Ceramic coating - pricing

Gumbo

Guys,

Have any of you applied a ceramic coating to your cars?
Did you do it yourself or pay someone to do it?
What price did you pay?

I’m considering it on my 2016 i3 (black).

Don’t know what to do.
Basically I’m trying to work out if it’s worth the money.

Currently I was, de-tar, de-iron and clay at home. I have applied quick detailer a yo tk now just to keep it with some form of protection while I decide what to do.

The guy that can do it will be fully decontaminating the car again and carrying out a paint correction process too.

I can maintain at home afterwards and have preference towards the CarPro products.

clubberlang12

kceire wrote: »

Guys,

Have any of you applied a ceramic coating to your cars?
Did you do it yourself or pay someone to do it?
What price did you pay?

I’m considering it on my 2016 i3 (black).

Don’t know what to do.
Basically I’m trying to work out if it’s worth the money.

Currently I was, de-tar, de-iron and clay at home. I have applied quick detailer a yo tk now just to keep it with some form of protection while I decide what to do.

The guy that can do it will be fully decontaminating the car again and carrying out a paint correction process too.

I can maintain at home afterwards and have preference towards the CarPro products.

I'm glad you mentioned that the person potentially applying it, will be performing a paint enhancement/correction procedure on it prior to application. IMO, there is little point applying a longer term ceramic coating over paintwork containing clear coat inflictions such as swirling, scratches, oxidation, handprint marks, etc. Most of the end result aesthetics come from the work prior to applying a wax,sealant, or ceramic coating which includes the wash prep, decon and machine polishing of the paintwork.
If you already have a fairly good wash maintenance process dialed in, then i think you'll reap the benefits of a ceramic even more. I always liken ceramics to wax/sealant on steroids! They offer long durability from 1 application, retain most of the gloss levels for that operating time frame, and can retain hydrophobic properties for long periods, decon processes throughout the year are essential for this. Sometimes when beading appears to be gone, clients think that the product is gone, but alot of the time it is simply a build up of more stubborn contaminants that a regular wash isn't removing, clogging the coating and reducing surface slickness. Ceramic coatings also offer much stronger chemical resistance against the likes of harsh detergents and bird crap and bug splatter, both of which can very easily damage your paint. Lastly, and in my opinion least importantly, they "can" offer some physical resistance to aid against wash damage. I say least importantly, because ceramic are too often advertised as having scratch resistance.........which is basically advertising BS. Not even PPF offers total scratch resistance. The extend to which a ceramic coating cures, also depends on the paint substrate......the same ceramic won't cure to the same level of hardness on soft paint, as it would on harder paint. This is why I mentioned your wash process earlier. Poor wash technique is the main contributor to inflictions to the clear coat. If you observe a safer wash process, this will reduce the likelihood of introducing inflictions.
Prices will differ drastically depending on who you go to, the products used, the level of correction needed/budgeted for, whether you go for a single or multi layer coating system. "Ceramic" is a massive buuz-word in the car care industry lately, so ask what products and procedures they are using(there is a lot of cheap Ebay coatings around). Also ask them about what a ceramic can/will offer. There is a large number of service suppliers offering/advertising the abilities of ceramic's incorrectly, because basically, they don't have much knowledge of it themselves. Getting it done right the first time, will probably leave you wanting a similar treatment of your following vehicles. Get it done incorrectly, and it will leave you unhappy and questioning the viability of what can be a fantastic way of maintaining your vehicle.

Gumbo

Thanks.

My plan is to either get the correction and ceramic applied then maintain with CarPro reload etc

Or the other option is to just clay and iron/tar Demi we and use a spray on ceramic coating (knowing quite well that it will require more top ups) and leave out the paint correction.

It’s just that it’s a black car. I swore I’d never go black again but when one pops up with the exact high spec you want you have to grab it.

clubberlang12

If the swirls or blemishes on the paintwork aren't annoying you, then maybe pass on the correction work. A car can be glossy and still have a large amount of swirls and marks, although come summer time and sun being out, you may notice the clear coat inflictions more. As mentioned, a good wash, and decontamination process and use a good quality wax,sealant or spray on ceramic based sealant.

One thing to note, is that while ceramic spray sealants do contain ceramic content, they won't offer any physical or chemical resistance like a full blown one. The will offer gloss and hydrophobic cahracteristics, and will generally outlast most other traditional waxes or sealants. There is the option of a some ceramic coatings that last approx 12 months or so from an application. This might be a satisfactory compromise for you.

MetzgerMeister

If you're sticking with CarPro, it's worth noting that they have a ceramic coating that can be applied directly on top of Essence polish which fills in swirls etc. therefore reducing the amount of time needed to get the paint fully corrected. You literally apply the polish and apply the coating on top without removing anything (except the residue) with the likes of Eraser beforehand. The catch is that you can't use this method if applying Essence by hand, only with machine polishing.

