Ceramic Coatings/Wax

Graphehe here. Did my 67 and looks great. Did my Tacoma and very pleased.

 

Oh, also those hybrid ceramic sprays are no where near as durable as an actual Ceramic Coating.
They usually only last for up to 6 months, while Ceramic Coatings last 2+ years.
Hybrid ceramic sprays are almost comparable to Ceramic Coating's maintenance sprays.

 

I have used Turtle Wax Spray Ceramic Coating on my wife's Volvo because her parking spot is right under a bunch of telephone wires and the birds shit on her car. I am impressed with the product and the bird shit hoses right off. I am using a different product on my Taco but I may move to Turtle Wax Spray Ceramic. It's relatively cheap and you just spray it on and wipe it off.

 

I really liked the way this finish looked and performed. I looked into this just after I bought my Tacoma. They wanted $2400 to creamic coat my truck. I went home and put another coat of wax on it. Just not confident in doing it myself

 

I’ve actually been very happy with the ceramic/Sio2 sprays. The megs is ok, not as durable, but I tried the Mckees37 hydro blue and I’ve gotten excellent results to the point it’s now my go to for the truck. If you get the concentrate it’s not really expensive, I hit the truck every other month and every time it rains the water quickly rolls right off the paint. You just spray and instantly hose it off with a strong spray, done. I then get out my purpose made blower to dry. Truck is always shining.

 

Sounds like Ceramic Pro, way on the expensive side. Kind of the pyramid scheme of Ceramic Coatings.

Most of the cost is from having to buff, polish and correct the paint. Then depending on the Ceramic Coating, it could take a couple days for the coats to cure.

A decent shop can do all that starting from around $1000. Most shops go for 2 layers, anymore than that has diminishing returns.

Mine is Ceramic Pro, but I got it for $700 for 2 layers (Silver package)

 

I've had incredible results with the Turtle Wax Hybrid ceramic and I don't mind re-applying every so often, it's very use friendly. I first do a paint correction, amateur style, by applying Meguiar's Ultimate Polishing Compound by hand. This removes any defects on the clear coat, like paint swirls or road film. This is honestly the most labor intensive part since you have to make sure every square inch of real estate is being corrected before applying the ceramic.

I ended up putting on two coats of Turtle Wax Hybrid ceramic, which is basically spraying it on and wiping it off to a shine. I let the first coat cure over night and then put on the second the next morning.

Now all I do after every wash is hit it with the Turtle Wax Hybrid ceramic 3n1 detailing spray and I've never had a vehicle look so wet/shiny as this Tacoma and I've been a

$40 Collinite 915 Marque D’ Elegance Wax-Premium Carnauba+Polymer Concours Sealant. Show Car-Deep Shine & High Gloss + Durable, Long-Lasting Paint Protection for Cars, Trucks, & Motorcycles (12 fl oz)

Collinite 915 wax guy all my life, my favorite of all the paste waxes.

Anyway, I'm sure the professional ceramic jobs are incredible and their durability probably lasts much longer but for the money and the results you just can't go wrong with the new ceramic over-the-counter spray waxes out on the shelves right now.

 

I used the Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic on my truck back in March. It was easy to get locally so I figured I'd give it a try. It still beads up great 5 months later. When I rewax in the fall I'll be more prepared and try one fo these true ceramic ones. But I'm happy with how the Turtle Wax performed and will use the rest on the GFs car.

 

I did my truck with an Adam’s UV ceramic kit. The actual ceramic isn’t hard to work with if you follow the instructions (lots of YouTube videos as well). The prep work is where you make your money.

 

I've tried those $19.99 super ceramic spays you wipe on you vehicle when i had the tundra...imo they didn't work much better than a good carnauba wax job except they didn't leave a residue after it rained. I'm getting up in age and waxing a vehicle now is at the bottom of my do list. The ceramic job i had applied by the dealer took several hours to finish. You look close and it is like a thin layer of glass. From what i was told it should be good for at least 3 years without any maintenance what so ever. At any rate the contract claims a lifetime...just wonder if its theirs or mine.

 

I get it, but it must be some sort of shield against getting these paint chips, as i'm never that lucky. If this were my tundra by now, you'd see some deep paint chips already. That truck didn't have this and i swear it was a paint chip magnet. I can hear the same noises with stones hitting this tacoma, yet when i get home to check it out....nothing.

 

I ceramic coated my truck with avalon king right after I bought it...I don't plan to really ever wash it so it's nice to just be able to hose it down and have the truck look good. I did a write up when I ceramic coated my Audi S7, even buying all the materials and a buffer it was still under $350. The process is long though my thread on the Audi is here: https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearance-detailing/1933049-diy-ceramic-coating.html

It's only been on the truck for ~2 months so I can't really speak to it's durability.

 

I haven't had to wash my truck since early march...i let a good thunderstorm do that. Most i've done is wipe off all the dead bugs i've hit and hose off whatever it needs. So far i can't complain.

 

For sure, normally the truck would be parked in a garage in Texas and it would probably never need to be washed. It'll be outside 24/7 in northern MI for the next few months though so hopefully I get my moneys worth.

 

This is

$22 Collinite 845 Insulator Wax-Easy to Use Carnauba+Polymer Wax Sealant-High Gloss Shine+Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long Lasting Paint Protection for Cars/Boats/Trucks/RVs & Motorcycles (16 fl oz)

Collinite 845 after 5 months. Very suprised at how soft the paint still is and how much it shines.

 

Thats what i wax my boat down with every year...its a great wax for fiberglass.

 

Absolutely the best stuff I've tried. You can do the whole truck in about 20 minutes.

 

I recently purchased the Mothers CMX brand and used it on my truck. So far it has performed excellent.

 

I'm late to the party but I had a detail shop strip, clay bar, and paint correct my truck. Then they applied ceramic pro lite. I couldn't wait around for it to cure and them apply 9H.

So I ordered some cheap 10H on Amazon and applied it myself. Bit of a learning curve there and I might have accidentally caused a couple swirls (I literally live in the desert with no garage and there is sand everywhere) but overall was pretty easy. I really just wanted some paint protection from bumping against a sandy truck and light scrapes from bushes and whatever on trails. Curious how this will work/hold up