Ceramic sealing?

[nagisa]

just got mine last week and wanting the shine to stay as long as possible


upon doing research it looks like people get like a ceramic spray coating done and the major cost is the color correction

however with a new car, would it be best to just apply this myself? any tips/tricks/suggestions on this process?

 

[jalcala]

I am seriously looking at getting this done myself. Went and visited a shop locally and got an estimate for a 5 yr and lifetime warranty. They mentioned it would take them 3-5 days for curing and the applying all the coats. It wasn't cheap but the end results look amazing.

 

[nagisa]

I am seriously looking at getting this done myself. Went and visited a shop locally and got an estimate for a 5 yr and lifetime warranty. They mentioned it would take them 3-5 days for curing and the applying all the coats. It wasn't cheap but the end results look amazing.

i saw another thread where they just got like a $50 solution/liquid thing off amazon and applied it on, took it off

but not much more info then that, sounds like you need to let it cure atleast a day or 2 in an air controlled area or atleast a garage so it doesn't get dust on it

 

[jalcala]

i saw another thread where they just got like a $50 solution/liquid thing off amazon and applied it on, took it off

but not much more info then that, sounds like you need to let it cure atleast a day or 2 in an air controlled area or atleast a garage so it doesn't get dust on it

I believe you are correct...neither of which I own.

 

[HoneyBeeStinger]

just got mine last week and wanting the shine to stay as long as possible


upon doing research it looks like people get like a ceramic spray coating done and the major cost is the color correction

however with a new car, would it be best to just apply this myself? any tips/tricks/suggestions on this process?

I have done a ceramic coating. It depends how in-depth you want to go.

If you want to do it properly:
Strip 2 bucket wash entire car.
Decontaminate with Iron remover
Claybar if necessary
Polish - if its new, you can probably get away with 1 stage.
IPA wipedown
Ceramic Coat

Overall, it's a long process, but I found it worth it. I did Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0, and it's held up very well so far. I would recommend it, but be prepared to spend some time doing it, a coat took me 3 to 4 hours, and I did 2 coats, plus one of topper (Gliss)

If you can't get the CQuartz, then Gtechniq CSL is another excellent prosumer level coating.

 

[rk88]

Like HoneyBeeStinger said it is a long process but it is much cheaper to do it yourself. I did my car with cquartz as well, love the results.

This video from Pan the Organizer will give you a good idea of what is involved.

How to Apply a Ceramic Coating

 

[Dia1Up]

From what I've seen in our shop, the real pro stuff can be finicky. It can streak and mark. But DIY is MUCH cheaper, and 12983091283920% worth it if done properly

Many will say it can stop scratches ect ect. I don't know about that, but it is by far the best wax, that happens to last many years instead of a few months. Plus you can wax over it rather nicely, since it's a nice stable base once cured. DO NOT USE CLEANER WAXES of course. Mine was on for 6 years still good as new until my car pretty much totalled

I usually use Mother's CMX. It's a spray ceramic wax. Cheap, keeps the real ceramic coating well maintained.

 

[nagisa]

From what I've seen in our shop, the real pro stuff can be finicky. It can streak and mark. But DIY is MUCH cheaper, and 12983091283920% worth it if done properly

Many will say it can stop scratches ect ect. I don't know about that, but it is by far the best wax, that happens to last many years instead of a few months. Plus you can wax over it rather nicely, since it's a nice stable base once cured. DO NOT USE CLEANER WAXES of course. Mine was on for 6 years still good as new until my car pretty much totalled

I usually use Mother's CMX. It's a spray ceramic wax. Cheap, keeps the real ceramic coating well maintained.

I was considering just using the mothers cmx spray on it's own, is that a bad idea?

Sounded like it's more of a temporary ceramic coating?

 

[Dia1Up]

I was considering just using the mothers cmx spray on it's own, is that a bad idea?

Sounded like it's more of a temporary ceramic coating?

I use it on everything I can lol.

Exactly. Yes it's ceramic, but it's still just a spray wax basically

 

[I'm Tony Danza]

I would say if you can swing the $$$, bite the bullet and have it professionally done. The paint correction alone is worth part of the package and completely brought new life to the factory metallic black paint that only had a few miles on it in the first place. Night/day difference.

I overly researched this topic, thinking about doing it myself, as I do all my own mechanical work and am fairly artsy/crafty. But given the higher quality of the coatings the pros use, the skill it takes to do it properly and the time it took them (~30 hours. They did the wheels, glass, everything)....I was happy to fork over $1,200.

One big thing to note. Get used to hand washing with PH balanced soaps that are made for ceramic coatings. If you use any automated car washes with brushes, kiss those goodbye. I also bought a pretty serious leaf blower to dry off the car, so there is cost in that too. High maintenance that most people forget to tell you about, but it is 100% worth it when it shines without a scratch.

 

[ggace]

One thing to consider, even "new" cars may require paint correction because dealers will run it through their horrible "detailers". Most machine wash & hand dry with terrible towels. I always have them put "do not wash" when my cars go in for maintenance. It's a nice touch if you don't care about your paint.

