Anyone know about ceramic coatings?

[greg_tahoe84]

I am going to get my car professionally detailed with a ceramic coating but there are many places with their respective brands they use. Gyeon? Getechniq? System X?

Anyone have any insight on which one I should go? Or does it matter?

https://fortworthceramiccoatings.com/ceramic-coating-fort-worth-texas/ This is the one I am looking at currently. Gets very good google reviews and seems well organized.

I am in the Fort Worth area.

 

[AUTiger13]

I went with Ceramic Pro Gold. Have heard good things about it. Also, you can take it to any Ceramic Pro certified installer for touch ups (free)

 

[Onlyone]

Do it yourself. It’s easy and you can save yourself a whole lot of money. There is no such thing as a coating lasting 5 years. Even the best graphene or ceramic coating might last a year. Ceramic coating is awesome. Crazy easy to apply and makes washing and breeze. If your vehicle doesn’t need a lot of paint correction, there is no reason to pay those amounts. It’s much easier than any wax to and you can apply it to everything. Windows, trim, molding etc.

 

[STORMIN08]

Do it yourself. It’s easy and you can save yourself a whole lot of money. There is no such thing as a coating lasting 5 years. Even the best graphene or ceramic coating might last a year. Ceramic coating is awesome. Crazy easy to apply and makes washing and breeze. If your vehicle doesn’t need a lot of paint correction, there is no reason to pay those amounts. It’s much easier than any wax to and you can apply it to everything. Windows, trim, molding etc.

i dont totally disagree with this, but if you dont know or understand how this works or what it does, you can make the vehicle look worse and make it harder for others to fix.

that said, i do believe in coatings for DAILY DRIVERS, not so much for classics or customs as mst people enjoy polishing on those...per say.

the coating itself, helps to level the surface from orange peel ( AND ALL FACTORY PAINT HAS THIS) which gives some UV protection. the coating fills those lows and makes the surface more slick or flat, thus not allowing dirt to build and bind in the lows or crevices.

there are some rally good DIY types, or even the big brand names can be very easy to use...just follow the instructions for cleanliness and cure time.

 

[Shrubs2K2]

Mine has PPF installed on the entire front end (A-pillar, front fenders, hood, and front end) plus IGL coating. IMO the coating may be easy to apply, it's the prep work that I know is beyond me. Factory paint on this was terrible and it's now so much better. Plus I can support a small business as he's a one-man deep shop. He does all vehicles from the daily drivers to exotics.

 

[greg_tahoe84]

God that volcanic red is underrated with the chrome. Thanks for sharing.

 

[husker_fan]

I have used Gyeon and Kamikaze. The Kamikaze was easier to apply. Both have lasted over a year with regular maintenance coats. Paint correction is the most difficult and time consuming. Application does take some skill and very good lighting

 

[greg_tahoe84]

I’m going to put PPF in the hood/bumper/headlights and then ceramic the whole thing.

Yes I don’t have time to do the whole prep thing so I rather have a professional do it.

 

[2591tdj]

Yes, it’s easy to coat it yourself with something like AvalonKing Armor Shield IX, which I have used successfully. But, you can create problems in the finish if you don’t properly prepare the finish & follow all the manufacturer’s application steps to the letter. The biggest problem I have found is letting it sit too long before buffing off the haze. I buff it off within one minute of application. Quickly buff it off as soon as it hazes. Wait too long or miss a spot and it’s difficult to remove the haze.

There are other threads on this forum discussing ceramic coatings.

