Ceramic Coatings - End of Durability Cycle/Aftercare

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AlexB01

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What do people do when you reach the end of the durability cycle for ceramic coatings. For instance, most manufactures will claim 2 year or up to 5 or 7 years for durability (or even lifetime!). After that period, do you simply reapply the coating (if the coating is free defects; swirl marks)? Or do you have to remove the old coating by machine? Some coatings are more difficult to remove then others especially if there are multiple layers. It seems nobody talks about this. Does not seem cost effective to have a coating reapplied every 2,5 or 7 years.

With waxes its simple, reapply when necessary or lightly polish then apply (denominate the paint when necessary).



 
Bottom line is after a couple of years you want to polish anyway and that will remove the coating.
 
I actually attended that class. I didn't work on the BMW; I worked on the MB next to it. I originally sent this email to Mike a week after the class. I just wanted feedback from him and from other pros.
 
I’m not a pro but I apply always polish my cars when I want to remove a coating or make sure that the coating is actually completely gone. Then I apply new coating of choice. Just yesterday I polished my car which had gloss coat on it for 2+ years and today I applied Viking coat.
 
AlexB01 said:
What do people do when you reach the end of the durability cycle for ceramic coatings. For instance, most manufactures will claim 2 year or up to 5 or 7 years for durability (or even lifetime!). After that period, do you simply reapply the coating (if the coating is free defects; swirl marks)? Or do you have to remove the old coating by machine? Some coatings are more difficult to remove then others especially if there are multiple layers. It seems nobody talks about this. Does not seem cost effective to have a coating reapplied every 2,5 or 7 years.

With waxes its simple, reapply when necessary or lightly polish then apply (denominate the paint when necessary).
Click to expand...

When it is time to redo it, polish and recoat. Most consumer coatings are removed by polishing.
 
BSoares said:
Check this out:

The case against multi-year ceramic paint coatings - Road Grime = Surface Staining Daily Drivers by Mike Phillips
Click to expand...

BSoares said:
Bottom line is after a couple of years you want to polish anyway and that will remove the coating.
Click to expand...

Agree.

A couple of weeks ago, I hit the very scenario Mike discusses in the quoted link. After 20-ish months of wearing a coating I decided it was time to re-do my car. Before I started the work, I thought my car was looking pretty good. However, once I got into it and started polishing, I realized how much the embedded grime and light defects had dulled the paint.

If you don't polish the vehicle after more than a year of wearing a coating you're doing the vehicle a disservice. This doesn't mean you have to do a multi-step compound and polish correction. If you've been properly maintaining the vehicle a one-step with a good polish or swirl remover may be all you need. It was all I needed.
 
ntwillie1 said:
I’m not a pro but I apply always polish my cars when I want to remove a coating or make sure that the coating is actually completely gone. Then I apply new coating of choice. Just yesterday I polished my car which had gloss coat on it for 2+ years and today I applied Viking coat.
Click to expand...

Is there any way to tell when the old coating has been completely removed??
 
davefr said:
Is there any way to tell when the old coating has been completely removed??
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I think it depends on how long the coating has been on the vehicle.

When the coating is fresh to a few months old, you should be able to tell a difference in gloss and/or feel between the spot you've polished and an area you haven't. I've seen this when correcting a high spot I missed.

Once the coating has been on for a year or two, the freshly polished area will look significantly cleaner, glossier, and the reflections will be much sharper. When polishing out my car a couple of weekends ago, it was quite noticable. That isn't a guarantee the old coating is completely gone, but I have a hard time believing as well-worn consumer grade coating (not the pro-only "semi permanent" stuff ) would withstand a good mechanical polishing at that point in it's lifecycle. If any tiny remnants remain, I can't imagine they would cause any harm.
 
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