Ceramic Coating your Yukon

[91RS]

There literally are downsides ... like water spots! But first ...

Saying ceramic is better is like saying a phillips head screwdriver is better than a flat head; the key question is: for what??

The goal of ANY paint coating is:

(1.) To be a sacrificial layer for bird poo, road film, etc
(2.) Shed water & therefore dirt (hydrophobic),
(3.) To be shiny!

Every one of those goals can be accomplished with an LSP, wax, or ceramic and each have their trade-offs depending on your needs; none are "better".

The main downside to ceramic is you can't paint enhance after application; so, for example, let's say you get some gnarly water spots from rain or a sprinkler system and they dry in the sun. You're fecked.

If they're bad, they're there until you remove the ceramic. nothing you can do. lots of videos of very experienced detailers trying to remove water spots from ceramic. very very hard.

And this extends to any other paint blemishes that happen like swirls! To remove them you gotta remove the ceramic and reapply.

Why Ceramic?
For people who don't know how to wash their car properly (or don't want to or have the time), then getting ceramic is nice because it makes the process fast & easy.

Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it for the reasons @mountie said.

Why Not Ceramic?
If you're willing to hand wash your car every few weeks, and have the right tools, then there's no need for ceramic since you can (and should) simply coat the vehicle as a drying aide every time, thus there's no difference between ceramic and your freshly coated SUV.

When you use ceramic you lock in a single look for years!

Versus coating every wash: when you get tired of a coating, try a new one! If you get blemishes / swirls / water spots, then paint enhance them out.

SUMMARY
Ceramic is a great way to make routine washing easier and worry less about bird poop & bugs ... but it also prevents you from easily paint enhancing (polishing out swirls, marring, water spots, etc) and trying different looks & products.

Me?
I keep it simple and no ceramic:

(a.) If I've been in the rain, then a road film remover - I go cheap and use Superior Products's Road Warrior available via special order at O'Reillys
(b.) Rinse off: I use a Worx Hydroshot w/ de-ionized water from whole foods (0.39/gallon); portable, cheap, no hassle getting set up
(c.) McKee's 37 N-914 rinseless wash into a bucket w/ de-i water and 8-10 Rag Company Chenille mitts - IME, these minimize micro-marring the best
(d.) I use the Garry Dean method: once a mitt comes out it never goes back in the clean water, 1 mitt side per "panel" (I can further explain if curious)
(e.) I use a 12" TRC Gauntlet sprayed with an LSP (usually turtle wax seal & shine or graphene flex wax) to protect & buff dry w a TRC pfluffle btw, I use those products because they're cheap, easy, very effective, and can be used everywhere: windows, perspex, molding, etc - easy!

For wheels I do mostly the exact same, but first I clean the faces with a detail brush and the barrels with a MM flat incredibrush
If the wheels have gone a long while then I'll use P&S Brake Buster (or road warrior) first

Of course if there's caked on dirt then I spray it off first!

And if I get paint blemishes I can't stand then I'll paint enhance with an RO polisher and a 1-step polish, but generally I don't and leave that to the pros since I only do it every 6 months at the most.

I can do the truck in about 30 min if I'm working fast - only 1 bucket, and everything is portable. I've even do this on the road since it's so portable - if I'm on a road trip and get bugs, I spot spray them off and wipe off - TW seal-n-shine is very durable and holds up well for road trips, so it's what I put on before any longer highway drives!

Only some professional grade ceramics claim they can't be removed without wet sanding. Virtually anything sold to a consumer can be removed with compound and a buffer so the "locked in" for years claim is bunk. The ceramic coating helps protect against swirls better than wax so there is no need to paint correct again if you did a paint correction before applying a ceramic and the ceramic hasn't worn off. Plus, most of the coatings don't really last years (especially not without maintenance). There's a guy on YouTube who has tested tons of brands of ceramics, including some professional only ones, and most don't really last that long. The spray ceramics are the way to go because there are a number of brands that will last 1-1.5 years and are super easy to put on and don't really need the all day prep (although it is better to do so).

