Ceramic coat questions

How you know if your old ceramic coat gone?

How you remove old ceramic coating

How you prep the surface for jew ceramic coat?

Just asking for pointer ,tips, and hints.

Mahalo

 

You notice a change in water behavior when it starts to fail. Beading/sheeting. As well as diminished self cleaning ability (won't look as clean after a rain, for example).

But there will still likely be a lot there. Only way to remove it is to polish with an abrasive polish. But you'd want to clay it first to remove bonded contamination (gritty stuff). Then polish. Then recoat.

That's for a professional level coating. For big box store "ceramic sprays", think of those more like a spray wax.

 

Have video cause I can't tell lol

 

As the post above says, you will notice that from when you first had the coating applied the water beads were tighter snd quite round. As the coating diminishes whether it’s ceramic, hybrid, or wax the water beads will become flatter so to speak and will eventually no longer bead and it will turn into a flat sheet of water that slowly rolls off the paints surface.
As far as removing the old coating, detailing product manufacturers make soaps that have a certain PH level that helps to deteriorate the remaining coating on the surface of the paint.
To apply a new ceramic coating in the following order you would need to thoroughly wash and dry the vehicle with a soap type similar to the one mentioned above. You would then need to do a chemical decontamination (iron remover) rinse and then a mechanical decontamination (clay bar with clay lubricant). Then the surface would be prepped and ready to polish with a polisher and polishing compound. Then finally after that you could apply your ceramic coating. It is quite a process. As far as products to use. I really enjoy all of Turtle Waxes Hybrid Solutions line of products. If you happen to have any more questions feel free to reach out. All my knowledge comes from hours of research. Some people may have different opinions on how to go about detailing but this is mine haha. Have a great day!!!

 

This is the same process I’ve been doing for years and it’s never failed me. The “stripping” soaps work really well and will save you a lot of time…

One trick that is worth mentioning - if you have excess ceramic coating that you missed in the wipe down process or forgot to wipe off - you can either apply more ceramic to it and they wipe it (it reactivates it and allows you to wipe of the excess) otherwise you’ll have to polish it off.

Check out Larry Kosilla (Ammo NYC), he has all types of great informative videos on detailing:
https://m.youtube.com/@AMMO-NYC

 

How long take for cure before coat dries. Also can light rain hit the surface before it cures

 

With Gtechniq CSL and Exo V5 you'll see it flash (kind of a rainbow hue) and then it needs to wiped off immediately. You'll need good lighting and be sure to look at the panel from different angles to make sure it's all wiped off.

The Rag Company has several YouTube videos showing how to apply ceramics. Obsessed Garage might have some too.

Ceramics need to cure for however many hours the product states on the package. Leave the vehicle in the garage overnight. It cannot be exposed to elements while in the cure process.

 

As far as flash times, I've only used Gtechniq CSL and Exo V5. It only took about 10-15 seconds. Weather conditions will play a role in that. It doesn't take long at all.

There's really not much to it. I do one panel at a time. Larger panels like the hood are done in two sections.

 

The curing time is usually specified by the manufacturer of the ceramic coat, the turtle wax hybrid solutions spray on ceramic coat is 24 hours. It is fairly beginner friendly and easy to work with. 1 coat will get you roughly 6 months of protection while 2 coats will get you about a year. As far as light rain. I’ve ceramic coated my truck and had rain start shortly after and haven’t noticed any major difference in the coating or its longevity.