Ceramic Coat
 

Just got quoted for a 1 year ceramic coating for $450.00. Worth it? Anyone notice any benefits over regular waxing?

i paid around $1200 for my 2 year coating and correction when i first got my car never waxed it ever i think its worth it

to me the question comes down to this:
Do you enjoy washing and detailing your car?

If answer = yes, then just do a sealant. it takes 10 extra minutes, do it often and you will have great protection and continue to enjoy the overall weekend process of taking care of your car.

if answer = no, coat it and rinse it and whatever.

the idea of a coating is it lasts longer than a sealant which is why you pay the difference. if youre a car person that washes and details their car once a month it doesn't make a damn bit of difference in my opinion how long it lasts. reapply.

now, at $450 i want to know what it includes. if its just applying a coating over a surface that isn't prepped, no its a total waste of time.
if someone is charging you $450 for a decon, polish and coating ... well you get what you pay for. seems to cheap for quality work

I was quoted $600 for wash, clay, cleaner, polish, 3 coats ceramic coat

I am not a fan of washing and waxing, so the answer is no lol. Im in Florida so its always hot as shit out here, basically have to wait till dusk to wash and wax the car or else the water dries off fast and leaves white spots. So 450 was for the 1 year, then they offered $850 for 3 year and $1,200 for the 5 year.

It includes the wash, clay bar, compounding, polish, paint correction. The detail shop has been around for about 5 to 6 years. The owners have been in the detailing business for more then 10 years. They have about 50 reviews on google with a 4.9 rating. Reviews seem to be legit. I saw photos of come ceramic coating jobs they have done. I even drove by the shop the other day for the quote and they showed me a truck that they just done the coating on a few months ago. They went through the certification, whatever that means, some class I guess. Overall I did not get any red flags about a poor job.

I would be interested in their explanationof how they price the ceramic coat in annual offerings. Obviously what they are saying is that the coding Will last one year, or two years, or three years by the amount of coatings that they are putting on the car.

Here’s my dilemma. Perhaps Kurt can answer this. If you only want 1 years worth, that means after a year it’s going to start to look splotchy or apparent in some spots. The ceramics/ coatings I know of don’t wear Down totally uniformly.That will require a total polish off before you could start again. So Who’s going to do that polish if you only wanna pay for one year and then move on?

For the last couple years, everybody quoting on here it’s just for the job. Or I’ve seen one ceramic they charge extra, but that’s for when it’s 10 coats.

The main money sink is typically for the paint correction. If you dont care about minor swirls and the paint is in good shape, you can get CQuartz with CarPros suede towels and do it yourself for under $150 on Amazon.com. Two coats and you're in good shape a long time.

Never thought of it like that. That is a good point. I guess if you start you are pretty much hooked to go back unless you want to pay someone to remove it. Rendering basically a yearly service if its the 1 year coat.

I would assume they would charge the 450 again unless prices go up.

That's fair if it is well done.

I hate the swirls, that is my biggest issue. Very big eye sore.

That's totally a fair price for one year. I would say go with the 1 year and maintain the ceramic coating yourself. I wouldn't pay for 3-5 years, especially in this economy.

OK I read this one late.


IF YOU ARE A SWIRL HATER ( and I hear ya, me too!)


The ceramic coating can still get swirled up. For $450 you can get a great polisher, pads, bottle of coating and all the things you need to be a detailer.


Just sayin' when you see those swirls you hate, you get out the polisher.

Now if I can get someone willing to apply it to my car that would be great hahaha. In all seriousness though I am afraid of using a polisher. I feel like ill mess up and hold it to long and damage the paint or something else will go wrong.

That’s the standard response from someone who’s never used one. We all thought that. In truth, using a random orbital with a med/soft foam pad like we all use here, it’s virtually impossible to mess up your paint You would have to hold it in one spot for 10 minutes before Any thing happened. What you are thinking of is a full-blown Rotary, which can be dangerous. Do some reading here and you’ll find using a polisher is simple with the current polishes that are out there, they degrade on the second pass so you’re not grinding away at something.

But I often recommend finding a detailer to do all the polishing for you to get the paint ready for a sealant that you just wipe on. And that’s all the coding is , is wiping on and buffing off... a liquid.