School me on Ceramic wash and coats

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.
My routine exactly, spray ones are good enough that I’m done with traditional waxing.
 
I'm sure someone has gone over this, but the reason some people get skeptical after using a off-the-shelf ceramic spray/wax/sealant is because those products ARE "car wax" or "spray sealer", it isn't a ceramic coating and wont perform like one.

The off-the-shelf stuff is just a typical car sealant product that has some small amounts of the active chemicals in ceramic coatings integrated into the formula. Some seem to work much better than "old school wax", some not. I would bet that many of the more "advanced" wax/sealants on the market before ceramic coating got really popular already had silicon dioxide or titanium dioxide in their formulas, and added the ceramic marketing on the bottle after it became a big deal.

For the record I think the good ones are great products and make more sense for 90% of car owners than doing an expensive ceramic coating job. It does have many advantages but I dont think the cost is worth it to someone who isn't extremely fussy about keeping their car looking showroom new all the time.

Actual ceramic coating is essentially a thin clear coat, it typically looks and smells like paint thinner, can cost $1000 per liter, you need less than 100ml for a full size pickup truck, and have very specific application and pre-coating prep methods. Letting a high spot flash cure can leave a smear on your paint that usually wont come off for a couple years.
 
It's akin to the cosmetics industry for women. Like oil, there are a handful of chemical companies around the world (mostly Europe/Asia/US) that formulate these products or sell their chemicals to blenders (B&B) who then formulate for private labels. The coating lite products are a perfect in between sealant and full-blown high solids coating. Can Coat etc.
 
What about,
712l0JyKo-L._AC_SL1500_.jpg
I have yet to try that one but I used their Ceramic spray and it’s amazing. Works well on the windshield too. I think I will try that one next.
 
Looks sharp. (y)

I've found the same - the spray sealants don't have the depth that a more traditional wax/sealant does. I consider it a fair trade off when its combined with the ease of use and durability.
 
I like CarPro's HydrO2 and HydrO2 Foam. Won't have the durability of a true ceramic coat, but when used regularity it works great. The best thing is all you have to do is hand wash your car.
 
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?
Truly a ceramic coating has to be hand applied without any wax applied. Vinwikis Ed Bolian covered this on one of his earlier videos. He had a black Porsche 911. He was actually very sceptical at first but once applied he drove down a dirt road and dirt wouldn't stick.
 
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...

I need to coat 2 of our vehicles this spring. Ive always believed in actual coatings (using them since before spray on "coatings" or "ceramics" were even a thing)

Last time I used 22PLE HPC, its lasted quite well, so long that plenty of other products have come out in the time since I applied it. I didnt like waiting 24 hours between coats, so Im looking at either CQuartz UK 3.0 or Gyeon Syncro Evo, or a combination of CanCoat and another Gyeon product.

My main goal, this time around, is water spot rejection. My black car with HPC water spots like no tomorrow, now matter how good we are about keeping water off it. Pretty sure the answer is a good coating and a good topper, making sure to keep the topper "topped off", but I think I read one of the Gyeon products is better than other brands in regards to water spots.
 
When my car was knew I had it ceramic coated, and it was a complete waste of money in my opinion. Lasted a few weeks but nothing to write home about. I have about 45% of my car is covered in invisible bra, and that seems to be the best option for me.
 
When my car was knew I had it ceramic coated, and it was a complete waste of money in my opinion. Lasted a few weeks but nothing to write home about. I have about 45% of my car is covered in invisible bra, and that seems to be the best option for me.

90% of how a coating works out is in the prep. And if it was a "dealer installed" thing, they didnt coat it with anything.

Ive paid to have a few vehicles coated with pro-level products (I cant buy them myself) and the stuff lasted and lasted and lasted. It wasnt cheap, and it took even a pro a whole day of work to prep and coat it, but it was worth it IMHO.
 
Prep is key. Most high solids coatings tend to last somewhere in the range of 1-3 years, or more, depending on how it's maintained, operating environment (garage/daily driver etc.). I look at useful life of coating based on hydrophobic properties. The coating is likely still there once the beading wears off, but the self-cleaning aspect is usually gone at that time.

Can Coat is an exceptional product. It delivers more than it promises. Most can see up to a year with Can Coat. Hydrophobics are top notch. Ease of use is top notch. It's held up for 12 months on my truck.

