School me on Ceramic wash and coats

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So my favorite wash and wax, Turtle wax ICE seems to have been discontinued. I loved that stuff it gave a great shine between hand waxes.

That being said, I walked into my local auto parts store and not knowing anything about these new ceramic coatings I bought Griots Ceramic wash and coat. My questions are.....can I still hand wax my car or do I have to strip off this ceramic coating? How would I do that? Anything else I should know about this ceramic wash and coat?
 
So my favorite wash and wax, Turtle wax ICE seems to have been discontinued. I loved that stuff it gave a great shine between hand waxes.
What about,
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I think ceramic wax is somewhat of a sales gimmick. I have used different kinds on my Corvette and really cannot tell the difference between ceramic and other good waxes. I have waxed my Corvette after using ceramic waxes and I didn't strip it or anything. Just apply over the old ceramic. All you are doing is treating the clear coat. Otherwise if you want to strip it use dawn soap and water and re-apply the wax. I have never used the ceramic wax that you spray on over water.
 
I think ceramic wax is somewhat of a sales gimmick. I have used different kinds on my Corvette and really cannot tell the difference between ceramic and other good waxes. I have waxed my Corvette after using ceramic waxes and I didn't strip it or anything. Just apply over the old ceramic. All you are doing is treating the clear coat. Otherwise if you want to strip it use dawn soap and water and re-apply the wax. I have never used the ceramic wax that you spray on over water.
The best ceramic (and graphene) spray on products can last 10 to 12 months. The best ceramic coatings can last two years. This is for cars that sit outside in the weather, not garaged. I have never had a wax, be it PS21 or various Zymol products last more that 3 or 4 months outside. The problem is that ceramic and graphene products as a catagory, have a huge variability in how long they last. Some last a week or two, some up to a year. Waxes tend to all last a similar amount of just a few weeks or months.

The problem is filtering out what works or doesn't without spending a ton of money and time. I found ScottHD to offer a lot of good testing protocols. He does a lot of real world testing without sponsorship...and remains very independent. Most of the guys on Youtube are simply paid sponsors of products.
He tests for gloss, hydrophobic properties, etc.
Check out some of his ongoing tests on trim products, paint protection films, etc.
 
So my favorite wash and wax, Turtle wax ICE seems to have been discontinued. I loved that stuff it gave a great shine between hand waxes.

That being said, I walked into my local auto parts store and not knowing anything about these new ceramic coatings I bought Griots Ceramic wash and coat. My questions are.....can I still hand wax my car or do I have to strip off this ceramic coating? How would I do that? Anything else I should know about this ceramic wash and coat?
You can apply a wax or ceramic coating over it without any special prep. This is just a car wash with some ceramic product included in the mix for some added protection.
From the Griots website:

Description​

Ceramic Wash & Coat is formulated to safely clean exterior vehicle surfaces, removing abrasives and road grime while imparting an effortlessly durable coat of SiO2 infused ultra-hydrophobic silane polymers. Ideal for maintenance of ceramic coated vehicles or as stand-alone exterior protection.
  • Add SiO2 Ceramic protection every time you wash your vehicle
  • Versatile formula can be used with a multitude of wash tools
  • Low sudsing, lubricant rich formula imparts durable protection
  • Use with other Griot's Garage Ceramic products for ultimate protection
  • Safe on paint, exterior trim, wheels, and glass
 
I think the idea behind the ceramic wash products is that they will extend the time between actual ceramic LSP applications. I don’t know if that is proven.

Many of these product don’t foam up like regular car wash. If you have any experience with ceramic sprays you will notice how they react with water. So how this is incorporated into the wash product seems counterintuitive.
 
Skip the old fashioned waxing. Skip the wash/wax combo soap too.

Get a decent soap (Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo is solid, cheap and available everywhere).

Get a spray sealant. Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic ($15) or Griots 3 in 1 Ceramic Spray ($20).

Wash and dry the car and apply the spray sealant. Application takes 15 minutes tops and you're covered. You can throw on a coat every month if you want, but you don't need to. The stuff lasts.

Doesn't get any easier than this and you'll be protected with none of the time and effort that traditional waxes take.
 
