Thoughts on Ceramic Coating ? I was quoted $1300 Cad for my 2023 nx350 they use Adam's UV Graphene Ceramic Coating claims to be 7+ years of protection.
Trying to figure out if it's worth the money

Thanks

 

Ceramic coating works best if you maintain it frequently. This means detail your car frequently. People hear "7 years! this means i don't have to wash my car for 7 years?!" Also a ceramic coating offers not "full protection" but rather, chemical resistance. Big. Difference. You'll still get etching from bird droppings, you'll still get water spots, acid rain will still eat away. It's just it will resist those things better... if you maintain the coating. It wont stop rock chips, it won't stop scratches, it won't really resist scratches.

As a 25+ year detailer, I still have not seen any reason to use or install a dedicated multi year ceramic coating. Instead, i use regular sealants applied regularly on top of a decent base layer. It works very well and is super slick to the touch.

If you do do it, DIY. Do NOT pay someone to do it. It's super easy to do yourself and it will cost you 1/20th of the cost. You basically wipe on wipe off. You can do it yourself for $100. Easier on a new car. more involved on an older car with stuff on the paint.

 

You nailed it dude. My brother had his and his wife's Teslas ceramic coated by a shop, yet their Teslas are no cleaner or smoother than my/wife Lexuses. I go through a Klasse all in one and High Gloss sealants treatment every 6 months, and my car parks outside 24/7/365. To me it is how you take care of the car in the weekly/biweekly/monthly basis, ceramic coating is not the coat it and forget it solution.

 

FINALLY!!! Between you and E46CT, common sense about this. Ever since this ceramic fad started people seem to think it makes the car bullet proof. That being said, I *did* get some spray on Turtle Wax Graphene stuff for my "19 RX and it looks damn good. But I'm not expecting it to resist anything.

 

A bottle of that is $60 from Amazon. What's the other $900 (US) get you?

 

I'm in the same camp on this. Nobody is fussier with their cars than I am and I tend to keep them 10 or more years. Friends and acquaintances tell me the cars look almost as good the day I sell them as the day I bought them. The only thing I do is have them in my garage rather than sitting out on the street, take great care where I park, use a California Duster pretty regularly (I assume some will have a problem with this but I never had), and do the occasional waxing/quick detailing stuff. I can't see spending $1,000 or more on fancy coatings and films.

 

Went to my brothers' house a few months ago. His wife's Model 3 was parked under their tree for 2 weeks while they went on vacation. Guess what, bird poops and sap was all over the car and he was pissed (funny). He though the coating was suppose to protect it from craps sticking on to the paint : ) He spend a whole day foaming/soaking the tesla and eventually went back to the shop, paid to have it clayed and re-coated.....meaning more money. BTW, that's why I don't park under tree unless I have no choice

 

@Randyp1234 You don't JUST spray it on and wipe it off. You are supposed to detail the car first. Wash, Iron Remover, Clay Bar, Correct if necessary (compound, buff, remove scratches) wash, Surface Prep (alcohol basically), Apply Ceramic Spray or Coating. I used Spray all the time and just re-did everything every spring. Ceramic Spray will typically last a year. It's cheaper then the Coating product.

A lot of labor and material to use besides Ceramic product. DO NOT BUY Adam's Polishes products from Amazon. They do NOT offer any discounts. If you go direct to Adamspolishes.com they ALWAYS have a discount offered but they also offer Military Discounts if you qualify.

 

Dang you and I are exactly the same. Duster, quick detailer/wax and all, except I don't get the garage since my wife's parks her NX350H right stack in the middle of the garage. I get the driveway 24/7/365. I wanted to park in the driveway because my two teens will put more dings on my ES in one day than a week at a packed Walmart parking lot.

BTW, I make my owner blend of quick wax spray with 16 oz of Meguairs' quik detailer and 4 oz of klasse high gloss sealant glaze, been using it for years after wash and bi-weekly quick wipe on my wife's garaged NX.

 

I just got gtech csu put on my new 24 nx350 f sport. The cost is about the same. The public can't buy csu and must be applied by a certified person. My detailer had to go to Georgia to get certified. Csu has a 9 year warranty. My car came out awesome.

 

I use Adam's graphene ceramic spray Advanced. It's on sale on Amazon today. It takes 20 minutes to do a car. Go on to YouTube and look at reviewers of this product when they do the shine gloss durability test. They say it last two years. I do it every 6 months because again it only takes 20 minutes to do. Wipe it on wait 2 minutes and wipe it off. Having said that the paint's got to be very clean and corrected. Make sure you wipe it all off. Need good lighting. Shine and beading incredible

 

Except for right now. Regular price $94.99, right now $59.99.

 

@Randyp1234 Not sure which product you are looking for, Coating or Spray

Just went to the Adamspolishes.com website.

• Advanced Spray $42.99 less 25% discount = $32.24 plus Tax and Shipping. https://adamspolishes.com/collection...8482;-advanced
• Coating $89.99 less 25% discount = $67.49 plus Tax and Shipping. https://adamspolishes.com/collection...coating™

They do have other options. Advanced, Regular, with Microfiber Towels, with Applicators whatever you want or need.

 

Most of the cost from professionally applied ceramic coatings come from the polishing and prep of the new car + the warranty they provide.

If cost is not an issue and you don't know how to polish and wash your car properly, go for it. Most professional products are good and really depends on how good your detailer prepped your car to seal in all that shiny goodness. As many have mentioned above, you still need to maintain the ceramic coating properly. Regular washes, yearly or half yearly decontamination washes and use of ceramic detailers/toppers every couple of months.

If you know how to detail your own car and have the patience and energy to do it, it is much cheaper to wash it regularly and apply a DIY ceramic coating, spray coating or sealant.

 

Thank you for this. Bought 2 bottles. Cheaper than Adam direct.