Ceramic Coating

So just got my new truck and have been looking at Ceramic Coating for the exterior. I looked at one place and almost choked at the quote. What's a reasonable price to have this done? I realize there's different levels, but didn't consider they could have such a cost variation. Next question, is it really worth it? I had it done on my last truck in 2016, but I could tell after a couple years it wasn't really performing the same. It was done at the dealership with the fancy aircraft picture in the background. Thanks,

 

If the truck is brand new, go to Griots Garage ( on line ) , buy a Synthetic Clay kit and the 3 in 1 Ceramic. Clay bar the truck, put the ceramic on EVERYTHING. Re-do it every 1-2 years depending on whether it is in a garage ....do you get snow etc. They have on-line videos to help.

Understand this is not a Commercial ceramic, that lasts 6-8 years, but you can do it at home in 48 hours for $50 LOL

 

The one thing with ceramic is that you need to maintain/wash it with a ph balanced soap.

There a videos on how to prep, apply and remove. It takes some time but worth it in my opinion.

bugs literally just hose off with minimal effort

 

Price is driven by your local market so it depends on your area. Worth is how much you value your personal time.

Also depends on what prep work is involved which takes up most of the time and labor. Actually applying a coating doesn't take long; decon, correction, polish and wash take the longest and where most of your shine comes from. Cost of the coating can be a factor too if you go for some of these longer lasting coatings. I've seen as low as $1K for mobile shops to as high as $3K+ (they primarily service exotic super-cars).

As far as DIY it isn't that hard to do if you want to save money. The biggest benefit of going with an installer is they usually proved a warranty to back up the product and in some cases can get you access to some of the more exclusive "professional grade" coatings. A handful are worthwhile but most of the pro coatings are marketing bullshit.

I personally think it is worth it and ceramic coat all my vehicles. Boils down to expectations. Ceramic coating isn't a magic force-field and still has to be maintained. Most brands want you to stay in the brand family and use pH neutral soap and their topper product; this is especially true if you want to keep the warranty.

What usually jacks up the coating properties is applying and stacking lesser waxes over the top of the ceramic coatings. It is best to wash and apply the brand topper and not over complicate the process.

Most dealer installed products are improperly installed or some spray on product.

You also have the option of using some nonceramic products that can last a longer time. Jescar Powerlock + is an example of one but there are a few others.

 

Profesional ceramic installation could be around $2k for a proper job. Of course you can find someone to do a quick hack job for quarter of that price...

You still need to maintain your ceramic coating by washing truck and applying special topper/spray wax 1-2 times per year.

Eventually, the ceramic coating will get dirty too and will have yellow-ish tint, so it'll need to be removed by polishing and re applied...

Here's a bit more about installing the ceramic coating by yourself...

When you'll clay, you will introduce small scratches into the clear coat... Especially if you're new at this.

Claying should be followed by polishing... Which is not easy for beginner and needs a polisher and supplies... Expensive, lots of time and practice to do this right.

If you were to do a quick job on a new truck, wash it correctly (yes, there are proper ways to wash and dry truck) and then use the quick all in one ceramic spray product. Don't clay as you'll probably end up introducing scratches and may make it worse.

Here's a good resource for beginners how to p properly do it yourself and make less mistakes:

 

A good quality ceramic coating can last year's. My last 2 DIY coatings lasted 4yrs or more, but the vehicles were only hand washed by me with a quality car soap.

Most of the cost you pay a detailer goes into labor. It should include hand wash, clay, compound, polish, prep for coating, then the actual coating. All this can easily take 8 to 12 hours depending on the shape your paint is in. I wouldn't pay that much to a detailer for the labor unless I was going to have a quality professional only coating put on.

There are some good DIY coatings that will last 4yrs or more. Ive been completely happy with Gyeon coating products.

 

Honestly DIY. If you’re happy with how your paint looks, no need to polish.

wash/“clay”/iron remove/rinse/dry/panelprep/ apply coating.

if you want to polish grab a cheap.rotary from harbour freight.

go,to,YouTube. Search Diydetail. Tons of useful videos on what you want to learn.

ceramic is,worth,it. You,don’t need special,soap.

ceramic coatings can’t be chemical resistant, AND need special soap to wash. Has to,be one or the other.

 

If I went this route I'd use something like Gyeon Can Coat. It will last a year and makes the vehicle look like it has a fresh coat of wax.

 

The Diydetail has a 3, 5, and 8 year coating.

I’ve never used it (actually never used a coating) but I bought the 8 year. I’ll let you know in 8 years how it is, lol.

if you’re only using a year coating I’d just stick with a traditional sealant or wax.

at my stage in life I’m looking for easy. I don’t care about cost. Anything that saves me time is good

 

True story about it all being in the prep. The application and maintenance are easy. Just spent 12 hours on my 2019 before application of a fresh coating. Could have probably gotten away with just a clay treatment and top dressing. It's worth the time for me and the $100 or so in product used to not worry about bugs or tar since they wipe right off with a good coating.

The trailer gets the 3-in-1 mentioned and is still beading after a full year. Not bad for a spray on product, but also doesn't look nearly as good as the truck with proper prep and an actual coating.

My wife's ride is still showing good beading with the same coating I used on the truck, and I applied it 2 years ago and it's not exactly well maintained as it parks outside and often under trees.

Regardless of how you choose to move forward, anything on the market today from a known brand is going to be better than what we all grew up using.

 

If you will not compound and polish a 1yr coat that is easy to apply and inexpensive is the route to go.

If I'm gonna do a DIY 4yr coating I'm going to compound and polish the vehicle first.

 

just wondering your rational?

‘regardless of the number of “year” coating, you’re either happy with the condition of the paint, or your not.

