Ceramic Coating- Worth It or Gimmick?

Yeah the "H" defines the hardness of the coating. And is what you got something that you had professionally done or did you do it yourself? And how often does it need to be reapplied? And thanks, I'll check out that website.

 

I swear by it. Went Ceramic Pro on my black M3 and it stayed in showroom condition. Can’t stress how easy it is to maintain a great looking car. I got to retire from being a weekend detailer, wasting 12 hours at a time with 3-stage polish jobs. The time saved covers the $1500’ish hit if you value your free time.

Already have an appointment setup to get my black Tacoma done as soon as it comes in.

 

Yeah, the gold package I was getting includes up to two levels of paint correction prior to the coating. The main reason I'm interested in the coating is because of the protection from the sun, minor scratches/water spots, and the ease of washing. And the nice glossy finish is leaves isn't bad either. I don't do any hardcore wheeling, its just my daily driver. And I don't know much about waxes, but the guy I talked to referred me to local detailer, so when I talked to him he said he doesn't know anything about the coatings and uses 3M wax. I mentioned the Teflon wax and he said he isn't even sure how much Teflon they claim to use in the wax.

 

Thanks, I'll look into those!

 

Is this something you know from personal experience?

 

Spending that amount once is definitely worth having free time. How long ago did you get your M3 coated and what package did you get?

 

I polished and prepped the truck before applying the coating myself. It wasn't easy and would suggest a professional if you're a perfectionist, I have streaks where I didn't properly remove the coating. The products supposedly last 2 years, which is enough for me. I used to do a full detail every year on the car and spent more on sealants/waxes in the past.

 

I did the silver package (1 coat of 9H), I had it just shy of a year but there was no signs of it deteriorating or anything like that. The hydrophobic properties started to diminish a tiny bit they say to return annually to apply a layer of Ceramic Pro Sport.

I’m going to do the gold package for the taco as I intend to keep that in the long haul.

 

This was actually something that I appreciated after the coating. Not pulling out the polisher, taking out swirls and putting on coats of sealant to hopefully have it protect a month or two in our bad weather. There is no perfect solution, but this does it for me; beads even when dirty, reduces swirls (not prevents), cleans/washes easily, UV protection for our crappy paint.

 

I had a gloss coat which is similar to ceramic coating done on my truck. It took 6hr for the whole process to be done. Buddy hooked me up so it was only $250.

 

I have coated my last 3 vehicles and love it. I used traditional sealants and waxes for years and switched about 3 years ago. The only thing better protection wise is the films but they can be pricey and aren't hydrophobic. Like said above a coating isn't a protective force field but it does last longer, protects better against chemicals, road grime, bird droppings, and weather than waxes and sealants. Coatings do require up keep if you want to keep the beading but if applied properly a coating may stop beading but will still keep protecting. I use cquartz coatings and every other month I wash with carpro reset and top it with car pro reload.
The post saying saying coatings will diminish after a year that coating was probably not applied properly and gave poor results. I got 2 years out of the coating on my trailblazer before I traded it and I'm sure that it is still protecting.

 

You lost me at Chemical Guys.

 

I've been detailing my vehicles for many years. It has been interesting to watch the development of the different products over the years. My wife drives a 2003 4runner Sport V8, she says she's constantly getting comments on how good it looks, and it has never spent a day of its life in a garage.

The recently developed nano coatings really are like magic. It is truly amazing to see what they can do.

I've been using nano coatings for the past few years. There are many products on the market these days. I haven't used Ceramic Pro 9h but the reviews don't seem to be that great and the "9h" is nothing but a gimmick, which makes me skeptical.

Mohs Hardness (the 9h in the name) is a rough measure that is determined by observing whether the material is scratched by another material of defined hardness. If there claim is true the only thing that could scratch it would be a diamond.

9H might be the greatest marketing gimmick in the history of car detailing, but hardly a measurement to be taken seriously if you are shopping for a good ceramic coating. And the jury is still out on how effective layering the coating is on its longevity. Some say its nothing but a gimmick and may actually diminish the longevity of the product.

The ceramic coatings are easy to apply. It's the prep that makes the difference and is critical to how long it lasts. Some unscrupulous detailers have been caught using a polymer coating first (which fills in the swirl marks and light scratches) before applying the ceramic making the car look fantastic but it won't last long.

Like I said, it is critical the surface is clean, really clean, before the coating is applied. Put your hand in a baggie and lightly rub your freshly washed truck. It has to feel smooth before the coating is applied.

Don't forget to coat your windshield and headlights. Makes a world of difference over time.

 

I have only heard of it and briefly read about it (high end detail car shops offer it), so I can’t offer anything on its usefulness or reliability. I can tell you that “9H” is a reference to the Mohs hardness scale. This scale goes from 1 - 10 with 1 being the softest and 10 being the hardest (diamond). Many phone screen protectors claim to be a 9H (the glass ones, gorilla glass), which is also the hardness of sapphire.

 

I'm definitely going to have a professional do it. Apparently, as far as I know from what I've read, only certified installers can apply the Ceramic Pro.

 

Does this help with water beading/is it hydrophobic?

 

The detailer who I have an appointment with says I have to come back every year for maintenance to keep the coating performing the way it's designed to. They also do a full detail (inside too) with the maintenance.

 

Which ceramic coating do you prefer to use? And the detailer included coating my windshield, windows, and wheels into the package. Will also do two levels of paint correction.

 

Ceramic Coatings are the real deal, but it's not worth it to have someone else put them on for you - you still need to take care of it and use a sealant in between which basically nobody does. I used to be a detailer so I do my own. I swear by 22PLE products on my own vehicles https://www.detailedimage.com/22ple-M57/

Professionally, we used to use opticoat pro, for my daily driver I use 22PLE as it is easier to put on and if you put a sealer on every 3-4 months, the ceramic coating will last anywhere from 1-3 years depending on where you live and the environment. After that time, I will clay the car and paint correct and reapply ceramic then seal. With a DA polisher, I can put on my sealant and wipe it off within 20 minutes, the clay and paint correction is what takes time (only took ~1.5 hours last time because the ceramic protected so well).

For the hood and roof I run 3M protective film and just seal that. Those are the two spots you see on almost every gen 2 down here in the south that has clear coat failure. All said and done, I wash my truck every two weeks and every time I do maintenance I also seal the vehicle.

 

I honestly don't have the time or the patients to do it myself, let alone the skill to do it. I leave stuff like that up to the professionals. I just like what I've read about ceramic pro-- it doesn't seem to call for much maintenance once it's applied.