I had my car professionally ceramic coated 2 months after I got it. (so the paint would fully cure) They used a product called System X . Price was $1000. They Clay barred it to remove any rail dust and other contaminants. Every year I have then do a ceramic recondition ($400). I use a foam cannon and hand wash. This coating seams to repel dust and the water beads like crazy. The car will soon be 3 years old and the paint looks brand new. I drew the line with PPF. PPF in my opinion is too expensive and think a ceramic coating is the perfect upgrade to regular wax. If I owned an exotic(Ferrari etc) I might consider a PPF. I think unless you really know what you are doing and prepare the car surface correctly, a ceramic coating can be a nightmare that makes the car look worse. I decided to leave this job to the professionals. I would steer away from the addon ceramic coatings that car dealers like to push when you are purchasing your vehicle. I don't think they provide a quality product compared to professional detail centers.

 

Good advice. I'm definitely going with the pro. Didn't think about paint curing time though, good to keep in mind.

 

Did it myself, I've done both Chinese ceramics from Amazon and Adams graphene advanced coating, which is usually promoted as a 7-9 year coating. The Adams has been on a garaged Accord for 3 years and it's still beading nicely. My dad put it on his new Model Y and has had some issues with not leveling it properly, so it does look a bit ugly. But it is a huge bottle and we'll fix it at some point.

My 23 350 has Foretoo on it and I've been on/off about. Car is garaged, but sits outside in the sun all day at wife's work at temps up to 110F. Installed by me April 25 after clay decon polish and surface prep. Super easy install, only a couple high spots and they come right out if you just re-apply and level immediately. After the first good rain storm during a trip in July, the bottom of the rear doors at the flare was clogged and not beading. Did high pH foam, clayed, iron decon and it came back slightly but not that much. Did a spray ceramic topper and it's been holding just fine. Recently had my first brush with tree sap while on vacation, never had any major tree sap before but this was all over the car. Sprayed it with very concentrated high ph soap, let it dwell, contact wash with Meguiars gold class and it wiped right off. Doesn't appear to have hurt the coating. I was really happy to be coated for this one.

In general, I feel ceramic is not as slick or as pretty as traditional waxes and sealants. I still have a bunch of Collinite 845, Wolfgang DGPS 3.0, FK1000P, etc that I'm continuing to use but I can't deny that ceramic definitely protects and lasts. It's just a pain when you need to correct something or re-protect, you probably won't have a fresh bottle available because they don't have much shelf life after opening. It also has a sterile looking gloss, it doesn't exude depth and life like a good wax, just a little dead as shown (AI to remove license plate so it looks a little odd back there)

 

[QUOTE=N4TECguy;11989020]Did it myself, I've done both Chinese ceramics from Amazon and Adams graphene advanced coating, which is usually promoted as a 7-9 year coating. The Adams has been on a garaged Accord for 3 years and it's still beading nicely. My dad put it on his new Model Y and has had some issues with not leveling it properly, so it does look a bit ugly. But it is a huge bottle and we'll fix it at some point.

My 23 350 has Foretoo on it and I've been on/off about. Car is garaged, but sits outside in the sun all day at wife's work at temps up to 110F. Installed by me April 25 after clay decon polish and surface prep. Super easy install, only a couple high spots and they come right out if you just re-apply and level immediately. After the first good rain storm during a trip in July, the bottom of the rear doors at the flare was clogged and not beading. Did high pH foam, clayed, iron decon and it came back slightly but not that much. Did a spray ceramic topper and it's been holding just fine. Recently had my first brush with tree sap while on vacation, never had any major tree sap before but this was all over the car. Sprayed it with very concentrated high ph soap, let it dwell, contact wash with Meguiars gold class and it wiped right off. Doesn't appear to have hurt the coating. I was really happy to be coated for this one.

In general, I feel ceramic is not as slick or as pretty as traditional waxes and sealants. I still have a bunch of Collinite 845, Wolfgang DGPS 3.0, FK1000P, etc that I'm continuing to use but I can't deny that ceramic definitely protects and lasts. It's just a pain when you need to correct something or re-protect, you probably won't have a fresh bottle available because they don't have much shelf life after opening. It has also has a sterile looking gloss, it doesn't exude depth and life like a good wax, just a little dead as shown (AI to remove license plate so it looks a little odd back there)


That's an interesting perspective on depth of shine compared to wax, etc., and I've never heard that.

 

Had ceramic done two years ago from a pro here in SD. Very happy with it. I use his ceramic spray on wax once a month to keep it looking good. For a white car, it really pops.

 

From a weekend warrior hobbyist detailer this is my take on ceramic.

Ceramic is great for those people that don't really take care of their cars much or have dark colored cars. It will really protect them and always make them look nice. It is also for those that will 100% follow the manufacturer maintenance follow-up. That can be tiring and a PITA unless you have a mobile detailer that can come and wash your car all the time. Once you veer off those things ceramic is then worthless. If you want to run your car through a quick car wash, not use their methods the warranty is over. Many horror stories of the coating places getting out of warranty work as they always figure out something you did not follow. Also, if you think ceramic is going to last to their guarantee (5-10 years) it just isn't going to happen. Having said all that if you are going to go ceramic, get it done professionally or just don't do it.

We live in a mild snowy area. Ceramic is worthless. The salt and grime that gets on your car and not being able to quickly run it through an auto wash will do more damage than the ceramic can protect. I prefer to do a full detail every 6 months with our cars. That includes paint correction all the way to laying down a great coat of wax (Collinite usually the go to) and top it with Carpros Reload for a nice protection and pop. Then we will use auto washes in the winter. Way too cold to do my own detailing and in the summer I will do all hand washes. It works for me and has for decades. Too each his own.

 

I'm going to get it done with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra next week or so.

I don't really care about detailing myself or have the time to do such myself - so will go with a Pro.

Carwashes once a few months works for me (unless going on roadtrips), but to protect the paint and minor rock chip hits to the front - so the 10H hardness coating will have to do (no PPF).

 

My experience: CC is too expensive for how it performs on a daily driver. It is effective for a garage queen.

i did it myself on both my cars using a high quality, 4year, 100% CC. took about 8 hours each car, taking my time, including a paint correction and all the follow up steps before the CC. the paint correction is really the only part where the experience of a pro is helpful. that said, i was a laymen and just watched lots of videos and took my time. none of it's rocket science...just slow, careful, attention to detail work in an enclosed area (well lit garage for me).

the paint correction is the step that actually enables your car to look showroom new. the CC is just a protectant layer over that new looking painted surface...granted one that is supposed to have the longest possible lifespan.

my LS was garage stored and was generally not used all that much...the 4 year ceramic coating was still working very effectively 3 years later when i sold.
my Tacoma, done at the same time w/ the same steps, same CC, was stored outside and the coating was failing within a year...with exception of the black plastic surfaces which still looked exceptional 3 years later. (it's amazing how CC can restore graying plastics)

After my experience, I did not do CC on my new to me RX. I chose instead to use a good sealer that I'll reapply as needed.

 

care to share the name

 

This is probably the most user friendly ceramic coating.
https://cleanbypan.com/products/clea...coating-8-year

And yes prep is 95% of the task.