Dealer Ceramic Coats

wings&wheels

wings&wheels

Joined
Dec 5, 2003
Messages
3,766
Location
New England, USA
I know very little about the latest ceramic coatings, especially the 'professional' options. I actually enjoy washing and waxing the fun fleet the old fashioned carnauba way.

Wife just ordered her gift to herself car and the dealer offered, but did not push, paint protection film (which I am inclined to get) and the ceramic 'surface treatment' offering 'no need to ever wax' and said it actually lived up to the hype.

My questions:

Is it anyway as good as touted?
Define 'lifetime'?
If/when it dulls, can you wax over it? Will normal wax bond??

Appreciate feedback from anyone with recent experience, thank you.
 
Last edited:
wings&wheels said:
I know very little about the latest ceramic coatings, especially the 'professional' options. I actually enjoy washing and waxing the fun fleet the old fashioned carnauba way.

Wife just ordered her gift to herself car and the dealer offered, but did not push, paint protection film (which I am inclined to get) and the ceramic 'surface treatment' offering 'no need to ever wax' and said it actually lived up to the hype.

My questions:

Is it anyway as good as touted?
Define 'lifetime'?
If/when it dulls, can you wax over it? Will normal wax bond??

Appreciate feedback from anyone with recent experience, thank you.
Click to expand...
Are we suppose to guess the product name they are pushing?

The easy answer is unless the coating application and ppf are applied by a trusted installer in front of you, i would pass.

The difficult answer is ask who applies the coating, ask to speak to them, then ask what is the application process (without giving them buzz words to rely on), ask to see the written warranty of the ceramic warranty, what maintenance must you commit to, so the warranty terms are fulfilled, on the ppf, same deal how long is it covered, etc.

Usually a trusted third party installer in your area will do a better job, but price is the question. I would shop around, ask for a one step paint correction, ppf on high traffic spots like bumpers etc, followed by cc over the entire vehicle if you need the chemical protection.

As others have stated coatings are chemical sacrificial layers whose purpose really is to make washing less of a chore. Ppf is more of a physical barrier for the rock chips etc.

As always weight cost, cause ppfing a new civic is different then ppfing a ferrari.
 
proveitwithdata said:
Are we suppose to guess the product name they are pushing?

The easy answer is unless the coating application and ppf are applied by a trusted installer in front of you, i would pass.

The difficult answer is ask who applies the coating, ask to speak to them, then ask what is the application process (without giving them buzz words to rely on), ask to see the written warranty of the ceramic warranty, what maintenance must you commit to, so the warranty terms are fulfilled, on the ppf, same deal how long is it covered, etc.

Usually a trusted third party installer in your area will do a better job, but price is the question. I would shop around, ask for a one step paint correction, ppf on high traffic spots like bumpers etc, followed by cc over the entire vehicle if you need the chemical protection.

As others have stated coatings are chemical sacrificial layers whose purpose really is to make washing less of a chore. Ppf is more of a physical barrier for the rock chips etc.

As always weight cost, cause ppfing a new civic is different then ppfing a ferrari.
Click to expand...
I have no idea what specific product the dealer uses, Porsche USA is silent or at least I couldn't find any info. online so it must be a dealer choice, and was more interested in any general feedback.

Which have you experienced? Recommend?
 
wings&wheels said:
I have no idea what specific product the dealer uses, Porsche USA is silent or at least I couldn't find any info. online so it must be a dealer choice, and was more interested in any general feedback.

Which have you experienced? Recommend?
Click to expand...
Is the ppf a Port installed option? That might change the equation, especially if Porsche is the mfg we are talking about. If its 3M, id skil. XPEL seems be the go to. Ceramics depends on how durable you are looking at. They can vary from year long coatings or 5 year coatings.

I would still ask what and who the dealer is using, while getting some quotes by indys.
 
proveitwithdata said:
Is the ppf a Port installed option? That might change the equation, especially if Porsche is the mfg we are talking about. If its 3M, id skil. XPEL seems be the go to. Ceramics depends on how durable you are looking at. They can vary from year long coatings or 5 year coatings.

I would still ask what and who the dealer is using, while getting some quotes by indys.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I'm inclined to pass on the ceramic, but good tip on the film. I have 3M on some of the cars in my sig and it's been fine, but they all lead sheltered lives.
 
When I was test driving a Tesla, the "used EV" shop showed me a bad ceramic coating. It was a blue Tesla with the streaks in the paint permanently encased. I suppose the coating will eventually wear off but it will take years. The prep here is everything.

My daughter has a charcoal Mazda with a ceramic coating. She bought it new and it came that way. It's about 10 years old and the coating is still going strong.
 
I've had paint protection film on several cars. It really protects the paint and when the car is clean and polished the film almost disappears. It only cost about $300 in those days. We had the same place do 3 cars for us.

A rock chipped the paint behind the paint protection film on my Solara. It made for a pretty ugly spot. I cut out around the chipped area with a razor blade and touched up the paint. It looked quite decent.
 
ecotourist said:
I've had paint protection film on several cars. It really protects the paint and when the car is clean and polished the film almost disappears. It only cost about $300 in those days. We had the same place do 3 cars for us.

A rock chipped the paint behind the paint protection film on my Solara. It made for a pretty ugly spot. I cut out around the chipped area with a razor blade and touched up the paint. It looked quite decent.
Click to expand...
Not saying anything about that.. but I wouldnt buy it from a F & I guy at a dealer.(what I was referencing)
 
Thanks all. PPF yes, ceramic no... This thing is going from the dealer to storage until the weather warms so we have some time. I will find out what PPF products the dealer uses and I am inclined to go through them for convenience but also, in the event of an issue I would rather chase them then some small installer. Wife chose a great, somewhat unique color that seems to show chips well, at least from the very few cars I've seen.
 
I haven't tried a pure ceramic product yet so i can't give you 1st hand advice.

I can confirm that 3 coats of Jescar Power Lock Plus with a final layer of Turtle Wax Ceramic Graphene wax still passes the zip lock bag smoothness test 2 years later.
 
I’d never use a dealer for something like this. They will surely upcharge you and the quality of work will likely suck
 
wings&wheels said:
I was kind of afraid to ask...
Click to expand...
Clean your car and then slip your hand in a zip lock back and run it across your paint...If it is smooth you are ready for polish/wax...if it feel rough you need to clay the paint to get all of that junk off...you will be amazed how the clay bar clean the paint to a baby smooth finish....then you are ready to polish/wax or ceramic coat you car..
 
Don't get a dealer ceramic, they are going to charge you $$ for some cheap crap a kid sprays on at best. DIY your own Gyeon CanCoat Evo or similar easy to use product and you're golden.
 
Donald said:
What is the zip lock bag test?
Click to expand...
wings&wheels said:
I was kind of afraid to ask...
Click to expand...
As @hrv stated, put you hand in a ziplock and run it across the paint. The bag makes it easier to feel blemishes in the paint vs your skin.

It took me almost 2 days to get the job done right. First I washed the vehicle with regular soap, then a second wash after spraying with decontamination / iron remover, a 3rd wash to remove any residue and power wash rinse. Hand dry with microfiber towels. Backed it up into the garage and used a clay bar over each panel with detailing spray. I taped off some of the black plastic cladding and then applied Jescar Power Lock + on all of the panels. The air temp dropped during this process and it took a long time for the Jescar to flash dry. Final application of the Turtle wax graphene to complete the job.

My process might have been overkill but I know the paint surface was prepped right and 2 years later the surface feels very smooth. Totally worth it IMHO so that I can avoid detailing and waxing every season.
 
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