I’m just curious about this stuff and if it works and lasts as long as they say it does. Has anyone here had their paint ceramic coated on their bike, car, or truck? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Is it worth what they charge for it? Seems to be pretty expensive!
Ceramic Coating for Paint
Poseidon
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They are able to do a clear bra and still ceramic coat over it. It gives you better protection from stones and still be resistant to swirl marks, better gloss, hydrophobic properties, easy to clean, etc.
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Did you get your Range Rover back yet?
I will be getting my truck back possibly tomorrow, but more than likely Monday. I stopped in and saw it today. It's looking really good!
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Picked it up last night. Swirl marks are completely gone, color looks better than it did when it was brand new - so it shines better than whatever wax a LR dealer uses on the lot, which may not mean much. As far as the actual selling points of the coating, I don't guess either of us will really know until some time passes. What it did for me was make a wife happy about the appearance with a car she's loved for five years - happy wife, as they say. I don't care if it turns out to be snake oil - wife is happy today. The shop did a great job of cleaning up the small scuffs and scrapes that five years brings, plus did an amazing job on the black plastics that get old looking. Just that detail really dates a vehicle, and LR plastics fade faster than anything I've ever had. They also took off all of the badges and repainted them. All in all it looks fantastic so I'm pleased - if it works like it's supposed to that will be a bonus.
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It looks really good. If nothing else; they did an excellent job of paint correction. Clay bar is some good stuff.
If it were me; I'd keep an eye on it and watch how the water beads off it. If it starts looking like it could use a "recharge" coat; what the heck. Even if it needs a "recharge" every year like the synthetic waxes claim; as long as it stays looking good like that - you're golden.
May I ask what they charged for this service and ceramic coat? Did it come with a 2 year warranty or anything?
If it were me; I'd keep an eye on it and watch how the water beads off it. If it starts looking like it could use a "recharge" coat; what the heck. Even if it needs a "recharge" every year like the synthetic waxes claim; as long as it stays looking good like that - you're golden.
May I ask what they charged for this service and ceramic coat? Did it come with a 2 year warranty or anything?
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I'll have to get my wife to forward me the itemized receipt, not sure of the individual costs. The total bill was $900, but that included repairing two pretty cracked up interior armrests, the fading exterior trim, a few pretty decent scuff/scratches (bad enough to need touch up paint,) the removing and repainting of the badges, and a really deep interior and exterior detailing - honestly don't know what portion of that $900 was attributed to what. It does have a 3yr warranty that requires a yearly inspection and includes a "recharge" coating (he didn't use that word, but whatever he said meant the same thing) at no cost including at the end of the warranty - so they'll do the maintenance treatment three times and SUPPOSEDLY it won't need anything else. We'll see - I'm not convinced, but again -- happy wife - she wanted this because one of her friends husband had her Denali done for Christmas and "OH MAH GASH IT LOOKS UHHHMAZING" so I said "yes ma'am." If it keeps her out of the dealer showroom for a little while it's a win no matter what.
I'm still kind of iffy on it being snake oil, but after I saw Ed Bolian's video (vinWIKI on youtube ) about him finally believing it had some merit I gave it a little bit more credit to possibly being good stuff.
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For all they did; that sounds like a fair price. Knowing what a good paint job runs ($2k+); it's really worth it to take extra care of the existing paint if possible. I know folks who live in places like Detroit probably have salt all over their cars this time of year so it isn't practical to do this everywhere but then maybe those places are exactly the kind of place that would benefit from this.
Like you; I'm skeptical this ceramic coating stuff is any better than the Teflon product we used to apply back in the 1990's which was basically a concentrated synthetic wax like New Finish or any of the major brand's version of that like Turtle Ice. In fact those products could probably be put on right over the ceramic products without a concern but I'd ask someone who knows more about it than I do first.
The key with any of these products is they must first have a good paint job to put it on. Putting it on a tired clear coat isn't going to do much good.
Now your wife has a brand new looking car she can be proud of. Like you said; sure beats having to shell out for a new car or car payments with the extra insurance and registration costs (in some states). I really like that shade of blue too.
Like you; I'm skeptical this ceramic coating stuff is any better than the Teflon product we used to apply back in the 1990's which was basically a concentrated synthetic wax like New Finish or any of the major brand's version of that like Turtle Ice. In fact those products could probably be put on right over the ceramic products without a concern but I'd ask someone who knows more about it than I do first.
The key with any of these products is they must first have a good paint job to put it on. Putting it on a tired clear coat isn't going to do much good.
Now your wife has a brand new looking car she can be proud of. Like you said; sure beats having to shell out for a new car or car payments with the extra insurance and registration costs (in some states). I really like that shade of blue too.
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Looks really good! I'm the same way. Just looking for some protection and ease of cleaning.
