Ceramic coat or not | FerrariChat

Ceramic coat or not

Discussion in 'Detailing & Showroom' started by F430Bill, Jun 17, 2021.

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  1. F430Bill

    F430Bill Karting

    Apr 21, 2021
    55
    South Florida
    Full Name:
    Bill
    I have a 2005 F430 in Rosso Corsa that looks great. I keep her in the garage and well maintained. The paint looks fantastic, but I am not super critical.

    The question is do I leave it alone or go for the ceramic coating. The car never gets that dirty and is not parked outside.

    I assume the ceramic will improve the look and shine, but are there any downsides or reasons not to do it (other than cost obviously)

    There are three options and I really don't know what would be best or none of them

    Heal lite = $1700
    Beadlock marine + pro = $1400
    Beadlock pro = $1100
     
  2. Kent Adams

    Kent Adams Formula 3
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    Sep 11, 2020
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    Kent Adams
    No downsides I can think of. I'm using Myabi base coat with Kamikazzee ISM 1.0 as a top coat. I've also ceramic coated the wheels. The prices you've wrote I guess are for someone else to do it?
     
    BudgetPlan1 likes this.
  3. clean512

    clean512 Formula 3
    Silver Subscribed

    Feb 4, 2010
    2,017
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    Josh @jtcarprojects
    Car pro cqartz. Is about 65$ a bottle and is amazing. Or geyon mohs I just did my wife q7. Super easy as well. Those high end pricing is that with the full detail.
    Detailing is my other passion. There are many great kits out there. And very user friendly.
     
  4. AandSC

    AandSC Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2016
    757
    Jax, FL
    Full Name:
    Allen
    I’m using Griots Ceramic 3in1 wax and love it. Super easy to apply (can do the whole car in 15 minutes) and very durable. You can use Griots ceramic speed shine to maintain. Also super easy to use.
     
    RacerX_GTO likes this.
  5. E60 M5

    E60 M5 Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Jan 2, 2006
    8,061
    Wash DC area
    Full Name:
    Robert
    You have a world of experts here and threads on the subject.
     
  6. jc1

    jc1 Formula Junior

    Feb 9, 2021
    266
    Greenville, SC
    Full Name:
    Joey (2012 458 Spider)
    Are you planning to do paint correction prior to the ceramic coat?
     
    EastMemphis likes this.
  7. NMNMNMN

    NMNMNMN Formula Junior
    BANNED

    I used to have detailer correct ceramic coat every new car I bought. Where I live it’s super expensive to have done.

    I watched a YouTube video of a very detailed review and test of spray on ceramic wax coatS available over the counter.

    Believe it or not out of all of the high end and regular ones. Turtle Wax Ceramic Spray won for the longest lasting best shine and water repel.

    It’s 12.99 a bottle. Honestly it repels water as good as the pro jobs I have gotten done from what I can tell.

    I use Meguiar’s #9 by hand to get rid of swirls from dealers lot. Turtle Wax to ceramic coat and then use two bucket wash at home after I spray wash at the local self wash booth. I never dry with anything other than my Griots Garage air dryer.

    In between wash jobs I go to a touchless automatic wash for quick wash.

    Seems to work terrific for me.

    And the cost is considerably less. I usually sell my cars within 3 years anyway.

    My wife’s car looks as good as one of my new cars that was ceramic coated by detailer the first day I got it. This was after 3 years and 30,000 miles on my wax method vs 9000 miles and 3 years on the ceramic detailer pro job.

    Honestly after that experience I am not wasting 2000-2500 again on a pro job again. Plus I found that doing the detail work I found enjoyable and took a day. And I needed the arm work out lol.

    Turtle Wax for me. Before that I used a nano-spray wax on my wife’s car.

    YMMV.


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
     
  8. clean512

    clean512 Formula 3
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    Feb 4, 2010
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    Josh @jtcarprojects
    Do you have any of your own stuff. Tools, buffer,etc
     
  9. F430Bill

    F430Bill Karting

    Apr 21, 2021
    55
    South Florida
    Full Name:
    Bill
    I don't have any tools and could do it myself, but not sure. I just wondered why this is so expensive.
     
  10. Bob in Texas

    Bob in Texas F1 Rookie

    Apr 23, 2012
    2,665
    Just East of Weird
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    Bob
    The over the counter ceramic “waxes” don’t last nearly as long as a car done by a professional. If you take your time, prep the paint and follow directions, pretty sure you would be happy with the results doing it yourself. But again, you’ll have to reapply as opposed to a professionally applied coating that lasts years.


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
     
  11. IDriveM5

    IDriveM5 F1 Rookie

    Jul 2, 2012
    2,675
    Central Ohio
    Full Name:
    Raj
    Go for it. Paint correction before the coating is a best practice. I applied Kamikaze Miyabi on my FF by myself, very easy and enjoyable. Gyeon Can Coat is also an easy product which works well. I use all of these on my various cars.
     