I bought Adams regular ceramic spray in January of 2020 and have applied it to my 2008 twice and the water still beads like crazy and the truck looks just as good as when I applied it (and I only reapplied when I did because I didn't want to wait for it to fail and it had been well over a year). I also applied the Adams Graphene full coating to my old Yukon, my SS sedan, and my 2013 Escalade and there have been no swirls added, no water spots, none of the problems you mention (my only complaint is that it didn't seem to last very long on the Yukon but I changed my removal towels after but that’s why I recommend the sprays now because they’re way cheaper and easier to apply). I did, however, have those problems when I used only wax which also had to be reapplied every other wash since carnauba doesn't last that long. I used Pinnacle Souveran on my 2013 while I was correcting the paint over the course of three weekends, and it literally wore off after one wash since the truck sits outside. Looked great until it did but the truck looks just as good now with the Graphene and it's been 6 months, I believe. Ceramic is also not better for people who don't know how to wash their car, the only option to not ruin the paint if you don't know how to wash your car properly is PPF.

So, my cars stay cleaner longer (I used to have to wash a car EVERY single weekend and now they can be washed once a month or more), look shiny longer, and don't need to be waxed 12+ times a year. I have more free time and the cars look better than ever. There are literally no downsides.

 

[vcode]

So to each their own, but I am not getting this waxing every month stuff. I wax my tahoe every 6-9 months even though the water still beads like crazy. I may spray detail it once in between. I wax my wife's car once a year and spray detail it at 6 months but it doesn't get driven a whole lot. Every month sounds like a whole lot of overkill.

 

[91RS]

What wax are you using? Carnauba wax only lasts a month or maybe two of garage kept.

 

[mountie]

What wax are you using? Carnauba wax only lasts a month or maybe two of garage kept.

I use the back of my hand to feel how smooth the paint is. If my hand drags a bit, then time to wax..... Any good wax. Take your pick. But "wax - on - wax - off".....

( I tried the new ' Griot's ' Synthetic Clay pad..... Works good !

 

[Brand0n]

So to each their own, but I am not getting this waxing every month stuff. I wax my tahoe every 6-9 months even though the water still beads like crazy. I may spray detail it once in between. I wax my wife's car once a year and spray detail it at 6 months but it doesn't get driven a whole lot. Every month sounds like a whole lot of overkill.

Agreed. Even before using ceramic spray wax, my traditional wax’s would last 6+ months under normal conditions.

 

[91RS]

Except you did, just not using those exact words. You said: "you can't paint enhance after application" and that it is "locked in for years" both of which are false. If a buffer and compound remove it, then you're literally removing it and "paint enhancing" at the same time. If it can be removed, then that isn't "locked in for years." Sure, wax is easier to remove but that's about it. Wax doesn't protect from water spots, bird droppings, swirls, etc. at all so if you have any of those things damage the paint then the process is the same for fixing it whether you ceramic coat or wax but the ceramic does a much better job of protecting from those things than wax. So, I still don't see any negatives to ceramic other than it is a little more involved to install or remove if needed. Regardless, clearly no one is changing their mind here so let's just agree to disagree.

 

[Fireman591]

I use this stuff once a year. Super easy to apply and very hydroponic. It is about $20 a bottle and will do about three tahoes. I dry the vehicle off with a cordless leaf blower in a few minutes https://www.griotsgarage.com/ceramic-3-in-1-wax/

 

[ProfeZZor X]

ha! I've used that, works great!

On the blowers, nice! A lot of the cool dudes have started using shorty tubes on Ego blowers for super dryers!

View attachment 376646

Don't tempt me, cause I'll go out and buy one for that exact purpose.... No more water stains on one side, while I'm drying the other side of the vehicle.

 

[Brewtis56]

Had a ziebart zgloss coat put on today. Looks great. Will see how it holds up.

 

[zoddrick]

Don't tempt me, cause I'll go out and buy one for that exact purpose.... No more water stains on one side, while I'm drying the other side of the vehicle.

So mine came from the dealer with a "ceramic coating" it beads up really well but you still need to dry it. So I use a combination of my gas leaf blower and these https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B086M83...8&amp&crid=1W1SHTAW5MDGB&amp&sprefix=chemical

Those towels work really really well. It takes 2 to dry my entire XL and Ill probably grab a third just in case. You can literally just drag it across the car like you would an old shammy but you dont need to wring it out every 10 seconds. Its kind of amazing how much water this thing can hold.