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Just picked mine up tonight. Took a quick picture before I pulled it out of the detailer's shop. Looks amazing! The black paint looked like a tinted mirror. I thought it looked good when I bought it. Once under the lights in his shop, I could see all the marks, scratches, swirl marks, etc from the dealer prep. All of it is gone and the paint looks perfect! Looks better than it did new. Paint, wheels, trim, and windows are all coated. Only took one picture before I piulled it out of the shop. I'll take some more soon. I'll probably do a walk around video as well.
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Instagram walk around video of my truck the detailer posted.
Flawless Finish on Instagram: "Brand new Z71 after polish & coating #flawlessfinishrva #suaveceramic"
Flawless Finish on Instagram: "Brand new Z71 after polish & coating #flawlessfinishrva #suaveceramic"
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That is why I got the ceramic coating very little sticks to it and what does, pretty much will rinse off with a decent rain. Rained here yesterday. Not a single water spot on it today. That coating is amazing!
Can't wait to get my bikes done now. I bet bugs will hardly stick to it!
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Hey guys; I've been looking into this ceramic coating and found some interesting opinions on YouTube from those who do detailing for a living and also do comparison tests. Not scientific but very real world.
Two products have risen to the top from what I've seen. The Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax and Sonax. All require a good clean and prepped surface of course. These two spray on products are actually water activated so after the first time putting a base layer by wetting the vehicle, spraying the product on, then using a microfiber towel to dry and push the product into the pores of the clear coat; you just spray the product onto the vehicle just after the rinse when washing the car. Give it a minute or maybe just 15 seconds to activate then spray off - preferably using a power washer which are so cheap anyone can have one.
Dry as usual. Redo every 4-6 months depending on how much rain, sun, snow etc it's exposed to. Figure twice a year for a bottle that cost $15-22 and will last years.
For those who have a car that needs more prep than they are willing to do; pay a detailer $100-150 to do it but don't pay the extra cost of applying the expensive Ceramic Coating. Apply one of these or several other similar products that have come to market recently. I'm sure there will be more. I plan on trying the Meguiar's personally.
meguiar's hybrid ceramic wax/results?search_query=meguiar's hybrid ceramic wax - YouTube
Two products have risen to the top from what I've seen. The Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Wax and Sonax. All require a good clean and prepped surface of course. These two spray on products are actually water activated so after the first time putting a base layer by wetting the vehicle, spraying the product on, then using a microfiber towel to dry and push the product into the pores of the clear coat; you just spray the product onto the vehicle just after the rinse when washing the car. Give it a minute or maybe just 15 seconds to activate then spray off - preferably using a power washer which are so cheap anyone can have one.
Dry as usual. Redo every 4-6 months depending on how much rain, sun, snow etc it's exposed to. Figure twice a year for a bottle that cost $15-22 and will last years.
For those who have a car that needs more prep than they are willing to do; pay a detailer $100-150 to do it but don't pay the extra cost of applying the expensive Ceramic Coating. Apply one of these or several other similar products that have come to market recently. I'm sure there will be more. I plan on trying the Meguiar's personally.
meguiar's hybrid ceramic wax/results?search_query=meguiar's hybrid ceramic wax - YouTube
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I might do something like that on my car. It's pearl white tricoat, so it doesn't show spots or even dirt all that bad, but it really pops when it's wearing a nice shiny coating of some sort. I'm not paying the $$$ for what just went on the wife's car, but something like that might be a good thing to try.
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Poseidon, that really looks good. I'm tight and cheap so I tried The Car Guys hybrid ceramic sealer/wax on my truck and bikes and for the $39.00 I spent on the sealer /wax I'm really satisfied with the results. I used Mothers clay bar first and then wiped the paint down with alcohol then applied the sealer/wax. Went on easy and after 30 minutes of dry time also wiped off easy. Looks good on my white truck but really pops on that Magnum black metallic paint. Feels smooth as glass too. they say it will last 6 months but my stuff being garaged and not in the weather that much maybe it will last longer , but if it doesn't it's not that much work to re-apply. Don't have any pics yet. Bought it on Amazon.
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Uh oh. Maybe Meguiar's isn't what I thought it was. Apparently it does work but not necessarily like it says.
FYI.
I rarely put water to my bikes. They may go a year or two between actual water washings because I generally use a quick detail spray and wipe which works great for them since they live in their own bedroom (garage) most the time and not out in the sun and other weather.
FYI.
I rarely put water to my bikes. They may go a year or two between actual water washings because I generally use a quick detail spray and wipe which works great for them since they live in their own bedroom (garage) most the time and not out in the sun and other weather.
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It's holding up perfectly. It was covered in yellow tree pollen last week. Leaf blower removed all the pollen. It still gets dirty but takes almost no effort to clean it. Most things come off just by hitting it with a hose. Had to wash my work car to get the pollen off it. I haven't done the bikes yet, but I'm planning to. Still in the process of doing a few mods to them first. Once I'm done with the mods, I'll start taking them in to get coated.
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