Thank you for taking the time to do this video. This is a topic many of the detailing channels don't cover. I've been gearing up to do a ceramic coating on my car but now I am considering just putting on a sealant and replenishing that more frequently. To me the plus of the ceramic coating is that it lasts longer but that also means it has to be maintained properly too. A lot to consider. Thank you.
I Drive a black car which was a night mare to maintain and keep clean. Also every time I washed it I would discover new scratches and swirl marks. But a year and a half ago I fitted the Ceramic Pro Gold package, which is 4 layers of ceramic coating and a super hydrophobic coating over the ceramic. The car is now much easier to maintain and clean. I now actually just wash without even touching the paint. (high pressure Rinse, foam wash, and rinse again then blow it dry with a blower) Only the wheels get touched during cleaning. Much quicker to wash. And after a year and a half I still have no swirl marks or scratches so the resistance to marring is great. Also I can drive through rain on a road trip and when through the rain the water beads and blows off and the car is still clean when I get to my destination which is something I could never do. The only downside I have is that you cant polish it to boost the shine even more. But the coating has given it a deeper, clearer gloss over what it had and I am happy with that. And the cost, The cost was the biggest thing but to me was worth it given the ease of cleaning and maintaining and that I have not yet gotten any scratches on my paint since then. I Will be adding this from the showroom floor to any further cars I purchse
I have been using Crystal Serum Light and EXOv3 topper for the last few years on customer and personal vehicles and motor cycles. Very impressed with the products and how they have survived the Canadian winters. The customers that I target for the coating are the people that don't want to play with their cars every weekend and want to wash the vehicle at the local wand car wash places. I recommend coatings to these people because the coatings can take the higher PH of soap that the car washes use. These style of customers are also usually ok with using a product like C2V3 a couple of times per year on their own. For the person that likes to work on the vehicle sealants is where I put them. For the waxes.... well those are for the prep for the car show to have that perfect glow for the judges. As for the reflectability (if that is a word?) the coatings do a good job on enhancing your polishing job. As we all know it's the quality of the polishing that gives the great shine for your toppers. Great job Jon..... Keep it up sir
Thanks for this. I was just about to buy all the necessary stuff for a coating, spending a ton of cash. But then I came across this videos that really talks about the negatives. I love putting wax on, and trying different stuff, which in turn makes the coating a bad choice. Thanks!
John, you’re a gent and a scholar for doing this realistic presentation on the pros and cons of Ceramic Coatings. I’ve yet to delve into the world of coating mine and the wife’s car but was certainly on the fence thinking of doing it. After watching this informative piece i am very much a polish and wax man! I find it extremely therapeutic to spend the time in my own little world buffing and waxing. To not be able to do this if the cars were coated wouldn’t be right, what would i do instead.....diy! 😭😂. Thanks again for an informative and non biased presentation, i like how you always leave it up to the individual to make there own decisions on whats best for them, we are all different at the end of the day anyway. 🍻
Here in Finland there is lots road salt during winters and it wont come off unless you use tar remover which strip any sealant pretty easily. Good ceramic coating wont die from those heavy solvent based cleaners.
@jtm1979, what kind of salt do they use in Finland? Calcium/Magnesium Chloride? Urea? Where I live in the US (Philadelphia) they just use Sodium Chloride, and it dissolves in water easily. Very easy to wash off.
I have been doing paint correction and auto detailing for 25 years. body and paint work for 2 years professionally. I love your channel. its nice to freshen up on what I already know and learn new things. I have been telling my customers to stay away from ceramic and especially silicone coatings, They make it very hard fix imperfections and god forbid if I have to paint and blend the panel. These coatings are hell in the body shop.
Hey John, I think you have to consider what you like for yourself. If you're a fan of waxing then stay away from the coatings. When you don't have the ability to polish your car to perfection then don't put a ceramic coating on top of it. Also for people who don't have a garage and have to work outside it isn't the ideal place to put a coating on a car. It looks easy when you see people doing it but there can be going so mutch wrong. I use a lot of ceramic coatings as a professional detailer. Most of my clients are people that have no time to wash there cars and drive to carwash. There asking to put a coating on there car because they want to decrease the quantity of scratches. I'm honest to tell them the disadvantages of a coating and that it isn't the holy grail. I do have a problem with people or brands who are making advertisement about there products that it doesn't scratch, it has like 40% more gloss and so on. It's just not the reality. And not everyone is spending the time we do on our cars to keep them clean or spending 2 day's for a little bit more gloss :D .That's my honest opinion about the pros and cons.
As a detailing enthusiast I don’t think they’re for me. I don’t like the permanence and not being able to polish or apply other products which I enjoy doing. For the general consumer who takes their car to a detailer to make it look nice but isn’t interested beyond that I totally get it. I did actually just use a coating on my new wheels though, and I think coatings make a ton of sense for that.
11:20 That's not entirely true with CQuartz. CarPro has a relatively new product, called Essence+, which you can use on a ceramic coating, like you'd any abrasive paint correction compound (ie. with a machine polisher), and which can supposedly correct minor scratches in the coating, without stripping the latter. Now I'm saying "supposedly", because I myself didn't give it a try yet, but according to the product description it works by not abrading the coat, but filling up the scratches, however, with a stuff that's practically the same as what the coating is made of (SiO2), and what - unlike traditional waxes - can bound very strongly to the existing coat, thus essentially sealing the valleys of the scratches "for life", and preventing them from reappearing, as the filler disintegrates, which would be the case with traditional waxes. I think the polish-like application method (ie. machine polishing) is used to create that strong bond, through using the heat that's generated, and using the force exerted by the polisher/polishing, to push the correcting compound really into the coat layer. But don't quote me on that, because CarPro doesn't really go into detail how it actually works at the technical level, and I'm just theoretizing there.
Thanks for this excellent video, Jon. I am fed up two days after washing and drying my black car that it gets covered in 'dirty' rain or road grime. I knew nothing of ceramic coating, but had hoped that it would allow me to simply hose the dirt off and not spend another hour having to snow foam and hand wash again. I right to assume that ceramic is no better than a well applied quality sealant I do not get many swirls or scratches, so occasionally use a very fine polish and sealant. Neither do I wish to continually have to top up ceramic more often than I would apply sealant. I do not have a garage or cover so rely on a few hours of dry wind free weather when detailing. So thank you for saving me £50 and many wasted disappointing hours faffing about.
Thanks for listing down the negatives. I was thinking of installing a ceramic coating on my daily vehicle but now I am not so sure. I do appreciate that the coating gives an additional of protection, doesn't mar as easily as the clear coat as well as makes it easier to clean, but I am live in a country with significant amount of rainfall and sunny weather, which makes water spotting a significant concern. Also, if get into a minor fender bender or I get scratches on my vehicle, it makes it that much more troublesome to rectify.
CarPro Essence PLUS is as close to "polishing" a coated car as you'll get without wearing the coating down. It "repairs" the minor marks in the coating by filling them with SiO2. Brilliant product too.
I know it’s and old video, but I recently bought a used Cayman that had been professionally ceramic coated with Shelby product. The owner gave me their QD, which i use as a drying aid. I was using Bilt Hamber Auto wash, but now that’s running low I bought the Shelby Ceramic shampoo. The car was clearly properly treated before coating as it’s beautiful and easy to wash, with no contaminants felt under my mitt. These days I’m too lazy to wax - the BMW it replaced was last waxed over a year ago - so ceramic seems ideal for me at the moment. I also have their waterless ceramic wash, which I plan to use as a quick detailer between washes if I get rain spots or light dirt on it.
I have used the Car Pro 2016 C Quartz coating on my Lexus (not UK version). The application was difficult, with streaking which required to be buffed off on some panels (I followed the directions however heat and humidity play into removal times). The C Quartz did not last a Canadian winter, most of the coating had failed over a 6 month period. During the fall of 2017, I prepared the car again with a cut & polish, etc, using Car Pro Essence, then applied two layers of Exo V3. The coating has been on for approximately 4 months and seems to be holding up well. The vehicle typically only gets washed once or twice during the winter due to below freezing temperatures and wet, salty roads. I am a Car Pro fan, with many of their excellent products, but the Gtechniq CSL and Exo V3 in my experience seem to offer long-lasting protection with ease of application.
I was considering doing a ceramic coating in the future, since I didn't want to have to do so much work every 6 months or so to reapply a glaze and sealant on my car. I know polishing would help but I don't want to remove any clear coat. After hearing this I changed my mind. Extra time, extra money, still need to some maintenance every 6 months, no thank you. This was very helpful and saved me time and money.
Ceramic coatings certainly have a market and how huge it has grown, for the customer who buys into its fine, for the beeders and the glossers it can look good from a distance for many a car owner, but for detailers and those with an eye it kinda locks you out from refining
I still think fusso coat is the best way to keep my car protected. I like that nostalgic "old school" feeling of waxing my car. It lasts a long way, cheap, and can be ripped off easily with some high concentration IPA or high ph product. Best regards from Brazil.
I was sold Gen 3 for a car that I told the dealer I would be green laning and off roading and he said it would be perfect for me and theses "scratchy narrow lanes" I was impressed with it as marks from light brushing up against bushes would wipe away. However, I have scratched though it now and the dealer is back tracking. I think the problem is as you say they have been miss sold and I've fallen into that trap. If I knew its limitations I would have still bought it. But I was told it would protect me from hedge scratches and the put it on spaceships... There are no holly bushes in space! And it dose not.. Its is still very good.
The key to a coating is to polish the paint to near perfection before application. That way, you won't have to polish it again until the coating is worn down to the point where you can compound and polish it again. Or you can use something like CarPro Essence+ to refine the coating. I'm using Gtechniq CSL, but I'm pretty sure Essence+ would work on it if I needed it.
Agreed - I think the issue is that some people are using better lighting to see blemishes during that polishing phase, while others are doing a quick polish/or no polish, then leading themselves into a corner with more problems later on.
Glad you went into the down side of these coating John, I can't remember a single video explaining the pit falls as you have done, i decided when they first came out i would only use them on the wheels and lights......and what have used on the blue beemer, she looks really good....the dogs...regards rich.
I’m like you buddy, I love doing a full detail on my car. It’s very therapeutic. I’ll spend all day doing a full detail but it’s worth it as my car looks great for months and is so easy to do in between washes. Thanks again for your videos and your fair insights😉
Very nice job on this review! I've got a new car coming my way end march and have been considering putting a ceramic on it. These last few weeks I've been on youtube every chance I got watching reviews about them and I've finally started to come to the conclusion that I don't feel like going through the hassle of putting a ceramic on. I will admit thats the main reason is the fear of it going wrong due to the fact I have to work outside and the expectations I have from these ceramics. (Good thing that you mentioned this) When I mention "hassle" I do only mean the coating itself potentially going wrong as I do have the intension of paint correcting my new daily driver. I think a good long lasting sealant or wax to be applied by hand or machine polisher is the way to go for me. The way things are looking for the moment, Koch chemie's 1K nano sealant looks pretty good to me. Yet again, thanks for this very informative video!
