[s346k]

my 2 cents:

black car? yes, id ceramic coat it ONLY if...the water at your house is good. i'm going on year 2 of owning a black, ceramic coated camaro. not a dd, no cold weather use, but i drive the car a lot in the warmer months.

the ceramic coating will show everything your water leaves behind. ie you wash the car, properly dry it via leaf blower/air method of choice...then drive it and see the inevitable water that comes out from under the trim and between panel seams etc. if your water sucks, it will dry stark white and eventually permanently water spot the coating, only corrected with more paintwork.

i would certainly ceramic coat the wheels. we used gtechniq on my car, wheels and calipers. the car still looks incredible after a 20 minute wash and dry. coating applied 4-19 @ 6500 miles. as of 4-21 it will have 23k miles on it.

100% agree - AT MINIMUM - ppf the area in front of the back wheels. i wish i had done this, as driving around on those sc3 goodyears has really sandblasted the paint. it was severely damaged @ 6500 miles. the ceramic coating has helped a ton in reducing further damage, but that area of the car is relentlessly pelted with debris.

now some cliche look at how shiny my paint is pictures...

[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by NYblack1le

Ammonyc reflex pro. Its an enamel based coating and not a water spot magnet. So far I’m very impressed. Last coating I did was gyeon mohs and I was pretty impressed with that too.

Love Ammo products. Frothe is a game changer in the waterless category.

Gotta coat the Camaro and my Chevelle this spring. One or the other might see this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[1LE_JC]

Yes to ceramic coating by a pro detail shop! I got mine done with Adam's Graphene coating which is supposed to last 7 years (doubt it will make it that long). Every wash now makes the car shine as good as the day I picked the car up from getting coated. Super easy to wash now also. Dirt and debris come right off.

[Invertalon]

I have yet to see a ceramic coated car look any different from one that is not coated before/after a wash. Looks 100% identical to any other properly cleaned car. It's not shinier, more 'wet' or anything else. It's easy enough to take pictures that make it look even better than it is (I did professional photography for many years, proper lighting/angles will do wonders in this case...). I can go out in my driveway and take a picture of my beater that has not seen a wax or detail in yearsssss, let alone hardly washed and make it look fantastic quite easily with appropriate photo technique...

Needless to say, I'm not bashing those who choose to do a ceramic coating or anything. I just never got the 'look at the proof!" type images with this type of stuff You won't see any difference.

For example, here is my NON-ceramic coated finish. Looks no different. With the proper prep and wax/sealant any bugs, bird poo, dirt, water, etc... Come right off. I never had any issue with staining, etching or anything with my cars using off-the-shelf waxes/sealants. I personally don't see any benefit for doing a ceramic coating in my experience detailing for the past 15 years or so. YMMV.

[indyz]

^ ^ that's because paint correction is the key to gloss. Not the coating.

[NeverDie]

Yep, the ceramic just holds the protection and gloss along with hydrophobic properties far longer than synthetic sealants or natural waxes. That's just a simple fact.

[Invertalon]

Exactly my point, though. It won't look any different as it is all in the prep. As far as the ease of cleaning and all that, again, with the proper application of any wax/sealant, you will find it's very easy to clean and you don't require $1000 ceramic coatings every two years to achieve that. It can be had with a $20 off the shelf product applied every few months.

[indyz]

^^ yes TW seal & shine, Megs HCW etc......and can get rid of waterspots & etchings easier too. I spend an extra 5-10 minutes every few months (after a wash) applying an off-the-shelf coating, so its not that much more effort either.

[NeverDie]

Originally Posted by Invertalon

Exactly my point, though. It won't look any different as it is all in the prep. As far as the ease of cleaning and all that, again, with the proper application of any wax/sealant, you will find it's very easy to clean and you don't require $1000 ceramic coatings every two years to achieve that. It can be had with a $20 off the shelf product applied every few months.

CarPro UK v3 (consumer product) will give 2 years of protection for proper care and can be bought for $60. The prep is the same.

So, sure I could spend tons more time applying something every few months but my time is also worth money so that isn't a very intelligent option for me.

I will also add, these products do look very different. Something like a coating from 22ple has a very technical, almost digital look to it. CarPro is much softer, more organic. Pinnacle Souverign natural carnauba wax has a glow to it that is unmatched with synthetics. BlackFire Sealant looks like shit. They all have unique appearances, so while maybe they don't look different to you they absolutely do look different and also have different LRV readings from product to product which tells you that scientifically they look different.

[indyz]

^^ about 5-10 min every 3 months for me (in addition to washing the car, of course) Could wait 6-8 months but I enjoy doing it, so I do it more often

If you want to save those minutes, yes Ceramic with a brushless car wash (automatic or human) is very convenient.

Spend some money on ceramic, let's boost the economy, it's all good.

Once you get waterspots etched into a ceramic coating, then the real work comes in. That's too much work for me.

[NeverDie]

I've been applying ceramic coatings for over a decade, no water spotting issues to speak of. I'm also not seeing the huge spend at $60/2yr (50ml does 2 cars, so really $30/car/2yr). Odd comment.

[NeverDie]

Also there isn't a possible way that I could spend "5-10 minutes" and properly prep the paint to accept any type of coating, so that's even more strange. You do you though, I'm just combating misinformation.

[indyz]

Originally Posted by NeverDie

Also there isn't a possible way that I could spend "5-10 minutes" and properly prep the paint to accept any type of coating, so that's even more strange. You do you though, I'm just combating misinformation.

lol. Just applying and buffing the TW seal & shine mate. I know its tough. thats why you need to get ceramic.

Waterspots are a big issue where I live. Car is parked outside and we frequently have dew and fog in the mornings that just sits in the car. I know I know, its hard to imagine.

Guy down the street got his car ceramic coated. Parked outside a few times and did not have time to attend to the waterspots right away. Had to polish his car to get them off. Too much work for me. I did ceramic on my Mazda, will never ever do it again. Just too hard to get etched waterspots off.

[Chevelle vs Camaro]

Originally Posted by Invertalon

I have yet to see a ceramic coated car look any different from one that is not coated before/after a wash. Looks 100% identical to any other properly cleaned car. It's not shinier, more 'wet' or anything else. It's easy enough to take pictures that make it look even better than it is (I did professional photography for many years, proper lighting/angles will do wonders in this case...). I can go out in my driveway and take a picture of my beater that has not seen a wax or detail in yearsssss, let alone hardly washed and make it look fantastic quite easily with appropriate photo technique...

Needless to say, I'm not bashing those who choose to do a ceramic coating or anything. I just never got the 'look at the proof!" type images with this type of stuff You won't see any difference.

For example, here is my NON-ceramic coated finish. Looks no different. With the proper prep and wax/sealant any bugs, bird poo, dirt, water, etc... Come right off. I never had any issue with staining, etching or anything with my cars using off-the-shelf waxes/sealants. I personally don't see any benefit for doing a ceramic coating in my experience detailing for the past 15 years or so. YMMV.

Coat it. You will absolutely see a difference. Just make sure it’s a real coating and not some sealant with 3% sio2 in it. Also my pics posted up top are non edited and paint looks way better than yours.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk