What is the point of a ceramic coating if you have to maintain it?

[spazzz]

I’ve never heard of microfibers that lose their shape.

I actually use a yellow for a face towel in the shower because I don't want to spend 7 dollars on a wash cloth( little ironic) The KY towel is bulkier when new and thinner when washed a few.
My face probably must be rougher than GM orange peel which is where I use my more expensive towels.

Regardless, at 50 cents a pop they are 1 of the best deals on the planet. Your right, I'm right , who cares if it works for ya.

As far as the coating thing, anything worth it needs preventative maintenance. Just like life, there is always the margin of uncertainty.
I am not going to clay or iron remove on a coating. I am going to rip through a polish session if I do those steps and reapply.

 

[choijw2]

. Afterall you all said how great ceramic coatings are at protecting against salt and harsh chemicals right?

YouTube

Yes..... for painted surfaces, which those ceramic coatings are designed for....

under carriage coating is totally different subject and mostly done with rubberized products.

oh well excuse me if I missed something previously

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

True except I don't spend an extra couple of hours for coating prep and application.

But you clay and zaino once a year. Same effort as doing a coating save spraying on rinsing off an iron remover. You will have to wash your car more often and with a coating you can blow it dry a lot easier. And coatings offer a stronger protection. Look their are those who fight the evolution of things and those who embrace them. Bet it was hard for you to give up carburetors when fuel injection came out... jk. But your argument for more work is moot. Would you like to do more maintenance once while coating or at every wash?


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[Coatingsarecrack]

And also option to spray on rinse of sio2 toppers and then blow dry so less touching over paints and sealants if wanted.


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[ClearVue18]

I'm not sure how to respond to this post

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[BudgetPlan1]

I'm not sure how to respond to this post

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Eh, just jump on in...the waters fine!

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong, just what works for each individual.

Everything else is just semantics when ya look at your shiny car on that sunny Spring day and smile...many roads to the same destination and ya can always pick up something you didn't know on the way.

 

[Coatingsarecrack]

^^^^this^^^^^

For those pros who do it you got your game plan that works and if your getting satisfied customers and referrals then it works for you and your clients. Could go across country and find thousands of Detailers are amazing (to different degrees). None are doing it wrong.

For hobbyists this argument is moot. It’s YOUR hobby if you wanna dry your car with sand paper cuz you like the “textured” appearance it give your paint....your car....your hobby. Theirs only right for you. Some have figured that out. Some are still looking for what works for them so hopefully they get something from their debates. Shoot I’m still trying to figure out what coating I wanna use.


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[rlmccarty2000]

The point of a coating is to give you the toughest sacrificial layer over your clear coat possible. When you mar or scratch your clear coat you have to remove clear coat to repair it. If you mar or scratch your coating you just polish the coating off saving your clear coat.

 

[TTQ B4U]

IMO the purpose of a coating is to have the most hydrophobic and self cleaning protection you can have. They last longer than traditional waxes and sealants and release dirt much easier. They also look fantastic.

 

[Kamakaz1961]

I am probably in the minority on this. I do believe Coatings have there place. I coat most cars, especially the cars that aren't garage queens. I still prefer the sealant/wax over coatings. I do coat my front and rear bumpers as the bumpers are made of plastic and the paint on it is more porous. Additionally, my car is a garage queen and I do like to wash/wax my vehicle whenever I can regardless if its 2 weeks or 2 months.

I believe when you coat a vehicle, the car needs to be in the "coating system" maintenance. If you take your ride to a machine car wash you may have to redo the areas from the damage. The average person thinks taking your car to a car wash is the best...

 

[Bruno Soares]

I didn’t jump on the ceramic coating boat for a while, I was happy with WGDGPS. My only regret is not doing it sooner. Car stays cleaner much longer, even when dirty it’s still pretty shiny. Washing and drying is a lot easier. The prep was well worth it.

 

[Eldorado2k]

Yes..... for painted surfaces, which those ceramic coatings are designed for....

under carriage coating is totally different subject and mostly done with rubberized products.

oh well excuse me if I missed something previously

I know, it was just a crazy idea.

 

[Autobahnd]

Rez90, you have a great thought process. For the most part, ceramic coatings are fairly pointless and I don't recommend them. You can get gloss, chemical resistance, hydrophobricity and self cleaning characteristics from some of the better sio2 spray sealants that cost $20.

By far my biggest issue with ceramic coatings are coatings with 5+ year warranties. Consider this:

Once your ceramic coating loses hydrophobic properties after a couple of years (assuming you're not masking it with "boosters"), how do you know if the coating is still on the car?
Answer: You don't. Unless you cut a panel in half and take a microscopic reading of the paint layers, there's currently no way to tell if that coating you bought that's warrantied for 5-10 years is still on your car

 

[TTQ B4U]

Rez90, you have a great thought process. For the most part, ceramic coatings are fairly pointless and I don't recommend them. You can get gloss, chemical resistance, hydrophobricity and self cleaning characteristics from some of the better sio2 spray sealants that cost $20.

By far my biggest issue with ceramic coatings are coatings with 5+ year warranties. Consider this:

Once your ceramic coating loses hydrophobic properties after a couple of years (assuming you're not masking it with "boosters"), how do you know if the coating is still on the car?
Answer: You don't. Unless you cut a panel in half and take a microscopic reading of the paint layers, there's currently no way to tell if that coating you bought that's warrantied for 5-10 years is still on your car

If you're a detailer that can wield a polisher, there's really no reason NOT to go with a Ceramic. It's not about warranties or 5yrs, etc. Most consumer grade products sold here and elsewhere will indeed last 2-3yrs without issue but most enthusiast will then re-polish and re-coat their vehicles to maintain their top appearance. Road grime, etc impacts all coatings. It's about ease of cleaning, drying and locking in a nice gloss that just lasts.

