Ceramic Pro, opti coat pro, Cquartz finest, or stay with consumers

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Maestro Sam

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Hey guys
Anyone who has experience or is an authorized ceramic coating installer please chime in. I am deciding if I should step up and offer the pro coatings to my clients. What is the biggest difference between the pro and the otc ceramic coatings. I have been installing opti-gloss, kamikaze, cquartz uk, and polish angel to customers without any issues. I have a handful of people looking for the pro ceramic coatings, not the consumer. Is there really a big difference between the scratch/swirl resistance and other benefits of ceramic coating between the two groups (except durability).
 
You need to become an authorized installer first, before thinking about offering it to you clients.
 
All of the pro options I have used have been harder to work with than the consumer coatings, though CQUK above 85f is brutal too.

All things equal, they should have better performance and durability than the consumer options. But in my experience, after 3 years in the real world a car has accumulated enough defects that a discerning owner will want it corrected again. So anything beyond that is very speculative when considering durability.

Why do your clients want the pro coating? My goal with coatings is to work with the client to find which is right based on their priorities, not based on infomercials or their neighbor being thrilled with brand X. Frankly, demonstrating that you are there to get them the right product for their needs is the best sales tactic; morally, ethically and fiscally.
 
Rsurfer said:
You need to become an authorized installer first, before thinking about offering it to you clients.
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Yep!

Audios S6 said:
All of the pro options I have used have been harder to work with than the consumer coatings, though CQUK above 85f is brutal too.

All things equal, they should have better performance and durability than the consumer options. But in my experience, after 3 years in the real world a car has accumulated enough defects that a discerning owner will want it corrected again. So anything beyond that is very speculative when considering durability.

Why do your clients want the pro coating? My goal with coatings is to work with the client to find which is right based on their priorities, not based on infomercials or their neighbor being thrilled with brand X. Frankly, demonstrating that you are there to get them the right product for their needs is the best sales tactic; morally, ethically and fiscally.
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Guess from the hype that goes around that pro coatings actually protect the car a lot better than the consumer grade coatings! I guess the durability all comes down to the owner itself how they will ulitimately treat the car after installations! Thanks for the reply, I will stick to the consumer grade coatings for now!
 
The coating that will last and perform the best is the one which is maintained the best
 
Having a major issue. Had my 96 Corvette hood repainted and some of the buffing swirls ( from a rotary ) showing up ONLY after applying a hi gloss ceramic. In the sun , after buffing and polishing all of the swirls seem to be gone. Then I bring the car into my detail bay and wipe it down as instructed before applying the ceramic coating. The apply the high gloss ceramic and buff after about 4 to 5 minutes. Looks great in the bay. Then I bring it back out in the sun and minor swirl marks from a rotary appear.
As an FYI : Using the Orange Pad on a Flex 3401 with compound. Then the black pad with a polish then wipe down before applying the ceramic. After drying and buffing the ceramic bring the Vette back out into the sun and rotary marks show up.
 
I would not expect you to get rotary holograms from the 3401. So it's not likely you are causing them with the polisher. It's possible you are putting some marring in while applying the coating or doing your wipe down.

Try wiping down before bringing it out in the sun. The polishing oils may be masking the finish. This would start to isolate the problem.
 
Dandy98 said:
Having a major issue. Had my 96 Corvette hood repainted and some of the buffing swirls ( from a rotary ) showing up ONLY after applying a hi gloss ceramic. In the sun , after buffing and polishing all of the swirls seem to be gone. Then I bring the car into my detail bay and wipe it down as instructed before applying the ceramic coating. The apply the high gloss ceramic and buff after about 4 to 5 minutes. Looks great in the bay. Then I bring it back out in the sun and minor swirl marks from a rotary appear.
As an FYI : Using the Orange Pad on a Flex 3401 with compound. Then the black pad with a polish then wipe down before applying the ceramic. After drying and buffing the ceramic bring the Vette back out into the sun and rotary marks show up.
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Go take a listen to the Ammo NYC podcast #30. Their discussion of waterspots under coatings may be relevant to you.
 
Recently coated a (black) car; after polishing/correcting, wiping car down with Gyeon Prep, car looked great. Looked good under florescent lights, looked good under LED lights, heck...it even looked ready to go using ScanGrip Multimatch light. Coated it, pulled out in sun...saw some faint halo's. While repolishing coating off, picked up a small Scangrip Sunmatch light and Penmatch...the focused beam showed very faint 'wipe' marks over entire surface. Thought perhaps it was towels marring surface but it turned out to be that the Gyeon Prep was was not done carefully/thoroughly enough and left over polish residue on this particular car/paint (black Honda) left a barely distinguishable haze on surface, gooning up the entire job.

Had never run into that issue before, a reasonable diligent panel wipe had always left the surface clean but not in this case. As I compounded/polished off the coating, I would wipe the panel down with panel wipe, then carefully inspect using the more focused beam of the Sunmatch/Penmatch. It took 2-3 wipedowns with Prep to totally remove the polish residue on this particular paint, even after using products that easily wiped clean on other cars.

