Ceramic Coating Help and Opinions

Has anyone done ceramic coating on their Super White paint finish? Reason l ask,someone that l do business (body shop) with has gone to school for training and is offering me a discounted price on a complete 3 year (paint) coating for my faded 2010 double cab.Also includes windows,moldings,wheels,and headlites.All of this for $500.Seems high to me,but have seen that the price can go as high as $1000.My truck has never been buffed on,just waxed.
Lots of prep work to actually do before the coating goes on.Apparently this is where it really counts to make the job come out looking great.Should take about 10 hours to do it right.
Trying to justify the cost in my mind,l know if l don't do anything in a couple more years the truck will have to be painted.Painting all over is a lot more money and then you have a repainted truck.So far as reselling people alway wonder "why" it was painted.So cost wise it seems like a better plan.
What's your opinion or experience?

 

My son has his own Mobile Detailing business and they specialize in Paint Correction and Ceramic coating. The first thing is how good of shape is your paint currently in. If it is in decent shape it is worth doing if not I would not do it. Yes, the prep work is very time consuming and that is what you are paying for. The coating itself in not too expensive. If I remember correctly he told me the coating and supplies run $100-$250 depending on the size of the vehicle. He did my wife's ( His Mom's ) 6 month old 2016 Focus ST with new paint and I could tell the difference. Water dirt and grime do not stick. We just spray the dust off with soft water and dry with a leaf blower. Looks great!
The prep work for her car took about 8 hours but this was his first go at it. He has been doing it for about 2 years now and now has a crew of 6 people and a 4 bay shop.
We are going to do my 2015 Tacoma this spring and with my help he told me to plan on 4 - 6 hours of prep. I also have a shell on my truck. I would have done it last year but I have been lazy about it.

 

That price doesnt sound bad at all, especially with the sound of how much prep work would be involved. I had my 18 wrx coated about 6 months after I bought it by a mobile detailer I had used before, and it was slightly more than that. Still several hours prep time even on a six month old car. And i agree with @SCHALICKE the dirt is much easier to remove. Water sheets off the car like rain-x is applied.

 

Paint is about 5 out a 10.Never been buffed,just waxed.Last year when l waxed it,l got a decent shine,lasted about 6 months.The paint is not dead and in my opinion it should shine up great.The front bumper is questionable,but l plan on doing a grill mod,and updating my headlites.So it may end up getting painted.
I also plan on removing all the Toyota emblems and the clear film off and reapply after he is done.

 

Maybe post up in the Detailing section of Tacoma World. Things get buried fast in the 2nd gen forum. The experts can chime in there.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/forums/detailing.32/
For the Price I would do it if you plan on keeping the truck for the full 3 years of warranty. Then if it needs paint after that you are only out $166 a year. Depending on how much you spend on waxing washing and time you may break even.

 

That ceramic coating is no joke. $500 is a GREAT deal. But agreed with above posts. They need to do a full paint resto or you’re wasting your time. The best time to do Ceramic is DAY 1 of new ownership. No use sealing in a crap paint job.

 

Its probably worth it for you just because you said you’ve never polished your truck. A 2010 is in deperate need of some love and you have to paint correct before doing the coating. Paint correction alone from a pro is going to be close if not over $500.

Since you don’t detail I’d do it.

Its a good deal.

Btw ceramics are great on white. They make it shine like glass.

 

I don’t have it on my cars personally, but friends who do love it because cleaning afterwards is so much easier. Stuff doesn’t stick and a basic wash gets it back to pristine very quickly.

 

That is what the detailer told me.Paint prep is the most important

 

Did mine this summer-really made the silver 'pop'. Never use wax again! I did my own-8 hour day start to finish. $500 seems fair!

 

As others have said, $500 is CHEAP for full correction and ceramic coating - too cheap, IMO.