Thank you. You are the only one who has truly told the negatives. I have looked all over utube. I don’t want to use it but I feel like to many people make it something it’s not.
You are right on the money in this video. I use a coating on my daily driver and it helps with reducing maintenance but it's no miracle and the paint needs to be corrected and another coating applied after about 2-3 years.
Also my last Subaru seemed to have very soft clear coat and it would get swirls just by looking at it wrong. That's when I decided to correct it and apply a coating. Once I put on the ceramic, I could actually wash and dry the car without destroying the finish.
Thanks for your honest views. There is so much hype around ceramics that I had been thinking of applying to our cars. Not because I hate waxing etc but because I thought gloss etc results would be better. Will stick to my waxing (Naviwax) regime with Bead Maker or another spray as a topper to maintain protection.
I just tried the turtle wax flex with graphene and the vehicle looks amazing. Dripping wet look supper glossy. Real easy to apply took about 20 to 30 mins for 1 coat. It's not a full permanent professional ceramic coating but in other review videos they are doing harsh chemical tests on it and its hold up 6 months . In the real world should hold up even longer with normal washing.
Great video Jon the only point I would add is that some of these points are only valid with consumer product. It would be interesting to review pro coatings to help people who fancy more durable coatings or who want their car professionally detailed decide on a coating
totally agree I think if you get a professional to do it. you kind of remove some of the negatives around application and maintainance risks. You could also get more performance as well. Its hard to generalize but if you have never machined a car before I wouldnt personally recomend trying to apply one of these product.
Timely vid Jon and this area and topic I have been commenting a lot lately on , “What about Down The Road” after applying CC. This was definitely needed to enlighten all those that may have not considered the DTR factor. CC’s are good, but not the next step to better protection, only an option. In the UK with the horrible weather, rain, grime CC’s help, but not all suffer the UK anymore. 10mins down the road your pampering is smashed and your soul detroyed. I have CC on my car, but feel restrained from what I can do to it when I want to use my car care time pampering it. When travelling to the UK its a blessing though. In all, excellent follow up to the CC vids and very much needed to give a better understanding they are not a panacea body protection.
Thank you! This video has held up well. I just put Klasse on my 2019 Corvette. I like that it lasts several times longer than wax. In reality the prep is it. Once you prep, how would you like to maintain the shine? The more I think about it, the more I see ceramic coatings as a product for the guy who doesn't enjoy spending time detailing.
I think its beneficial to apply foam cannon spray on rinse off sealants like autosmart aqua seal pro si02 over any ceramic coatings after every wash as it takes 5 min to maintain the underlying original ceramic coating intact for much longer. Not sure about the chemistry though and if mismatched si02 products will harm the ceramic coating.
Other negatives about ceramic coatings are how you can't use anything that's not ph neutral to clean the car. Expensive ph neutral chemicals to remove dead bugs, ph neutral for wheels too. When you put on a ceramic coating you gotta take care of it like its a new born baby lol
Great video.... I’ve just ordered a new car and have been offered a ceramic coating. However, I’m not sure I need it. I’m in the U.K, do about 8k miles a year, keep the car garaged and cleaned probably once a month. I’m beginning to think a professional Valet and Wax a couple of times a year in addition to regular monthly cleaning ought to be sufficient?
The part i like more is it is much much easier to keep it clean as almost everything comes off without any hassle at all...bugs and such require no scrubbing or special cleaners. Living in canada with 3+ months being below 5°C and lots of snow that is the main reason I did ceramic coat my car. I was worried about the possibility of minor scratches or wanting a gloss top up like waxing but with CarPro Essence+ they have us covered there.
Since I started using Fusso coat I really haven't seen the need to go to ceramic coatings. It does interest me, but to lose the ability to polish sucks and I really enjoy topping up every couple of months.
Thanks so much for your videos, I have a similar opinion. Alot of detailers are posting up videos of how glossy are car is that they just coated. It was all in the prep and hats off to them for that hard work and skill. These coatings will loose gloss over time especially if a "normal" person does not know or hasnt been told how to maintain them. Many people who say "ive got ceramic so I just hose it down and shammy my car" then complain why is it swirling and spotting and have to pay someone to do it all over again. Your videos very educational I will show these to customers who are adamant their mate got ceramic and I need it aswell.
Ceramics are great way to protect the neglected family wagon that’s lucky to get washed from time to time. But for our loved cars. The show cars, the trophy cars, dads own special car etc then it’s wax for me. If it’s regularly cleaned and cared for then I don’t think ceramic is required. Just my opinion. And because I enjoy waxing and detailing my car but can’t be bothered doing the same for the family wagon.
Exactly. Or even a wax hybrid like collinite 845 that gives crazy protection long lasting + shine. Cermiac coating is a one time thing that last 2 years IMO why pay for a premium like that when you can wax every week if you like or use collinite 845 2 to 3 times a year
One huge plus is the resistance to chemicals and contamination (I get much less tar and iron with a ceramic coating than I can with a sealant or wax). But on the flip side now you got me itching to polish off my coating and go back to using waxes. Great video.
Another great video, thank you, I have used SiRamiK Glass coat SC15 which is a prosumer product, and Migliore Strata Coating, out of the 2 I found the Migliore product both easier to apply and it gave a better finish, my last car had SiRamiK Glasscoat ATP coatings which is a 3 step coating with the final coat of diamas professionali, the finish from these products was superb and I am comparing it to Zymol Royale Glaze! The coatings repelled dirt tar etc far better than anything I have ever experienced before, after a 2000 mile trip to Switzerland and back the car still looked clean even though I had driven through rain storms etc, it’s just a shame they were pro detailed only products! On my next car I am trying Gtechniq Crystal serum light topped with EXO V3.
Everyone only shares why coatings are awesome. This is the first video where anyone has even discussed the negatives of coatings. Can't get enough of your videos =D
thanks william. I think its important to talk about negatives, just have to try and keep it reasonably constructive. I am sold on ceramics though. I think they are cool. just a fair amount of work.
You where spot on! I prefer a wax and seal than ceramic. I like the gyeon syncro but i work on a lot of daily drivers and often come in for an extra polish.
Cleaning alloy wheels is always a time consuming process. Have you coated alloy wheels with ceramic coating and what did you think ? Given smaller surface areas, poorer application probably would not matter as much as on large body panels. It surely would pay dividends over the laborious task of wheel cleaning regime. I do like the waxing and trying different products so probably will not use ceramic coating for body as a hobby detailer. I have just finished detailing my wheels using ceramic coating and whilst it was a time consuming project to prep, was fairly straight forward to apply. Will install on car after a few days when it has cured. Great information on the video by the way!
I used ceramic coatings and traditional polishes and sealants, here are my thoughts and experiences; Ceramics are great for wheels, plastics, and new car paints, other than that a traditional good polish and glossy sealant is unmatched.
Tbh a big point for me is the inability to use abrasives or maybe a simple minor ding repair without having the ceramic coating taking back and then reapplied after, I know of VERY few people who don’t acquire stone chips, minor scratches, Trolley dents over time this just seems to make such issues even more of a hassle to sort?
I've done 5 vehicles with GTechniqs Crystal Serum Light. They've been on the cars almost 2 years now. They've been well maintain with proper wash techniques and the use of C2v3 once every other month at full strength and also diluted 1:1 with distilled water as a detail spray. The cars stay cleaner longer in the summer but it's the Ohio winters where they really help protect from salt that before not product would last days or weeks let alone 2 whole winters and come out of them with products on the car. Chrome wheels last only a year but theres no pitting or rust on them. You still can't run them through car washes and expect no swirling nor will they protect you from parking lot ding and scratches but cleaning is a lot easier.If you buy them on sale and DIY it's really reasonable to keep a car looking it's best year round with a little more work and money up front but more than make it up in the long term.
Loving these videos on coatings. I was looking to get into ceramic coatings and I came across a Japanese company called Kamikaze Collection. They aren't really well known from what it seems but the quality seems up there in the current market. What really caught my attention was the Infinity Wax as it combines carnauba and ceramic coatings in one product. (probably the most interesting product i have seen yet). So, I was hoping I could get an opinion from you or possibly a review on their products in the future before I pull the trigger on anything.
hey nick, may well do mate who knows. Id be interested to take a look and I may well buy the wax as well. but dont wait for me to review it could take like months theres a bit of a backlog at the moment mate.
Awesome! thank you so much to at least give it a thought. And no worries, I'll be sticking to my waxing regiment until I can save up enough money as it is.
I'm a bit confused with the issue towards not being able to polish after applying the coating. I believe the idea is you polish and refine the paintwork to essentially a perfect finish and then apply the coating. The coating is then supposed to protect any further damage from coming to the paintwork. So why would there actually be any need to do polishing after the coating has been applied? Also just noticed this video is a year old now so how have your views change if at all?
I do consider coatings often but it’s an easy decision to leave them for now as I don’t have a garage big enough to have the car in and apply them. The driveway is not ideal not only due to airborne contaminants but also because of the lighting not being right. A dark garage with spot lights is what’s needed to see where you been on application and buffing off. The upside is it leaves me to try out lots of other products that don’t require a two year commitment to one system.
Another, even if not necessarily negative property of ceramic coatings, but a property you've to consider is, that they slightly alter the color tone of the vehicle and generally "dampen" metallic effect of the paint they're put on. Obviously that's unavoidable, because they have to take the light from somewhere, that they will reflect and make the surface appear shiny, and in some (if not most) cases the alteration of the color tone might even enhance the appearance of the car (especially with grays and colors that weren't very vibrant to begin with), but it's still something one should consider when evaluating the pros and cons of ceramic coating.
agree with all the negatives you highlighted Jon, but l must admit when I applied C1 and Exo2 to my Sepang blue audi the gloss levels where the best l have ever had on any of my cars, but what is stopping me from adding on one to my voodoo blue is..... Like you say, l won't be able to go and polish it by machine, so l won't be going down the ceramic route, l am just going to apply the crystal Serum and EXOv3 to my mums Daytona grey Audi instead.... As it will make her paint easier maintain, again fantastic video mate
I’ve been researching this as I’m getting a dark blue metallic new car and in my experience with my current lighter blue metallic car, after Gtecniq treatment, was that yes the shine and finish was incredible but the sparkle was defiantly reduced. Your comment is the first time I’ve had my suspicion confirmed, although I have got a number of picture from online of pre and post treatments from different manufacturers that also demonstrate what I’ve seen. Personally I don’t like this ‘side effect’, so unless I can find a coating that doesn’t do this I won’t be getting it done.
