Ceramic coating: pros & cons

masterboy123

So I have seen few ads promoting car ceramic coating. After discount they still quote me €550 for my saloon car.

I am now in a dilemma whether it's worth it. They say it remains good for at least 2-3 years. And after doing research online, it appears it needs coating again in 9 months time and in this case it's pricey for me.

I am also wondering if car insurance is going to be effected?

Anyone got it done could pls provide their review?

MetzgerMeister

What company and what coating?

Curran

A ceramic coating that last 9 months isnt a ceramic in the true sense - 18 months is the minimum a coating should last, and some claim 5 or even 7 years. 9 months what you would expect from a product coating SiO2 (which would be a less concentrated version of a full ceramic coating)

Ceramics have their Pro's & Con's

Pro's
- car will stay cleaner for longer due to the hydrophobic properties
- car will be easier to maintain, again due to the hydrophobic properties and the ultra smooth finish
- car will have more resistance to chemical and UV damage
- car will have additional scratch resistance
- car will only require the most basic of washing for months; great if you have very little time on your hands

* chemical / scratch resistance does not mean chemical / scratch proof


Con's
- the cost of application
- the coating needs the correct products used for after care, shampoos, quick detailers you may already have may not be suitable to use in conjuction with the ceramic coating...the coating will still perform, however a layer added to the top is the one interacting with the environment around it, so it could loose its hydrophobic properties and some of the Pro's mentioned above. It is possible to cleanse / rejuvenate the coating if the wrong products are used
- ceramic coatings then to give a more glassy apperance to the paintwork - some dont like it versus a nice wax which gives a warmer wet look
- some dont like not being able to get out and spend a few hours once every few months, giving the car a good cleaning, stripping back the protection and adding a fresh coat

masterboy123

Thank you so so much Curran!

The gloss finish has made me to defer this idea.

At the moment I do handwax every 6 months, and love it that way.

MetzgerMeister

Good read here: http://dshed.ie/choosing-protection

masterboy123

That's great!!

vectra

masterboy123 wrote: »

Thank you so so much Curran!

The gloss finish has made me to defer this idea.

At the moment I do handwax every 6 months, and love it that way.

Whichever direction you choose with the paint ~ Ceramic / continue waxing every few months.

I would strongly promote sealing the wheels with a ceramic coating, I used Carpro dLUX on a previous car.
I was amazed at how easy it was to keep them clean. Literally nothing stuck tot hem.

masterboy123

Cool. Didn't know that, do I need to go to detailer or it could be done at home?
Of course i would like to have shiny wheels

vectra wrote: »

Whichever direction you choose with the paint ~ Ceramic / continue waxing every few months.

I would strongly promote sealing the wheels with a ceramic coating, I used Carpro dLUX on a previous car.
I was amazed at how easy it was to keep them clean. Literally nothing stuck tot hem.

vectra

masterboy123 wrote: »

Cool. Didn't know that, do I need to go to detailer or it could be done at home?
Of course i would like to have shiny wheels

I did my wheels at home with carpro Dlux.
I also did my car paint with carpro CQUK at home.
Apparently CQUK Edition 3.0 is much glossier and easier to use.

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Foxhole Norman

masterboy123 wrote: »

So I have seen few ads promoting car ceramic coating. After discount they still quote me €550 for my saloon car.

I am now in a dilemma whether it's worth it. They say it remains good for at least 2-3 years. And after doing research online, it appears it needs coating again in 9 months time and in this case it's pricey for me.

I am also wondering if car insurance is going to be effected?

Anyone got it done could pls provide their review?

What coating was being offered for €550 and lasts 2/3 years? If it needs recoating after 9 it may not be a true ceramic but could just be a hydrophobic coating such as Gtechniq EXO or CarPro's Gliss.

Curran has pretty much all the points covered but another con to them would be if the car suffers any scratches or damage while the coating is on, it would have to be removed, corrected/fixed, reapplied and would have to recure. I would definitely recommend doing the wheels though like Vectra mentioned and your windscreen if you're doing mainly National Road/Motorway driving.

Kaizersoze81

Looking to apply the cquartz uk myself. I have ironx, tarx, clay bar etc to remove all surface contaminants. Car doesn’t have any obvious swirls or light scratching. I don’t have a polishing machine, is this step recommended before applying the coating?
If so is there anyone I could bring it to for some light polishing for a reasonable price , after me already having done the initial prep work?

Thanks

Foxhole Norman

Kaizersoze81 wrote: »

Looking to apply the cquartz uk myself. I have ironx, tarx, clay bar etc to remove all surface contaminants. Car doesn’t have any obvious swirls or light scratching. I don’t have a polishing machine, is this step recommended before applying the coating?
If so is there anyone I could bring it to for some light polishing for a reasonable price , after me already having done the initial prep work?

Thanks

I would absolutely recommend getting at least a light machine polish done, it ensures you have a perfect bond to the paint as IPA or other panel wipes won't always remove what's on the surface.

doherlisa

How long does the coating last ?

Kaizersoze81

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

I would absolutely recommend getting at least a light machine polish done, it ensures you have a perfect bond to the paint as IPA or other panel wipes won't always remove what's on the surface.

Thanks. Any recommendations for somewhere to get a polish if I’ve the preparation work done myself

Foxhole Norman

Kaizersoze81 wrote: »

Thanks. Any recommendations for somewhere to get a polish if I’ve the preparation work done myself

You'd have to use a machine polisher if you have one, a D/A or Rotary. Hand polishing will get you nowhere and may even make your paint worse if it's already decent!

listermint

If getting the wheels done with ceramic how do you clean them what's best

Foxhole Norman

listermint wrote: »

If getting the wheels done with ceramic how do you clean them what's best

Any pH Neutral wheel cleaner or shampoo and I'd use fallout removers maybe very 4th - 8th wash.

vectra

listermint wrote: »

If getting the wheels done with ceramic how do you clean them what's best

I only always used PH neutral car shampoo as they needed very little actual cleaning.
Occasionally as FN said Use a fallout remover. ( depending on mileage,)

PaulKK

Anyone used the 9H Mr Fix it stuff? I realise it's the cheapest possible version but looking at reviews online it seems to be decent and worth a go under a tenner.