Best price I could find for a 3 year coating was 100 bucks. If you’re only getting a year out of a coating why bother? Just a quick annual polish (paint enhancement) and sealant/wax.

even easier would be a wash, clay, and,wax every 6 months. Much cheaper also

 

Look up the application of Gyeon Can Coat. Super easy to apply. Plus it protects and looks worlds better than wax.

 

Good rant. First question....Who doesnt wash their truck????? You lost me right there. I said it wasnt a commercial ceramic. Proper clay will NEVER introduce a scratch I have never heard or...or witnessed your yellow tint

I have a 4 car , 1 boat, 1 cargo trailer fleet in Canada, ( I wash them FYI ) and what I suggested works just fine. Wife's Lexus is year 2 with zero swirl marks. Daily driver. If it can take Canadian winters, or any winter and come out on the other end with no swirl marks.......just saying

I also detail close to 80 cars a year . It aint that tough for anyone.

Dont let Karen scare you away. Its easy and Griots will show you how to do it

 

Why are you saying what I wrote is a rant? This was my opinion.
And why are you calling me a Karen?

 

This is a good approach. If your paint is in good condition, you may not even need a 1-step polish...which typically are a compound/polish mix. You could simply go with a finishing polish and move on to the panel prep. I have Gyeon MOHS EVO on my truck, and it is ridiculously easy to apply. I used Gyeon Q2 Primer Polish prior to panel prep, and am very happy with the results.

One thing to keep in mind.....coatings can and will clog. There will be certain areas on your vehicle, such as the lower fenders behind the tire, lower halves of the doors, and the lower side panels behind the rear tires, where you can see a loss of hydrophobicity. Those areas accumulate a lot road film and nastiness. It's a good idea to invest in a soap like CarPro Reset, which I typically use every other wash, or even every third wash. It is pH balanced, but has a little more bite than your average car shampoo. It's expensive, but worth it. Your coating will last longer if properly maintained.

As far as boosting ...a good detail spray, either used a drying aid or applied after your vehicle is dry, will go a long way to extend the life of your coating. I'm not sure there is anything to brand synergy, but I use Gyeon Ceramic Detailer. It adds gloss, slickness, and serves as a sacrificial layer.

 

Well this thread got a little more heated than most the detail ones do lol. There are many threads on this topic and if ya dive into the detail section you will find a ton on information on ceramics and tundras.

 

Coatings are absolutely worth it. Price depends on your area and prep involved. All coatings will clog over time if neglected. I've tested several installer only brands and Undrdog Pro clogs the least and performed the best under stress (no maintenance, Northeastern winter). My advice is shop around and talk to some experts on them to decide if they're best for you or if the money is best spent elsewhere.

 

Gonna jump in on this, my Lexus gsf is done with cquartz, my tundra I did gtechniq csl and put eco v5 over top of that so that is technically 2 coats. And my wife's gx460 I did the Adam's graphene advanced and I love all of them, but I would have to say I would never pay anyone to do this for me because I take great care of our vehicles! But that's me and I enjoy doing stuff like this and always have, where I live it's nothing to pay 1000-2500 bucks to have it done ... I spend a little over 100 on each car and the results are fantastic !

 

Now imagine if we were talking about graphene.

 

Shop around and look at reviews for the places you’re considering. There’s a huge variance. I know a guy I trust 100% that charges a grand for a Tundra. Full detail, correction, and ceramic.

That said, is it worth it? The correction is the bulk of the cost. You could buy the supplies needed to do it all yourself for around 300-400 bucks. That includes a Griots G9 polisher and everything you need for it, along with a good coating and other items like towels and soap.

So 400 bucks, plus your time. Even for someone experienced it’s going to take a while. You can expect to spend 6-8 hours on just the correction. You’ll just have to decide if the cost savings is worth it to do it yourself or not.

I’d personally do it myself vs spending 1500-2000, but for a grand or less it becomes more palatable. Another thing I’d advise is to wait until the weeks around Christmas. Detailers get really slow at that time and will be much more willing to cut a deal.

 

As for ceramic coating itself, I don’t see much if any benefit over using a traditional sealant. For example, the guy I know who will do the whole thing with the coating for a grand will do the detail and paint correction for $650.00.
In my opinion, a ceramic isn’t worth another 35% of the cost. Ceramics require maintenance to last as long as advertised. Every 3-6 months you’re supposed to apply a topper to “refresh” your coating. That topper is a traditional sealant. That’s what is taking most of the impact of the environment, not the coating. You basically need protection for your protection. A coating isn’t a set it and forget it like people think it is.

A good sealant is going to last that 3-6 months on its own. In my case I could spend 350.00 on a coating, or I could spend 25 bucks on a sealant and spend half an hour every few months applying that. The kicker is I’d have to do that anyway to maintain the coating, so I don’t see what the point is.

 

a grand is a very good price.

I already have the polishers, clay towels, soaps, iron removers, etc. been doing this for decades, and polishing paint is about the only thing I really enjoy doing at my age.

but if I could find a trusted guy to ceramic coat for a grand I’d seriously consider paying. 1k minus the coating itself, and some panel prep and it really looks reasonable.

 

There's a local place that has very good reviews. Their lower price service $2,250 and their high end service is $4,000. This is way more than I expected.

 

I'm with you on this. Been using Griot's ceramic after a good wash and it doesn't appear to be any different than my friends 2k Ceramic job.

 

I would not recommend ceramic coating... no way... unless you want it to look good, wash with minimal work, protect the finish from the elements and protect the paint then I would say pull the trigger Mr!!

 

A ceramic coating is only worthwhile if you plan on hand washing your truck.

 

Do you ever do rinseless washes?

 

That's part of the issue. I don't have the time to hand wash my truck.