Very informative video,as always! The fact of not being able to quickly polish some 'lovemarks' out bothers me a lot! Also the fact that you can't quickly switch to another product to put on your car if you want to kills the fun for me... I was very attracted to coatings but after these video series I am starting to believe that they are not really for me. I want to be able to refine the paint of my car when I want to. I use Gyeon Wetcoat and Gyeon Cure as a standalone sealant and I think I will keep using them... Thanks Jon for these very helpful videos.
I have a 14 Infiniti Q50 in black. The clearcoat seems super thin and I easily get scratches. So the extra protection from scratches seems worth it. I saw a detailer offering to do it for $450, im tempted but it sure is expensive.
Im really not sure about the scratch resistent side of these products yet.. but I just dont have enough experience of them to be able to comment. Ive heard people say they have seen an improvement or reduction of wash related marring when they have used them.. specially on really soft clear..
Wow that is cheap in Florida there about $1,000 to $1500 to do a car. Need to ask detailer how many steps he does before he gives your car back. Because your not to suppose drive for a day so the ceramic can dry
Great info, I like the Carpro products... I used Cquartz Gliss on my wheels and getting ready to put Cquartz UK on my Lexus for the first time, also used Adams ceramic boost as a detail spray on my boat, it worked great.
I look many detailling channels and finally one has spoke about the negativites of the creamic coatings 🤩Specially about the repainting and recoating after that, its pain in the ass. Thanks for that!! 👍 By the way, is there any product who can wash the ceramic coating away or do we really have to polish it? Thanks buddy
So are the ceramic coatings that you can buy of the shelf different from the ones detailing shops use? I'm wondering because I've had zero issues and the cost for washing my car have actually gone down significantly since I put on a ceramic coating. Yes, I do have to use a special foam and shampoo to wash my car but they are pretty much the same cost as any other product, at least where I live. I've had my coating for almost 3 years and it still shines just as brightly as ever. Same with my dad's car that has had a ceramic coating for over 5 years. So for me, it's not only cheaper to maintain, it has also cut down significantly on washing time and the number of times I need to wash it. Also, I don't need to panic anymore if a bird shits on my car. That, if anything, is worth any price. We have very cold winters here and they use salt and sand to either melt the snow or make it safer to drive/walk on. That is a nightmare on cars. But with the coating on my car, even shit like that is a breeze to clean and have the car looking like it came straight out of the factory. I have gotten a couple of chips in the paint from rocks hitting it, but the detailer that did the work fixes them for no cost(both paint and coating) if it's within the first five years of the coating. While there was an initial cost of about £450 to do the coating, my cost for washing are on average no more then £10/month. Not counting water usage of course. I feel like it's a no brainer if you ask me. I have a blue/black metallic car(black roof) and it looks fantastic and actually works as advertised. It's hydrophobic and has a fantastic finish for years. Before the coating I spent probably 10x more on care products and wax for my car. So maybe this of the shelf shit has some downsides but if there are downsides to the shit the professionals use, I sure as hell haven't seen any. I'm buying a new car in a few months and I'm 100% am putting a ceramic coating on it as well.
Well said!!! They sell a lot of coatings here. My question is? What is wrong with the factory clear coat? We all know ..... nothing. really about the marketing, and even more about the $$$$. Fifty years in business..... way before the inception of the word "detailing" was ever a thought. I NEVER mislead my clients. That is how I have survived for 50 years. Home of The "invisible Garage Protection Tm. r. since 1969! Great informative video! Can I sell you the Brooklyn Bridge? How about a coating..... flip a coin, to see how much. This week.... 1250.00, what a steal. Usual price 1850.00. What is next?
Jon,what I would like to know from you is what you're going to do now now your car is coated? Are you going to compound it off or are you going to leave the coating on a few years without trying some new products on your car?
Hi. Big fan of you. Let's say I just coated my brand new silver painted wheels with sealant (Klasse SG) and now just realized how much better coating them with CarPro C5 Wheel Armour (your fault lol) would have been. Let's also say I just ordered C5 and need to remove the newly put sealant on wheel. What do I do! Clay? IPA? (if so at what %) Thanks! PS : What I have right now that could maybe work : Clay, IPA, Klasse AIO, CG Clean Slate, 3M Adhesive Remover (Pretty strong, solvent based), Menzerna 3800 Final Polish, compound, PC DA, Dawn (lol?)
get some meguiars wash plus. wash them and work the abrasives in the wash well.. Then go over them with a abrasive pre wax cleaner and a hard sponge. Before you do the above you could start using some stronger degrease cleaners on the alloys when you wash them now to try and start breaking the sealant down.
The self cleaning aspect of coatings is really my only interest in them, and even that seems like it wouldn’t benefit my that much because I do weekly washes, and in that time the car never really manages to get filthy anyway. I do primarily rinseless washing (hose for the tires and wheels) and using something like a spray sealant as a drying aid is incredibly easy. If I take the 5-10 minutes every so often to apply a wax or sealant I can get a good 6 months or more without “needing” to apply more wax, so I don’t see a coating really saving me much time. Do you find ceramic waxes to have any of the self cleaning capabilities like a coating does?
Some great points and excellent video. I think for people who don’t like detailing their cars it’s a great product if done by a professional. Me personally like to wax and bring out a mirror shine. If I get swirls it’s easy to get them out. I try and wax every 6 weeks and wash 2/3 times a week but I like a clean car. Lol most of the time I just need to foam and wash off when it needs more it’s time to wax again. Good point about repair work and blending panels. Think it could be an expensive option in the long run.
I think what's putting myself off using these products is I have no garage and am surrounded by trees. I don't believe I would get a great finish and I do love to wax my car. Great vidz and thank you for posting them for all of us to enjoy and learn.
You can safely apply CQUK also outside. The only thing you have to pay attention to is that you do it between 10-20 degrees Celsius, and with moderate humidity, because outside of that range it will be hard to work with. It only needs one hour to cure to a level, where you can apply Reload to it, which will protect it from water and dust during the curing process. And once you do apply Reload, not even rain can interfere with the bonding - so if you make it to that point safely, you don't have to worry about getting your fresh coat messed up. Unless probably it's more like a storm, with very heavy rain - but even that only probably in the first 24 hours.
Brilliant video I have long looked at ceramics but since finding Sonax bsd that’s all I’ve needed to use for 2-3 months of shine/beading & ease of washing the next time although I do find I tend to top it up each time I wash & I mix it 70/30 with Adams quick detailer for the summer for easier application
If you live on a farm and have lots of dust on the roads then this will not work at all. I found in these conditions that Autoglym ultra high definition does the trick if you deal with dust as like me in Australia. I found that with my last car I placed a ceramic coating on and it died in 6 weeks. Not sure why. Maybe it could be dust. I prefer polishing
Here in Philippines there a detailing shop claiming that they a coating that has 10h pencil hardness called atom6 carbon composite coating. Im bit skeptic on it. 🤔
Lots of clips about ceramic coatings on TH-cam but my question is to do with fine swirls and scratches that have accumulated over the last two years despite very careful washing and maintenance since applying Gtechniq CSL and topped up with C2v3. Can a ceramic coating be cut and polished in order to reduce or eliminate these very fine defects without having to remove it completely. The logic would suggest that even when the coating cured to a much more robust harder surface than wax then if it can be marked then surely it would be possible to cut and polish it back to what it looked like when first applied. No??
awesome question. First thing.. Products like Carpro essence or total one essential by tac systems. Can be used to repair or fill fine scratches in a coating car. (as well as being used as a primer for coatings) However. If you had perfect paint. Then you applied a coating. And you see swirls. Heres the bad news. The swirls are through the coating. Typically you have say about 50 microns of clearcoat on your car. You CSL coating will be less than 1 micron. Thats 1 thousands of a millimeter thick. Vritually all scratches are deeping that this. If you put 2-3 layers of a high solids pro grade coating on.. you might have 1-3 microns of material there. In this instance some very very fine scratches that you wont realy be able to see may be in the coating only rather than the clearcoat. So really when you apply a coating I would just leave it along for the shelf life of the coating.. that do a light polish degrease and reapplying. The coating itself will not save your car from scratches, its way way way too thin.. but it lasts longer and should repel contamination longer so in 2 years time hopefully you have done less damage to the car.. The real benefits of using a ceramic coating in reality are tiny.
Great information which attracts more intelligent and experienced people to the comment section to share good info. My take away is that while these products have implications for exterior paint, they may be a perfect product to protect and maintain aluminum wheels, calipers, etc that have severe oxidation and dirt embedding issues [where I live]. These are trouble areas of a car that are difficult to maintain and never get cut or polished thus could be well served by these products without any real compromise. No? Btw, do these coatings also offer UV protection?
hey there, they generally claim UV protection as well. Is it worth using them on wheels, calipers. I think so. had REALLY good results from using it on alloys. G tech C5 I thought was excellent. painted calipers yes. I might even test it out on wheel hubs.
Nice video as always ! The big cons of ceramic coating is for old paint, it can crack on it, the reason is that the coating makes the paint super dry ...
Another great video Jon, I love your honesty. One other potential negative I’d suggest is the longevity. As you said at the start of the video, the manufacturers make some really outlandish claims about their products. I’ve never had a ceramic coating last anywhere near as long as the manufacturer claimed, even when maintained fastidiously.
Hello rob xtreme vinyl wrap studio from Melbourne Australia I signed the ceramic coating absolutely fabulous of what I actually do with wrapping vehicles you can't you can but you can't polish vinyl or wax it because it is already on the vinyl but ceramic coating is perfect perfect I personally think it's made for vinyl more than paint because as you said you can't polish it after ceramic coating it so the products I use is on Amazon it's a vivid g coding I think it's called haha anyway it's around 60 Bob but otherwise I've tried the $12 bottles and they work just as good for my clients enuff said great video thank you very much
hi, still loving the videos outstanding buddy, have you ever tried Diamondbrite. I know I have swirls in the paintwork, I was thinking of trying this One Finish Polish by Diamondbrite. Just wanting your thoughts
I recently used the AvalonKing ceramic coating, it turned out crap. I do not have the dual action polisher/buffer, I do not have all the products required, I do not have the time nor the emotional desire to do all the prep work. It turned as expected, like shit. Oh well. I'm going to just buff on some wax this week and be done with it. I just used compound after washing the truck, and it wasn't enough, there was no glossy shine, and a little windy rain storm a week after I put the ceramic left dirt and water spots all over it. Ceramic is just not my bucket of fish, not for me.