Would something like a good clay, wash and something like super resin polish be a good prep for the ceramic finish?

vectra

PaulKK wrote: »

Anyone used the 9H Mr Fix it stuff? I realise it's the cheapest possible version but looking at reviews online it seems to be decent and worth a go under a tenner.

Would something like a good clay, wash and something like super resin polish be a good prep for the ceramic finish?

Tenner and effort down the drain according to online reports I have seen along the way.

masterboy123

I didn't go ahead with the ceramic coating purely because of it's prices. Plus some mentioned it gives shiny gloss appearance, and I prefer warm colour.

PaulKK

vectra wrote: »

Tenner and effort down the drain according to online reports I have seen along the way.

In fairness I've seen a good few videos with quite good results though, even after months..

If you were going to clay etc anyway surely it's not that much more effort than applying a regular wax? I usually use meguiars nxt.

clubberlang12

Forensic Detailing Channel on Youtube did a video of these cheaper ceramic coatings, so maybe have a look at that. I wouldn't personally use Autoglym SRP as it's basically just filling agents contained in it so I wouldn;t imagine that it would create a good base layer for the ceramic. I'd go for Carpro Essence. Very good filling capabilities but as it contains small amounts of SiO2 it well serve as a better base.

vectra

PaulKK wrote: »

In fairness I've seen a good few videos with quite good results though, even after months..

If you were going to clay etc anyway surely it's not that much more effort than applying a regular wax? I usually use meguiars nxt.

Fair enough.
Only offering my advice.
Let us know how you get on with it.

PaulKK

vectra wrote: »

Fair enough.
Only offering my advice.
Let us know how you get on with it.

I appreciate it, not knocking your opinion.

Will report back when it eventually arrives

Foxhole Norman

There was a video circulating of a guy testing some true ceramics and this "9H Coating". True ceramics for the most part will harden quite well when exposed to air after a certain period of time. This one stayed a liquid. Wouldn't be bothered with it at all.

Leonard Hofstadter

masterboy123 wrote: »

I didn't go ahead with the ceramic coating purely because of it's prices. Plus some mentioned it gives shiny gloss appearance, and I prefer warm colour.

I have a ceramic coating on my car for over a year now.

I got the RestorFX one done in England.

The plus side is that it still has a proper lovely shine off it every time it's washed. I know I'm biased, but I really don't think it looks like a car that's nearly 15 years old.

I simply don't have the time to do any sort of maintenance washes or anything like that, the most I've done to it is get D&D to wash it any time I'm down in Cork, or the local car wash to me in Dublin (which uses lambswool mitts).

It still beads properly whenever it rains so I'm assuming it's still protecting the bodywork.

The minus side is the condition of the bonnet, granted most of my driving is motorways, but there's a fair few stone chips on it, especially around the grilles. No doubt I was completely naieve, but I didn't expect it to be as marked as it is now. There were a couple of marks on it originally before the coating, but there's definitely more than there was now. I had hoped a ceramic coating would stop it from getting worse.

At this stage, I think the bonnet's marked enough that really it would need a respray to have it pristine, the condition of it hasn't annoyed me enough to actually splash the cash to do it yet (and as always with a BMW, there are other things that require my cash dollar over this).

So overall, I still think it was worth the money, and I'd definitely get it done again. I reckon there's probably another year at least in it before it will need to be coated once more.

mossym

quick question, have some carpro dlux on the way from detailingshed, one this hose ban is lifted will be giving the new motor and my wifes machine a proper clean and doing the wheels.

i know it's probably better to remove the wheels first, but any issue applying it while still on the car?

any any other advice from those that have done their wheels with it?

vectra

mossym wrote: »

quick question, have some carpro dlux on the way from detailingshed, one this hose ban is lifted will be giving the new motor and my wifes machine a proper clean and doing the wheels.

i know it's probably better to remove the wheels first, but any issue applying it while still on the car?

any any other advice from those that have done their wheels with it?

I have used it and found it fantastic.

I would only apply coatings to my wheels when they are off as I would only be happy with 100% coverage, Doing them while still on the car you are going to be hit and miss with inaccessible areas and you will get water and dirt seeping in there and under the coating, which would result in the product failing.
You could still do one wheel at a time using buckets of water, good cleansers/fallout remover and tar remover.

Foxhole Norman

Yeah I agree with Vectra, even doing one wheel a time, it should take maybe an hour per wheel between taking it off, decontaminating it and coating it, depending on how dirty they are obviously.

mossym

cheers guys. will probably end up popping them off so. her machine is a q5 so they are big wheels, will check the condition on them first, mine is new so might be worth doing mine first.

vectra

mossym wrote: »

cheers guys. will probably end up popping them off so. her machine is a q5 so they are big wheels, will check the condition on them first, mine is new so might be worth doing mine first.

Just remember,
Even though your wheels are new, they still need to full prep. process.

mossym

thanks for the reminder. thinking more about it might get the process down on hers first. both cars are 20" wheels so nothing in it size wise

vectra

mossym wrote: »

thanks for the reminder. thinking more about it might get the process down on hers first. both cars are 20" wheels so nothing in it size wise

I did the wheels on my Passat (18") with Dlux,
I had enough left to do a lot of plastic trim with the remainder so I can only assume you will have plenty to do the 20's with a bottle.