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Ceramic / nano coating?


tpamurci
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Curious if anyone has experience or opinion on this ceramic coating crap? My regular detailer quit the business and I'm looking at alternatives, all of whom have come recommended by either owners or entities that deal with exotic cars. Seems like everyone is pushing these ceramic coatings lately. The fact that everyone is pushing it immediately makes me suspicious, and the way the marketing materials go on and on about almost as hard as diamond and other BS doesn't help. So, is it actually good, and they all push it because it means they can charge the same for a detail while taking less time to do it, is it not good and just a marketing bandwagon thing to pad the profit, etc.?

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Curious if anyone has experience or opinion on this ceramic coating crap? My regular detailer quit the business and I'm looking at alternatives, all of whom have come recommended by either owners or entities that deal with exotic cars. Seems like everyone is pushing these ceramic coatings lately. The fact that everyone is pushing it immediately makes me suspicious, and the way the marketing materials go on and on about almost as hard as diamond and other BS doesn't help. So, is it actually good, and they all push it because it means they can charge the same for a detail while taking less time to do it, is it not good and just a marketing bandwagon thing to pad the profit, etc.?

 

I'm on the Tesla forums as I had Model S and it seems that half of them have the ceramic coating and love it. I have not done it myself but thought I would give you a data point.

 

 

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We have Opticoat ceramic over the GT4, GT3RS and Panamera. We didn't bother with the BMW wagon (newly added to the garage).

 

The GT4 and Panamera have Xpel clear paint protection film on the front half and other key areas that receive road rash. The RS is covered nose to tail with Xpel - every exterior surface.

 

In ALL cases the ceramic coating is on top of exterior surfaces. It goes on the paint and the Xpel. It also went on the wheels (face and barrel) and calipers of the RS and Panamera. We skipped the GT4 wheels not knowing if weights would adhere to ceramic coating under high heat loads when on track.

 

We've had Opticoat on other cars too, and it makes a difference. It not only makes washing faster (especially wheels/brake dust) but also keeps the car a bit cleaner.

 

Our yellow GT4 showed every spec of dirt the moment it was clean. It was as though the dirt clung via static. The ceramic coating seemed to neutralize the attraction of dirt to clean paint making it stay cleaner longer (easily seen on light/bright color) and makes washing easier.

 

With this coating you don't wax (although you may if you like). Opticoat has a 7 year life span. It could wear off sooner depending on use and care - but basically we use good products to wash the car. We blow dry with master blaster. It's nice to know if little scratches / swirls happen - it's happening to the ceramic and not the paint.

 

Caveats:

- not cheap - we were quoted $1200 for the wagon and we may have paid around $1600 for the RS including wheels & calipers

- a retired coatings chemist from Dupont told me he was NOT a fan of ceramic coatings. His explanation (in layman terms):

 

They chemically bond to the paint. Once bonded - the only way to remove is sand it off, or chemically "peel" which would be difficult without harming the paint. His objections stemmed mainly from the concern that if body/paint work is needed - it will be complicated by need to sand off a larger area covered in ceramic in order to blend a respray into the surface. Probably a tough thing to do since a respray never involves distinct edges or borders.

 

I can see where it would complicate a respray if needed but if that's the only downside - and the upside is that your paint is protected - to us it's worth it.

 

I think it also helps to create a better uniformity between the paint corrected surface and the Xpel. The clear film is excellent and the latest generations seem to be free of orange peel - but the sheen can be different from paint. When you put ceramic over all of it - it has the same sheen.

 

Very happy with it. There are DIY products out there. No idea if they are any good or how they compete with the pro types. And not sure how we'll ever know if it really lasts 7 years but so far the GT4 is holding up nicely. And since hubby likes to wash cars A LOT - the ceramic is getting a workout!

 

Good luck with your decision.

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I fully Xpel and ceramic coat on top, I don’t wash the cars myself but they look easier to wash with the water simply bubbling off the paint.

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I own a detailing shop, it really depends what you are looking to get out of it.

 

shops claim 7 years life span but that's a total lie. Their warranty gets voided if you wash the car yourself, that's what they don't tell you.

 

Doing it over your PPF is a waste IMO.

If you like to wash the car yourself, get the ceramic done so it will minimize the damage you are doing on the clear coat.

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Thanks all. I think I'll give it a try on one car and see how it goes. I've had my 06 spyder for 12 years now and 03 murci for almost ten, still running strong so not seeing a change coming soon, may as well try to protect them. The clear bras on both could probably stand for replacement at this point so I guess I should do this in between for consistency.

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I own a detailing shop, it really depends what you are looking to get out of it.

 

shops claim 7 years life span but that's a total lie. Their warranty gets voided if you wash the car yourself, that's what they don't tell you.

 

Doing it over your PPF is a waste IMO.

If you like to wash the car yourself, get the ceramic done so it will minimize the damage you are doing on the clear coat.