IMO, the Cons outweigh the Pros. Until they come out with a Star Trek style forcefield, I'll stick with high grade carnauba wax. However, what I would do is put this on my windows. I've seen a couple companies offer formulas specifically for glass which is supposed to be like a SUPER RainX.
3 products. Soft 99 Fusso, Soft 99 Kiwami and Sonax BSD. All together will cost you roughly same price as a ceramic coating product. Use them interchangeably and you're golden. Fusso will last 9-12 months prepped correctly, top with kiwami after 1 day, then top with Sonax BSD every month or so or just top Kiwami every 3 months. Have a play around with Sonax BSD and Kiwami applied at different times but the Fusso is a monster sealant and the game changer here. End of the day, we all know why we're here, we love to keep on top of the car so enjoy applying these products rather than spend a fortune on a ceramic coat.
you could just get a bottle of seal and shine for 3-4 quid and it would do what all 3 do as well.... the thing with the ceramics is the materials are legitimate different. Harder more complicated resins which are harder to manfacture and formulate and develope etc.. Harder to apply... for sure though your right ceramics are not for sort of 99% of the market.
You mention not being able to polish and it made me wonder. If you ceramic coat a car and several months down the road, you develop some swirl marks, does polish not have enough grit to remove those swirl marks from the coating? I'm going to be doing some spot polishing tests on my fresh coating on a black car to see if I can answer my own question.
a swirl will never be in the coating really. or let me say it like this. you have 50 microns of clearcoat for example your ceramic coating is less than 1 micron (1 thousandth of a millimeter). If you want to polish a coated car check out things like carpro essensce or essence plus. which fill more than remove are the way to go.
Bro I am having some doubts: 1) is wax and wax polish are same? 2) Is the wax polish doing the work of wax as well as polish? Don't I need to apply wax or polish separately? 3) Does applying "Wax polish or Wax" prevent scratches (I am not asking, does it remove scratches. I am asking does it prevent the paint surface FROM scratches)? 4) if I apply wax and polish separately, whether I have to apply wax after polish or before polish?....... Please give me replay. Bcause I am having this question for quit a long period, but still I don't have the answer. So please give me replay.
yo joseph 1) is wax and polish the same: in the detailing scene no.. A polish contains abrasives generally and abrasives improve the surface by burnishing or refining.. A wax is thought of to be non abrasive or not containing abrasives (unless its specifically a wax and polish in one) it makes a surface shiny by filling imperfections and leaving a layer or wax behind which is glossy... However just to make it more confusing in the actual product manufacturing industry a wax is referred to as a polish a lot of times :( 2) Is the wax polish doing the work of a wax as well as a polish.. In this video the polish is rapid renovator plus.. so thats improving the finish of the car through abrasion.. the abrasives are stripping the white oxsidized layer off the car to reveal nice glossy paint below and its also refining and improving the finish of the paint. This car has no clearcoat and its rare for modern cars to not have clearcoat 99% of cars made today have clearcoat. Wind the clock back 15 years and it was say 90-95%.. most have clearcoat. but the principle is the same you refine the surface of the clearcoat to make it look all glossy. After I polished the car with abrasives I put a paste wax on the surface to lock the polishing oils in the paint a bit more but also create a protective glossy later over the car. 3) Does a wax prevent scratches. basically no. some waxes could argue they contain materials which might low surface friction and reduce some scratch related marring but its not at a level you can measure.. basically waxes sealants provide no scratch resistence. 4) polish you use to refine the clearcoat.. after you use it you remove it (buff it off) think of it as talc powder mixed with oil.. (kind of) it wont make the paint look shiny it will make it look like its covered in vaseline type thing. so you always polish before you wax (unless you using some sort of combo abrasive polish and wax product).. wax dont on afterwards. hope that helps mate.
@@ForensicDetailing thank you so much and it is really helpful. Actually I don't have words to say, because as I said in my above comment, I was having those questions for quit a long period of time. Now it's clear. Thank SO MUCH.
My 20+ year old car never ever had a ceramic coating applied, only basic polishes and waxes which was meguiar's and other good brands over those years and once every 6 months or so in fact, i would go over the car with good polish and then wax it and to date i had people say the cars paint surface looks like new as far as its age and condition, also the car was left out in the weather most of the time. Also the only areas which are hard to make sure the paint and clear is at a very good condition and hard to keep is the paint surface directly behind each wheel and also the front end of the car, other than those areas the rest of the car looked great in fact. :) So if anything if it was around at the time i would have got a good quality vinyl wrap on the front end and maybe just behind the front wheels and rear wheels and then when its time to sell the car get rid of the wrap and detail the complete car. :)
What are possible reasons for a ceramic coating to fail prematurely? I did everything according to gyeon's manual except that I used 50/50 IPA to degrease (2x). The coating was gone on the back of the car after only 6 weeks.
Do ceramic coatings bead water a few hours after application or do they only start beading when they're fully cured? I applied Cquartz UK to a test hood and now 12 hours later I made a test if the coating bonded with the surface, but nothing's happening. Did I mess up or am I just too impatient?
My friend. its impossible for me to say if you messed up... but a coating should cure to like 95% of its hardness in a small ish space of time and then like continue to reach full hardness in like 5-7 days. but it varies Im just trying to give you an example I have to be carefull because people have quote me on these replies when they contact the manufacturer with issues. The coating should be hydrophobic after a short space of time. Be aware of application temperature and humidity requirements. This time of year the cold humid conditions can cause issues.
@@ForensicDetailing Thanks for your answer. I promise I will not quote you on anything you say here. 😂 one thing that is pretty interesting to me is that the cloth I applied the coating with also hasn't turned hard. Maybe it just needs another few hours to fully cure.
I would like to just share my thoughts because I think if you do it yourself they arent more expensive than a high quality wax that you need to lay many times a year. Also the wetcoats and sio2 detailers that you have for maintenence arent more expensive then many other polymer? versions like for example meguiars d115 ive used before in tje washbucket and other detailing sprays and i always use them as a lubricant to my dryingtowel when drying the paint to avoid marring so in my case i think the costs are the same more or less. A big plus is the chemical resistance of ceramic coatings, you can bath the car in degreasers and strong alkaline products (if you want to) etc but with a wax you would need to reply again. It took my old meguiars m21 syntetic sealent(claimed to have 1year durability) one wash with degreaser to strip it completly. Bird droppings is something ive had problems with to (last case with megs m21), with ceramics you dont need to wetsand the marks after a sunny day haha. But as you say the preping and laying of ceramic coatings is many times more time consuming and humidity and temp must be under control as well. And its quite difficult acctually when doing the top of the line coatings that flashes very fast. And you cant polish heavier scratches when you have your coating on I think I will polish my car after two summers either way but it should be more protected against marring and hologramming from washes with a ceramic coating. So under that period of time it will look better than with a sealent or wax. If your not an diy and would pay to get your car coated its very diffrent. To spend maybe 1000-1500quid for a premium polishing and coating is another deal. I wouldnt do a coating either then. As allways top video and top information Jon! I get excited every time I see you have a new video released!
Great video with awesome advice and objectivity! How do ceramic's work on your lights and windshield? How do wipers react? Do you use the same base coat on glass and rims? Thanks, Scott
That was very informative. Thank you. I wanted to ask, if I top up the ceramic coating with a non abrasive glaze and a wax coat like once in 3 months, would it harm the ceramic coating?
not really but part of having the ceramic coating package is because it has good self cleaning characterisitcs and dirt repellency.. putting a wax on top of it is like gonna loose all of that. so for me really if you sign up to using ceramics you prolly want to maintain the coating the recomended way to get the most out of it lakshay.
I would love to see you review HydroSilux Recharge. It's advertised as an "easy to use" spray on Ceramic coating. Not many reviews on it at all on TH-cam.
Very informative video thanks. I’m taking delivery of a new Audi soon, the dealership tried to sell me a paint protection package, basically a ceramic coating. I declined as to be honest I’d rather have the coating applied by a trusted detailer. I may be being over cautious, have you any experience of dealership applied ceramic coating, good or bad. Thanks
Based on the fact that dealers are not usually professional detailers and will leave swirl marks from their own cleaning of the vehicle before delivering it to you, I would not trust them to get the paint to the flawless finish you'd want before applying ceramic coatings. That's mainly why you're paying a professional detailer to do this -- getting your factory paint to its best possible condition before applying the ceramic coat.
What about sealants? If you can’t or don’t want to do a ceramic coating (in my case not sure it’s worth the cost). Aren’t sealants the best of both worlds? Cheap, easy to apply, durable and then just wax on top. Any thoughts.
Thank you for taking the time to do this video. This is a topic many of the detailing channels don't cover. I've been gearing up to do a ceramic coating on my car but now I am considering just putting on a sealant and replenishing that more frequently. To me the plus of the ceramic coating is that it lasts longer but that also means it has to be maintained properly too. A lot to consider. Thank you.
I Drive a black car which was a night mare to maintain and keep clean. Also every time I washed it I would discover new scratches and swirl marks. But a year and a half ago I fitted the Ceramic Pro Gold package, which is 4 layers of ceramic coating and a super hydrophobic coating over the ceramic.
The car is now much easier to maintain and clean. I now actually just wash without even touching the paint. (high pressure Rinse, foam wash, and rinse again then blow it dry with a blower) Only the wheels get touched during cleaning. Much quicker to wash. And after a year and a half I still have no swirl marks or scratches so the resistance to marring is great. Also I can drive through rain on a road trip and when through the rain the water beads and blows off and the car is still clean when I get to my destination which is something I could never do. The only downside I have is that you cant polish it to boost the shine even more. But the coating has given it a deeper, clearer gloss over what it had and I am happy with that. And the cost, The cost was the biggest thing but to me was worth it given the ease of cleaning and maintaining and that I have not yet gotten any scratches on my paint since then.
I Will be adding this from the showroom floor to any further cars I purchse
you have no swirls of scratches because you are not touching the paint .these ceramic coatings do little to prevent scratches.
I'm laughing cause I own a black car,it looks fantastic when it's clean,a full five seconds!
Question I have an 18 suv and it already has swirls
I go to the car wash at least 2 times a week
Will it be better after I do the ceramic
I have been using Crystal Serum Light and EXOv3 topper for the last few years on customer and personal vehicles and motor cycles. Very impressed with the products and how they have survived the Canadian winters.
