Ask the Detailer

The door panel code should say. Natural White is paint code 056 for the two stage paint on the older Tundras (2000 to 2007).

 

Yes sir. I’ll also usually mix in a small amount of ONR with the Reset in the bucket when it’s really hot outside. It seems to help the rinse off a bit.

 

I’ll echo what Briar said. It’s a good price for everything he’s doing. It does seem like you’d be better served long term on the coating by doing it yourself. Six months isn’t anywhere near what a ceramic coating should last, but for that price I don’t see any reason not to try it.

I certainly wouldn’t do the “lifetime” coating. If he’s just adding more coats of the same product, you could get a bottle of CQuartz for 80 dollars and do it yourself. That should last at least a couple of years with proper maintenance with just one coat. Honestly, reapplying Griots 3-in-1, Reload, or Powerlock every six months is easy and would achieve the same result.
That’s why I’m not a huge fan of ceramic coatings in general. You still have to apply a topper every six months to maintain it, which to me is the same as just using a spray sealant every few months. I had ceramic on my black Tundra, and saw no major difference from using sealants.

You’d just want to make sure you have a good, cool, interior place to do it. You don’t want to be messing with that stuff in the Arizona sun. If you watch a lot of vids and take your time, you should be able to do it without messing up. If anything, find an old car or a junk panel to practice on.

All that said, his price is pretty good even without the ceramic, so I’d say give it a shot. The cost is in the prep work, and his price is more than fair if he gets your paint in great shape.

 

x2 on this. Just a matter of how much you want to mess with it yourself. For those of us that enjoy it, it’s not worth the cost and effort to have a long term package.

 

Yeah I'm stuck, just purchased this truck a week ago so not really willing/able to drop 1500 for a lifetime package at this time. But I could do the sport for now, if I don't have them do the maintenance and I decide to upgrade later I'm afraid they will claim they have to do the correction all over again and charge me more. I think I'll do the sport and call them out at the 3 month interval to do a detail and then again at 6 months to either do the sport again or upgrade. I'll ask the guy what I personally can do to keep it up in between those times and see if that will work.

 

Depending on if and how you wash your truck and the environments you drive (off-road,dirt roads ect) will determine if the paint needs correction the next go around. I know CarPro ceramics can not be stacked so to apply another ceramic I will need to polish the surfaces at a minimum to re-coat the paint. I still don’t know if you are willing to maintain the vehicle. If you are then my recommendation is to spend the money on the sport package and $150 on the right products to take care of the truck after they do the heavy work for you. If you wash your vehicle regularly and apply a good sealant on it 3-4 times a year you will maintain protection and life will be good for many years to come.

 

Good approach. It will also give you some insight as to how they treat you as a customer, without dropping an enormous chunk of change. Most paint marring occurs during the washing and subsequent drying phases, so make sure your processes mitigate that as much as possible

 

He seems like a decent guy. He definitely could have charged me for full paint correction because he pointed out stuff all over the truck but instead charged me for just the front. Ideally I would be cleaning the truck every weekend but I've got a wife and 3 kids that I usually only see after dinner and on weekends so I'm not going to stick to that religiously. I will keep reading up on proper techniques and keep bugging you guys about products and I think I'll be able to keep the paint maintained. I do have a question that you guys may be able to answer, since this is a spray on ceramic that is only guaranteed for 6 months will it deteriorate and disappear after the 6 months? If not will I need to remove it or can I keep it on for longer?

 

I use a stack approach on my coatings. Which basically mean I apply products on top of the ceramic. I have no clue how the coating itself is doing but I have not polished again since.

 

Sounds good, I will do this then. Sport coat, light clean weekly, then ill find something to put over the Ceramic closer to the end of the 6 months and keep that up as often as needed.

 

My whole life I thought I was the only one that did this. I'm part of tribe now.

 

I will be joining this tribe as well

 

I literally thought that is the actual purpose of ONR. I do this every time - hot or not.

 

Ok.... I’ll be that guy. .... what is ONR?

 

optimum no rinse

 

Optimum No Rinse soap. Polymer based. Idea is the polymer sticks to the heavy water so you don't get spots and lubricates your paint a bit better. I don't find it cleans as well on its own though.

 

^ thank ya sir!

 

Ok...now I'll be that guy......how much is a small amount?

 

I don’t wait till the expected fail time to reload protection. Your best course of action is to reapply a top coat every 3-4 months and that truck will stay in great shape. You don’t even need to schedule weekly cleanings. I would pickup a good waterless wash for wipe downs and whatever you do please get bugs and bird droppings off that paint ASAP. Most of us keep some waterless wash in the truck for this purpose.

 

I too hadn't heard of this. Would it help with the super hard water we have here in Tucson. I can't rinse and dry my truck fast enough to avoid water spots.

 

Deal! I believe these were the products I already had planned to buy from the list further up in the thread. What would you recommend for the top coat. My black truck will hardly ever been protected from the Tucson sun and as such I'll need something strong.

 

Does anyone have any experience with CL02 odor eliminators? I have some slight musty smell in the carpet-I probably over saturated while cleaning-and heard these may be able to get rid of the smells.

 

Top coat griots 3-1 ceramic or CarPro reload is what I use. I also use CarPro elixir after every wash to bring back slickness. My waterless wash of choice is shine supply spiked punch expensive but love it. If you order from shine order wise guy tire and wheel cleaner and a spray bottle that stuff is awesome

 

@Ckatz53 ??

 

I use Power Lock. It's the longest lasting that I've found. I also just started topping it with their Bead-it in between coats and so far like it.

 

Another great option.

 

A tad.

Honestly, I don’t even measure it. I use about 3 gallons of water, and ounce of Reset, then just spill a little ONR out of the bottle. If you’re measuring it, I’d probably try 3/4 of an ounce? Straight ONR is supposed to be 1 ounce for 2 gallons. Not looking for it to do the cleaning work, just a little added protection against spots.

 

Nice.......maybe there is something to brand synergy?

 

Reset and ONR are really the two best for mitigating water spots in my opinion. I just started adding a little ONR into my bucket a couple of years ago to see if it helps. I also have super hard water. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways to keep those spots off.
You still need to take precautions like staying in the shade and drying ASAP, but from my non-scientific experience this combo buys a little more time.
Only way to avoid the water spots completely is a spotless rinse unit. I absolutely love mine, but it’s an expensive mistress.

 

I need to try that stuff. I do love Powerlock.