Just finished this for a client this morning
8-year DIY DETAIL ceramic coating on a 2020 Toyota RAV4.
- Thread starter Don_M
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Propflux01
$100 Site Donor 2025
What brand of ceramic coating?
DIY DETAIL 8-year coating, their most chemical resistant consumer coating.
She picked her car up and was OVER THE MOON! This very non-demonstrative, very professional woman grabbed me and gave me a hug, she was so excited that her car looked: "Even better than brand new!" When I contacted her to tell the vehicle was ready, her husband hiccuped slightly at the total, but when she explained that I had spent 9 hours working on her car, he shrugged and said: "That makes sense," and was cool with the price.
Looks brand new!!!
Looks great!
What products do you use to protect the black plastic textured trim that’s all over cars these days?
What products do you use to protect the black plastic textured trim that’s all over cars these days?
The owner thinks it looks that way too!
DIY Gold Standard Polish can be used to clean the trim, then I used Turtle Wax, Graphene Acrylic tire shine on the black trim.
Did you have to do a lot of cutting or just a one step?
Just a one-step using DIY DETAIL, Gold Standard Polish, their Gold Waffle Pad and their 25mm DA on speed 3. Three passes with the polisher per section.
I just put the Mckees 10 year on my CX-5 and my son's Tundra. Super easy to use. Lots of prep work up front, but it's good to know there is strong protection there for a good long time.
No ceramic coating is going to last 8 years. You can make all the claims you want, and I've tried them all. Read the fine print of these guarantees.
The last guy told me "As long as you have us freshen up the coating with a spray ceramic topper every 6 months (with a cost of $125/application) your warranty is good for 10 years." What a bunch of BS. Pro-grade ceramic coatings last 18-24 months.
The last guy told me "As long as you have us freshen up the coating with a spray ceramic topper every 6 months (with a cost of $125/application) your warranty is good for 10 years." What a bunch of BS. Pro-grade ceramic coatings last 18-24 months.
There are no such 'requirements' on the coatings I'm using. In fact, they tell you *not* to "freshen up the coating with a spray ceramic topper."
All that's "required" is to maintain the coating with proper washing and when needed, decontamination.
DIY DETAIL **does not** warranty their coatings, they simply state that with care, they last that long. No "PH-neutral" soaps, no toppers, no 'special care' requirements. They just say that they might not last as long if they are improperly cared for.
Last year, I used a "1-year" coating on my wife's car. I washed it about a week ago, and thought the coating had failed. Then I did the decontamination steps,and it came back to performing like new ... gloss, hydrophobics and slickness.
I don't expect to change your mind, just pointing out my experience. Combine that with the research I've done on the DIY coatings, I'm more than willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Even the most durable touted coatings on the market usually lose their hydrophobic properties (useful part of a coating) between 1-3 years max. If garage kept, they will last longer.
Micro abrasions, temperature fluctuations, UV/sun, changes in dewpoint all impact coating longevity.
If I were a coating manufacturer, I'd probably opt to not even put a durability claim on them. Too many variables and inconsistent results to put a figure on it IMO.
Cerakote V2 went that way and avoided putting a yearly rating on their coating.
Micro abrasions, temperature fluctuations, UV/sun, changes in dewpoint all impact coating longevity.
If I were a coating manufacturer, I'd probably opt to not even put a durability claim on them. Too many variables and inconsistent results to put a figure on it IMO.
Cerakote V2 went that way and avoided putting a yearly rating on their coating.
So 3 different coatings reacted differently under extreme conditions. Granted, the DIY 3-year appeared dead, but was it really? Or did the amount of salt simply clogged it?
Saying that it failed outright can't be determined...yet. All it means is that the other two coatings were better at shedding mineral contamination in this instance.
I had a 1-year coating on my wife's car that after washing, I believed was dead. A simple, cheap and quick decontamination with water spot remover brought it back very close to 100%. Water beading was like new and the paint was super slick under the drying towel. Had I only judged by the initial wash results, I would have been totally wrong.
So like I said, other than showing that in this instance, DIY 3-year didn't shed mineral contamination as well, it proves nothing.
Too, DIY DETAIL does not recommend toppers, or multi ph washes or cleaners, so I don't know where you got that from.
Calling it 'snake oil,' and coming to a hard conclusion with only partial information, probably isn't the best idea.
Saying that it failed outright can't be determined...yet. All it means is that the other two coatings were better at shedding mineral contamination in this instance.
I had a 1-year coating on my wife's car that after washing, I believed was dead. A simple, cheap and quick decontamination with water spot remover brought it back very close to 100%. Water beading was like new and the paint was super slick under the drying towel. Had I only judged by the initial wash results, I would have been totally wrong.
So like I said, other than showing that in this instance, DIY 3-year didn't shed mineral contamination as well, it proves nothing.
Too, DIY DETAIL does not recommend toppers, or multi ph washes or cleaners, so I don't know where you got that from.
Calling it 'snake oil,' and coming to a hard conclusion with only partial information, probably isn't the best idea.
It may not be dead, but to me most coatings do not exhibit hydrophobic properties once past year 1-3 (max). If the coating is beading, then it's done to me. It's only useful to me when the beading is strong so I can airdry the car. Is there some protection still on the surface? Probably.
Some of these guys end up spending more time and money trying to unclog and figure out why their coating stopped beading. I'm not anti coating, but I think expectations of them are too high and they've been oversold on their benefits. Not everyone agrees with that and that's fine too. To each their own. On a positive note, coatings have become much easier to apply now and there are hundreds to choose from.
buster as long as you go in understanding that while a good coating is far better than a wax and spray sealant, and that they are NOT bullet proof force fields, you're ahead of the game.
Too, knowing that ANY protection product is subject to contamination build-up and will need a SIMPLE decon occasionally - such as a quick iron/water spot remover, not an involved, multi-product circus or require mandatory "toppers" to keep them going, is just common sense. If it *requires* a topper, then I have my doubts about how good it is in the first place.
Too, knowing that ANY protection product is subject to contamination build-up and will need a SIMPLE decon occasionally - such as a quick iron/water spot remover, not an involved, multi-product circus or require mandatory "toppers" to keep them going, is just common sense. If it *requires* a topper, then I have my doubts about how good it is in the first place.
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