The customers that I target for the coating are the people that don't want to play with their cars every weekend and want to wash the vehicle at the local wand car wash places. I recommend coatings to these people because the coatings can take the higher PH of soap that the car washes use. These style of customers are also usually ok with using a product like C2V3 a couple of times per year on their own.
For the person that likes to work on the vehicle sealants is where I put them. For the waxes.... well those are for the prep for the car show to have that perfect glow for the judges.
As for the reflectability (if that is a word?) the coatings do a good job on enhancing your polishing job. As we all know it's the quality of the polishing that gives the great shine for your toppers.
Great job Jon..... Keep it up sir
Thanks for this. I was just about to buy all the necessary stuff for a coating, spending a ton of cash. But then I came across this videos that really talks about the negatives. I love putting wax on, and trying different stuff, which in turn makes the coating a bad choice. Thanks!
John, you’re a gent and a scholar for doing this realistic presentation on the pros and cons of Ceramic Coatings. I’ve yet to delve into the world of coating mine and the wife’s car but was certainly on the fence thinking of doing it. After watching this informative piece i am very much a polish and wax man! I find it extremely therapeutic to spend the time in my own little world buffing and waxing. To not be able to do this if the cars were coated wouldn’t be right, what would i do instead.....diy! 😭😂. Thanks again for an informative and non biased presentation, i like how you always leave it up to the individual to make there own decisions on whats best for them, we are all different at the end of the day anyway. 🍻
Here in Finland there is lots road salt during winters and it wont come off unless you use tar remover which strip any sealant pretty easily. Good ceramic coating wont die from those heavy solvent based cleaners.
Salt is one of the hardest krystal in the world, you dont get that of you Just movie it around, but you have salt away !
@jtm1979, what kind of salt do they use in Finland? Calcium/Magnesium Chloride? Urea? Where I live in the US (Philadelphia) they just use Sodium Chloride, and it dissolves in water easily. Very easy to wash off.
@@incognitotorpedo42 In the nordics they use calcium chloride.
I have been doing paint correction and auto detailing for 25 years. body and paint work for 2 years professionally. I love your channel. its nice to freshen up on what I already know and learn new things. I have been telling my customers to stay away from ceramic and especially silicone coatings, They make it very hard fix imperfections and god forbid if I have to paint and blend the panel. These coatings are hell in the body shop.
Hey John, I think you have to consider what you like for yourself. If you're a fan of waxing then stay away from the coatings.
When you don't have the ability to polish your car to perfection then don't put a ceramic coating on top of it. Also for people who don't have a garage and have to work outside it isn't the ideal place to put a coating on a car. It looks easy when you see people doing it but there can be going so mutch wrong. I use a lot of ceramic coatings as a professional detailer. Most of my clients are people that have no time to wash there cars and drive to carwash. There asking to put a coating on there car because they want to decrease the quantity of scratches. I'm honest to tell them the disadvantages of a coating and that it isn't the holy grail. I do have a problem with people or brands who are making advertisement about there products that it doesn't scratch, it has like 40% more gloss and so on. It's just not the reality. And not everyone is spending the time we do on our cars to keep them clean or spending 2 day's for a little bit more gloss :D .That's my honest opinion about the pros and cons.
I did my Audi S6 with 2 coats of UK 3.0 and Gliss. It’s awesome. Nothing sticks and the shine is mirrorlike. Love it!
As a detailing enthusiast I don’t think they’re for me. I don’t like the permanence and not being able to polish or apply other products which I enjoy doing. For the general consumer who takes their car to a detailer to make it look nice but isn’t interested beyond that I totally get it. I did actually just use a coating on my new wheels though, and I think coatings make a ton of sense for that.
11:20 That's not entirely true with CQuartz. CarPro has a relatively new product, called Essence+, which you can use on a ceramic coating, like you'd any abrasive paint correction compound (ie. with a machine polisher), and which can supposedly correct minor scratches in the coating, without stripping the latter.
Now I'm saying "supposedly", because I myself didn't give it a try yet, but according to the product description it works by not abrading the coat, but filling up the scratches, however, with a stuff that's practically the same as what the coating is made of (SiO2), and what - unlike traditional waxes - can bound very strongly to the existing coat, thus essentially sealing the valleys of the scratches "for life", and preventing them from reappearing, as the filler disintegrates, which would be the case with traditional waxes.
I think the polish-like application method (ie. machine polishing) is used to create that strong bond, through using the heat that's generated, and using the force exerted by the polisher/polishing, to push the correcting compound really into the coat layer. But don't quote me on that, because CarPro doesn't really go into detail how it actually works at the technical level, and I'm just theoretizing there.
true dat gabor, theres always an exception to the rule :)
Gábor Bérczi I know Essence+ works at doing that. Saw a couple of videos of it. How long it actually lasts I don't know.
Thanks for this excellent video, Jon. I am fed up two days after washing and drying my black car that it gets covered in 'dirty' rain or road grime. I knew nothing of ceramic coating, but had hoped that it would allow me to simply hose the dirt off and not spend another hour having to snow foam and hand wash again. I right to assume that ceramic is no better than a well applied quality sealant
I do not get many swirls or scratches, so occasionally use a very fine polish and sealant. Neither do I wish to continually have to top up ceramic more often than I would apply sealant. I do not have a garage or cover so rely on a few hours of dry wind free weather when detailing.
So thank you for saving me £50 and many wasted disappointing hours faffing about.
Thanks for listing down the negatives. I was thinking of installing a ceramic coating on my daily vehicle but now I am not so sure. I do appreciate that the coating gives an additional of protection, doesn't mar as easily as the clear coat as well as makes it easier to clean, but I am live in a country with significant amount of rainfall and sunny weather, which makes water spotting a significant concern. Also, if get into a minor fender bender or I get scratches on my vehicle, it makes it that much more troublesome to rectify.
CarPro Essence PLUS is as close to "polishing" a coated car as you'll get without wearing the coating down. It "repairs" the minor marks in the coating by filling them with SiO2. Brilliant product too.
I know it’s and old video, but I recently bought a used Cayman that had been professionally ceramic coated with Shelby product. The owner gave me their QD, which i use as a drying aid. I was using Bilt Hamber Auto wash, but now that’s running low I bought the Shelby Ceramic shampoo. The car was clearly properly treated before coating as it’s beautiful and easy to wash, with no contaminants felt under my mitt.
These days I’m too lazy to wax - the BMW it replaced was last waxed over a year ago - so ceramic seems ideal for me at the moment.
I also have their waterless ceramic wash, which I plan to use as a quick detailer between washes if I get rain spots or light dirt on it.
I have used the Car Pro 2016 C Quartz coating on my Lexus (not UK version). The application was difficult, with streaking which required to be buffed off on some panels (I followed the directions however heat and humidity play into removal times). The C Quartz did not last a Canadian winter, most of the coating had failed over a 6 month period. During the fall of 2017, I prepared the car again with a cut & polish, etc, using Car Pro Essence, then applied two layers of Exo V3. The coating has been on for approximately 4 months and seems to be holding up well. The vehicle typically only gets washed once or twice during the winter due to below freezing temperatures and wet, salty roads. I am a Car Pro fan, with many of their excellent products, but the Gtechniq CSL and Exo V3 in my experience seem to offer long-lasting protection with ease of application.
Doug Green Still working?
I was considering doing a ceramic coating in the future, since I didn't want to have to do so much work every 6 months or so to reapply a glaze and sealant on my car. I know polishing would help but I don't want to remove any clear coat. After hearing this I changed my mind. Extra time, extra money, still need to some maintenance every 6 months, no thank you. This was very helpful and saved me time and money.
Ceramic coatings certainly have a market and how huge it has grown, for the customer who buys into its fine, for the beeders and the glossers it can look good from a distance for many a car owner, but for detailers and those with an eye it kinda locks you out from refining
I still think fusso coat is the best way to keep my car protected. I like that nostalgic "old school" feeling of waxing my car. It lasts a long way, cheap, and can be ripped off easily with some high concentration IPA or high ph product. Best regards from Brazil.
I was sold Gen 3 for a car that I told the dealer I would be green laning and off roading and he said it would be perfect for me and theses "scratchy narrow lanes" I was impressed with it as marks from light brushing up against bushes would wipe away. However, I have scratched though it now and the dealer is back tracking. I think the problem is as you say they have been miss sold and I've fallen into that trap. If I knew its limitations I would have still bought it. But I was told it would protect me from hedge scratches and the put it on spaceships... There are no holly bushes in space! And it dose not.. Its is still very good.
The key to a coating is to polish the paint to near perfection before application. That way, you won't have to polish it again until the coating is worn down to the point where you can compound and polish it again.
Or you can use something like CarPro Essence+ to refine the coating.
I'm using Gtechniq CSL, but I'm pretty sure Essence+ would work on it if I needed it.
Agreed - I think the issue is that some people are using better lighting to see blemishes during that polishing phase, while others are doing a quick polish/or no polish, then leading themselves into a corner with more problems later on.
Glad you went into the down side of these coating John, I can't remember a single video explaining the pit falls as you have done, i decided when they first came out i would only use them on the wheels and lights......and what have used on the blue beemer, she looks really good....the dogs...regards rich.
I’m like you buddy, I love doing a full detail on my car. It’s very therapeutic. I’ll spend all day doing a full detail but it’s worth it as my car looks great for months and is so easy to do in between washes. Thanks again for your videos and your fair insights😉
Very nice job on this review! I've got a new car coming my way end march and have been considering putting a ceramic on it. These last few weeks I've been on youtube every chance I got watching reviews about them and I've finally started to come to the conclusion that I don't feel like going through the hassle of putting a ceramic on. I will admit thats the main reason is the fear of it going wrong due to the fact I have to work outside and the expectations I have from these ceramics. (Good thing that you mentioned this) When I mention "hassle" I do only mean the coating itself potentially going wrong as I do have the intension of paint correcting my new daily driver. I think a good long lasting sealant or wax to be applied by hand or machine polisher is the way to go for me. The way things are looking for the moment, Koch chemie's 1K nano sealant looks pretty good to me. Yet again, thanks for this very informative video!
Thank you. You are the only one who has truly told the negatives. I have looked all over utube. I don’t want to use it but I feel like to many people make it something it’s not.
You are right on the money in this video. I use a coating on my daily driver and it helps with reducing maintenance but it's no miracle and the paint needs to be corrected and another coating applied after about 2-3 years.
Also my last Subaru seemed to have very soft clear coat and it would get swirls just by looking at it wrong. That's when I decided to correct it and apply a coating. Once I put on the ceramic, I could actually wash and dry the car without destroying the finish.
Knowledge is power!
