What DIY ceramic coating do you use? What do you think of this one?

With everything everyone has said and done here, in this thread, regarding ceramic applications, sounds like you need a pristine base surface to work with.....or risk what..?

 

you need a clean surface. wash the truck. spray it down with an iron remover and let it dwell for a few mins. rinse it off heavy to get it all off. clay the truck and then wipe it down with a panel wipe to remove any oils and product left behind. that is all that is really needed and all that doesnt really take all that long or much effort. the paint just needs to be squeaky clean. if you have a tough sealant on it like seal n shine. clay bar wont remove it and chemicals take a while so you would have to polish it off to make sure the surface is bare or the coating will not bond properly and fail

 

had a shop do the cab with Opti Coat Pro, on the back end I did CSL and EXO. New truck, washed good, Iron X'd, clayed, GT Panel Wipe and applications of CSL and EXO. Just followed the directions of the coatings

in my own eyes/mind Opti Coat Pro looks to be slighly deeper/solid look'n. Luckily found a shop that would coat the cab as it's costly and am to old to climb up to do the roof and hood. If any shop would've done just the roof/hood I would've gone that route and do the rest myself.

 

I've never applied a product like this but I have done waxing. Which one would you say is a good one for a beginner but has pretty good results?

 

Optimum Gloss coat is the easiest of all the coatings. It applies super easy and flashes away to almost nothing and leveling it is effortless. Also a HUGE plus of Gloss coat it has zero VOC so you dont need to worry about fumes. That was the one issue I had doing my CSL/EXO on this truck is I had to take breaks because of the smell and it was too cold to have the garage door open.

 

csl/exo was pretty easy. Go watch the youtubes of your ceramic coating choice and those videos should tell you what you're in fer as a diy'er. The better condition of your paint or what you'd live with under the coating could make the diy easier. If you have swirls or any paint defects that bothers you today, the ceramic coating won't make it go away, you'd have to polish/buff/repair depending on what you'd want to fix up for the best results.

 

truck is pretty brand new, garage kept so far so paint in next to new.

 

So I had to polish out some scratches after I had just done my ceramic coating, after backing into a bush camping, but now there is some hazing in the ceramic coating. You guys have any experience reapplying it or would that just trap the imperfections deeper? Basically it was perfect before I added some trail pinstriping to it.

 

Sounds like you might have used to aggressive of a compound and it had typical haze a compound leaves. I would hit it again with a light polish to clear it up and put the coating back on.

 

Imo, any of those spray on so called ceramic finish's for detailing is a joke, just fancy name for another type of good wax that you'll pay more for. Gotta ask yourself after using this stuff...will it hold up for a couple years where you need not have to do it over? When i was shown the bottle of this stuff and how it had to be applied by the dealer, it didn't resemble any of these mass marketed sprays you buy over the counter at auto stores.

 

What did the dealer show you?

 

Thanks...at my age I'll let the youngens do it...I do not have the energy...but wish I did...!!

 

Well what you are saying is not correct.
NONE of the spray sealants that have sio2 in them claim to be true ceramic coatings. They are sealants with ceramic in them so they are a lite version of a coating that will get you alot more protection than a wax or typical spray wax.
Sorry but whatever the dealer usually has to try and sell you is junk compared to most other things out there.
Not all "true" ceramic coatings will give you years either. Some are true coatings but are not as durable so they are easier to apply and cost less so your average person can use them and get about 1year out of them.
Like I have said so many times in this thread. you dont have to pay alot for a good sio2 sealant. Turtle wax seal n shine is 9.99 and is a beast. So do some research before your opinion so you can speak about it properly.
Dont give wrong information and claim its your opinion and confuse someone else looking for facts

 

yes for those types of coatings, the paint needs to be perfect. No swirls, containments, etc, that is why they are sooo expensive, the time it takes to prepare the paint. This is why I like the spray on versions that are more consumer grade.

 

that is not true. It needs to be cleaned yes but swirls do not matter.
Polishing before coating is up to the user. If you want that swirl-free finish then yes. You can apply a coating without polishing with no issues. It doesn't care about swirls. it just wants clean paint. So clay and iron remover is all that is 100% needed to get it nice and clean for a coating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN8Ta0Vh6S4

 

I use some of the spray in sealants on my rims and think they are pretty good, and I used them before I sealed my truck. The main reason I used a ceramic coating is because my truck is black. I didn’t want a black truck, but I got a screaming deal so I now I own one. If you look at it wrong it swirls. So I got the ceramic to protect it and I wouldn’t have to wipe it dry as much. Spray sealants are fine, but I don’t think they will give you the paint protection like a true ceramic. They are more like a wax which is fine if that’s what you are looking for.

 

Not going to argue, but I don't see the point of not having corrected paint with a cermanic coating. I always made sure my clients had perfect paint before coating. Owned a highly successfully detailing business over 10 years, I think it may have been 15 years old when I sold it.

 

Not everyone cares about perfect paint and they want the protection. Dont see how that would be a bad thing. You can upcharge for a coating and dont have to do all the hassle of a correction.

 

It was a dark bottle with some sort of liquid from simonize they have to apply, was told it sets up to a thin hard glass coating. I never saw them actually apply it...truck was there for 2 days. All i can say is it should of been available back in the day when i had the tundra new.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scapz5l39I
7month update on a bunch of the ceramic spray sealants.
Have to say I never looked at the griots and its doing good.