I had my (black, but well-maintained) Shelby coated earlier this year. Estimates I received varied between $600 and $2600! Factors that affect price include the brand of ceramic coat, the warranties offered within each product line (the ones I encountered varied between 2 years and 9 years), the amount of correction required (i.e., did the person providing an estimate perceive only light swirls or deep scratches and lots of oxidation), the areas included (e.g., calipers, wheel faces, wheel barrels, door jambs, under hood, etc), the number of coating layers (i.e., a single application or multiple products designed to work in combination with each other), and whether the detailer is certified to apply the product(s) used.

When done right, the results are stunning...

 

If it's $500, I'd jump on that deal. Prices around where I'm at in Hawaii is $800 to $1200, depending on how many coats are being applied.
Prep work sucks and that's what you're mostly paying for. I did ceramic coat my 2003 Tacoma, Super White. White is probably one of the easier colors as lots of imperfections are hidden with the color. I ceramic coated my 2014 Blue Ribbon and that sucked. I spent a lot of time correcting her. I also did my fathers 2018 Tundra. Waaaay easier when the truck is new and nothing to correct.

 

@Musubi3 Can you expand on this experience? I am looking at possibly ceramic coating my wife's 2016 vehicle. I assumed it wouldn't be that tough of a process. Thank you.

 

Depending on what the vehicle endured on its trip to the dealer and in the dealer's prep/"detail" center, new vehicles frequently require lots of correction to achieve a "perfect" finish suitable for coating.

 

Well, I spent close to $1000 (Cdn) having mine done (2015, 202 Black) just after I bought it last April. Washed, clay bar, buffed out the swirls, ceramic buff and wax...was skeptical re: cost...best money I've spent in a while. Much easier to keep now and still looks great. I mentioned it's black...worst colour to keep ever.
Go get it done, you'll feel like new person with a new truck.
JMO, Regards, Jeff

 

The Tundra was really salty from the barge ride over and surely didn't feel or look detailed. We did a good bit washing and cleaning. There were sections of water spots that needed correction, but compared to my 2014, it was less intense. What kind of detail and prep do dealers do that require prep for ceramic coating?

 

For my dark blue Tacoma, imperfections are easily seen. Being a 2014 and that the previous owner left the truck out often in Hawaii weather, it had a lot of water spots. It's better to have a good buffer to take out the spots and minor scratches. This was my first truck doing the ceramic on and I went through mistakes. Like don't ceramic coat at night. It's hard to see that all of the excess coating was removed.

My truck didn't turn out perfect and if you look carefully at it, there are still some imperfections seen, both on the original paint and in the ceramic coating. Things I can live with. I coated the truck twice and finished with a silicone topper. I used CQuartz for the coating and Reload (initially) for the silicone topper. I no longer use Reload because Hydro2 is way easier to apply and last a lot longer. Actually, I no longer use rainx on my windshield since the Hydro2 keeps the water beading on glass like crazy.

I made the mistake once of not removing the ceramic coating in one area. I had to use polishing compound with a lot of effort to remove the coating then re-apply.

 

Dealer detail shops frequently lack experience, motivation, and/or time to do things correctly, so many freshly "detailed" new vehicles are covered with scratches, swirls, rail dust, etc. To properly prepare them for coating, painted surfaces should be decontaminated with some type of iron remover, thoroughly washed, (wheel wells and calipers steam cleaned,) clayed to remove stubborn surface contaminants, polished, and wiped down with appropriate coating prep. (There's a great example, with before/after photos, here.)

 

100% agree with this. $500 is on the cheap end for full correction and ceramic coating. My miminum for anybody asking me for ceramic coating was $900 and upon inspection of the car under proper lighting and my paint meter factored in final price. IMHO, shop around, get several quotes if you're serious about proceeding with ceramic coating your truck. All of my vehicles are ceramic coated and I will never go back to traditional sealants or wax.

Norton - your car looks great

This is so true. I detailed several of the Tesla Model S' that were ordered by customer's when they first came out and some were horrible, and some had minor marring from shipping. A lot of new cars also come with a lot of orange peel which to a deatailer is very noticeable.

 

Steve, do you think doing the ceramic thing to a Tacoma has any merits for those of us who actually off road these things? You know the kind of road conditions, etc. we get around here. A show car yes but otherwise???