Ceramic Coating- Worth It or Gimmick?

anybody know if you can lightly clay bar the coating after a year?

 

You probably can, but I would be sure to check with the specific coating manufacture you are using. Most coating companies have a recommended touch up procedure and products. All of the coatings are not made of the same stuff and may react differently with different products.

If I were to do it I think I would use a gentle clay like Pinnacle Ultra Poly. You shouldn't have much imbedded material, that's why we use ceramic coating to start with.

 

You can clay, it's part of what the detailer will do if you take it in for their refresh plans. All ceramics are very thin and get particles embedded inside them. I use Iron-X first to neutralize metalic particles and then optimum no rinse as a clay lubricant before claying my ceramic vehicles. You should do this as a part of a 6 month clay/fallout remove and then sealant plan. Note: When I say sealant here I mean one designed for additional maintence with a ceramic not a sealant that stands by itself (although that would be better than nothing). Think something like Carpro Reload.

 

Cost $600, they do 2 full details a year and a
Yearly coating maintenance for 5 years

 

That's the coating from the dealer?

I just picked mine up on Tuesday and they told me to decide if I wanted to do the coating to just let them know. They said it is baked on and will need the truck all day. Will do the under body, glass and interior also for under 1K. I just pinged my salesman to get the details but I'm pretty sure there was included touchups, reapplications, details and dent repair included with that price.

I've always been bad about exterior maintenance (wash/waxing) and looking for a low to zero effort (on my part) option of keeping the truck purdy.

 

I have a 17 Inferno that was Ceramic Pro'd when brand new. It got covered in mud last Saturday and now it shines like new. All that happened was that it snowed wet snow. When it slide off, presto, shiny truck.

 

What Ceramic Pro package did you get done?

 

Haha yes!

I don’t even have my Taco yet but the appointment is set for Ceramic Pro in late April.

My CP’d Black M3 sold two weekends ago and the dude was stunned when he saw it. He admitted that his online impressions were that it was all hype previously.

 

4+1

 

I have a friend who does this for a job. He said if you wash your car regularly then you don't need this.

 

Ceramic coating =/= washing your car regularly. Your friend doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

Is it easy to spot you have it on? Have any close up pictures of spots where you can see it?

 

Surely you understand that I don't mean simply wiping your vehicle with soap and water as "washing," rather a full cycle of cleaner, polishers, and sealants. Thanks for the reply though. He's a nice guy.

 

Why would we understand washing to translate to an all day detailing?

 

Because merely washing your car would be ridiculous! My apologies for not being clear!

 

Yeah, that's pretty interesting to equate "washing" to a full detail...


Also, that being said, a full detail is still on different levels as getting a ceramic coating. After a full detail (minus sealant/wax), you can get it ceramic coated. Ceramic coating adds minute layers onto your clear coat; something sealant doesn't do. Sealant can't help prevent swirl marks or is self healing like some newer coatings. I would rather get my vehicle ceramic coated and just do maintenance on it than spend another 12-13 hours to do a full paint correction every year on my vehicle. Plus, ceramic coating would look better at the end of the year as well.

The only reason I haven't is because I'm not sure how it would hold up to the gnarly trail pinstriping I get when wheeling and I don't care about micromarring or slight scratches as much with my truck as I did with my black mercedes.

 

I’ve been following this thread and I’d love to do ceramic, but it’s just not going to happen any time soon for me. That said, any more recommendations for sealers? I’ve seen one or two mentioned here but consensus is helpful. Do these typically have good uv protection? I think that’s my main concern at this point since I’m not garaged.

 

Well said. I think it might be a personal preference then. For me, personally, I love spending time cleaning and detailing my vehicles but maybe for someone else, less maintenance fits their lift style better.
Any thoughts on the price tag?

 

I love doing it; it's like therapy. I would put some headphones on and just use the DA and watch it work its magic. But now with a wife and 2 kids, I would not have time to do more than spot polishing and sealing. That's why I prefer to ceramic coatings now. When I was a single unmarried guy, the ceramic coatings didn't exist or they JUST came out and I was pretty skeptical too initially. But now that they've been out for a while with a lot of good reviews I'm a believer. Price is worth it. I might look into getting a cheaper DIY that's not as permanent as the top name brands but a lot cheaper.

 

I can say that ceramic coatings are not a gimmick. I have personally coated my last two vehicles, a 2016 Subaru Crosstrek which I traded for my Taco and my wife's 2017 Subaru Impreza. I will indeed ceramic coat my Taco once the dealer gets all the rail dust/rust spots off of it. I will say it is harder to do than putting on traditional wax or polish, but the end result is certainly worth it. but like others have posted, the vehicle has to be CLEAN! completely clean and smooth. the prep is the worst part for sure. this is the kit I used, https://majesticsolutions.com/product/shield-exp-9h-kit and I did it myself, I didn't see a need to pay a "detailer" to do it. I used to detail cars for a living.