Cost for local detailer to do a ceramic coating on my pickup and Crosstrek

[Malo83]

Need to do a proper paint correction on my 17 Regal GS, not into ceramic coatings, like to keep the paint freshly waxed with paste and ceramic sprays, these guys are in the next town over, gonna take a little trip over and have him look it over.

Services & Pricing | Excalibur Mobile Detail and Car Wash, Visalia, California

excaliburmobiledetail.com

 

[97prizm]

I think ceramic coating is a little overrated. People act like the car is invincible after being coated and that couldn't be farther from the truth. I'd just wax the car for essentially nothing.

I think it depends on the brand and make-up. Ed Bolian had his porsche ceramic coated and according to him dust didn't stick and water didn't leave water spots behind.

 

[taintedtattoo]

Before I spent that money, I would jump on youtube and watch Project farm's test of the dyi spray on ceramic's. Granted they are not as good, but still way better than wax, and you can literally do a truck in 15 minutes.

 

[Malo83]

Before I spent that money, I would jump on youtube and watch Project farm's test of the dyi spray on ceramic's. Granted they are not as good, but still way better than wax, and you can literally do a truck in 15 minutes.

Old video, too many new products have hit the shelves.

 

[2010Civic]

I think it depends on the brand and make-up. Ed Bolian had his porsche ceramic coated and according to him dust didn't stick and water didn't leave water spots behind.

He was getting paid to say good things about the coating.

 

[Crash Bandicoot]

I’ve looked into ceramic coating and the process involved w/regard to prep and the final application. $250 a car seems like a too good to be true price. There is a lot of correction and prep required to do it right from my research which is why for my cars and bikes I just use that Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions ceramic solutions wax which has worked great in my extreme climate.

 

[UG_Passat]

I have used a local guy to do detailing. He is mobile and has a van with pressure washer, generator and water tank. Does a good job.

He showed my a little bottle of the ceramic coating product and I think it was $500 for both vehicles but could have been $300. He seems to like to give discounts.

Is $500 a reasonable price for my two vehicles?

Should he do more than one coat? Do I need to worry about how thick a coat he applies?

I know the ceramic coating product is expensive.

I have been having him doe PowerLock+ spring and fall.

Looking for long paint protection vs showroom shine.

So Crosstrek & Ford F-250

What is the detailer doing for preparation of the surface before application? Is the detailer doing any paint correction (which will add to the cost of the job)?

The more coats applied, the more expensive the job, but longer the warranty.

 

[Donald]

He wants $450 to polish and apply a 3yr ceramic coating.

 

[zzyzzx]

Cost for local detailer to do a ceramic coating on my pickup and Crosstrek​

 

[UG_Passat]

He wants $450 to polish and apply a 3yr ceramic coating.

It is on the cheap side. You might want to check the brand of ceramic coating the mobile detailer is using, as there are precautions that you may not be aware or the mobile detailer hasn't warned you about

Sometimes, it requires some initial cure time inside a building, before being exposed to moisture (like morning dew or actual rain) and sunlight or even driving the car itself.

Hopefully you already park your vehicles in your garage, and expect to leave it there for 24 hours

 

[Donald]

It is on the cheap side. You might want to check the brand of ceramic coating the mobile detailer is using, as there are precautions that you may not be aware or the mobile detailer hasn't warned you about

Sometimes, it requires some initial cure time inside a building, before being exposed to moisture (like morning dew or actual rain) and sunlight or even driving the car itself.

Hopefully you already park your vehicles in your garage, and expect to leave it there for 24 hours

It was in a previous post. Undrdog or Hyperclean.

My garage is full of tools and OPE and big dog. No room for a car.

Wife also likes to go to auto car wash. May not be good for a ceramic coating.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I have different opinions. The market is contaminated with good ceramic / graphene, and also fake knockoff ones as well.

Collinite / Fusso Coat Soft 99 / Real Graphene infused ceramic coatings are all excellent choices. There is a guy on youtube that does real world panel testing outdoors and reviews most popular coatings.

Frankly im still impressed with turtle wax ceramic, and seal n shine for the price. They can keep the overpriced flex wax.

 

[MStarmer]

The price is good if you don't want to do it yourself. Coatings are cheap (relatively speaking) but proper prep isn't. We all have different views of how good we want our rigs to be. Some people are happy with a carwash, others want it done expert level application. There are many many super easy products that give a lot of protection. For proper ceramic / graphene coating application the vehicle should be chemically decontaminated, mechanically decontaminated and polished out to the degree the customer wants. Not everyone want's a multistep correction. Then after the correction the vehicle needs an iso wipe. Application of the ceramic from this point is straightforward. For us, I apply the coating, wife follows behind leveling it after you get the rainbow. 2 coats just to make sure you don't miss any spots and you're golden. But for most people an all in one product (cleaner/wax/sealant) with graphene or ceramic will take care of most things in one step and leave your vehicle better looking than most.

 

[puellarum]

I just geeked out on this big time. There's a lot of misinformation and marketing puffery out there. Here's what I've learned, as briefly as I can put it:

1. "Ceramic" needs to be defined. On the one hand there's a professional coating that's professionally applied, if properly done is usually warrantied for 5 years and sometimes up to seven. The cost will be between $600 and $1,000 depending on where you live and that sort of thing.

2. On the other hand, there are various "ceramic" products available at AutoZone and Walmart (Chemical Guys and Meguiar's and turtle Wax) as well as professional brands like Griot's Garage (3in1 ceramic) and Adams available on Amazon. These are different. They are spray bottle or creams. They still are impressive and very easy to apply, but do not last nearly as long as the professional type coating. It's a big difference between a pro job and they do it yourself spray on stuff.