Thanks for your honest views. There is so much hype around ceramics that I had been thinking of applying to our cars. Not because I hate waxing etc but because I thought gloss etc results would be better. Will stick to my waxing (Naviwax) regime with Bead Maker or another spray as a topper to maintain protection.
I just tried the turtle wax flex with graphene and the vehicle looks amazing. Dripping wet look supper glossy.
Real easy to apply took about 20 to 30 mins for 1 coat.
It's not a full permanent professional ceramic coating but in other review videos they are doing harsh chemical tests on it and its hold up 6 months . In the real world should hold up even longer with normal washing.
Great video Jon the only point I would add is that some of these points are only valid with consumer product. It would be interesting to review pro coatings to help people who fancy more durable coatings or who want their car professionally detailed decide on a coating
totally agree I think if you get a professional to do it. you kind of remove some of the negatives around application and maintainance risks. You could also get more performance as well. Its hard to generalize but if you have never machined a car before I wouldnt personally recomend trying to apply one of these product.
@@ForensicDetailing what's the most durable ceramic coating? What is a good one?
Timely vid Jon and this area and topic I have been commenting a lot lately on , “What about Down The Road” after applying CC. This was definitely needed to enlighten all those that may have not considered the DTR factor. CC’s are good, but not the next step to better protection, only an option. In the UK with the horrible weather, rain, grime CC’s help, but not all suffer the UK anymore. 10mins down the road your pampering is smashed and your soul detroyed.
I have CC on my car, but feel restrained from what I can do to it when I want to use my car care time pampering it. When travelling to the UK its a blessing though.
In all, excellent follow up to the CC vids and very much needed to give a better understanding they are not a panacea body protection.
Thank you! This video has held up well. I just put Klasse on my 2019 Corvette. I like that it lasts several times longer than wax. In reality the prep is it. Once you prep, how would you like to maintain the shine? The more I think about it, the more I see ceramic coatings as a product for the guy who doesn't enjoy spending time detailing.
klasse is acyrlic I think. You could use Sonus acrylic spritz or the carlack detailer to complitment it.
I think its beneficial to apply foam cannon spray on rinse off sealants like autosmart aqua seal pro si02 over any ceramic coatings after every wash as it takes 5 min to maintain the underlying original ceramic coating intact for much longer.
Not sure about the chemistry though and if mismatched si02 products will harm the ceramic coating.
Other negatives about ceramic coatings are how you can't use anything that's not ph neutral to clean the car.
Expensive ph neutral chemicals to remove dead bugs, ph neutral for wheels too.
When you put on a ceramic coating you gotta take care of it like its a new born baby lol
Great video.... I’ve just ordered a new car and have been offered a ceramic coating. However, I’m not sure I need it. I’m in the U.K, do about 8k miles a year, keep the car garaged and cleaned probably once a month. I’m beginning to think a professional Valet and Wax a couple of times a year in addition to regular monthly cleaning ought to be sufficient?
The part i like more is it is much much easier to keep it clean as almost everything comes off without any hassle at all...bugs and such require no scrubbing or special cleaners. Living in canada with 3+ months being below 5°C and lots of snow that is the main reason I did ceramic coat my car. I was worried about the possibility of minor scratches or wanting a gloss top up like waxing but with CarPro Essence+ they have us covered there.
Since I started using Fusso coat I really haven't seen the need to go to ceramic coatings. It does interest me, but to lose the ability to polish sucks and I really enjoy topping up every couple of months.
Thanks so much for your videos, I have a similar opinion. Alot of detailers are posting up videos of how glossy are car is that they just coated. It was all in the prep and hats off to them for that hard work and skill. These coatings will loose gloss over time especially if a "normal" person does not know or hasnt been told how to maintain them. Many people who say "ive got ceramic so I just hose it down and shammy my car" then complain why is it swirling and spotting and have to pay someone to do it all over again. Your videos very educational I will show these to customers who are adamant their mate got ceramic and I need it aswell.
Ceramics are great way to protect the neglected family wagon that’s lucky to get washed from time to time. But for our loved cars. The show cars, the trophy cars, dads own special car etc then it’s wax for me. If it’s regularly cleaned and cared for then I don’t think ceramic is required. Just my opinion. And because I enjoy waxing and detailing my car but can’t be bothered doing the same for the family wagon.
Exactly. Or even a wax hybrid like collinite 845 that gives crazy protection long lasting + shine. Cermiac coating is a one time thing that last 2 years IMO why pay for a premium like that when you can wax every week if you like or use collinite 845 2 to 3 times a year
Ceramic coating would be great for a trophy car also since it’ll be much easier to clean and offer more protection than wax.
One huge plus is the resistance to chemicals and contamination (I get much less tar and iron with a ceramic coating than I can with a sealant or wax). But on the flip side now you got me itching to polish off my coating and go back to using waxes. Great video.
yes much more chemical resistence good point. waxes will always be cool. but in a way its nice we have the choice of these as well
Another great video, thank you, I have used SiRamiK Glass coat SC15 which is a prosumer product, and Migliore Strata Coating, out of the 2 I found the Migliore product both easier to apply and it gave a better finish, my last car had SiRamiK Glasscoat ATP coatings which is a 3 step coating with the final coat of diamas professionali, the finish from these products was superb and I am comparing it to Zymol Royale Glaze! The coatings repelled dirt tar etc far better than anything I have ever experienced before, after a 2000 mile trip to Switzerland and back the car still looked clean even though I had driven through rain storms etc, it’s just a shame they were pro detailed only products! On my next car I am trying Gtechniq Crystal serum light topped with EXO V3.
Everyone only shares why coatings are awesome. This is the first video where anyone has even discussed the negatives of coatings. Can't get enough of your videos =D
thanks william. I think its important to talk about negatives, just have to try and keep it reasonably constructive. I am sold on ceramics though. I think they are cool. just a fair amount of work.
You where spot on! I prefer a wax and seal than ceramic. I like the gyeon syncro but i work on a lot of daily drivers and often come in for an extra polish.
Cleaning alloy wheels is always a time consuming process. Have you coated alloy wheels with ceramic coating and what did you think ?
Given smaller surface areas, poorer application probably would not matter as much as on large body panels. It surely would pay dividends over the laborious task of wheel cleaning regime.
I do like the waxing and trying different products so probably will not use ceramic coating for body as a hobby detailer.
I have just finished detailing my wheels using ceramic coating and whilst it was a time consuming project to prep, was fairly straight forward to apply. Will install on car after a few days when it has cured.
Great information on the video by the way!
I used ceramic coatings and traditional polishes and sealants, here are my thoughts and experiences;
Ceramics are great for wheels, plastics, and new car paints, other than that a traditional good polish and glossy sealant is unmatched.
Tbh a big point for me is the inability to use abrasives or maybe a simple minor ding repair without having the ceramic coating taking back and then reapplied after, I know of VERY few people who don’t acquire stone chips, minor scratches, Trolley dents over time this just seems to make such issues even more of a hassle to sort?
yes it does.
Think this needs to be revisited with the amount of top up spray products in the market. How has the industry changed and is it now a good option ?
I've done 5 vehicles with GTechniqs Crystal Serum Light. They've been on the cars almost 2 years now. They've been well maintain with proper wash techniques and the use of C2v3 once every other month at full strength and also diluted 1:1 with distilled water as a detail spray. The cars stay cleaner longer in the summer but it's the Ohio winters where they really help protect from salt that before not product would last days or weeks let alone 2 whole winters and come out of them with products on the car. Chrome wheels last only a year but theres no pitting or rust on them. You still can't run them through car washes and expect no swirling nor will they protect you from parking lot ding and scratches but cleaning is a lot easier.If you buy them on sale and DIY it's really reasonable to keep a car looking it's best year round with a little more work and money up front but more than make it up in the long term.
Loving these videos on coatings. I was looking to get into ceramic coatings and I came across a Japanese company called Kamikaze Collection. They aren't really well known from what it seems but the quality seems up there in the current market. What really caught my attention was the Infinity Wax as it combines carnauba and ceramic coatings in one product. (probably the most interesting product i have seen yet). So, I was hoping I could get an opinion from you or possibly a review on their products in the future before I pull the trigger on anything.
hey nick, may well do mate who knows. Id be interested to take a look and I may well buy the wax as well. but dont wait for me to review it could take like months theres a bit of a backlog at the moment mate.
Awesome! thank you so much to at least give it a thought. And no worries, I'll be sticking to my waxing regiment until I can save up enough money as it is.
cheers Nick all the best mate
I'm a bit confused with the issue towards not being able to polish after applying the coating. I believe the idea is you polish and refine the paintwork to essentially a perfect finish and then apply the coating. The coating is then supposed to protect any further damage from coming to the paintwork. So why would there actually be any need to do polishing after the coating has been applied? Also just noticed this video is a year old now so how have your views change if at all?
I do consider coatings often but it’s an easy decision to leave them for now as I don’t have a garage big enough to have the car in and apply them. The driveway is not ideal not only due to airborne contaminants but also because of the lighting not being right. A dark garage with spot lights is what’s needed to see where you been on application and buffing off. The upside is it leaves me to try out lots of other products that don’t require a two year commitment to one system.
You don't require a dark garage.
Another, even if not necessarily negative property of ceramic coatings, but a property you've to consider is, that they slightly alter the color tone of the vehicle and generally "dampen" metallic effect of the paint they're put on. Obviously that's unavoidable, because they have to take the light from somewhere, that they will reflect and make the surface appear shiny, and in some (if not most) cases the alteration of the color tone might even enhance the appearance of the car (especially with grays and colors that weren't very vibrant to begin with), but it's still something one should consider when evaluating the pros and cons of ceramic coating.
agree with all the negatives you highlighted Jon, but l must admit when I applied C1 and Exo2 to my Sepang blue audi the gloss levels where the best l have ever had on any of my cars, but what is stopping me from adding on one to my voodoo blue is..... Like you say, l won't be able to go and polish it by machine, so l won't be going down the ceramic route, l am just going to apply the crystal Serum and EXOv3 to my mums Daytona grey Audi instead.... As it will make her paint easier maintain, again fantastic video mate
I’ve been researching this as I’m getting a dark blue metallic new car and in my experience with my current lighter blue metallic car, after Gtecniq treatment, was that yes the shine and finish was incredible but the sparkle was defiantly reduced. Your comment is the first time I’ve had my suspicion confirmed, although I have got a number of picture from online of pre and post treatments from different manufacturers that also demonstrate what I’ve seen. Personally I don’t like this ‘side effect’, so unless I can find a coating that doesn’t do this I won’t be getting it done.