 

I figured that over the PPF it’s a waste from the POV that it isn’t protecting the painted surface as designed but wouldn’t you have the other benefits such as the surface being easier to clean etc. ?

 

One thing I like about the coating is that after I get home I can pretty much just wipe down the car and all of the dead bugs etc come off very easily. :icon_mrgreen:

 

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Thanks Jonsav for weighing in

 

As for 7 years - I figured who could really "prove" it lasted that long - but it doesn't matter. In 7 years if we still had the car, we'd probably be replacing PPF and re-doing ceramic anyway.

 

I agree about putting it over PPF except for the slight difference in sheen. You don't really save much by telling them to only put it on paint so we just have the entire car done.

 

As for the car that's fully wrapped - it does make it wash easier, and as Fortis said - bugs come off really easily (more so than naked PPF).

 

 

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Anyone buy their own and do their own car?

 

I had all my cars done in Opti-coat Pro Plus. Each one had a paint correction done prior to the coating. Iirc on the invoice the time spent on paint correction was more than the Opticoat. You got some vintage cars so it might take a while to do paint correction. I have a 97’ 993 Turbo that took over a week. Might be a PITA to DIY.

 

To the OP it was totally worth it. It makes washing super fast. And you don’t have to wax any more. For the older car it made it look brand new.

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Anyone buy their own and do their own car?

 

I ordered cquartz ceramic applied it myself. Dropped car off with detailer for paint correction and then applied coating at home. The coating has made maintaining and washing the car much, much easier. The car does not appear to get as dusty as it did before the coating. Wish I made the switch away from sealants sooner.

 

It was not any more difficult to apply than a more “traditional” synthetic sealant that requires thin, even coats. The trick for me was getting in done early enough in the day to not be outside the recommended temperature range in Arizona. I think it got a little too warm near the end and some of the last areas I did have little streaks(that only I can see.)

 

The cquartz, or most any ceramic consumers can buy, does not have the longevity of professional products. Car looks great now, but having to go through the whole process again in a year or two makes me wonder if I would have been better off just paying a pro to do it for a longer lasting product.

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Simply meant not worth it over PPF because of the price most would charge.

 

Not hard to apply yourself Allan, just make sure to decontaminate the paint before applying.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ceramic coat works.

Yesterday I drove the H through downpours. When I got home I though let me sit in the rain a couple of minutes to rinse off the road dirt before I garage it. This morning the car barely had a couple of water spots. The stuff is amazing.

I used Hendlex NC9 and applied it myself. The main thing is to apply on a cool, clean, wax free surface. Since my car was almost new I just washed it really well. They say let it dry overnight or blow it off as water dripping will foul you up. The actual application was easy, took me about an hour. This winter I'm going to pull the wheels, clean really well and also coat the calipers. Dirt, bugs, etc. just can't stick to this stuff.

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This is it

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I had a car coated in ceramic pro. I was skeptical at first, but thought what the hell. After I owned the car for about six months and realize how easy it was to keep clean, I wouldn’t own a car without a ceramic coating.

The hard part is deciding which products work and which ones are bullshit. There’s a whole bunch and knock offs and claim that it’s for do it yourselfer. I think those are hydrophobic coating’s and not really a true ceramic product. Do your research, but if something comes with a good warranty and takes the detailer a day and a half to install it, you’re probably getting a real ceramic coating. I would however never try these yourself if you’ve not done detailing. If applied in properly, they are a permanent coding and I’ve seen some batch jobs where people have put it on too thick in one area and not enough in the other area. You really have to be meticulous and know what you’re doing.

 

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Does it help prevent small scratches and scuffs or is it just mainly to prevent debris build up and be cleaned easier?

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Does it help prevent small scratches and scuffs or is it just mainly to prevent debris build up and be cleaned easier?

 

I think it may help prevent light scuffing but for sure nothing sticks to it. Bugs clean off easily and dust almost falls off. As I stated earlier after driving in the rain my car was almost perfectly clean the following morning after air drying in the garage. I applied about a year ago and it still works fine but take into consideration car is garaged and has about 3500 miles since then. In my opinion for sure worth the investment.

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Curious if ceramic coating is more beneficial for certain colored cars, I.e. would it make a black car easier to keep clean?

 

Makes any car easier to clean. I did note when applying there was a slightly better shine when comparing coated to uncoated section.

 

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Curious if ceramic coating is more beneficial for certain colored cars, I.e. would it make a black car easier to keep clean?

 

Black, as we all know, black is a nightmare to keep clean.

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It is recommended to get a "touch up" coat annually on all ceramic coatings to extend its life.

 

I have Glanz on my car from Protective Film Solutions and I love it

 

 

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Curious if ceramic coating is more beneficial for certain colored cars, I.e. would it make a black car easier to keep clean?

 

I have Feynlab on my Cepheus Blu Huracan. Scratches will self heal in the sun. And it does work. But is a bitch to install.

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