My wifes Mazda had 15 miles on it & had terrible paint swirls because of this. They wash em often & again before you come. Still had to pay for paint correction. If your car seemingly has no marks under good lighting, you may be good to go but remember, whatever you seal, is locked in until you buff it out later. Minor paint correction may not cost you a ton but full paint correction is where the cost adds up.

My stinger cost me a bit more to correct (the black paint in the images below) for obvious reasons. This was purchased used & clearly dried using sandpaper and razorblades....

 

[Seef824]

I did my own coating a month ago and am very happy with the results. I had less than 500 miles on my car when I applied the coating and did the exact steps HoneyBee pointed out. I used Avalon King Ceramic Coating that I got for $45!

Is it as good as a professional job? No, probably not.
Is it better than just doing a standard polish and sealant? Absolutely.

My last couple cars (all new) I would clay, polish and seal using regular stuff. This time around I wanted to give Ceramic Coating a try since I was out of my sealant anyway. If you dont mind doing any of this kind of work yourself, it is absolutely worth the cost savings to do it yourself. I have like a $60 dual action orbital from harbor freight and some pads from Chemical Guys. Nothing fancy.

I will comment on the curing process as that varies depending on what you get. For Avalon, they said dont drive the car for 12 hours, but dont get it wet for 1-2 days if you can help it. They said nothing about an air controlled area, and even said you are fine to drive it after 12 hours. In a garage is perfectly fine for a day or two is perfectly fine. They do mention temperatures though. You want temps to be in that 50-70 range. Hotter than that and it dries out too quickly, cooler and it doesnt cure as well. Just plan for a weekend that you dont need to drive your car til monday.

I would recommend (if you can) washing the car maybe on an evening and then doing all the correction the next day. That way there are no water drops coming out of cracks as you do the work.

 

[KC2021GT1]

One thing to consider, even "new" cars may require paint correction because dealers will run it through their horrible "detailers". Most machine wash & hand dry with terrible towels. I always have them put "do not wash" when my cars go in for maintenance. It's a nice touch if you don't care about your paint.

My wifes Mazda had 15 miles on it & had terrible paint swirls because of this. They wash em often & again before you come. Still had to pay for paint correction. If your car seemingly has no marks under good lighting, you may be good to go but remember, whatever you seal, is locked in until you buff it out later. Minor paint correction may not cost you a ton but full paint correction is where the cost adds up.

My stinger cost me a bit more to correct (the black paint in the images below) for obvious reasons. This was purchased used & clearly dried using sandpaper and razorblades....

Wow someone didn't like their black paint did they!?

 

[Random386]

I have done a ceramic coating. It depends how in-depth you want to go.

If you want to do it properly:
Strip 2 bucket wash entire car.
Decontaminate with Iron remover
Claybar if necessary
Polish - if its new, you can probably get away with 1 stage.
IPA wipedown
Ceramic Coat

Overall, it's a long process, but I found it worth it. I did Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0, and it's held up very well so far. I would recommend it, but be prepared to spend some time doing it, a coat took me 3 to 4 hours, and I did 2 coats, plus one of topper (Gliss)

If you can't get the CQuartz, then Gtechniq CSL is another excellent prosumer level coating.

I can vouch for gtechniq. though I got the CSU, in total was 1800. paid cash up front n knocked it down to 1500ish. It can be cheaper if you don't buff your car n get it corrected.

I got the car clayed, buffed n corrected to remove all hard water spots, scratches, swirls, and paint chips filled on the body. All glass buffed to remove scratches. Wheels got curb rash fixed. Interior fully detailed. Basically the car had every possible thing done to it then finally sealed with ceramic coating everywhere.

https://imgur.com/a/CEvXZ8a

My paint was thin n the car bad been resprayed on the whole right side and trunk area. The car was definitely in a wreck and fixed DIY as nothing was on the carfax of such. Bums me but it was a good car sadly I sold it not to long ago bc it finally was not worth fixing error codes of wear n tear n negligence from audi dealerships. (Brake failure 3 times)

https://imgur.com/a/CEvXZ8a

 

[stoopid]

I daily drive mine, it's a losing battle trying to keep it "new". Road rash, rock chips, and door dings being the worse. My prior car was the exact same width and I had about 6 door dings, 3 on each side, in 45,000 miles/3 years.

I think having a clear bra or Xpel installed on the front (grill, lights, hood/half hood) does the most good but costs a lot. I had Xpel on the front end of my last car for about $900 installed. It definitely saved some chips and scratches from road debris. But ultimately the rest of the car had enough minor issues it didn't factor into its trade-in value or cosmetic purity.

Keeping it washed every 1-4 weeks and waxed at least once a year is, IMO, adequate if you're putting 10-15,000 miles on it each year. If it's a weekend toy, then by all means spend the extra to have it last indefinitely. If it's a tool of fun transport, then just keep the paint attached. There's not much that can be done to prevent the inevitable.