Ceramic Coating and/or Paint Protection Film?

It's likely ideal situations (garage kept, minimal rain, etc), but I don't imagine it's a significant difference compared to "pro" products that cost a lot more and are not as easy to apply. I applied two coats, as recommended by turtle wax, in early March and water still beads off everything like it did on day 1. The truck has also been outside 100% of the time since. I have used the detailer a few times, only because birds like to take a dump on my truck.

 

I hope you didn't actually pay for a wax/polish before the ceramic coat was applied since the truck is stripped of any polish or wax prior to applying the ceramic coat.

 

I misspoke, it wasn't a wax/polish, it was a "paint correction", he did that first before applying the ceramic coat. It got rid of all the swirls & spider webbing that the drive-thru car washes caused.

 

I did the turtle ceramic wash on our pruis with the wife. it leaves a nice shine that lasts over a couple months. Just be careful to clean any suds off your windshield and windows before they dry, or you'll have ceramic soap spots that are very hard to remove.

 

Yep. The first I bought ceremic, was from

100%.

The first time I did my coating, I bought it from a local hardware/auto parts store, lasted for maybe 6 months.

Second time, I bought some professional use from my detailer buddy and the difference is huge. He also gave me “glass shield”, it’s a coating for glass.

 

Truck is always parked outside, and I just wash it and spray wax often. takes about 1 hour.

Still looks great after 2 years. If things get "ugly", I'll look into a custom designed wrap down the line.

 

Yeah the PPF package I chose was front bumper, grille surround, half hood, half fenders and mirror caps. And then the whole truck was ceramic coated. PPF is a must where I live due to the gravel put down for our 6 months of winter. I actually wish I had gone with a more extensive PPF package that includes more of the hood/fenders, A pillars and part of the roof.

 

I bought a bunch of products from Avalon King and will be applying them hopefully this weekend. We’ll see how it goes…

 

Idk about a coating for glass...its a hard coating like glass. I had my truck professionally done also. Big difference from the over the counter sprays. The professional job left my truck with a deep glass like finish totally different than a wax job.

 

what a lot of people ITT are missing is that the "deep, reflective, glass-like look" your paint has after a coating is applied by a professional, is NOT a result of the ceramic coating being applied, it is a result of the 2 stage paint polishing process the detailer did before applying the coating. That prep-work is the process that commands the high price, not the application of the coating, which is essentially: wipe on,wipe off, and let cure.

Also, every product being sold in a spray bottle is a sealant with a small amount of something like SiO2 in it, (usually around 5%), whereas an actual coating is a liquid that needs to be applied by hand because it is a heavily saturated solution of SiO2 (70% or more) suspended in solvents. A lot of marketing has in recent years tried to play off of the hype surrounding professionally applied coatings only available through an approved detailer like Cquartz finest reserve, et. al.

Save money, time, and hassle and stick with a good quality decontamination wash process and a qualty wipe on/wipe off sealant.

 

I can vouch for the above method. A good wash or two to ensure the truck is absolutely clean and then a coat of the Turtle Wax ceramic coating followed by an additional coat the next day if possible. It's inexpensive, readily available, very easy to use and provides an excellent shine as long as it's applied right. I've been using it for a few years now with great results.

 

I did our Highlander about six months ago and still going strong. It is parked in the garage when not in use. Yesterday we drove through a severe thunderstorm and when we got home I used the leaf blower to remove the water. Water was beading everywhere and just blew right off. Car is super clean too.

 

Results may vary. My Civic is black and I use a powerful leaf blower to dry it after a wash. About 3 months is when I notice the water doesn't blow off as easily (less beading).

 

Whatever they did to get that deep glass like finish, i'm not a detailer. I've never experienced on any other vehicles owned. To me it looks like an extra hard glass like shell over the paint if you look close enough. So far its some of the best money i've spent of the truck.

 

I second the Turtle Wax ceramic spray...this stuff is amazing compared to traditional wax. It's not going to take out any imperfections so you still need a clay bar or traditional cleaning wax but as far as application goes and shine it is awesome. I spent 2 hours detailing my wife's Honda Pilot and and asked her afterwards if she noticed how shiny it was and of course she didn't. I took it to get serviced a few days a later and the tech couldn't believe how it looked. Told her at least someone noticed LOL

 

Beware of the snake oil salesman.

On another note, I had never heard much about the UV effects on paint protection films, ceramic coatings, or OEM paint. I did a google search and found this paper by someone at Ford.

https://uvebtech.com/articles/2019/...erformance-is-assessed-by-ford-motor-company/

The one thing that stood out is this quote:

“In order to achieve >90% customer satisfaction at 10 years in service, an automotive coating must be durable for at least eight years of Florida exposure for vehicles sold in the US and at least five years of Florida exposure for vehicles sold in Europe”

This implies to me that Ford (and likely other manufacturers) are designing their paint to last quite a long time in the sun. How long do you plan to be owning your truck?

 

PPF is usually for areas exposed to rocks and debris that can kick up while driving. Mirrors, hood etc. Ceramic is for ease of keeping clean, and it looks great. Ceramics need maintenance to keep them looking like day one. It’s definitely not a one and done for 5 years.

 

My prior vehicle was a 2004 Ford Sport Trac...silver in color. It sat outside Monday thru Friday in the Florida sun, about 4 miles from the beach for 18 years. When I traded it in a few months ago the paint looked no different than the day it was purchased. Zero flaws except for a door ding on the passenger side. My son had a 2009 Honda Fit and we couldn't keep paint on the crap car.

 

Definitely. Ceramic needs to be maintained about every 6 months. Then after about 3-5 years depending on the usage, needs to be completely redone. I mean if it’s a garage queen and never sees the rain, then ceramic will wear very well, I think 8-10 years no problem.

 

Modern paints will hold up to many years of sun. It won’t look “brand new” but it won’t fade or anything unless there are factory flaws.

Another thing I forgot to add, your Ford had very thick oil based paint. These days are gone, nowdays it’s all waterbased. Still durable paint though.

My 2007 Ford rangers paint was at least 2 times thicker and harder than my current Tacoma’s. That truck looked brand new when I sold it in 2018 with 165k miles. I did take care of the paint but no ceramic.