Ceramic coat questions

[fr8bil]

Get the Meguiars's brand at Wal-Mart for $15 and you are set. All 4 of my cars are done and they bead up nicely. It's rained here for 4 days and my Tahoe still looks clean.

Agreed. Just be sure and read the instructions thoroughly about the first time application and keep the spray bottle well shaken at all times. Good product and a lot less $$ than $1795....YIKES !

 

[Baja_Bob]

Yikes is right! I hate to spend that much ($1795) but to have it done professionally would be so much easier. Back when I used to apply paste wax to my vehicles I would get bored/tired of it and rush through the other side.

 

[Plimbob]

I had my wife's black Lincoln Nautilus done at a shop in our area two years ago. We live in the upper Midwest, so we have the salt/ice/snow issues. They use the Xpler brand products. They had the car three days, detailed and removed all possible chips and swirls. We also had the 3M film coating put on the from including headlights and mirrors. She takes it back annually to dust it up. It has a 5 year warranty. The cost was $1450, but that was two years ago and it's smaller. From our perspective it makes a material difference. I drive a black 17 Tahoe which hasn't been done professionally but ceramic wax applied by your truly. There is no comparison between the two regarding surface retention of dirt/dust. You can take the hose and spray hers off and the dirt/grime comes right off, mine not so much.

 

[Baja_Bob]

Mine is also black with the gloss black 22 rims, when clean it looks good, I'd like to use something to repel the dust and water spots for a little longer.

 

[MrMonte]

I ceramic coated my 2018 Yukon the other day using CQuartz UK 3.0 which has high ratings with independent testing. A large but still small bottle allowed me to get 2 coats on.

The paint prep/correction is where the cost is. I did a wash, claybar then washed with a striper soap before doing paint correction/buffer then applied 2 coats of ceramic which is the easy part. The whole process took me 10hrs and my paint was in good shape before I started.

 

[zbad55]

Here is my black Denali Ultimate that was recently finished. The paint correction is the most important part and mine from the factory needed it. Mine was done with 450 miles on the vehicle, the deep gloss black is fantastic now and not a scratch or swirl mark on it,

 

[CASTLEDFW15]

My CC was about $1000 for a regular Tahoe. It does look good and yes normal hand washes after that. Two things to note……….


1. Make sure you get a Ceramic Coating safe washing soap.

2. No Automated car washes. That will eat the CC up and causes scratches.

3. Make sure the CC installer gets the paint correction first. If your the DIY on the CC same rules appliy……You want polish, wax, paint correction first, then work on the CC.

CC can be used on pretty much all exterior Surfaces. They even have a CC for glass.

For maintenance CC there are two types…..one is apply DRY and wipe with Microfiber towel.

The other is apply wet and remove excess with MF towel. I use the wet type and usually apply after rinsing the vehicle.

The general consensus is that three-five years.

 

[pa31p]

$1795 lot of money but it is on the low end for a pro ceramic coating for this size car. PPF and paint correction generally add few more bucks

(why I’m not a big fan) to keep the coating in top shape you do not want to wipe down/touch the car much with anything, so wash with soap gun and Air Dry with leaf blower.

For most folks a solid detailing is a great option as they will buff or wipe the $1795 off in about a year. I’m OCD about a clean car so would last 8 months for me.

Great dealer trick too, $1795 for CC on the invoice.

 

[Onlyone]

Who pays 1795 for a ceramic coat? 3-5 years? more like 3-5 months. Even the best quality coating won’t last a year. Where do you guys get this stuff? I can see a paint correction but on a new vehicle most times that’s not needed. Clay bar, some alcohol and ceramic coat it. The coating itself takes maybe an hour is you’re methodical. I took me 30 minutes to coat my Yukon Xl.

 

[MrMonte]

Seeing I just ceramic coated my Yukon last week I have fresh times. Wash, claybar & full paint correction from top to bottom 7 hours. 2 coats of CQUARTZ UK 3.0 ceramic coating with 1 hour wait between coat then a wipedown with Reload spray took 3 hours. To cure the ceramic coating the Yukon stayed in the garage for 3 days.

The soft towel pieces supplied to apply the coating turned rock hard after a couple of days. So far the rain washes my Yukon clean. I used less than $100 in materials + 10 hours of my time but I enjoy the detailing process.

I've watched some dealers wipe on or even spray on their ceramic package to paint with minor scratches & water spots then think it looks great. I always get my new vehicles delivered with a no wash request.