Very informative video,as always! The fact of not being able to quickly polish some 'lovemarks' out bothers me a lot!
Also the fact that you can't quickly switch to another product to put on your car if you want to kills the fun for me...
I was very attracted to coatings but after these video series I am starting to believe that they are not really for me.
I want to be able to refine the paint of my car when I want to.
I use Gyeon Wetcoat and Gyeon Cure as a standalone sealant and I think I will keep using them...
Thanks Jon for these very helpful videos.
I have a 14 Infiniti Q50 in black. The clearcoat seems super thin and I easily get scratches. So the extra protection from scratches seems worth it. I saw a detailer offering to do it for $450, im tempted but it sure is expensive.
Im really not sure about the scratch resistent side of these products yet.. but I just dont have enough experience of them to be able to comment. Ive heard people say they have seen an improvement or reduction of wash related marring when they have used them.. specially on really soft clear..
Wow that is cheap in Florida there about $1,000 to $1500 to do a car. Need to ask detailer how many steps he does before he gives your car back. Because your not to suppose drive for a day so the ceramic can dry
Thank you so much for such an objective review. Awesome!
Great info, I like the Carpro products... I used Cquartz Gliss on my wheels and getting ready to put Cquartz UK on my Lexus for the first time, also used Adams ceramic boost as a detail spray on my boat, it worked great.
I look many detailling channels and finally one has spoke about the negativites of the creamic coatings 🤩Specially about the repainting and recoating after that, its pain in the ass. Thanks for that!! 👍
By the way, is there any product who can wash the ceramic coating away or do we really have to polish it?
Thanks buddy
thanks mate.. no product can wash it away no. Needs to be abraded off..
So are the ceramic coatings that you can buy of the shelf different from the ones detailing shops use? I'm wondering because I've had zero issues and the cost for washing my car have actually gone down significantly since I put on a ceramic coating.
Yes, I do have to use a special foam and shampoo to wash my car but they are pretty much the same cost as any other product, at least where I live.
I've had my coating for almost 3 years and it still shines just as brightly as ever. Same with my dad's car that has had a ceramic coating for over 5 years.
So for me, it's not only cheaper to maintain, it has also cut down significantly on washing time and the number of times I need to wash it. Also, I don't need to panic anymore if a bird shits on my car. That, if anything, is worth any price.
We have very cold winters here and they use salt and sand to either melt the snow or make it safer to drive/walk on. That is a nightmare on cars. But with the coating on my car, even shit like that is a breeze to clean and have the car looking like it came straight out of the factory.
I have gotten a couple of chips in the paint from rocks hitting it, but the detailer that did the work fixes them for no cost(both paint and coating) if it's within the first five years of the coating.
While there was an initial cost of about £450 to do the coating, my cost for washing are on average no more then £10/month. Not counting water usage of course.
I feel like it's a no brainer if you ask me. I have a blue/black metallic car(black roof) and it looks fantastic and actually works as advertised. It's hydrophobic and has a fantastic finish for years.
Before the coating I spent probably 10x more on care products and wax for my car. So maybe this of the shelf shit has some downsides but if there are downsides to the shit the professionals use, I sure as hell haven't seen any. I'm buying a new car in a few months and I'm 100% am putting a ceramic coating on it as well.
great write up thank you so much for sharing your experience
Well said!!! They sell a lot of coatings here. My question is? What is wrong with the factory clear coat? We all know ..... nothing. really about the marketing, and even more about the $$$$. Fifty years in business..... way before the inception of the word "detailing" was ever a thought. I NEVER mislead my clients. That is how I have survived for 50 years. Home of The "invisible Garage Protection Tm. r. since 1969! Great informative video! Can I sell you the Brooklyn Bridge? How about a coating..... flip a coin, to see how much. This week.... 1250.00, what a steal. Usual price 1850.00. What is next?
Jon,what I would like to know from you is what you're going to do now now your car is coated? Are you going to compound it off or are you going to leave the coating on a few years without trying some new products on your car?
Hi. Big fan of you. Let's say I just coated my brand new silver painted wheels with sealant (Klasse SG) and now just realized how much better coating them with CarPro C5 Wheel Armour (your fault lol) would have been. Let's also say I just ordered C5 and need to remove the newly put sealant on wheel. What do I do! Clay? IPA? (if so at what %) Thanks! PS : What I have right now that could maybe work : Clay, IPA, Klasse AIO, CG Clean Slate, 3M Adhesive Remover (Pretty strong, solvent based), Menzerna 3800 Final Polish, compound, PC DA, Dawn (lol?)
get some meguiars wash plus. wash them and work the abrasives in the wash well.. Then go over them with a abrasive pre wax cleaner and a hard sponge.
Before you do the above you could start using some stronger degrease cleaners on the alloys when you wash them now to try and start breaking the sealant down.
Forensic Detailing Channel Something like Super Clean or Spray Nine?
The self cleaning aspect of coatings is really my only interest in them, and even that seems like it wouldn’t benefit my that much because I do weekly washes, and in that time the car never really manages to get filthy anyway.
I do primarily rinseless washing (hose for the tires and wheels) and using something like a spray sealant
as a drying aid is incredibly easy. If I take the 5-10 minutes every so often to apply a wax or sealant I can get a good 6 months or more without “needing” to apply more wax, so I don’t see a coating really saving me much time.
Do you find ceramic waxes to have any of the self cleaning capabilities like a coating does?
Terrific video. A critical view of products keeps you on the cutting edge. Good job
Some great points and excellent video. I think for people who don’t like detailing their cars it’s a great product if done by a professional. Me personally like to wax and bring out a mirror shine. If I get swirls it’s easy to get them out. I try and wax every 6 weeks and wash 2/3 times a week but I like a clean car. Lol most of the time I just need to foam and wash off when it needs more it’s time to wax again. Good point about repair work and blending panels. Think it could be an expensive option in the long run.
With Ceramic coating, will it protect the body against scratches when we take it to those touchless/automatic car washes?
I think what's putting myself off using these products is I have no garage and am surrounded by trees. I don't believe I would get a great finish and I do love to wax my car. Great vidz and thank you for posting them for all of us to enjoy and learn.
You can safely apply CQUK also outside. The only thing you have to pay attention to is that you do it between 10-20 degrees Celsius, and with moderate humidity, because outside of that range it will be hard to work with. It only needs one hour to cure to a level, where you can apply Reload to it, which will protect it from water and dust during the curing process. And once you do apply Reload, not even rain can interfere with the bonding - so if you make it to that point safely, you don't have to worry about getting your fresh coat messed up. Unless probably it's more like a storm, with very heavy rain - but even that only probably in the first 24 hours.
Brilliant video I have long looked at ceramics but since finding Sonax bsd that’s all I’ve needed to use for 2-3 months of shine/beading & ease of washing the next time although I do find I tend to top it up each time I wash & I mix it 70/30 with Adams quick detailer for the summer for easier application
If you live on a farm and have lots of dust on the roads then this will not work at all. I found in these conditions that Autoglym ultra high definition does the trick if you deal with dust as like me in Australia. I found that with my last car I placed a ceramic coating on and it died in 6 weeks. Not sure why. Maybe it could be dust. I prefer polishing
Great information. I'm glad I subscribed to your channel--I enjoy hearing your knowledge and experience on all aspects of paint detailing. Thank you.
Here in Philippines there a detailing shop claiming that they a coating that has 10h pencil hardness called atom6 carbon composite coating. Im bit skeptic on it. 🤔
Yeah Makoi, when people say things like that, I'd stay far, far away....
I have Opti coat pro plus on my cars. Coating is great as long as you maintain it with optimum products.
Lots of clips about ceramic coatings on TH-cam but my question is to do with fine swirls and scratches that have accumulated over the last two years despite very careful washing and maintenance since applying Gtechniq CSL and topped up with C2v3. Can a ceramic coating be cut and polished in order to reduce or eliminate these very fine defects without having to remove it completely. The logic would suggest that even when the coating cured to a much more robust harder surface than wax then if it can be marked then surely it would be possible to cut and polish it back to what it looked like when first applied. No??
awesome question. First thing.. Products like Carpro essence or total one essential by tac systems. Can be used to repair or fill fine scratches in a coating car. (as well as being used as a primer for coatings)
However. If you had perfect paint. Then you applied a coating. And you see swirls. Heres the bad news. The swirls are through the coating. Typically you have say about 50 microns of clearcoat on your car. You CSL coating will be less than 1 micron. Thats 1 thousands of a millimeter thick. Vritually all scratches are deeping that this.
If you put 2-3 layers of a high solids pro grade coating on.. you might have 1-3 microns of material there. In this instance some very very fine scratches that you wont realy be able to see may be in the coating only rather than the clearcoat. So really when you apply a coating I would just leave it along for the shelf life of the coating.. that do a light polish degrease and reapplying. The coating itself will not save your car from scratches, its way way way too thin.. but it lasts longer and should repel contamination longer so in 2 years time hopefully you have done less damage to the car.. The real benefits of using a ceramic coating in reality are tiny.
Great information which attracts more intelligent and experienced people to the comment section to share good info. My take away is that while these products have implications for exterior paint, they may be a perfect product to protect and maintain aluminum wheels, calipers, etc that have severe oxidation and dirt embedding issues [where I live]. These are trouble areas of a car that are difficult to maintain and never get cut or polished thus could be well served by these products without any real compromise. No?
Btw, do these coatings also offer UV protection?
hey there, they generally claim UV protection as well. Is it worth using them on wheels, calipers. I think so. had REALLY good results from using it on alloys. G tech C5 I thought was excellent. painted calipers yes. I might even test it out on wheel hubs.
Nice video as always !
The big cons of ceramic coating is for old paint, it can crack on it, the reason is that the coating makes the paint super dry ...
Oh I wondered why people say it cracked on them, so is that the only reason? How much do you know about ceramic coatings?
Another great video Jon, I love your honesty. One other potential negative I’d suggest is the longevity. As you said at the start of the video, the manufacturers make some really outlandish claims about their products. I’ve never had a ceramic coating last anywhere near as long as the manufacturer claimed, even when maintained fastidiously.
TurboTonyG which coatings are you talking about?
The coating would reduce my bonding time with my Corvette.....can’t have that!
Hello rob xtreme vinyl wrap studio from Melbourne Australia I signed the ceramic coating absolutely fabulous of what I actually do with wrapping vehicles you can't you can but you can't polish vinyl or wax it because it is already on the vinyl but ceramic coating is perfect perfect I personally think it's made for vinyl more than paint because as you said you can't polish it after ceramic coating it so the products I use is on Amazon it's a vivid g coding I think it's called haha anyway it's around 60 Bob but otherwise I've tried the $12 bottles and they work just as good for my clients enuff said great video thank you very much
hi, still loving the videos outstanding buddy, have you ever tried Diamondbrite. I know I have swirls in the paintwork, I was thinking of trying this One Finish Polish by Diamondbrite. Just wanting your thoughts
I have not mate no.