Some cars ('sticky' paint, perhaps?) are apparently in need of some serious and careful panel prep to completely remove polish residue. Lesson learned: Inspect panels very closely prior to coating, much like you do after polishing to see if all defects removed.

Audios S6 said:
I would not expect you to get rotary holograms from the 3401. So it's not likely you are causing them with the polisher. It's possible you are putting some marring in while applying the coating or doing your wipe down.

Try wiping down before bringing it out in the sun. The polishing oils may be masking the finish. This would start to isolate the problem.
Click to expand...
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
Recently coated a (black) car; after polishing/correcting, wiping car down with Gyeon Prep, car looked great. Looked good under florescent lights, looked good under LED lights, heck...it even looked ready to go using ScanGrip Multimatch light. Coated it, pulled out in sun...saw some faint halo's. While repolishing coating off, picked up a small Scangrip Sunmatch light and Penmatch...the focused beam showed very faint 'wipe' marks over entire surface. Thought perhaps it was towels marring surface but it turned out to be that the Gyeon Prep was was not done carefully/thoroughly enough and left over polish residue on this particular car/paint (black Honda) left a barely distinguishable haze on surface, gooning up the entire job.

Had never run into that issue before, a reasonable diligent panel wipe had always left the surface clean but not in this case. As I compounded/polished off the coating, I would wipe the panel down with panel wipe, then carefully inspect using the more focused beam of the Sunmatch/Penmatch. It took 2-3 wipedowns with Prep to totally remove the polish residue on this particular paint, even after using products that easily wiped clean on other cars.

Some cars ('sticky' paint, perhaps?) are apparently in need of some serious and careful panel prep to completely remove polish residue. Lesson learned: Inspect panels very closely prior to coating, much like you do after polishing to see if all defects removed.
Click to expand...

It's all in the prep work.
 
I had Ceramic Pro installed, and spent some time with my friend who was an installer and helped him for a few months get established, in my opinion, stay away from CP. I have had issues with it when applying and upkeep that I just don't get with CQuartz products. CP is a gimmick, they charge too much, the how-to videos they send installers ARE A JOKE and they really are not out for the customer, they are out to make money, and boy are they. CP blocks negative(though true) comments on all of their social media, they don't return emails or calls when you have quaetions about application, and if they do they don't tell you the same thing they did before. Why? Apparently they change theiur formula often to prevent copies. But honestly idk who would want to copy CP.

Take it from me, I learned the hard way. Avoid CP, TONS of better choice. Tons.

Ok, end of CP rant lol.
 
I wish I read it before.
Paid 2000 for "Gold" package, they themselves confirmed that installer have not applied 5 coats and if he applied one - nobody knows what it was. he had no Ceramic Pro there at all when I came. I have life time warranty, but they do not reply to my emails. The same - Nano-Shine. Replied once but when I submitted pictures, no more emails. Absolute fraud. Stay away
 
PouncingPanzer said:
I had Ceramic Pro installed, and spent some time with my friend who was an installer and helped him for a few months get established, in my opinion, stay away from CP. I have had issues with it when applying and upkeep that I just don't get with CQuartz products. CP is a gimmick, they charge too much, the how-to videos they send installers ARE A JOKE and they really are not out for the customer, they are out to make money, and boy are they. CP blocks negative(though true) comments on all of their social media, they don't return emails or calls when you have quaetions about application, and if they do they don't tell you the same thing they did before. Why? Apparently they change theiur formula often to prevent copies. But honestly idk who would want to copy CP.

Take it from me, I learned the hard way. Avoid CP, TONS of better choice. Tons.

Ok, end of CP rant lol.
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I am glad someone with experience with the product chimed in. I was about to say Ceramic Pro is a serious waste of time, having to apply countless layers. How bad does a product have to be that you need 10 layers of it to work?

I have been toying with the idea of going pro coating this year. So far that are 2 products I am strongly considering:

Optimum Opti Coat Pro and Pro+. I think those are the best coatings on the market. The only issue I have with it is that you have a minimum you need to charge your client and it's pretty steep. Can't remember the numbers but it's around 1000 US$ if memory serves. Right now, people find it expensive to apply my consumer grade product at 400$. I am sure I could sell some, but I am afraid I would loose many potential customers. Also the product is pretty expensive. Over 200$ per car as opposed to 20$ per car with McKee's 37 Paint Coating. I might pull the trigger next year, but for this year I decided to stick with McKee's since it's easy to sell and the profit margins are excellent.

The other one worth noting is Gtechniq's offering. I contacted them, and it looks I cannot qualify. They require you among other things to have a garage. I am mobile. I answered explaining I was mobile and asking if exceptions could be made and never heard from them again... so I guess that is a no :)

But Gtechniq's coatings are nice. And if you don't want to go pro coating, their Crystal Serum Light is supposed to be good for 3 to 5 years, so it's almost pro grade. I think that is what I will be adding to my offering when I start running low on McKee's products (still have 2 full bottles so about 8 more cars).
 
