Ceramic coating

[jonx96]

Gtechniq Pro. Same brand as the DIY stuff I used but DIY is "Lite" not "Pro". Supposedly Lite has less ceramic in it so less chance of a DIY messing it up. If it gets wet it flash hardens and you have to buff it off with a lot of effort (machine polisher). I had no issues what so ever doing two cars myself though and I'd for sure do the DIY before I hired someone. The main thing the pros do is the paint correction before applying the ceramic. The paint on my cars was perfect before hand so wasn't a variable for me. If you have scratches/swirls you'll want those polished out first else the ceramic seals them in.

Sounds good. I did look up what you used and looks like it is recommended by many. I’m pretty good with a machine polisher. I drove my truck through some pretty heavy brush years ago. I took it as a learning experience. Took the day off work and 12 hrs later it looked brand new. I was very nervous.
Look into a dual action polisher makes it a lot harder to mess up compared to a rotary. Like 60 bucks at harbor freight. Well it used to be 5 years ago.

 

[jonx96]

So just asked the dealer to see what the brand they use he told me they use a special formula only they have.
I have heard of people making their own formulas. Like a lot of things parts are only made by so many companies and they just formulate it themselves. Prolly cheaper with how many they do. Not saying it is a bad thing. But wasnt the brand I thought it was.

 

[Speedy!]

Yep I was big in to detailing years ago and had a Porter Cable DA I used with Griot's polishing compounds and paint sealers. Like you said LOTS of labor hours spent and not something I'm willing to do now. I'll pay the guy for paint correction if needed and do the ceramic myself unless it's real cost effective to include it.

 

[jonx96]

Yep I was big in to detailing years ago and had a Porter Cable DA I used with Griot's polishing compounds and paint sealers. Like you said LOTS of labor hours spent and not something I'm willing to do now. I'll pay the guy for paint correction if needed and do the ceramic myself unless it's real cost effective to include it.

Well if you bought a water softener you might have time again

 

[fubar569]

My city water is some of the best in PA if not the eastern US and it still leaves spots on black. It actually has Minimal amounts of anything trace & very little TDS. Still use a big blue 4x20 filled with resin for deionized water. Still a PITA.

The drying technique is super important.

I'll be converting to a battery blower this year. Thinking Milwaukee because I have M18 stuff already and they have 3D printed stubby nozzles just for this purpose.

 

[Speedy!]

I use a battery powered Dewalt blower to dry and that method works really well. I just touch up jambs, trunk, and underhood with a micro fiber drying towel.

 

[vortecd]

Thought this was a good place to add this. I'm not a huge fan of the ceramic coatings mostly because of cost and my results were not great but I have bought ceramic detailer. I needed some new car wash and picked up Turtle wax ceramic hybrid wash. Last night I was driving home and it was raining some but I could see without the wipers on and thought it must not be raining hard. It's started raining a lot harder and was driving a few miles and I said to Teresa can you see ok? She said yes. I said my wipers are not on she said I know and made a comment about driving in the rain in her car without them a couple of days ago. I had just washed her car the week before

Some people use rain x and say it beads right off. Think I tried it once many years ago and didn't notice anything. I have never been able to drive in rain and not use the wipers to see and the only thing different was the wash. Maybe it was a dream, it was weird

 

[jonx96]

Thought this was a good place to add this. I'm not a huge fan of the ceramic coatings mostly because of cost and my results were not great but I have bought ceramic detailer. I needed some new car wash and picked up Turtle wax ceramic hybrid wash. Last night I was driving home and it was raining some but I could see without the wipers on and thought it must not be raining hard. It's started raining a lot harder and was driving a few miles and I said to Teresa can you see ok? She said yes. I said my wipers are not on she said I know and made a comment about driving in the rain in her car without them a couple of days ago. I had just washed her car the week before

Some people use rain x and say it beads right off. Think I tried it once many years ago and didn't notice anything. I have never been able to drive in rain and not use the wipers to see and the only thing different was the wash. Maybe it was a dream, it was weird

Turtle wax has a spray you use after the car is washed and is still wet then you dry it off. I’ve had really good luck with that.
Did the spray make a mess at all ? I’ve used some spray ceramic and it is messy.

