458 Ceramic Coating Brand Recommendations

It’s not so much the brand but the installer. Find a good reputable shop and let them do their magic. Don’t worry so much about the brand.

 

I've put ceramic coating on myself before. I don't much care for it. The consumer stuff takes a long time to get sticky, and while it works, I just don't wash my cars often enough. They are still dirty all the time, the ceramic just makes them easier to clean. What I do like is PPF. Not because it is easy to clean, but because I can go six months without washing my 458, then wash it myself and know I'm not damaging the paint.

 

I've used G-Techniq on a couple of my cars and have been super impressed, however a lot of it is down to the installer and the preparation they put into the bodywork prior to applying the ceramic coating.

 

dont put ceramic on the paint on the 458. do ppf and then ceramic on that car

 

I've given up on ceramic coatings. I've had them professionally installed which cost a lot and I've done the prep and install myself and can't tell a difference. Both ways does the same job and lasts equally as long.

I've been playing around on my daily driver... new Jeep Grand Cherokee with various spray on easy to apply ceramic sprays. I've tried Mequires, Mothers, F11,Exforma, The Last Coat. So far The Last Coat lasts longest and is very hydrophobic. Mothers new spray seems to work really good too. F11 does not last after 1-2 washes.

 

really zero reason to use ceramic on a weekend car. ceramic is all about protection so on a car that lives outside in the northeast might make sense.

 

I would disagree about the ceramic. I just had it done on my 720 - massive improvement but that could also be due to my installer who is meticulous and does a lot of prep work prior to coating.

Im getting my Pista fully wrapped and coated.

Just picked up my new daily driver- an M8 - getting the front wrapped and coated as well.

Yes its pricey but I see a massive difference in the cars before and after coating.

 

in the south i cld see the sun being an issue where ceramic makes sense - again i wldnt do it on paint. an equally prepped car with carnuba will look deeper than the synthetic stuff.

 

how is PPF these days?
especially on metallic paints like grigio and stuff I found them always taking away too much of shine and depth?
I've done (somebody did for me actually) gyeon on my Porsche on GT-silver and it looked fantastic! But I still remember the days with my ocean blue metallic Porsche and liquid glass politure. my all time benchmark

 

Will all due respect to the one and only SoCal to az. I have a bit of a different thought.

I have experience with Gyeon (two versions), Kamikaze (all 4 versions), Carpro, Ceramic Pro and recently
IGL. I have used these products on my 458, Lusso, Pista, M5 along with my wife and kids BMWs... professionally done and done by me.

To me the brand and formula are important. Even my wife .... no offense she is just not a car person, can see and feel the differences. Which one is best? Well I have my views, but it comes done to what is most important to you and paint color also matters. So does PPF or not, some play better with PPF, some have downsides. I would start with what is most important to you. protection? gloss? durability? Longevity? water repellent? Easy of cleaning? Then add the color of the car. Now some installers, who may have a brand commitment agreement to supplement to their income or brand fans may say they have the one product that does it all. Sorry I’m not there.

Now the wrong installer can make a mess out of the process real quick. But hey I now have done a few of my own cars with good to almost excellent results. As said above the biggest impact is the prep (like the 50hour paint / CF correction I had done on the Pista) So my view reasonable skill / experience with the right brand and formula is important... I’m far, far from downing magic but I’m finding out I’m good enough... except for that one high spot on my wife’s car... that I’m only seem to have seen.

None of the big brands and quality detailer are going to disappoint you. Just a matter of how far you want to go in pursuing THE solution.
By the way the future in paint coating just might be Graphene.
Brad

 

good post and I don’t necessarily disagree. I found an incredible installer and I don’t know what he uses but the results are spectacular.

 

the installation isn't the crucial part, its the prep - which holds true for all detailing

 

Totally agree. I had no clue why my guy charged 1200 bucks for ceramic coating and then I saw the process- it’s hours and hours of polishing and cleaning prior to application. A lot of prep work. After the paint is corrected and perfect, then the ceramic coat goes on top

 

so that's the thing most people are observing - when it comes down to it, if you see a ceramic job that looks "better" its most likely not the ceramic - it's that the detailer can get away with charging 1200 to 2500 for ceramic and the prep is crucial so they're actually doing the prep. if you take the same prep and finish it with carnuba, people are only willing to pay 500 to 700 for that.

 

when having my car done, I was specifically told by the installer not to put ceramic coating onto ppf as it prevents the ppf from self healing.

His advice was to just use a carnuba wax on the areas that have ppf and then ceramic coat the rest (and paint correct the hell out of the car before you do either).

2 years later and the ppf is perfect and the ceramic coating hasn’t even needed topping up and that for a car that has done 10k miles over that period and lives outside in the U.K. !

 

ceramic needs to be polished/wet sanded off to remove it. first rule in detailing is use the least abrasive products as seldom as possible. putting ceramic on paint isn't something id do. ive spoken with the best of them but different strokes for different folks.

 

Which is why I stated in my original post that its not the brand but the installer. Again- agree with you.

 

Interesting thread!
Three follow up points.
Seems like all the big names in detailing in the UK, Mideast and U.S., the guys charging $2K to 20K for paint correction are adding most times adding a ceramic coating to the top of the corrected paint. Many times on cars that make my Pista look like a starter car.

Second, many of those high end detailer are putting the normal formulated ceramics over the top of the off PPF and don’t seem to buy into the not flexible enough argument. I personally went with a formula made for PPF. Mostly for the ability to be chemically removed vs polishing ( polishing the top of plastic PPF just sounds like a bad idea). The added flexibility is a nice side benefit.

As for removing a coat, I will let others chime in here, but when I have made a mistake it takes nothing near wet sanding to remove the coating. Same for a year + old coating. Let’s remember the best “ advertised” ceramic hardness is a H9 or H10, on the pencil scale. I personally have never seen a hardness claim certified by a third party lab ( if you have please share). The pencil on your desk is most likely a #2,3 or 4 Hardness.

 

Yep my posts weren’t a response to ur points - more was just putting my understanding out there for the op

 

Big difference for me with the ceramic coating. I haven't washed my Huracan in 3 months. Don't drive in the rain, wipe down the windshield and glass engine bonnet periodically. Still looks radiant in the sun. In fact, I've conditioned the leather interior twice since the last time I washed the H. Usually it's the other way around.

 

yes the real value of ceramic is protection and ur doing whoever washed your car a favor. for a ferrari garage queen its like wearing a condom even when you aren't having sex.

 

Even though I rarely have to wash the H, when I do it's much easier. Rinse with a deionized water filter on the hose at low volume and the soap comes off readily in sheets with prominent water beading. Use a car blower and wipe down the windows.

 

It is all about prep work!!!!!
My detailer spent 22 hours paint prepping my 2010 .
Looked good to me before fantastic after.
After washing I blow the water off car is dry in 5 minutes without touching it. No chance of swirl marks.
Once ceramic in too late for paint correction.
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+1 I feel EXACTLY the same way. If the paint is detailed properly, that's where the shine comes from. I then put a coat of carnuba on for the depth and protection, and use a Master Blaster to blow dry it. It always looks amazing, and I only have to slap a coat of wax on once a year at most (for a limited use vehicle).