    BudgetPlan1 likes this.
  12. BudgetPlan1

    BudgetPlan1 Rookie

    Jun 13, 2007
    8
    NE Ohio
    Most of the cost of a professional application comes in the prep-work; can be labor intensive at the highest levels.

    There's a whole bunch of 'ceramic' products out there that are easy to use and effective, from things you can buy at the local store all the way up to pro-only ceramics...and a whole lotta stuff in between.

    Generally they fall into 2 or 3 categories:

    1. Ceramic infused sealants that come squirting outta a spray bottle. Things like the Turtle Wax line, Adam's Spray 'coatings' and such. Easy to use, can work well and not quite as durable as true coatings. Also in this group are products that possibly started out being marketed as coating maintenance products but have moved into use as standalone ceramic sealants, things like CarPro Reload among others. In a general sense these are around 5% ceramic (SiO2) content.

    2. True ceramic coatings, i.e. 'glass bottle coatings' that require more prep and attention to apply. Prep is key to optimum results and longevity and usually involves decontamination (clay bar, Iron & Tar removers and such) and some level of machine polishing. Certainly not beyond the abilities of a DIY-er but a bit of an investment in time and tools. Kinda rewarding if one is inclined to indulge and fantastic results can be had. Ceramic content of these yrue coatings can be 65% on up. Greater ceramic content, greater longevity and resistance to chemical/environmental contamination. Do you need to go full on prep, decon, polishing:

    The prep isn't technically necessary, wipe a panel down with wax/grease remover to expose a clean surface and the coating will certainly 'stick' and exhibit coating-like behavior but like house painting, the best results come from the best prep which involves chemical & mechanical (clay) decon, some level of machine polishing, wipe down with panel wipe and then coat.

    There's kinda an in between group, sorta 'coating lite' products, items like Gyeon CanCoat, CarPro Cquartz Lite & Feynlab Ceramic Lite. Very easy to apply, 6 months to a year of great looks, ceramic behavior and protection. These are thought to have 10-15% ceramic content and are a great way to giving the 'coating lifestyle' a try before going all-in w a true coating.

    As for 'glass bottle' coatings, there's a wide variety of excellent consumer-avaliable products, some top level choices that rival (and sometimes exceed) the performance of some mid-level pro-only offerings. Likely 85% of folks who try a coating will be 100% satisfied with 90% of mainstream consumer offerings from mfgs like CarPro, Gyeon, Gtechniq and many others.

    If you're looking for that extra 10-15% of goodness, there are some (IMO) truly exceptional products avaliable to consumers & hobbyists...it just depends how deep ya wanna go. I spent 4 years trying a ridiculous (in wifes opinion but then again she has seemingly 100 shoes for her 2 ft so...) amount of coatings looking for my 'best' but it was fun. I keep all my notes here on what i tried, how it turned out and info to ponder if curious about ceramics:
    https://budgetplan1.wordpress.com/glass-quartz-ceramic-coatings/

    Ceramics can do a lot of nice things but certainly no silver bullet of universal wants and needs, just depends in what you're looking for.

    No universal right or wrong answer w regards to wax, sealant, coating or PPF, rather just what meets your particular automotive desires.

    A note about longevity: It's generally stated rather optimistically; given the rather light use of your car though you'll fall on the 'optimistic' end of the spectrum.
     
    F430Bill likes this.
  13. F430Bill

    F430Bill Karting

    Apr 21, 2021
    55
    South Florida
    Full Name:
    Bill
    Thank you for your very detailed post, but now I need a calculator :)
     
  14. BudgetPlan1

    BudgetPlan1 Rookie

    Jun 13, 2007
    8
    NE Ohio
    Given my limitations in the 'mathematical arts' area, I fear that statement might not stand up to rigorous examination...but it encompasses the spirit of the issue.

    That said, despite the fact that i am a 'coating junkie', I would suggest that a full-on coating might be overkill for you. Certainly nothing wrong with going 'all-in' but with your relatively light vehicle usage, the protection a coating affords might be unecessary.

    Polish Angel makes some stuff that is simply aesthetically delicious, easy to use and provides coating-like properties w minimal effort. Stuff is strangely entertaining to use as well; minimal effort, stunning visual rewards.

    In your situation a quick post-wash application of Cosmic Spritz on occasion would be suitable, for a bit more 'oomph' you can team w their Primer Spritz. It's a neat combo:

    Lotsa good stuff out there these days, that's for sure!
     
  15. Solid State

    Solid State F1 Veteran
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 4, 2014
    9,586
    Full Name:
    Maximus Decimus Meridius
    Ceramics have three fatal flaws. They are semi-permanent, produce too much of a surface mirror effect versus natural paint depth, and hard water spots can develop much easier than wax and are very difficult to remove completely. There are always new versions of them coming out so often that constantly outperform the previous versions leading to a snake oil feeling that what you thought was great is actually vastly inferior. It amazes me that a Ferrari owner willing to pay +$400k for a car looks for shortcuts to keep it clean.
     

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