 

[boba1111]

I have had great success with Adam's Polishes. Just completed my Beckett's Black Hyundai Palisade that replaced my 2003 Yukon Denali. The Denali had a Simonize treatment at the dealer before I bought it (2003) and that lasted really well. But there again, it spent the majority of its years in my garage as I used my 2000 Jeep Wrangler as a daily driver.
Follow ALL the directions: 1. Wash/rinse with Adam's Strip Wash, alkaline to remove wax. 2. Decontaminate with Iron wash (brake dust) 3. Clay bar or mitt with Detail Spray as a lube, 4. Compound/Polish with random orbital polisher. If finish is good, only polish. Depends on how many swirls, etc. 5. Surface Prep spray to clean up polish 6. Apply Graphene Ceramic coating and right, about 1-2 minutes see rainbow and remove with Adam's fleece towel. Do not let it get wet for 24 hours and do not wash for 7 days, allow to fully cure.
HTH

 

[Vinnoto1]

I used XPEL ceramic coating, it’s guaranteed for 4 years but does require a refresh detail once a year to maintain it. You can find a local dealer on Xoels website. Just note, with any ceramic coating the price may or may not include wheels and glass.

Overall I’m very satisfied with mine with the truck being black she shines all the time even after it rains.

 

[Onlyone]

I used XPEL ceramic coating, it’s guaranteed for 4 years but does require a refresh detail once a year to maintain it. You can find a local dealer on Xoels website. Just note, with any ceramic coating the price may or may not include wheels and glass.

Overall I’m very satisfied with mine with the truck being black she shines all the time even after it rains.

So basically is lasts about a year.

 

[greg_tahoe84]

Update: Car is at the shop now. Ended up going with a place that applies gyeon ceramic coating. They use gyeon MOHS I believe for the ceramic coat. Getting PPF as well for the hood, bumper, headlights and side mirrors.

 

[Vinnoto1]

So basically is lasts about a year.

I guess so, many on here say thats all it lasts and based on my dealer telling me I need the refresh detail to maintain the 4 year warranty.

 

[jmzvet]

Do it yourself. It’s easy and you can save yourself a whole lot of money. There is no such thing as a coating lasting 5 years. Even the best graphene or ceramic coating might last a year. Ceramic coating is awesome. Crazy easy to apply and makes washing and breeze. If your vehicle doesn’t need a lot of paint correction, there is no reason to pay those amounts. It’s much easier than any wax to and you can apply it to everything. Windows, trim, molding etc.

true. I did my Silverado and it’s way easier than an old school hand wax. You just wipe it on and wipe it off. I’m not exaggerating how easy it is.
But I do everything on my vehicles because I enjoy it

 

[greg_tahoe84]

Absolutely love the finished product.

Guy was great. He picked up bunch of factory imperfections that you couldn’t see unless you get it pointed out.

 

[TexasLC]

For what it’s worth, this stuff is extremely toxic and must be handled very carefully.

Prepping a vehicle is the majority of the cost, but a new vehicle is worth it. So if you can do it yourself safely for $200 like I did, it’s worth it to try.

I prepped and CC’d an M3 and I’ll never do it again. Sure it was cool to see dirt come off more easily, but I still had to wash the vehicle. And 6 months later you could tell the dirt was sticking “more” and the coat was fading. To really maintain it, you have to use other cc sprays throughout the year on top of the small annual refresh wax.

I think if a CC costs you $1,000, I’d rather just get one $100 wax detail a year and keep doing spray waxes in between myself for the exercise.

It’s cool though to try at least once.

 

[Stbentoak]

I wax my vehicles twice a year with Collonite for 20.00 and you could never tell them apart from a vehicle that was CC. Dirt washes off the same way, and they shine like a diamond.

 

[TexasLC]

I wax my vehicles twice a year with Collonite for 20.00 and you could never tell them apart from a vehicle that was CC. Dirt washes off the same way, and they shine like a diamond.

Agreed. There’s also waxes with ceramic properties in them now.

Granted I had to scrub less with the CC coated vehicle for the first 3-6 months , but looking back the 10-16 hours of prep just wasn’t worth it.

Most cars look incredible after being CC’d purely from the prep.

 

[OBSSSD]

If you get it done by a good installer who can do the paint correction it is well worth it