Ceramic Coating Feedback

Everything they said. x1.2. In fact, as soon as the pollen monsoon is over here in the Thicket (normally late June) I'm going to strip three coats of Zaino Z5 showcar polymer off my G8 and replace it with Essence/CQuartz UK 3.0/Gliss. The stuff is that good. I did it myself and it is not as hard as the net would have you believe. I went almost a year just relying on heavy rains to clean mine. Bought it in October '18, washed it once before applying the above, only washed it once since then. With 3.0 it looks as good as other trucks do just cleaned. I have a couple of hundred dollars of Zaino/Adam's polishes stuff, still unopened. Be happy to sell it to ya'.


As good as this Zaino Z5 looks it's coming off in favor of Essence/CQuartz UK 3.0/Gliss

 

raining for a couple of days here. Bed and tailgate coated with csl & evo v4 a couple of weeks ago

 

I ceramic coated my wheels. Haven’t done the car but have used a product called the last coat 2.0 with ceramic properties. It’s been on for about 4 months so far through winter and still beads water. I wash every week with Wolfgang rinseless wash 2 bucket and she stays very clean.

 

for those that paid someone to do it, how much did you pay?

For those who did it themselves, how difficult and time-consuming?

 

Its not difficult most coatings now don't require alot of time to cure. The difficulty comes in if your are comfortable doing paint correction yourself or your ability.

Have had it done on 4 trucks professional, did my brother's care myself. AZ, NJ, IL, all about $800-1200 depending on what product and how many coats/level of correction you choose and how much the detailer charges for their work.

Think of it like a tattoo artist sure you could get someone to do it for $400 but it will likely look like sh*t and only cost more to fix later, as opposed of paying a bit more for quality and someone who knows what they are doing. Certain coatings like Ceramic Pro have set package pricing they ask their installers to set as well, so I.E. the silver package from a legit installer will be about $1000.

 

I had a shop do it.
It cost $700

Applying the Ceramic isn't really difficult, it is the steps before applying the coating that is the most time consuming.
Cause once you apply that coating, some imperfections will stick out like a sore thumb.

 

Do i need to do paint correction? Im a 2018. Have some pinstripes from trails they arent deep but they are there.

 

Dealer did the simonize glass coat treatment plan on mine a few month back....suppose to be for the lifetime i own the vehicle, or they will repaint, or fix the interior in warranty. So far still looks great. They claim i'll never need to wax the truck.

 

Highly recommended to do paint correction.
Ceramic Coating is semi-permanent.
It also can amplify any imperfections on your paint.
The only way to remove it is through compounding/buffing/polishing.

 

I really like my results with carpro ceramic coating.

 

Does it help for off roading or future pin striping ? Trails I go down a lot get thin.

 

Im going to be doing Avalon king ceramic coating myself pretty soon. I’ve heard great things about it

 

This is the cleanest, sharpest looking truck I’ve seen. Very nice

 

Keep in mind that your mileage, driving habits, where you're parked, frequency of washes, and ceramic coating maintenance all plays into how long it lasts and gives good results.

I like CarPro UK 3.0, but best case it's going to last two years.

This is washing with Carpro reset, and topping with either Reload or Elixir every other wash.

If you have a show car that doesn't get driven much, stays parked indoors out of the sun, and doesn't get washed much, maybe you'll fare a little better.

After two years you're going to want to polish and re-apply. Even if you're super anal with your washing you'll still get some light swirling and marring.

 

I'll be different. I use TW Ceramic. I spray it on and wipe it off every quarter. It is amazing how it shines and how durable it is. $18 for a bottle, have done all three of our cars a few times. Good ROI on this product. It gives me a chance to inspect my paint well before spraying and wiping. Nothing sticks and it is easy to wash and dry with a leaf blower.

 

Similar to you, I use Griots 3-1 Ceramic, Did my Subaru over a year ago, still beads and shines like new, and just did my Tacoma three weeks ago. Easy to apply, and after wash I use the Ceramic QD - So easy to use and apply, and only $20 for the 3-1 and 14.99 for the QD.

 

You might find it may last longer for you.

I did 2 coats of Cquartz UK 3.0, is was still looking and working great at the 3 year mark, still beaded the water real well.
Would have probably been fine for another year.

Truck is outdoors 24/7.

I quickly repolished with Elixir and then added another coat of CQ UK 3.0 and then added a coat pf the New Carpro SIC.

Only reason I did that this year is I wanted to try the new SIC coating from Carpro as it's supposed to be a little better with water spots. And to get rid of the micro swirls you get over time.

That's the only complaint I have with any of the ceramic coatings, them beading up the water so well looks great.
But if you have hard water or contaminted rain water it will leave spots all over the truck when it dries. Much easier to clean if it hadn't been ceramic coated but still a PITA to rinse off.

 

I had the simonize glass coat treatment done before receiving my truck from the dealer. So far after over a year the finish looks the same as originally done. I haven't even bothered to wash the truck yet. All thats needed is a good rain storm to flush any crap off. Suppose to have a lifetime warranty. From what i understand, it uses the same ceramic liquid as that 3.0 chit thats suppose to last years.

 

Ceramic coating is one of the best things you can do to your paint, if you care about it.

The stuff you get at the stores or online is not that great, good for about 6 months to a year maybe.

I am lucky I have a buddy who used to do this and I bought commercial use ceramic coating, topshield, and glass coating from him.

Ceramics really do a good job when you do at least 2-3 layers then follow by a topshield. Some ceramics you can’t layer, some you can.

I spent 10 hours about a week ago doing 2 stage cut polish, 2 thick coats of 10h followed by the topshield, did all the plastic parts and lights as well. Did 2 coats of glass shield as well. My truck looks better than it did brand new. This coating is permanent and requires application of the topshield every 6 months or so.

This the second time doing this to my truck, I didn’t do paint correction the first time because my truck was pretty much new. Also, I bought this “ceramic coating” from a store which only was good for about 6 months. The topshield that he gave me to try lasted longer than the stuff I bought at the store, ha!

I do go off-road quite a bit in the summers and it definitely helps keeping your paint looking great, I would highly recommend getting it done. It’s very expensive to get it done professionally, if possible DIY. I saved about 2500-3000$. I only paid about 250 for the product.

 

very new to car cleaning and this all seems kinda pricey but is there anything I SHOULD NOT use ? and maybe some stuff I can get at walmart or Amazon to clean my truck- like just a general wash.