I recently used the AvalonKing ceramic coating, it turned out crap. I do not have the dual action polisher/buffer, I do not have all the products required, I do not have the time nor the emotional desire to do all the prep work. It turned as expected, like shit. Oh well. I'm going to just buff on some wax this week and be done with it. I just used compound after washing the truck, and it wasn't enough, there was no glossy shine, and a little windy rain storm a week after I put the ceramic left dirt and water spots all over it. Ceramic is just not my bucket of fish, not for me.
prep is key for sure.
IMO, the Cons outweigh the Pros. Until they come out with a Star Trek style forcefield, I'll stick with high grade carnauba wax.
However, what I would do is put this on my windows. I've seen a couple companies offer formulas specifically for glass which is supposed to be like a SUPER RainX.
was thinking about going ceramic until now... i'll stick to my Wolfgang deep gloss sealant. i can apply 102, 202 etc... when needed
3 products. Soft 99 Fusso, Soft 99 Kiwami and Sonax BSD. All together will cost you roughly same price as a ceramic coating product. Use them interchangeably and you're golden. Fusso will last 9-12 months prepped correctly, top with kiwami after 1 day, then top with Sonax BSD every month or so or just top Kiwami every 3 months. Have a play around with Sonax BSD and Kiwami applied at different times but the Fusso is a monster sealant and the game changer here.
End of the day, we all know why we're here, we love to keep on top of the car so enjoy applying these products rather than spend a fortune on a ceramic coat.
you could just get a bottle of seal and shine for 3-4 quid and it would do what all 3 do as well.... the thing with the ceramics is the materials are legitimate different. Harder more complicated resins which are harder to manfacture and formulate and develope etc.. Harder to apply... for sure though your right ceramics are not for sort of 99% of the market.
Do you think ceramic coatings are useful for motorcycles, especially as they’re a mix of metal and plastic fairings?
You mention not being able to polish and it made me wonder. If you ceramic coat a car and several months down the road, you develop some swirl marks, does polish not have enough grit to remove those swirl marks from the coating? I'm going to be doing some spot polishing tests on my fresh coating on a black car to see if I can answer my own question.
a swirl will never be in the coating really. or let me say it like this. you have 50 microns of clearcoat for example your ceramic coating is less than 1 micron (1 thousandth of a millimeter). If you want to polish a coated car check out things like carpro essensce or essence plus. which fill more than remove are the way to go.
@@ForensicDetailing Thanks for the reply! I'll check out essence.
Bro I am having some doubts: 1)
is wax and wax polish are same? 2) Is the wax polish doing the work of wax as well as polish? Don't I need to apply wax or polish separately? 3) Does applying "Wax polish or Wax" prevent scratches (I am not asking, does it remove scratches. I am asking does it prevent the paint surface FROM scratches)? 4) if I apply wax and polish separately, whether I have to apply wax after polish or before polish?....... Please give me replay. Bcause I am having this question for quit a long period, but still I don't have the answer. So please give me replay.
yo joseph
1) is wax and polish the same: in the detailing scene no.. A polish contains abrasives generally and abrasives improve the surface by burnishing or refining.. A wax is thought of to be non abrasive or not containing abrasives (unless its specifically a wax and polish in one) it makes a surface shiny by filling imperfections and leaving a layer or wax behind which is glossy... However just to make it more confusing in the actual product manufacturing industry a wax is referred to as a polish a lot of times :(
2) Is the wax polish doing the work of a wax as well as a polish.. In this video the polish is rapid renovator plus.. so thats improving the finish of the car through abrasion.. the abrasives are stripping the white oxsidized layer off the car to reveal nice glossy paint below and its also refining and improving the finish of the paint. This car has no clearcoat and its rare for modern cars to not have clearcoat 99% of cars made today have clearcoat. Wind the clock back 15 years and it was say 90-95%.. most have clearcoat. but the principle is the same you refine the surface of the clearcoat to make it look all glossy. After I polished the car with abrasives I put a paste wax on the surface to lock the polishing oils in the paint a bit more but also create a protective glossy later over the car.
3) Does a wax prevent scratches. basically no. some waxes could argue they contain materials which might low surface friction and reduce some scratch related marring but its not at a level you can measure.. basically waxes sealants provide no scratch resistence.
4) polish you use to refine the clearcoat.. after you use it you remove it (buff it off) think of it as talc powder mixed with oil.. (kind of) it wont make the paint look shiny it will make it look like its covered in vaseline type thing. so you always polish before you wax (unless you using some sort of combo abrasive polish and wax product).. wax dont on afterwards.
hope that helps mate.
@@ForensicDetailing thank you so much and it is really helpful. Actually I don't have words to say, because as I said in my above comment, I was having those questions for quit a long period of time. Now it's clear. Thank SO MUCH.
What about Carpro Essence Plus what is your thoughts on that as far as a repair agent?
My 20+ year old car never ever had a ceramic coating applied, only basic polishes and waxes which was meguiar's and other good brands over those years and once every 6 months or so in fact, i would go over the car with good polish and then wax it and to date i had people say the cars paint surface looks like new as far as its age and condition, also the car was left out in the weather most of the time. Also the only areas which are hard to make sure the paint and clear is at a very good condition and hard to keep is the paint surface directly behind each wheel and also the front end of the car, other than those areas the rest of the car looked great in fact. :) So if anything if it was around at the time i would have got a good quality vinyl wrap on the front end and maybe just behind the front wheels and rear wheels and then when its time to sell the car get rid of the wrap and detail the complete car. :)
Great video. Very informative. Good job!
Excellent overview - thank you very much.
What are possible reasons for a ceramic coating to fail prematurely? I did everything according to gyeon's manual except that I used 50/50 IPA to degrease (2x). The coating was gone on the back of the car after only 6 weeks.
Do ceramic coatings bead water a few hours after application or do they only start beading when they're fully cured? I applied Cquartz UK to a test hood and now 12 hours later I made a test if the coating bonded with the surface, but nothing's happening. Did I mess up or am I just too impatient?
My friend. its impossible for me to say if you messed up... but a coating should cure to like 95% of its hardness in a small ish space of time and then like continue to reach full hardness in like 5-7 days. but it varies Im just trying to give you an example I have to be carefull because people have quote me on these replies when they contact the manufacturer with issues. The coating should be hydrophobic after a short space of time. Be aware of application temperature and humidity requirements. This time of year the cold humid conditions can cause issues.
@@ForensicDetailing Thanks for your answer. I promise I will not quote you on anything you say here. 😂 one thing that is pretty interesting to me is that the cloth I applied the coating with also hasn't turned hard. Maybe it just needs another few hours to fully cure.
I would like to just share my thoughts because I think if you do it yourself they arent more expensive than a high quality wax that you need to lay many times a year.
Also the wetcoats and sio2 detailers that you have for maintenence arent more expensive then many other polymer? versions like for example meguiars d115 ive used before in tje washbucket and other detailing sprays and i always use them as a lubricant to my dryingtowel when drying the paint to avoid marring so in my case i think the costs are the same more or less.
A big plus is the chemical resistance of ceramic coatings, you can bath the car in degreasers and strong alkaline products (if you want to) etc but with a wax you would need to reply again.
It took my old meguiars m21 syntetic sealent(claimed to have 1year durability) one wash with degreaser to strip it completly.
Bird droppings is something ive had problems with to (last case with megs m21), with ceramics you dont need to wetsand the marks after a sunny day haha.
But as you say the preping and laying of ceramic coatings is many times more time consuming and humidity and temp must be under control as well. And its quite difficult acctually when doing the top of the line coatings that flashes very fast.
And you cant polish heavier scratches when you have your coating on I think I will polish my car after two summers either way but it should be more protected against marring and hologramming from washes with a ceramic coating.
So under that period of time it will look better than with a sealent or wax.
If your not an diy and would pay to get your car coated its very diffrent. To spend maybe 1000-1500quid for a premium polishing and coating is another deal. I wouldnt do a coating either then.
As allways top video and top information Jon!
I get excited every time I see you have a new video released!
Which one of those ceramic coatings do you recommend? Tnks for everything my friend, this channel is THE BEST !
Great video with awesome advice and objectivity! How do ceramic's work on your lights and windshield? How do wipers react? Do you use the same base coat on glass and rims? Thanks, Scott
That was very informative. Thank you.
I wanted to ask, if I top up the ceramic coating with a non abrasive glaze and a wax coat like once in 3 months, would it harm the ceramic coating?
not really but part of having the ceramic coating package is because it has good self cleaning characterisitcs and dirt repellency.. putting a wax on top of it is like gonna loose all of that. so for me really if you sign up to using ceramics you prolly want to maintain the coating the recomended way to get the most out of it lakshay.
Forensic Detailing Channel well yes that does make sense. Thanks. And as always, great video!
Ceramic pro gold package over here so far it’s ok I guess only time will tell if it’s actually really worth it
Menzerna, AkA Jescar Power Lock Polymer Sealant holds its own! however the gloss is quite impressive on coatings.
I would love to see you review HydroSilux Recharge. It's advertised as an "easy to use" spray on Ceramic coating. Not many reviews on it at all on TH-cam.
Very informative video thanks. I’m taking delivery of a new Audi soon, the dealership tried to sell me a paint protection package, basically a ceramic coating. I declined as to be honest I’d rather have the coating applied by a trusted detailer. I may be being over cautious, have you any experience of dealership applied ceramic coating, good or bad. Thanks
Gay cha: Although I’m looking forward to purchasing my new car I’m not looking forward to the state the bodywork will be in.
Based on the fact that dealers are not usually professional detailers and will leave swirl marks from their own cleaning of the vehicle before delivering it to you, I would not trust them to get the paint to the flawless finish you'd want before applying ceramic coatings.
That's mainly why you're paying a professional detailer to do this -- getting your factory paint to its best possible condition before applying the ceramic coat.
Love the big gulp of tea, you don’t get that anywhere else you know!
My reason for not doing ceramic coatings. No waxing after. And the waterspot issue
What about sealants? If you can’t or don’t want to do a ceramic coating (in my case not sure it’s worth the cost).
Aren’t sealants the best of both worlds? Cheap, easy to apply, durable and then just wax on top.
Any thoughts.
Yeah I don't see the point of ceramic coating when you can get like Collinite 845 for example.