s219
Super Member
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,608
- Location
- Virginia USA
- Tractor
- Kubota L3200, Deere X380, Kubota RTV-X
I put a ceramic coating on one of my cars. It is good, however, all of the serious ceramic products want you to apply a "reload" product after every carwash, to beef up the ceramic (SiO2 or similar), improve the shine, and maintain the performance. In my opinion, if I have to apply a product and buff after every wash, I may as well have used a standard wax. Theoretically the ceramic is better, but a standard wax would also be pretty good if you reapplied it and buffed after every wash.
I applied the ceramic to a new car, so paint correction work was minimal. Applying the ceramic is tedious and requires care. The coating hardens to a glass-like material so you have to get the timing right. Apply the coating a panel at a time, let the carrier flash off, then buff. If you miss the window, it will harden and leave a mess. And you have to change applicators frequently, since the ceramic will harden on the applicator as you're working. I think I used about 6 applicators on a small car. Once the coating is done, I waited 12 hours and then applied a second product to increase the shine (the main ceramic coating was not that shiny).
One oddity I noticed is that the car gets dirty faster than our other cars, which others have noticed with ceramic too. I think it attracts dirt/dust more quickly.
I probably would not do it again, at least not with a pro product. I might try one of the consumer spray on products that is easier to apply and less involved/risky.
BTW, the ceramic is not permanent, it does ablate over time.
I applied the ceramic to a new car, so paint correction work was minimal. Applying the ceramic is tedious and requires care. The coating hardens to a glass-like material so you have to get the timing right. Apply the coating a panel at a time, let the carrier flash off, then buff. If you miss the window, it will harden and leave a mess. And you have to change applicators frequently, since the ceramic will harden on the applicator as you're working. I think I used about 6 applicators on a small car. Once the coating is done, I waited 12 hours and then applied a second product to increase the shine (the main ceramic coating was not that shiny).
One oddity I noticed is that the car gets dirty faster than our other cars, which others have noticed with ceramic too. I think it attracts dirt/dust more quickly.
I probably would not do it again, at least not with a pro product. I might try one of the consumer spray on products that is easier to apply and less involved/risky.
BTW, the ceramic is not permanent, it does ablate over time.