 

[vortecd]

Turtle wax has a spray you use after the car is washed and is still wet then you dry it off. I’ve had really good luck with that.
Did the spray make a mess at all ? I’ve used some spray ceramic and it is messy.

No been using it since last year. It is a detailer

 

[vortecd]

This is what I have been using to wash the car and what would be on the windshield

 

[2pac]

Thought this was a good place to add this. I'm not a huge fan of the ceramic coatings mostly because of cost and my results were not great but I have bought ceramic detailer. I needed some new car wash and picked up Turtle wax ceramic hybrid wash. Last night I was driving home and it was raining some but I could see without the wipers on and thought it must not be raining hard. It's started raining a lot harder and was driving a few miles and I said to Teresa can you see ok? She said yes. I said my wipers are not on she said I know and made a comment about driving in the rain in her car without them a couple of days ago. I had just washed her car the week before

Some people use rain x and say it beads right off. Think I tried it once many years ago and didn't notice anything. I have never been able to drive in rain and not use the wipers to see and the only thing different was the wash. Maybe it was a dream, it was weird

Ceramic coatings are highly subjective, I agree it's ridiculously priced through 99% of shops and there's a lot of different ways things can go wrong.

I hit the lottery because my guy did 2 coats for $400 including a paint correction courtesy of Brampton water spots.

When I tell you there's nothing like a ceramic coat I tell you the truth, the car stays flawless (except for bugs) and it takes me 5 minutes to hose the car down and dry it with a leaf blower or an air compresor w/spray attachment.

As for the look, the car shines like no other, you can see your reflection in any light. My guy has a really good hookup on material and used a very high quality coating on it.

Now ppf is something that I want to do but is ridiculously expensive. It's about 3k for the front bumper, hood and 6 inches on the sides.

So anytime you and jon wanna cruise for 600 miles and get your cars coated let me know 🤣😁

 

[MikeD1]

Given the insane prices places around here charge for this stuff ($1500 - $1800 for a Challenger ), it would probably be cheaper for me to drive up there!

 

[Speedy!]

Just get the DIY stuff I mentioned earlier. If your paint isn't swirled, just prep and apply. If it is swirled, polish it yourself, then prep/apply. The polishing is where all the expense is. The DIY stuff has worked great and is like $100.

 

[Ronin]

I'm planning on PPF and ceramic coating mine along with tint as my first mods when I take delivery...

A very good friend of mine does high-end detailing and our plan is to do a complete paint correction and then going with the PCS System X Diamond for the ceramic coating. The PPF is going to include the hood and I want to preserve the satin finish as much as possible and he recommended the PPF get done first prior to the coating. Glass and wheels are also going to be treated (we'll have to see how that handles the brake dust) and it's going to be a solid 2-day job...and it ain't gonna be cheap even with him taking excellent care of me but it's well worth it IMO...

 

[1971demon]

No been using it since last year. It is a detailer

View attachment 75155

I use the same...works wonders applied in the shade..even on a black car...

 

[22MoparMuscle]

Meticulous prepping (polishing, decontamination, etc..) the paint is the key before applying the final step. Ceramic coating.

 

[22MoparMuscle]

I just bought some of this stuff. I hear nothing but good things about Wolfgang’s detailing products. We can even use this as a quick detailer spray too.

https://www.wolfgangcarcare.com/wg-uber-sio2-rinseless.html

 

[Ronin]

@22MoparMuscle, LOVE Wolfgang products. I spent an entire WEEK paint correcting my Escalade ESV with their entire product line back in the day and it came out unbelievable. I got a ridiculous trade-in for it; they couldn't stop talking about the paint, (it was black of course). That ride was sick as AF...president's limo wasn't that murdered out...BLACKED TF out, tinted windshield, couldn't see if someone was in the driver's seat if you stood directly in front of it. Did a 3/5 drop on factory 22s...it was sweet. Drove it for almost 3 years and never got pulled over, my wife drove it twice and got pulled over both times and one of her employee's got pulled over on his way back from the airport after he dropped us off. They were glad when I got rid of it...