What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?


1986 Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet with Turbo Wide Body Slant Nose conversion and boxed rockers coated with Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?

Extreme gloss - So much gloss that the word I use to describe the appearance is glassy. Glassy is a tick higher than glossy.

Extreme durability - Correctly applied, coatings simply don't wear off like car waxes and synthetic paint sealants. Of course, it is important to still wash a coated care carefully and I have an article on that and will share it later in this thread.

Better protection - Hey if it's lasting longer on the car obviously it's protecting longer.

Faster washing - Ceramic coatings create a hydrophobic or water-fearing surface - water naturally wants to get away from a ceramic coated surface thus washing is faster as dirt is released easier and faster when washing.

Faster drying - Same reasons a ceramic coated car is faster to wash, water wants to get off the car so it will naturally blow off or wipe off.

Self-cleaning effect - Because of the hydrophobic surface, when it rains the water will run off faster and easier and take any accumulated dirt with it.

 

[TTQ B4U]

Great car. My brother had a blue one like that back in the day.

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[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Great car. My brother had a blue one like that back in the day.

I poured a little bit of myself into this car when I buffed it out. Invested both perspiration and passion.

Kind of sad to find out the owner sold it.

 

[pittpens24]

What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?


1986 Porsche 911 SC Cabriolet with Turbo Wide Body Slant Nose conversion and boxed rockers coated with Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating

What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?

Extreme gloss - So much gloss that the word I use to describe the appearance is glassy. Glassy is a tick higher than glossy.

Extreme durability - Correctly applied, coatings simply don't wear off like car waxes and synthetic paint sealants. Of course, it is important to still wash a coated care carefully and I have an article on that and will share it later in this thread.

Better protection - Hey if it's lasting longer on the car obviously it's protecting longer.

Faster washing - Ceramic coatings create a hydrophobic or water-fearing surface - water naturally wants to get away from a ceramic coated surface thus washing is faster as dirt is released easier and faster when washing.

Faster drying - Same reasons a ceramic coated car is faster to wash, water wants to get off the car so it will naturally blow off or wipe off.

Self-cleaning effect - Because of the hydrophobic surface, when it rains the water will run off faster and easier and take any accumulated dirt with it.

I am game to try this on my dd.

Corrected the paint a couple washes ago.

Right now truck is sealed with WGPS, topped with Fusion and if you recognize my name you know I applied F11 on top of that as a maintainer.

What are my steps to prep for the new coating? It"s so hard to keep up with black as a dd, not to mention a business vehicle which has to always look presentable when pulling up to potential clients homes.

Once sealed, what is used as a maintainer or QD for this type of coating?

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[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What are my steps to prep for the new coating?

Basic steps are,

Step 1: Wash and dry

Step 2: Clay if needed (important - if needed do it)

Step 3: Machine polish - this ensures you're working on pure paint. If swirls and scratches are deep then compound and polish

Step 4: Chemically strip paint to remove polishing oils and get paint naked

Step 5: Install coating

Step 6: CAREFULLY inspect paint to remove any high spots.

Step 7: Carefully wash moving forward.



And the above is why most pros charge good money. There's a lot of time and labor involved PLUS the person doing it also has to CARE about what they are doing. It's real easy to mar the paint during the chemical stripping paint if you don't have clean, soft un-contaminated towels and don't CARE to wipe carefully. When a person is "caring" that is a type of brain drain besides the physical work.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Here's some related information I've written about that is "knowledge" you need in order to do the job right.

How to chemically strip paint for a ceramic paint coating

Installing a Ceramic Paint Coating? You MUST have a GREAT hand held light to avoid high spots!

How, why & when to inspect your microfiber towels when detailing cars

Microfiber towels for ceramic paint coatings - How to care for - by Mike Phillips

Permeable and Impermeable - Towel Control for Ceramic Coatings



If you don't remove all the high spots or in simple terms, excess coating, here's this,

How to remove a Ceramic Paint Coating High Spot by Mike Phillips


Here's a very in-depth how-to article that you can use the tips and techniques with ANY brand of paint coating.

Review: GYEON Q2 ONE Enthusiast Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips

TONS of info in the above article. Heck, try to find one anywhere else with that volume of info.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Or - if you don't care about swirls and scratches, use this,


Live Product Testing - Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Coating Wash



BEFORE - Zero water beading - water on hood lays flat

Now I'm only going to wash one half of the hood....

Here's Mike Liebing, our host rinsing the hood...

BOOM!
You can easily see wherever the car wash touched the paint the paint is now beading water as though it has been coated.

Driver's side = Phenomenal water beading in context

There was ZERO water beading before we washed this side of the hood

Passenger side - The only water beading is the places the Wolfgang SiO2 Car Wash touched.

Nice product. It's expensive. I'd recommend buying the gallon next time it's on sale and then mix 2 capfuls to 2-3 gallons of water and CAREFULLY HAND WASH your car.




You'll get the hydrophobic effect which gives you the same benefits of installing a coating onto your vehicle's paint you just won't have the swirl-free appearance.

 

[pittpens24]

WOW! Thank you for the plethora of info. I am so glad to have found my way here to get help rather then than fumbling through with mediocre results. Seems I have a lot of reading homework and then some ordering to do. Thanks Mike! Can't wait to try it out

 

[MarkD51]

Not to detract from Mike's great info. But I might add a few comments since I have used Pinnacle Black Diamond Paint Coating (Disclaimer, this product may have been changed-improved since I bought it, when it first came to market a few years back)

The Pinnacle Paint Coating is a little bit of a different animal than some other durable Paint Coatings.

Firstly, it is much easier to apply than let's say Carpro CQuartz. As far as application, I found it no more difficult than say a WOWA liquid Sealant. Spray, spread, and come behind with an MF Towel after to level-smooth any possible high spots. Job's done!

