Well here is the flip side to that. Ceramic is easier to maintain, and as mentioned, it will wear off. If you are anal about scratches in your paint, and they will happen, removing them from a ceramic coating can be expensive. So for $1,500/$2,000 for a ceramic coating you can have your car paint corrected to perfection 3or 4 times over a much longer period of time than you could ever get out of one ceramic coating. I detail and also maintain all of my cars and trucks by myself, BUT only my daily drivers get ceramic spray/wax coating for longevity factors, not shine. Pictured below are my two show cars, neither has any ceramic on them, just lots of love and high end wax, and yes I do drive them, just not daily. So for me to remove scratches is a piece of cake, if they were ceramic coated I would have to remove the ceramic, fix the scratch, then reapply ceramic . The market now is ease of use, with long term shine and less maintance, but there are still some outstanding waxes out there without the need and expense of a full blown ceramic coating. for a less expensive way out,Spray on ceramic coating after a full paint correction should get you at least 8 months of protection and reapply from there, a good high end wax should get you 4 or 5 months, so it really matters as to your own preferences and how you maintain your vehicles.
Ceramic Coat Questions
- Thread starter tomshep
- Start date
This is what I have been using for years. I also have seen your Shelby at a car show and it looks Great!
I understand about scratches. They can happen. That said, I'm anal about where I take my G-70 and from November through March it's under cover. The ceramic coating my friend did back in April of 2019 is still solid. The shine is still far superior to factory new (better than most waxed vehicles I've seen), and water (yes, I do wash it traditionally maybe once a month) beads like it did the day it was applied. So I'm a devout fan of ceramic coating. In my case, the superior shine and ease of overall maintenance (any grime that I DO pick up removes so easily) is fantastic. That said, for those who prefer to focus on paint correction and use high end waxes, I totally get it and why they prefer it for their application. Either way you get superior paint appearance.
After reading what @blue 07 said about his focus on paint correction, I wonder how many people do ceramic coating without paint correction. Most hopefully would never do that if they are looking for optimum appearance, but I'm sure it happens.
I'm glad you did mention about the need to remove the ceramic coating to fix a scratch, and then having to re-apply the ceramic. Excellent point! Some, like me, wouldn't necessarily know that.
After reading what @blue 07 said about his focus on paint correction, I wonder how many people do ceramic coating without paint correction. Most hopefully would never do that if they are looking for optimum appearance, but I'm sure it happens.
I'm glad you did mention about the need to remove the ceramic coating to fix a scratch, and then having to re-apply the ceramic. Excellent point! Some, like me, wouldn't necessarily know that.
You would only have to remove the ceramic coating for a very serious deep scratch through the clear which would require sanding regardless of coated or not and you only have to reapply the coating that panel, so scratches and ceramic arent really a much bigger deal then not coated in regards to a bad scratch needing a serious repair regardless. Swirl marks however buff out of ceramic coatings just like clear coat, maybe easier, no big deal with that at all.
Thanks for the scratch info, Anthony.
Cars look GREAT, as always, Jimmy!
Beyond ease of maintenance, ceramic also makes it very difficult for anything stick/bond with the car's surface. I experienced this first-hand when I was unknowingly staged for a car show downwind from a maple tree that was weeping sap into the steady breeze. I didn't realize what was happening until sap mist had baked on my black car in the hot summer sun for almost 6 hours. The surface felt like sandpaper! I feared the worst, but was pleasantly surprised when all of it came off with a standard wash. The surface was as glassy as it had been the day before without clay, polishing, or recoating. For me, the experience validated my decision to go ceramic. Here are couple shots of mine with Gtechniq CSU+EXO...
Beyond ease of maintenance, ceramic also makes it very difficult for anything stick/bond with the car's surface. I experienced this first-hand when I was unknowingly staged for a car show downwind from a maple tree that was weeping sap into the steady breeze. I didn't realize what was happening until sap mist had baked on my black car in the hot summer sun for almost 6 hours. The surface felt like sandpaper! I feared the worst, but was pleasantly surprised when all of it came off with a standard wash. The surface was as glassy as it had been the day before without clay, polishing, or recoating. For me, the experience validated my decision to go ceramic. Here are couple shots of mine with Gtechniq CSU+EXO...
Wow....some of these cars are like showroom !
Do any of you uses an aftermarket detailer spray when cleaning your ceramic coated cars ? Before the coating I used Mother Detail Spray but not sure if that might react with the Ceramic Pro.
The shop that did mine said only water or some mild soap with water..drying off lightly with microfiber towels ...or.... for best results they suggested using a leaf blower to dry after a wash.
Do any of you uses an aftermarket detailer spray when cleaning your ceramic coated cars ? Before the coating I used Mother Detail Spray but not sure if that might react with the Ceramic Pro.
The shop that did mine said only water or some mild soap with water..drying off lightly with microfiber towels ...or.... for best results they suggested using a leaf blower to dry after a wash.
It's amazing what paint correction, good quality coatings (be they wax, sealant, or ceramic), and proper maintenance can do for a vehicle's appearance. @blue 07 also did an awesome job wet-sanding his to remove the factory orange peel found on many new cars.
It's generally best to follow manufacturer's instructions regarding care for ceramic coated surfaces, as not all "ceramic" products play well together. (Mixing the wrong products can cause streaking, cloudiness, etc.) FWIW, I use Gtechniq C2v3 and Quick Detailer on mine, and I found Adam's Ceramic Boost works well too. Choice of "mild soap" makes a difference. Make sure what you use is pH-neutral and provides good lubricity via lots of suds. I stick with Adam's Car Wash Shampoo and Ultra Foam Shampoo, both of which meet pH and suds requirements. Neither do they include mystery "gloss enhancers," which aren't required for properly corrected and coated (i.e., wax, sealant, or ceramic) vehicles.
2 stage paint correction and ceramic coating on my almost 18 yr old paint. All done about 2 weeks ago
I stick with Adams Polishing products for all my detailing. For maintenance on my 2 stangs is the use of a foam cannon and Adams high end car shampoo for washing, heated and filtered air blow off all water so no need to touch the cars to dry, eliminating any scratching in the paint. Adams Detail spray when needed or Adams new product called Slick and Slide for insane shine (detail spray on steroids ! )
Daily drivers get same treatment but use Adams Ceramic Car shampoo and use their Ceramic Boost for maintenance.
Thanks for the complement, What show did you go to ?
Users who are viewing this thread