Skip the old fashioned waxing. Skip the wash/wax combo soap too.

Get a decent soap (Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo is solid, cheap and available everywhere).

Get a spray sealant. Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic ($15) or Griots 3 in 1 Ceramic Spray ($20).

Wash and dry the car and apply the spray sealant. Application takes 15 minutes tops and you're covered. You can throw on a coat every month if you want, but you don't need to. The stuff lasts.

Doesn't get any easier than this and you'll be protected with none of the time and effort that traditional waxes take.
Thanks I think I will go this route and give it a try.
 
I just use this stuff:
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I like to apply it, then cover the whole car with a cover overnight and let it completely cure, then remove it.
Really durable stuff and you don't need much either.
 
I get the Ceramic Wash from Club Car Wash membership. I don't think it's super heavy duty and if your looking to get those benefits you most likely will need hand/machine application.
 
Watch youtube "Pan the organizer" he is a detailer in Canada and reviews about everything on the market. He is a great source for info and education as he has a degree in Chemistry. Now Ceramic isn't so much the buzz word, its older technology now. Currently Graphene coatings are the new thing.
 
Watch youtube "Pan the organizer" he is a detailer in Canada and reviews about everything on the market. He is a great source for info and education as he has a degree in Chemistry. Now Ceramic isn't so much the buzz word, its older technology now. Currently Graphene coatings are the new thing.
Pan the advertiser? Yeah, skip...
 
Scott HD and Apex Detail are good. There are several others out of Europe that are good. Pan the Sponserizer just does overviews of products. He basically just a marketer.

The problem is filtering out what works or doesn't without spending a ton of money and time.

While I could never test all of the billion products that are out there, some are standouts with the vast majority all performing very similar.
Every so often a product comes out that is truly a game changer (that word is used far too often).

ONR
Hydro2/Wet Coat
Can Coat...etc.

You're right about the huge variability of ceramic coatings. This was a surprise to me up until 2 years ago. I had no experience with coatings and thought they were much longer lasting than they appear to be. UK 3.0 is still one of the best and it's been out for quite some time now. Can Coat is another.

IMO, you can't beat Can Coat and some of the "coating lite" products that are now available. Adam's has one, Dr. Beasley's and others. Can Coat is one product that overdelivers and punches above its weight. Coating lite products are basically true coating products just diluted a bit with less solids content. Longer lasting coatings often don't hold their hydrophobics past year 2 or 3. That's where a topper comes into play. But if you need to polish that also presents a problem to an existing coating. So, the lite coatings are good for a year or two and at that point you'll want to re-polish anyway although you certainly don't have to. That's another myth I wasn't aware of.

I have had Can Coat on my truck for 11 months and it's still beading like crazy on the sides. Hood not that well.

Anything you put on top of a coating in "theory" is supposed to prolong the life of the coating. I'm not convinced it does. It also depends on the chemistry you're using. Some don't adhere well to the base coating and wash off very quickly.

All of the spray/rinse Sio2 soaps and even spray sealants are using similar chemistry. They're meant to aid the surface by increasing the hydrophobicity so cleaning is easier, and water moves off the paint faster. This is a bit exaggerated by the companies now and not really as necessary as people think, but people want to see beading in today's market. The lotus effect....

The beauty of Can Coat is you can apply it like a sealant (it's even easier to use that Griot's 3 in 1 and blows it out of the water in every way) to all surfaces.



Can Coat at 6 months isn't even breaking a sweat.



If you're interested in coatings, check this site out. He works for Esoteric now but has used over 30 coatings at his former job detailing trucks.

 
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Yes, ScottHD's latest reviews are showing Can Coat to be pretty amazing for a spray on, wipe off product. I have some much stuff to use up and/or give away before I move on to it....but it is top on my list.

I also use UK 3.0...great stuff. I still have an unopened bottle of that to use up as well. But I will probably stick with spray and wipe products moving forward. They are so easy to use, and inexpensive, reapplying every 6 to 8 months is not a big deal.

BTW, ScottHD makes a good point that you should always wear gloves when applying these products, the SDS shows most have some nasty ingredients in them. Maybe even consider a respirator...
 
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