3. I had a pro come to my house and do a professional coating with a 7 year warranty. He was personally referred to me by my friend, who is a car guy and a very intelligent fellow. The cost was $700. I watched the dude do the work. It took every bit of 4 hours. I think the ceramic product itself is a small part of the cost. It's a small 50mL bottle. There's very extensive prep work, clay bar, decontamination and then the actual application. My observation is that $700 is a fair price for his labor, tools, product, and skills.

4. The result. I was skeptical (okay, very skeptical) but I am absolutely amazed and very happy. It's a very glossy and beautiful coat, extremely hydrophobic, washing the car is very easy, it is just amazing and I am totally sold on it.

5. Regarding my skepticism. I have waxed my cars probably hundreds of times over the last 20-30 years. Used every kind of carnauba wax I've ever seen at the parts store. My favorite eventually came to be Meguiar's mirror glaze. It was better because of the quality and because it was harder (more elbow grease) to remove, which meant it lasted longer than other types of wax. And if I was very very lucky, I think the wax lasted like 2 weeks or maybe three. That's what carnauba wax does, and what I have learned with ceramic coatings, I am never ever doing that **** again. I am done with wax, it is absolutely inferior in every way. I went out in my garage and found my tubs of carnauba wax and threw them all away. It is obsolete. I feel very strongly about this, as you can tell.

So there's my wisdom. Your mileage may vary. Some people just like carnauba wax and I understand that. It does have a nice smell and it is sort of satisfying. But I personally will never use it again. Getting a spray bottle or cream of ceramic detailer as mentioned in number 2 above ... I estimate it is 10% of the labor of messing with traditional wax and the result is better and absolutely positively lasts multiples longer. Months and years. I am not ever going to wax a car again.

It's amazing technology and I just think it's fantastic. It's everything I was skeptical about and then some.

WARNING: you can definitely buy the professional coating off Amazon or whatever and try it yourself. But be warned, people have tried this and screwed up their finish pretty badly with streaks and such. If that happens, you're going to have to hire a pro to attempt to undo whatever you did and fix it. It's a skill and you would need to learn what you're doing, and I suspect you would even need to get an older car that you don't care about that much to practice on...

 

[Sonny88]

Better than Power Lock+?

Yes, I would do Powerlock a few times a year, as you noted.
Ceramic Coatings still have to be maintained etc.., to last. ( and some prone to water spotting)

Jescar Ultra Lock Plus - 16 oz

Protects with Sio2 technology. Leaves behind a slick, glossy surface.

www.detailedimage.com

However, I do like Ceramic Coatings, you just have to take note of what kind of car wash to use, apply a topper occasionally, etc..

I love Polish Angel products, but they are very pricey.

Easiest DIY coating I have used is---

Kamikaze Miyabi Coat 2.0

Whether you are a DIY person, or a professional detailer, you will find MIYABI Coat to be the easiest coating product you've ever applied.

www.esotericcarcare.com

 

[Sonny88]

Ok, the mobile detailer uses Undrdog for a 5 year ceramic coating and Hyperclean for a 3 year.

Pass on it bro....

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I used to go totally crazy and have many of the tools, pads, polishes. I'm pretty good with doing the paint corrections if I have time and energy (and my knee is not in pain). The professional ceramic coatings are excellent but do cost a lot.

My garage is like Donald's. Too much other crap and no room for a car currently. Between kids, FIL, wife there are 6 cars so all outside and all DD. Acorns, leaves, road debris, stupid people in parking lots etc. I try to keep them all clean and protected. They do get a clay bar/mitt treatment probably 2x per year. I'll polish out if I see issues but mostly now use the Turtle Wax Hybrid solutions Ceramic wax. In between at washes it might get a spray coat of Adams Graphene. Wax type sealers all applied with an old Porter Cable DA and various pads. I'm not hand waxing anymore and haven't for a long time.

I used to use (and sometimes still do) Klasse All in One that also works well. One of my older favorites as long as car was clayed and decent prep was Ultima Paint Guard Plus. Wipe on a thin layer in no time, walk away, no polish or buff. I had multiple cars that looked great after many years (except that road rash on front). It was so easy that you could apply a coat in 5 minutes after washing normal. Kept it nice and fresh. The Graphenes etc now do that also but need the buff.

My biggest thing now is a good easy coat especially before winter so snow/ice clears easier. Looks good from ??? feet away and driving by. Protected from bird crap and other fall out like tree sap. They all have dings and scuffs on some from others, rock chips from highway, micro marring from car wash convenience. They are clean, water beads, glass coat water repellent is good. OCI's are maintained

Some day maybe I can have a nice show car type, garaged vehicle. Too many other things in life to worry about and plan for in the meantime. We all have our priorities and habits. Even after you spend $500-1000 on the coating it still needs washing and top coats to maintain from what I know of.

Another QUICK coat if you need something is the CarPro Hydro2 Lite. Wash the car, spray this lightly, hit it with the hose on pressure, dry it. Real slick for at least a couple weeks. Great as a quick topper before a storm if possible. I had tried it on the Tucson first. Standing on a work platform rested my hand on roof for drying and almost fell off as my hand just slid off.

Hydro2 Lite on Accord 85k with Turtle Wax Hybrid a couple months earlier

Turtle Wax Hybrid solutions on Tucson 17k

Forte with Turtle Wax Hybrid solutions 175k at the time

CRV - 225k at the time, Turtle Wax Hybrid