Ceramic Coating Feedback

Im having my tacoma ceramic coated this weekend and was interested in opinions on those who have had it done. Are u happy with the results? Does it make maintance much easier?

 

I've done it on 3 trucks, so worth it. Ease of maintaining the paint, protection from UV, chemicals, bird bombs, etc. totally worth it. I've had Ceramic Pro and now that im in the rust belt CQuartz UK 3.0. For the most part they are similar in performance just how much gloss, hydrophobic properties, longevity, etc. I went with the UK stuff this time around since its proven better in salt and colder climates.

 

Generally speaking, well worth it. Depends on many variables though.
1. condition of paint/clear coat
2. Installers ability to correct paint/clear
3. Quality of product
4. Proper curing
5. And the list goes on...

 

The base, paint correction is the utmost importance or the flaws would be sealed and trapped under a tough and shiny coating. I can recommend a paint correction specialist who have done paint correction on about 10 of my cars, however he's based in Miamisburg OH, quite a long distance from Pittsburgh PA.

 

I ceramic coated my one year old truck last fall. It took about 45min for each of the two clay bar passes. No paint correction was required. I did a full IPA wipe down prior to applying the coating. The ceramic coating took about 45 minutes per pass, and I did two passes to ensure I did not miss anything. The coating only bonds to the prepared paint, and not to itself, so there were no high spots experienced with other products. I used a product Armor Shield ($69 per bottle) - I purchased a kit of 3 bottles, worried that I would not have enough product, and I barley started the second bottle while finishing up the second coat. It went down very easily. I am now over 6 months in, and I wash my truck weekly. It sheets water, and nothing sticks to it. In between washes, I use a silicon dioxide spray booster, which acts as a sacrificial layer.

 

I had mine done with ceramic pro 2 years ago with annual maintenance, getting ready for the second one next week. Water bears and rolls off easily. When washing, still need to use a mitt, not just a pressure washer. I only wash 2 or 3 times a year, not a daily driver & garage kept. I would have done it sooner if I had known & will do it again. This is after it was initially applied

 

Cavalry Blue just picked up after a paint correction and ceramic coating.

 

Yes it's worth it for all the things people have already mentioned and will mention. No need to repeat.... just post pics...


Just remember that the only thing that touches your truck is microfiber and it will last a long time.

Watch out for hard water spots though...

My truck is a 17 and it still looks much better than when I got it from the dealership.

Less work in the long run than waxes and sealers....

 

My last truck was black so I decided to have it done just a couple weeks after delivery. I was very pleased with the results. As everyone always says, black stays clean for a day. With ceramic, it stayed clean looking for weeks. A rain storm was practically a washing. I like a clean / new looking vehicle and it definitely helped to keep the look while not having to wash it as much.

 

I used CQuartz UK 3.0 as well. I've done mine and my wife's MDX. I've also used Hydro Silex by itself on our previous cars, it did well too. Makes maintenance washes so much easier. But I'm anal anyway, my washing steps are:

Power spray (electric pressure washer)
Foam up
Power spray to rinse
Clean wheels (wheel bucket)
Hand wash (double bucket)
Dry

 

I had mine done when I got it back in 16, still beads water even when it's dirty.

 

We did our former Mini Cooper, made washing easier but it turned me somewhat ocd, lol. Looking for scratches on paint and water beading and I must say I learned a lot from that

If I were you I'd get the wheels done too.
ps it's expensive so we just did our new Tacoma cab and was lucky enough to find someone willing to do the partial ceramic coating. I did the the bed and wheels myself as being a brand new truck I just deIroned, light clay, wash, IPA'd and coated with Gtechniq csl and Evo 4. It was easy but I'm had a little experience doing my Mini wheels back then.

yeah, just because you have it coated doesn't mean you don't have to take care of the paint job. You still need to watch out for water spots, bird cr@p, bugs, etc. and best clean it up as soon as you can.

 

Had it done at a local customs shop, they use Ceramic Pro. It’s pricey but worth it. Glad I did it, considering how thin the super white paint is.

They had to take extra time with the color correction because I would frequently take it to car washes with rollers; the paint was beginning to show spider webbing.

I recommend getting it done; definitely helps keep your truck looking beautiful; just a few things to note:

- Touchless car washes, pressure washer, or rain storms to clean it; do not use abrasive cloth or rough items on the surface of your truck.

- Depending on the product and the duration of the coating you may need a maintenance coat done once a year or the warranty may be reduced or dropped, this is an additional cost; but not as expensive as the initial coat and requires no paint correction.

- Do the windows too, especially the windshield. This may require a different product, but you will not regret it in a storm or blizzard.

 

The detailer did do the wheels,windows, even the soft tonneau cover. Its all coated.

 

You’ll be happy with it.

I got Ceramic Pro last June after some custom trail pinstriping at AOAA. Even when the truck is dirty af, the water beads up and rolls off it. They did the windows too and don’t even really need to turn on the wipers when it rains. You can only hand wash, power wash or touchless carwash it once you get it done. Luckily we had a warm winter or that would suck.

Only regret I have is not getting it done when I bought it. The black paint was starting to show swirls and ceramic would have helped reduce that greatly. Getting it done made it look close to new again.

 

Well I am glad I stumbled upon this thread - Will be getting this done ASAP

 

Did mine the first week after purchase. Really great at maintaining finish, but as you're probably aware, it wont protect against physical damage very well no matter how much they claim it will

 

Anyone know how well the ceramic coating is that you buy and have done at Toyota dealerships?

 

My brother did it to his 2019 TRD Pro and used Opti-Coat Pro+ by Optimum Polymer Technologies. It's so easy to wash and water just repels off of the paint

 

I had Ceramic Pro done on my truck, last June.
Well worth the investment, water beads off, always looks wet and maintenance is easier.
Most of the time, I just use a waterless wash and sealer, then use ceramic detailer to dry off.