That said, the "maintance" of a coating is often very over-blown in terms of what's required. There really isn't much. Put two layers of a decent coating on and again, like most every enthusiast or even a weekend parent, use a decent drying aid or topper. Anything from basic Wolfgang Uber Rinseless mixed 1oz to a gallon of distilled water to a Cheap Beadmaker product or even dedicated product to match the brand such as CarPro Elixer will work fine and not impact or degrade the hydrophobic property or dirt resistance property coatings offer. It's that simple.

You'll know when the coating is failing as the drying part of a wash on one that's been decontaminated to ensure nothing physical is interfering with it will diminish. Again, just polish, coat, wash with a nuetral product like CarPro Reset, use a good drying aid or a fairly sublime detail spray to wipe up spots and fill the need to touch the vehicle and call it a day.

 

[98CayenneTA]

Rez90, you have a great thought process. For the most part, ceramic coatings are fairly pointless and I don't recommend them. You can get gloss, chemical resistance, hydrophobricity and self cleaning characteristics from some of the better sio2 spray sealants that cost $20.

Simply not true....spray sealants are neat and all but can't shake a stick at a good coating.

A good coating will last a couple years INCLUDING winter's with road salt. ANY spray sealant will be lucky to make it over a month of winter abuse.

 

[Autobahnd]

If you're a detailer that can wield a polisher, there's really no reason NOT to go with a Ceramic. It's not about warranties or 5yrs, etc. Most consumer grade products sold here and elsewhere will indeed last 2-3yrs without issue but most enthusiast will then re-polish and re-coat their vehicles to maintain their top appearance. Road grime, etc impacts all coatings. It's about ease of cleaning, drying and locking in a nice gloss that just lasts.

That said, the "maintance" of a coating is often very over-blown in terms of what's required. There really isn't much. Put two layers of a decent coating on and again, like most every enthusiast or even a weekend parent, use a decent drying aid or topper. Anything from basic Wolfgang Uber Rinseless mixed 1oz to a gallon of distilled water to a Cheap Beadmaker product or even dedicated product to match the brand such as CarPro Elixer will work fine and not impact or degrade the hydrophobic property or dirt resistance property coatings offer. It's that simple.

You'll know when the coating is failing as the drying part of a wash on one that's been decontaminated to ensure nothing physical is interfering with it will diminish. Again, just polish, coat, wash with a nuetral product like CarPro Reset, use a good drying aid or a fairly sublime detail spray to wipe up spots and fill the need to touch the vehicle and call it a day.

From a customers point of view, one BIG reason to not go with a ceramic coating is cost. Say you're a customer...compare the life cycle of a ceramic coating with a 5 year warranty vs just coming in every year for an annual maintenance wash for 5 years:

Ceramic Coating:
Year 1 - $1,400+ for a paint correction & 5 year coating in Massachusetts
Year 2 - $150 annual inspection w/ booster
Year 3 - $150 annual inspection w/ booster
Year 4 - $150 annual inspection w/ booster
Year 5 - $150 annual inspection w/ booster

Sio2 Spray Sealant:
Year 1 - $600+ for a paint correction and 1.5-2 year sio2 sealant in Massachusetts
Year 2 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 3 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 4 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 5 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application

What's the difference other than cost? Keep in mind you HAVE to get the annual inspection done to uphold a ceramic coating warranty. With an sio2 sealant, you can do the annual decon and re-application yourself for like $10 worth of cost of materials, so actual cost difference might be much greater. Something to note - I'm certified to install a 4 year coating I can't mention here. I promise I'm not a hater, I'm just not a believer in how they help my customers at all. By all means if a customer wants a coating installed even after I try to talk them out of it, I'll do it for them

 

[Autobahnd]

Simply not true....spray sealants are neat and all but can't shake a stick at a good coating.

A good coating will last a couple years INCLUDING winter's with road salt. ANY spray sealant will be lucky to make it over a month of winter abuse.

Hey Cayenne, I live in Massachusetts and understand where you're coming from. I recommend looking for better products if they're only lasting you a month in the winter

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I promise I'm not a hater, I'm just not a believer in how they help my customers at all.

By all means if a customer wants a coating installed even after I try to talk them out of it, I'll do it for them

This last weekend I REMOVED a coating and sealed the paint with a synthetic paint sealant. It's a GARAGE QUEEN. It doesn't need a long lasting protection.

I'm kind of with you. It's faster and easier for me to machine polish and seal car paint with traditional products and then faster and easier to keep them up then it is to do the initial coating installation and then the upkeep.


Me? I'm rethinking all of this.


:dunno:

 

[Bruno Soares]

Sio2 Spray Sealant:
Year 1 - $600+ for a paint correction and 1.5-2 year sio2 sealant in Massachusetts
Year 2 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 3 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 4 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application
Year 5 - $150 annual decon and sio2 re-application

What SiO2 sealant will last 1.5 to 2 years? That's what a consumer grade coating lasts. A good sealant might give you 6 to 8 months at best and that's probably what they'd be using on those years 2,3,4,5 you listed. To get to a whole year you'd be looking at a coating lite product.

 

[glen e]

I think it all depends on the environment your car is in and how you use the car. I remember reading an article in 2012 by the inventor of optimum opti-coat and he was talking about the need for a coating that would allow detailers to get back to a car far away and it would still be in good shape after six months to a year, With just washing. I’m with a lot of people above, I just don’t need that, I’ve coated two cars, and now I’d rather give it a good wash , a good fine polish once a year and spray on si02 sealant every quarter , it’s just a lot easier For my car which is garaged, and in a very temperate environment w/ no harsh winters. I would do something totally different and use a true coating if my car was kept outside in Chicago all year.