straight rubbing alcohol on one of those cheapo microfibers the last thing before applying the coating.

Don't be in a hurry, enjoy the process, work in small areas at a time, you will achieve professional results.

Congrats on your decision.

Great advice my friend!