Like other such products marketed, prep will be an important key to get proper bonding and adhesion. Just tossing this over an already waxed-sealed vehicle will be a "no go". At least as far as longevity and durability goes.

But is this product in the realm of other durable coatings such as CQuartz, Optimum Gloss Coat, or others similar that have come to market? I'd have to say no.

Maybe not a good way to judge, but take an applicator, spray it with Pinnacle. Now take a similar applicator, and douse it with CQuartz. With the Pinnacle coating, the applicator will never harden. With CQuartz, the applicator will dry and turn as hard as a rock. Open a bottle of CQuartz, let the air hit it, it will turn into a rock hard slug of glass. Pinnacle and some others like it won't do that.

I've used the Pinnacle product, and sorry to say, I was not that impressed. CQuartz on the other hand, and after application and drying and curing, you can literally take your fingernails, and try to scratch the paint, and nothing happens. Not a mark. In other words a more durable product. That I've found CQuartz was much more resistant to marring scratching than Pinnacle. Also lasted a hell of a lot longer upon the paint.

Pinnacle I might see as a bridge, in between products such as sealants-waxes, and the other more durable coatings.

 

[pittpens24]

Not to detract from Mike's great info. But I might add a few comments since I have used Pinnacle Black Diamond Paint Coating (Disclaimer, this product may have been changed-improved since I bought it, when it first came to market a few years back)

The Pinnacle Paint Coating is a little bit of a different animal than some other durable Paint Coatings.

Firstly, it is much easier to apply than let's say Carpro CQuartz. As far as application, I found it no more difficult than say a WOWA liquid Sealant. Spray, spread, and come behind with an MF Towel after to level-smooth any possible high spots. Job's done!

Like other such products marketed, prep will be an important key to get proper bonding and adhesion. Just tossing this over an already waxed-sealed vehicle will be a "no go". At least as far as longevity and durability goes.

But is this product in the realm of other durable coatings such as CQuartz, Optimum Gloss Coat, or others similar that have come to market? I'd have to say no.

Maybe not a good way to judge, but take an applicator, spray it with Pinnacle. Now take a similar applicator, and douse it with CQuartz. With the Pinnacle coating, the applicator will never harden. With CQuartz, the applicator will dry and turn as hard as a rock. Open a bottle of CQuartz, let the air hit it, it will turn into a rock hard slug of glass. Pinnacle and some others like it won't do that.

I've used the Pinnacle product, and sorry to say, I was not that impressed. CQuartz on the other hand, and after application and drying and curing, you can literally take your fingernails, and try to scratch the paint, and nothing happens. Not a mark. In other words a more durable product. That I've found CQuartz was much more resistant to marring scratching than Pinnacle. Also lasted a hell of a lot longer upon the paint.

Pinnacle I might see as a bridge, in between products such as sealants-waxes, and the other more durable coatings.

Very interesting insight - ty

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[MarkD51]

Very interesting insight - ty

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Although the Pinnacle Paint Coating is not that inexpensive of a product, in many ways I have no regrets of trying and using it. Even though it fell somewhat short of my high expectations.

I like that I am open to try many different products and had the opportunity to test-use this one. I feel I gained some knowledge.

In defense of the product, and like many products, user error can play a part of not getting the best end results. Is it possible that on the test vehicle I tried it on, that I possibly didn't properly, and fully pre-prep the paint prior to coating? Yes, it's possible as I look back. Memory is a little fuzzy with what I did before the application.

Plus I recall trying to apply this product outside in the shade under a carport, there was a slight breeze, and that played havoc with a considerable waste of product just simply blowing away as I applied it. LOL

I don't usually like condemning a product that others seem to find work well, and like. Perhaps it could be said that sometimes you learn things the easy way, and sometimes you learn things the hard way.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Maybe not a good way to judge, but take an applicator, spray it with Pinnacle. Now take a similar applicator, and douse it with CQuartz. With the Pinnacle coating, the applicator will never harden. With CQuartz, the applicator will dry and turn as hard as a rock. Open a bottle of CQuartz, let the air hit it, it will turn into a rock hard slug of glass. Pinnacle and some others like it won't do that.

This is correct. Some coatings, not all but some, after the excess product in the applicator, be it a foam applicator or some type of microfiber patch or sponge, after the coating sets up, the material is hard and stiff. Completely unusable for a future application.

I'm not a chemist but I know it's easy at least for me to wrap-my-mind-around this characteristic and then think,

If the applicator is hard, the coating on my car is hard

And that by all logic would seem to be a good thing. Makes the surface harder and this hardness would also make me think the paint is "strongly" protected.

I'm not sure why the Pinnacle paint coatings don't do this but that doesn't mean they don't last as long as advertised.

I've used the Pinnacle product, and sorry to say, I was not that impressed.

And I think it's valid that everyone has their own opinion. At this time, my opinion is this is a very good coating and at this time it's still my go-to coating for my wife's car. (I don't have a coating on the Golden Eagle. To date I only use cleaner/waxes on it)


:xyxthumbs:

 

[rlmccarty2000]

I don’t understand the chemistry behind PBL Paint Coating but I can attest to it lasting almost 24 months on a car that went through touchless washes regularly. Most coatings that tout 9h are not really hard anyway as the 9h is a graphite test and anyone that has applied any coating will tell you that coatings will scratch pretty easily.

PBL Paint Coating is a perfect beginner coating. You get multiple uses from a bottle. The bottle contents do not harden and you don’t have to toss expensive towels. The likelihood of high spots is very low. For the money it’s a very good product. I don’t see why more pro detailers don’t use it as a “budget” package coating.