I haven't used either of these products so I don't know what the outcome is like or what longevity is like.

uncle_sam_ie

I just bought a new Toyota Corolla and it came included with "Toyota ProTect".This basically is their version of a Ceramic coating. How does it compare?
https://www.toyota.ie/service-and-accessories/genuine-accessories/protect.json

Also,
I bought the CarPro Tarx + their bug remover. And, Meguiars NxtGen car wash, Are they safe to use on ceramic coating?

Foxhole Norman

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I just bought a new Toyota Corolla and it came included with "Toyota ProTect".This basically is their version of a Ceramic coating. How does it compare?
https://www.toyota.ie/service-and-accessories/genuine-accessories/protect.json

Also,
I bought the CarPro Tarx + their bug remover. And, Meguiars NxtGen car wash, Are they safe to use on ceramic coating?

ProTect is not a ceramic. It's another rebrand of the likes of AutoGlym's LifeShine, BMW's Protect X, Mercedes Supaguard etc. They're little more than a glaze that lasts maybe a month or two. People should never add this as an option to a new car as it often costs €400+ and you get crap.

Both of those products would be safe to use, the wash shampoo should be pH Neutral being a Meguiars product. pH Neutral products are ideal for maintaining the best finish.

Gumbo

uncle_sam_ie wrote: »

I just bought a new Toyota Corolla and it came included with "Toyota ProTect".This basically is their version of a Ceramic coating. How does it compare?
https://www.toyota.ie/service-and-accessories/genuine-accessories/protect.json

Also,
I bought the CarPro Tarx + their bug remover. And, Meguiars NxtGen car wash, Are they safe to use on ceramic coating?

normally id steer clear of dealers ‘protection’ as they are purely a good wax or sealant only.

But the site does specifically mention it’s a ceramic coating so giving it the benefit of the doubt, I’d was with a ph neutral shampoo and too ip with a ceramic spray on every month or so to keep on top of it.

punisher5112

kceire wrote: »

normally id steer clear of dealers ‘protection’ as they are purely a good wax or sealant only.

But the site does specifically mention it’s a ceramic coating so giving it the benefit of the doubt, I’d was with a ph neutral shampoo and too ip with a ceramic spray on every month or so to keep on top of it.

Get a professional to do it unless you have the many hours to spare and can do it right.

Seriously you will see the difference.

clubberlang12

I would say it's more of a "ceramic" based nano sealant, than a full blown ceramic coating. What i mean by that, is that there is some ceramic content to the sealant, maybe between 15-20% SiO2 content, which has stronger bonding properties than traditional waxes and most polymer sealants. A full blown ceramic coatings you would expect the silica content to be >60%, especially for the claims of longevity by the Toyota product. It's also cleverly worded to not mention any physical abrasionn resistance properties, or any harsh chemical resistance properties.....which you would expect to be mentioned.

In fairness, a lot of dealership offered products are decent products if described exactly for what they are........in most cases, just sealants. For me the main issues are that they are shockingly over priced, and the staff generally don't receive the adequate time and/or training, to prepare and apply the products. There is always better value, and knowledge, in bringing your vehicle to a respected detailing business to aid in the protection of the vehicle. In a dealership, the guy who will have applied the "ProTect" to your vehicle, will be the same guy washing it with a brush when it is back in for a service!!!

uncle_sam_ie

clubberlang12 wrote: »

I would say it's more of a "ceramic" based nano sealant, than a full blown ceramic coating. What i mean by that, is that there is some ceramic content to the sealant, maybe between 15-20% SiO2 content, which has stronger bonding properties than traditional waxes and most polymer sealants. A full blown ceramic coatings you would expect the silica content to be >60%, especially for the claims of longevity by the Toyota product. It's also cleverly worded to not mention any physical abrasionn resistance properties, or any harsh chemical resistance properties.....which you would expect to be mentioned.

In fairness, a lot of dealership offered products are decent products if described exactly for what they are........in most cases, just sealants. For me the main issues are that they are shockingly over priced, and the staff generally don't receive the adequate time and/or training, to prepare and apply the products. There is always better value, and knowledge, in bringing your vehicle to a respected detailing business to aid in the protection of the vehicle. In a dealership, the guy who will have applied the "ProTect" to your vehicle, will be the same guy washing it with a brush when it is back in for a service!!!

I say you're right but, for me it was all included with the choice of paint I picked. The interior was done as well. This was done at Grandsons in Cork. I gave it a quick rinse the other day to get some bird **** off. The dirty just rolled off the paint no bother.

knifey_spoonie

Foxhole Norman wrote: »

ProTect is not a ceramic. It's another rebrand of the likes of AutoGlym's LifeShine, BMW's Protect X, Mercedes Supaguard etc. They're little more than a glaze that lasts maybe a month or two. People should never add this as an option to a new car as it often costs €400+ and you get crap.

Both of those products would be safe to use, the wash shampoo should be pH Neutral being a Meguiars product. pH Neutral products are ideal for maintaining the best finish.

Ive done a good bit of research on this, i have experience of most of the coatings mentioned above, Supagard, Lifeshine and Toyota Protect, while i cant be 100% certain as info is very thin on the ground i would be 99% confident Toyota Protect is actually Modesta BC-01, which is a genuine ceramic coating.