The new Evo line from Gyeon is much improved over their older chemistry. They made some of them outdoor friendly and one layer. Mohs is extremely easy to use as well.

You can get great coatings from numerous brands. I really like Gyeon, Carpro, Optimum, Shine Supply, Adam's, Miyabi, Feynlab among others.

Some of this is dated but if you want to look into coatings, this individual has a lot of experience. He works for Esoteric now simply because he enjoys this type of work.

 
Last edited:
I need to coat 2 of our vehicles this spring. Ive always believed in actual coatings (using them since before spray on "coatings" or "ceramics" were even a thing)

Last time I used 22PLE HPC, its lasted quite well, so long that plenty of other products have come out in the time since I applied it. I didnt like waiting 24 hours between coats, so Im looking at either CQuartz UK 3.0 or Gyeon Syncro Evo, or a combination of CanCoat and another Gyeon product.

My main goal, this time around, is water spot rejection. My black car with HPC water spots like no tomorrow, now matter how good we are about keeping water off it. Pretty sure the answer is a good coating and a good topper, making sure to keep the topper "topped off", but I think I read one of the Gyeon products is better than other brands in regards to water spots.
I'm not sure any one particular coating will prevent water spotting. You may want to look into a sheeting product like one of Dr. Beasley's coatings.

Graphene is supposed to help with water spotting but the chemistry is in its infancy stage. Graphene should be looked at as ceramic +. Sort of like SN and SN+. The Sio2 component is still there but also includes graphene.

 
From what I read on the instruction sheet for window tint from the installer, maintaining a ceramic coat is more work than I want to do, or have ever done to a vehicle. Protect-All has done a great job of cleaning and preserving my vehicles for the last 27 years. I park in the garage so no everyday dew and pollen all over my truck.
 
From what I read on the instruction sheet for window tint from the installer, maintaining a ceramic coat is more work than I want to do, or have ever done to a vehicle. Protect-All has done a great job of cleaning and preserving my vehicles for the last 27 years. I park in the garage so no everyday dew and pollen all over my truck.
The only thing you have to really do is periodically clean it with a good soap like Carpro Reset or Descale. I do think coatings are oversold and don't often live up to their hype or claims, however they are by default superior in chemical resistance, dirt resistance, and self-cleaning. If you periodically apply a spray on Sio2 type product that's fine too.

I like the coating "lite" products like CQuartz Lite/Can Coat. They're a nice in-between option you can apply easily ever 12 months or so with little fuss.
 
When my car was knew I had it ceramic coated, and it was a complete waste of money in my opinion. Lasted a few weeks but nothing to write home about. I have about 45% of my car is covered in invisible bra, and that seems to be the best option for me.
From the ScottHD videos, he has proven in real world tests going out to two years, that there are clear differences in ceramic and graphene products. There are ceramic products that last two years, and there are ones that fail in two months...sometimes after the first wash. Its a mine field out there. But you can save time and money by checking his videos and only use the products that work and last.
 
Wash and coat are only to help extend the life of the current LSP. I wouldn't say, generally, the coating would last more than a few weeks, or after a good rain. If looking for a ceramic wash or graphene, I really love what MCkees37 has to offer, you can wash the entire car THEN rinse, opposed to wash, rinse, wash rinse etc. Plus, I haven't found anything that has the gloss that either MCkeeks soaps have.
 
My bottle of Griot's 3-in-1 ceramic is nearing the end.

I've been pleased with it, and I think it's fair to say it's a good, proven product.

But, I'm also open to new things, like the TW graphene product, so before I just simply go grab some more Griot's, is there anything else comparable worth trying?

I have watched a few of the Scott HD videos, but haven't found anything in the way of a direct comparison. Just more hype with another buzzword, or another geniune advance in chemistry and performance?
 
My bottle of Griot's 3-in-1 ceramic is nearing the end.

I've been pleased with it, and I think it's fair to say it's a good, proven product.

But, I'm also open to new things, like the TW graphene product, so before I just simply go grab some more Griot's, is there anything else comparable worth trying?

Not really

Trying new stuff is fun but I don't think any spray sealants out now are going to give you a "next level" feeling/performance vs the Griots
 
If you want an all in one, Gyeon Bathe+ is the best I’ve used. It’s not as good as separates, but if you are super lazy it’s pretty good. Pricey for the volume though.
 
Back
Top