BudgetPlan1 said:
Recently coated a (black) car; after polishing/correcting, wiping car down with Gyeon Prep, car looked great. Looked good under florescent lights, looked good under LED lights, heck...it even looked ready to go using ScanGrip Multimatch light. Coated it, pulled out in sun...saw some faint halo's. While repolishing coating off, picked up a small Scangrip Sunmatch light and Penmatch...the focused beam showed very faint 'wipe' marks over entire surface. Thought perhaps it was towels marring surface but it turned out to be that the Gyeon Prep was was not done carefully/thoroughly enough and left over polish residue on this particular car/paint (black Honda) left a barely distinguishable haze on surface, gooning up the entire job.

Had never run into that issue before, a reasonable diligent panel wipe had always left the surface clean but not in this case. As I compounded/polished off the coating, I would wipe the panel down with panel wipe, then carefully inspect using the more focused beam of the Sunmatch/Penmatch. It took 2-3 wipedowns with Prep to totally remove the polish residue on this particular paint, even after using products that easily wiped clean on other cars.

Some cars ('sticky' paint, perhaps?) are apparently in need of some serious and careful panel prep to completely remove polish residue. Lesson learned: Inspect panels very closely prior to coating, much like you do after polishing to see if all defects removed.
Click to expand...

For surface prep, how are you doing it?

Here is how I suggest you do it:

Spray one microfiber towel with the product then spray the surface directly. Cover the entire panel.

Wipe the product with the microfiber towel until you see the prep product flash off.

Then take a no nap or very short nap second microfiber towel and wipe the panel again.

With that technique there should be no wipe marks anywhere.
 
Alex378 said:
I wish I read it before.
Paid 2000 for "Gold" package, they themselves confirmed that installer have not applied 5 coats and if he applied one - nobody knows what it was. he had no Ceramic Pro there at all when I came. I have life time warranty, but they do not reply to my emails. The same - Nano-Shine. Replied once but when I submitted pictures, no more emails. Absolute fraud. Stay away
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Many coatings are single coat. Even the best ones like Opticoat pro+. So that is not a bad thing at all.

As for Ceramic Pro, you can see what I think of it in the post I made above ;)
 
Calendyr said:
Many coatings are single coat. Even the best ones like Opticoat pro+. So that is not a bad thing at all.
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That might be true, but I paid extra $1000 for extra coats. Got one. And their warranty - i have life time, but they just ignore emails. No way you could actually claim it! The only thing you get from this warranty is paid yearly re-coating or warranty is void. Good that I have learned that it is useless before going back and paying more.
 
That's what I believed too. That one had to be a Licensed Detailer with some secret handshake to offer these super high end products to customers.? My RCF is being done w a Suntek Ultra PPF and CQuartz Pro done in a week - and was told its only for those blessed by these Companies. But what do I know, I'm just an amateur driveway detailed chiming in. ;)
 
Are you talking about the manufacturer or the installer that is not returning your emails? Feels like you mean the manufacturer.

Would it not be simpler to contact the detailer who installed the product and ask him the questions?

IMO warranties are a gimmic. Ceramic coating are permanent until removed. They might loose the effects you like after a certain time but the protection will still be in place. Usually what you have to do is decontaminate them so they regain their hydrophobic ability, and this is usually what the yearly visit is for. Once contaminants like tar, road film, iron particules, sap, water spots, tree saps and so on bid to the coating, the water will stick to them and you will loose the water repelency. It's not that the coating has failed but until those contaminants are removed, you are not seeing the effects that you want from the coating, despite the fact the protection is still in place.

You could do all this yourself if you wished, just need to buy all the right chemicals and learn how to do it. But it's usually easier to bring it to a detailer who knows exactly what to do and has all the material and products on hand to perform the task.

People are usually oversold on coatings, some shops will claim it's a magical force field combining star trek deflector shields with Gandalf's magic bubble that will make your car invincible and your paint bulletproof. In reality, coatings are the best protection you can buy but you still need to take care of it. The advantage is that cleaning can be done less often and is much easier to do.
 
I am talking about Ceramic Pro Americas , Ceramic Pro Canada and NanoShine international. All 3 just ignore my warranty claims that I have emailed. The warranty booklet does not offer any other means to claim.
And the installer is the one who defrauded me in the first place. At first Ceramic Pro cooperated and suggested another installer to inspect the car. He did and told me that all needs to be redone. So I asked for my warranty to cover the costs.
I wish I knew about this forum before. Feel quite stupid now...
 
Calendyr said:
For surface prep, how are you doing it?
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'Twas pretty much just user error. Had never had prep wipe issues previously , got a bit complacent.

Guess complacency, weather conditions, combo of polishes and such used and just plain ignorance on my part led to Perfect Storm where my usual method in this area was insufficient.

And that's how some of us learn...dumb mistakes. Easy to remember.
 
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