ceramic coating
 

The damn robins at our place in CT have been attacking the X7 every night and shitting all over it (apparently the males see their reflection and freak out). On top of that, we have hard water there so if I try to wash it off, it just makes a mess. A bunch of folks on the G07 forum have had their cars ceramic coated (opti-coat or similar) which seems to keep the cars looking nice and swirl-free even just using traditional car washes. I'm considering it. Anyone have any experience with it? Thanks!

JV has a Gyeon ceramic coat on his Boxster. I have the same, but still in kit form waiting to be applied.

Tons of high quality ceramic coatings out there, but the quality of the application matters, too. Also more than a few crap products that their manufacturers call ceramic, but are not.

Ceramic coatings don't prevent water spotting. When new and when maintained with toppers, so much water sheets off, that very little is left behind...but there's always going to be some. If the water is hard and it air dries, you'll still get spots. If there's dust or pollen in the air, soft water will also leave spots (although not traditional "water spots") if air dried. Best to use a big and absorbent microfiber or waffleweave (another waffleweavep). There are also a lot of drying aid products that also help.

Thanks Clyde!

Zach, my son had his M340 paint corrected and then ceramic coated by the same guy who paint corrected my R8, his car is metallic black and it cost him $1,700 which I thought was expensive but the car came out amazing. With that said he is now limited to only hand washing which is pretty annoying. He also has a sign he hangs on the mirror when he brings it in for service that they don’t wash the car or they will be responsible for having the coat redone.

Too much stress having to worry about it even he admits he wouldn’t do it again.

Clyde’s route of doing it yourself might be the way to go, this way you aren’t spending ridiculous money but then again it does take a quite a bit of prep from what I read which equals a lot of your time.

Whatever happened to Nufinish, you apply it to your car, it is smooth and then reapply in 3 months

I've been really happy with the Gyeon stuff. I am not knowledgeable when it comes to detailing products or procedures, but I was able to get it done in an afternoon with no issue. The application has annoying aspects but on the whole I was happier with it than any sealer or wax I've used previously.

I did a light polish on the car before doing the ceramic coat. It's seen rain four or five times since then and has probably been hand washed twice.

I don't think I'm understanding. I thought this "ceramic coating" is just like a layer of wax or other protectant product like that. What would warrant a charge of $1700?

It's largely labor. Generally there would be a pretty substantial paint correct step prior to ceramic coat application, because otherwise what's the point?

paint correction = polish, right? IDK I'm pretty sure most full details wouldn't run over $1000

A $1700 paint correction (which, yes, is basically polishing) and ceramic application is extremely expensive. Particularly for a vehicle which is likely a year or two old at most. But mobile detailing folks are good at reading their customers and charging appropriately :lol:

"Real" ceramic coatings are effectively thin layers of glass added over the car's paint. They are very hard and very smooth. They function as a sacrificial layer for swirls and light scratches that would otherwise directly affect the clear coat. They are also quite durable and can last over five years. If you want to remove one before it wears away, you would need to use a compound or polish and may need to use pads on the more aggressive side depending on which ceramic and how fresh the application.

For best results, you probably do something like this:

• Wash the car
• Use Iron-X or similar to remove iron deposits
• Decontamination/strip-wash
• Clay
• IPA wipedown
• Paint correction (either polish only or compound and polish)
  You want to get rid of all the swirls and scratches you can before you add the ceramic coating because you do anything about them when they are under the ceramic
• Apply the ceramic (and it may be several layers with short of long drying/curing time between them
• Apply a topper (think sealant, but intended to work with the ceramic)

High quality ceramics are not cheap and many of them are created to be part of a proprietary system that locks you into that brand's shampoos and toppers. When you add it all up for a single application, you're probably looking at a couple hundred dollars. Double that if you also need to buy a polisher and pads.

Doing the whole thing takes a lot of man hours. If it's done at a detail shop with a staff and the car is left there for a few days (complete with IR lights to follow manufacturer curing guidance), it's probably getting near 20 hours of labor, some of it highly skilled (hopefully) but most of it low-medium skill.

The compounding/polishing takes care and skill. Current products make it hard but not impossible to fuck up modern clear coat finishes without being stupid. It can be a pretty quick step if the paint doesn't have scratches and swirls, but can take a little while if it has a lot. Newer will probably take less time and work than older, but new cars can deliver with pretty fucked up paint if the in house "detailer" washed the car with a dirty rag when being prepped for delivery or the car spent some time in the showroom or on an exposed outdoor lot before sale.

If that's what Alan's kid did and the work is high quality, it's a reasonable price for the labor and materials consumed. Whether it's worth it to spend that money for someone to do the work for you is a different question.

If it was a solo mobile detailer that did some of that work in the driveway outside the house in a single session, yeah, that would be outrageous.