If you don't have time to regularly wax your car, then probably yes. If you have the time and enjoy waxing your car then probably no. Just my 2 cents. Lots of threads on ceramic coatings in the sub forum.
Maybe just me ..but I don't like anything semi permanent applied Also with all the advances that come out every day some very inexpensive products that you can easily use provide good protection Also please realize the expense of a professional ceramic coating is in the prep ..hours of polishing and paint correction This correction should be done regardless of what type of product you use in top Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
Ceramic coatings require a good amount of maintenance. Now, on cars that are not driven daily, it isn’t as imperative. When the car is dirty it needs a proper wash whether it is a traditional hose and buckets, dry wash (done correctly), or rinse-less wash. Soft towels and proper wash mitts are still needed. I would advise against going to the local hand wash locations as they can still marr the finish with improper techniques and towels, mitts, etc. The paint looks great once it’s done and coated, much...most is due to the prep in paint correction/polishing done beforehand as Bob mentioned. The coating will seal in that look for a long time if properly maintained. I have cars come in that are going on 5-6 years wearing a “3 year” coating and they look as if they were just done. It’s all in the prep, application and maintenance. PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH ON THE PRODUCT AND INSTALLER/DETAILER as this is a critical step so many people overlook and pay for it in the long run. There is a ton of hype out there over this coating and that coating. The new coatings worry me as they haven’t had enough testing and time in multiple climates to see how they truly work or if there will be possible damage to the paint if not installed correctly. In the end, they can be worth it and there is a place for them although they are not for everyone or every car. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Why would they require a lot of maintenance? And other than washing, what kind of maintenance? More maintenance than a PPF covered car? Ray
I love it. When I first got the car we put film on it then 3 coats of Ceramicpro. Since then 1 coat a year and the car still looks better then new. Washing and drying are a breeze. I put it on my DD Panamera too. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The coating needs to breathe, if it’s clogged up with dirt or you don’t wash a daily driven car for a month it’s not good for the coating. I wouldn’t say it requires anymore than a normally waxed car, ppf or anything else. For people like us (car guys that understand) it’s not really an issue as keeping a car clean is an obvious thing. Washing regularly, using a product like Iron X to remove iron contamination, lightly claying etc. is the maintenance I am referring to. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
ceramic on paint, i wld never do unless it was a car that had to live outside. ceramic on ppf, you are being nice to whoever cleans your cars. ceramic is for protection and needs to be wet sanded to be removed, so there is very little to no point putting ceramic on a garage queen. i have tried ceramic on paint, ceramic on ppf on ferraris and suvs. For garage queens i live by the first rule of detailing: detail as infrequently as possible using the least abrasive method as possible. my 2 cents from someone who has tried it all and spoken to 5 of the top detailers in the country at length about using ceramics. for me: wash, clay and/or zymol hd cleanse, 3m imperial hand glaze and finish with zymol. no ceramic gives that type of dripping wet look.
2 questions-1) -you clay after each wash and use a paint cleanse and wax each time?2)-I thought that ceramic also coats wheels and calipers making maintenance on them much easier.Also, I lied, a have another question.On my White 488 Spider I've used Top Coat F11 basically after each wash which is only weekly as my baby is a basic garage queen.-it looks pretty good-anyone familiar with that product. I appreciate any advice as my F8 spider will hopefully arrive shortly and wonder what to do.-correct then ceramic over ppf ?
no i clay and glaze every few years for the garage queens... dont know anything about the product u mentioned.
355, f40, 512tr - thats what i have been doing for 20 yrs...works well on clearcoats too.... in general people over detail their cars and they use too abrasive products too often...there is only so much paint to begin with...
Thanks,I've used both Zymol hd cleanse and 3m on other cars-both great products.--just get caught up in all the current Ceramic craze.
it has been a great marketing move - regular details went from $700 to $3k overnight...tell a story and people will listen...
and btw thats the cocktail that ive used. u can replace with other products. 99% of the final product comes from the how, ie who did it and how they did it, not from the products. any carnuba will do the job. when it comes to glazes i think 3m imperial hand glaze is in a class of its own. but again, the application is what makes a great detail.
Well true but we being basically car fanatics we want to be believers and will buy into the hype -unfortunately. You speak more from intimate knowledge ,not like the rest of us.
all depends on what variable one is trying to solve for. if i had 150K car that was on the new side and it had to live outside in northeast winters id probably ceramic it. anything thats inside 90% of the year i dont see the point.
Well then if ceramic was free and still not a daily driver and on a new car, would you do it?-cause I'm still a bit uncertain and yes, live in the Northeast.
you are in westchester - just go to tough of glass and tell Anthony to give you the ricky cocktail...dont waste time killing brain cells.... what kind of car are we talking about?
Yes ,obviously, you know him.My dealer sends all their cars there and he's got some reputation.His place is like the Taj Mahal and went there in July to get just the black roof on my 2019 488 spider corrected and ceramic coated and could only get app't. in October.-never did it but have a Giallo Modena F8 Spider on order and til now was gonna have the works done on it. So what the hell is the Ricky cocktail. BTw how do you know him?