Ceramic Coating Feedback

It will also help with pinstripes, I’ve been through some tight spots and only have a couple of pinstripes. The branches will slide off much easier.

It does help with physical contact protection for sure, couple coats of 9h or 10h makes the paint much more harder/denser, you top that with the topshield and its even better.

It’s definitely not as bulletproof as some manufacturers advertise.

 

Bs...you can see where some stones left powdery residue on the surface of the sides of my truck where they hit. You can hose it right off....no paint damage. When i had the tundra they made chips right down to the primer, and that truck had a thick clear coat layer.

 

thats poor paint then. a layer of a coating that is like .5micron thick isnt going to do shit with chips. how in the world would it stop a rock chip being so thin when paint that is much thicker gets taken off.

the pinstripe might be less because of a slicker surface and less friction to cause it but that would not be the norm.
I dont get why some think a ceramic coating is some bullet proof layer they added.
not every rock will cause a chip. tons of times a rock will hit and just leave a dust mark. That is nothing new with having a coating or not. thats just a rock not hitting hard enough or its a bit of sand hitting the paint

 

My tacoma has very thin paint, the tundra was very thick. I am very speculative of many of these big box,or auto store so called ceramic spray-on's how effective they really are. The stuff the simonize franchise people used on on tacoma appeared very commercial unlike most other stuff seen. When finished if setup to a hard glass finish. You could actually see depth to it vs the factory paint before. I even had a black car door smack the side of the truck leaving a black scuff. With some elbow grease it rubbed out, but you can still see if looked closely a tiny dent. This ceramic finish treatment is very tough. I'd put it up against any of those others.

 

1 layer of ceramic is really not great. You gotta have at least 3 layers on your paint, then it really works.

 

thats not how they work. some cannot be used more than 1 coat. You need to follow the directions of each product. Gtechniq CSL can only have one coat. if you put the 2nd coat of CSL on it will reject it and just wasting the product. you can top it. I have CSL topped with EXOv4 on my truck. You can layer till the cows come home its not going to add any type of impact protection.

 

You are correct. That’s why I get the stuff that you can layer as much as you want.

Of course it will add added protection.

What’s better, 1 coat of paint on your baseboards or 2?

 

i hate to break it to you. not being a jerk but that dealer simoniez stuff is awful. it has been tested that it will die in months not years like a true ceramic. better off with Griots 3in1 or Turtle wax seal n shine or cermic spray

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9iPQZUvXFU

 

never heard of that stuff and i have been doing this for a long time. so not sure of its legit or just rebadged Chinese stuff. its still a microscopic layer in thickness with as many layers as you want to add and no where near a thickness of even 1 layer of paint. it may help a little more with chemical resistance but once again will do absolutely nothing for a rock hitting your truck at high speeds

 

That’s because you can’t just buy it in NA, you gotta know a dealer. My buddy used to do this and he developed this water based coating in China or Taiwan, can’t remember. It doesn’t alter your clear coat and has a 120 degree contact angle. Amazing stuff!

The thing is ceramics are so new in NA, it’s crazy. It’s been super popular for decades in Asia and Russia.

I was lucky to buy a bunch of product from him.

 

Figured I’d throw my two cents in here;
I’ve been using TurtleWax Hybrid Ceramic Spray for the last year or so and love it.
If you’re someone that doesn’t enjoy the process and just wants the long lasting protection from a ceramic coating then definitely get one professionally done. I personally don’t mind the “cheaper” bottled stuff as I was someone who was always layering on wax and get a kick out of it.
Just used it for the first time on my OR, not going to have as much depth as a regular glossy paint but definitely achieved the wetness I’m looking for. Strong beading lasts for ~4-6mo except on the roof(2~3mo) and still makes maintenance washes easier.

Ignore my filthy wheels and wells if you can, had to use a hoseless wash and just didn’t bother lol

 

Looking good!

I stopped bothering cleaning my wheel wells, rims and tires. Just a quick spray and that’s it.

 

You can believe anything you want but i've seen the actual results of having this coating. Like anything, it depends on the shop and the detailers doing the job. Imo, there are a lot products out there that would like to be this good, and when you have a good one everyone wish's they could take you down.

 

I had done Cquartz UK 3.0 about 3 years ago and it was still holding up fine, I buffed out the truck with Elixir and then added another coat of Cquartz 3.0 and then 2 coats of Carpro SIC on top of that.

Came out great, It is really hard for water to stay on my hood now, had to quickly grab this shot to give you an idea on how well it beads water.

 

Awesome!

That’s how it always should be. I love watching the water roll down.

 

I can confirm, simonize is garbage. We used to use it at the autogroup I worked for. It only would last a few months. Didn’t hold up to the salt in the winter either. I used to coat my truck every few months because it just didn’t last. The stuff didn’t last long either. I snagged a case from work and after a while it just gels up and is no good.


Just bought some Drexler for my new Titan. Had good reviews. Hopefully this stuff lasts. Didn’t want black but that’s what I ended up with. Now looking to protect it from swirls.

 

Theres been a bunch of discussion on those water beads...hopefully with a ceramic coating it'll prevent the surface from not being burned if the sun suddenly comes out...beads act like a magnifying glass on the vehicles surface. I already saw vehicles years ago waxed to the limit by their owners where hoods, and the roof of the cab were damaged when left in the sun after several thunderstorms.

 

ceramic coatings will create tight water beads because of the hydrophobics. That is a downside of ceramics is they are known to have more water spotting. To combat it throw a coat of spray wax on the truck every so often. It will prevent alot of the spotting coatings usually come with. Thats why the new Graphine stuff was created to try and reduce the amount of water spats cermaics are known for.

 

My truck is Onyx Black (202) no metallic in it though.
Sits in direct sun and in 3 years with Cquartz 3.0 I never had an issue like that.

Mind you ,I am in Canada so we don't get all those Nevada like 130deg F days of direct sun. (well maybe one or two a year)

My ONLY complaint about ceramic coatings (and the same applies to waxes to a lesser degree) is that since it beads the water so well it leaves water spots that are more obvious than if the truck was ever coated.

Mind you ,the water spots just rinse off even without using soap and don't etch in like an untreated vehicle. But that's the price you pay for a black truck. Water spots visible at 50 paces.

 

Not sure I’m liking this coating based off initial impressions. Just didn’t give it a smooth glass type of finish like I’ve seen with other products. Makes me wonder how good it seals and protects. Guess the test will be how it serves against the elements. Only have seen 2-3 different ceramic coating products and none seem to last over a year. So I’m starting to think maybe this stuff is a gimmick. I think a really good coat of wax offers the same or better results. But I’ll reserve judgement until I have seen how this product performs and lasts.