Ceramic coatings?

[HandyAndy]

Worth their weight in ceramic or snake oil...
Your experiences welcome!

 

[Silver-Fox]

Oooo I’m off to get the pop corn.

Some swear by them others say just use wax.
I’ve never used them so have no direct experience

 

[HandyAndy]

Yes I'd rather have replies from people with DIRECT experience rather than what they've heard.

 

[Just smiffy]

There is a thread on here at the moment “is my van the oldest” 1988 is one of the oldest so far and I doubt it’s seen much polish at all let alone ceramic.....

The proof is in the pudding.....

If there is any advantage to it then you’ll have a nice shiny van sitting in the scrap yard because the mechanical side will be rotted...

 

[Guigsy]

I polished the 'spiders webs' and clouding off of my headlights earlier this year. It also removes all the UV coating off the plastic, so it generally doesn't look good for very long. I applied some relatively cheap ceramic coating and have since done 8000 miles around Europe. They still look good and the flies wash of easily.

A mate (who is a little anal) got a new car. He had it ceramic coated by a professional, cost a small fortune. A year later it still looks fantastic.

Is it better than a really well applied wax? Probably not. And it's definitely over hyped. But it is good stuff.

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[Pausim]

My wife had her car ceramic coated professionally from new 4 years ago. It has not needed or received any polishing since and still looks great. When it gets wet the water still forms into large droplets and runs off, just like it was newly polished. We are sufficiently impressed that we have ordered ceramic coating for our new Carthago.

 

[Reallyretired]

They tried to flog me this as an extra on my new to me car. I had it on my last one and was not impressed so turned it down. Amongst the bumf with the car when I got was a certificate thingy showing it had already been done by the first owner two years ago, so lucky I didn't pay again.

 

[Pausim]

Not all special coatings are ceramic, some of the slightly cheaper ones are teflon based.

 

[jockaneezer]

I had my van French polished, but it kept veneering off the road.

 

[TinaLes]

Mate of mine had his Classic Car done by professional Valetors, he has it final coating re-done every 2/3 years for £250, but he wont tell me how much the original treatment cost him, too embarrased I reckon. But I do know they used 3M Professional products.

I also just had a look on Google for Ceramic Car Products/finishes etc, and I found several suppliers.
Heres one example, yes I would probably have a go myself as 3 years ago it was PTFE coatings they were raving about at The NEC shows, now its Ceramic.
They wanted £550 in 2015 for the PTFE coating on our new Caravan, but I didnt opt for it, which is just as well as we traded it after 18 months for a Carthago.
Les

heres the link.

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[Silver-Fox]

Yes I'd rather have replies from people with DIRECT experience rather than what they've heard.

That being the case best get yourself on a couple of car detailing sites then ??

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Luv your truck and get the polish on the go! It allows you to bond with the beastie and get really close!
I must leave the pink gin alone!

Carolyn

 

[Carolyn and Kev]

Luv your truck and get the polish on the go! It allows you to bond with the beastie and get really close!
I must leave the pink gin alone!

Carolyn

Ignore my missus! She would not know a polish rag or a tin of wax even if you threw it at her! Bless her!

She Could not polish to save her life! xx

Kev

 

[Kannon Fodda]

I'm assuming these are something different from the coatings you get offered by car dealers? But is one type of thing better than another, or is this just the latest version of this bandwagon for add on stuff?

I've had coatings on my last couple of cars, and now my shiny new MH, but only as the dealers have thrown it in for nowt. No idea if it really does make a difference, but then I'm useless at even getting my cars washed, and have always ended up throwing out the "kit" of stuff they supply for aftercare as I forget about it till after I've sold the car on.

 

[pandas]

I had a ceramic treatment pre delivery on the Motorhome. Early doors but it is easy to keep clean and it always looks great. I would recommend it for a Motorhome.

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[Tea break]

I reckon the best coating for any vehicle is a good old does of elbow grease it works wonders

 

[HandyAndy]

I reckon the best coating for any vehicle is a good old does of elbow grease it works wonders

I'm on permanent tea break.......
when it comes to maintenance. I got out of mechanics in 2015 and went down a different career path, now I cannot be bothered with cars, where they used to pretty much run through my veins, I'd polish and preen all my vehicles in the past but I think I've been burning that candle for too long now I'd rather pay someone else to do it

 

[Tea break]

Got to agree with you there nothing better than a tea break just sit back and watch her indoors she’s a real demon with a can of pledge.

 

[Coolcats]

Not all special coatings are ceramic, some of the slightly cheaper ones are teflon based.

You sure your not referring to the salesman

 

[Silver-Fox]

I'm assuming these are something different from the coatings you get offered by car dealers

Excellent money maker for the suppling dealer.
Product costs around £20 labour around £20 tops.
Not a bad mark up at average price they sell at.

They also fail to prep the paintwork properly.

The guy I work for just bought a car with it on, full of swirl marks and scratches ?

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[Coolcats]

I had our Hymer Ceramic coated, it was prepped properly no swirl marks etc, when I wash it the grime and fly's just wash off without much hassle, I suspect the real test will be in years 2-5. Of course the paint will chip or scratch its not a miracle product. but the water droplets on the paint work is quite satisfying and you get the same result if you were to wax the vehicle.

I have had literally dozens of new cars, and done tens of thousands of miles each year, the trick to keeping the paint work nice is others have said Wax the vehicle as soon as you can and wash and wax regally.

So why have I gone down the Ceramic route? 1) Its a big vehicle and its a lot of waxing 2) I do not need to apply wax (in fact its recommended you do not wax the ceramic as it will 'smear') just wash regularly.

Is it expensive Yup but always try and do a deal.

Is it worth it....Dunno ask me in 5 years

Does the MoHo look good....yes it does would it have looked as good if I had not had the treatment applied...maybe...maybe not those black streaks people mention they just wipe off.

As they say you pay your money and take your choice, so far so good...Edited to say I really do not think its snake oil if applied correctly.

 

[HandyAndy]

Booked it today. £295 for full exterior valet, paint correction , machine polish and a "6 month" ceramic coating. So that should cover me through Winter hopefully.

 

[Pausim]

Booked it today. £295 for full exterior valet, paint correction , machine polish and a "6 month" ceramic coating. So that should cover me through Winter hopefully.

What is a “6 month” ceramic coating? I thought the whole point of a ceramic coating was it lasts for years. However the price is good, half what I would expect.

 

[Silver-Fox]

Booked it today. £295 for full exterior valet, paint correction , machine polish and a "6 month" ceramic coating. So that should cover me through Winter hopefully.

That’s a good price I’d say.
As above though 6 month coating ? odd

 

[HandyAndy]

There's more than one type of ceramic coating. They vary in hardness and durability. this 6 month coating is a 7H hardness and a 120° water beading.
The three year protection coating is silly money but does offer 9H hardness and 125° water beading and chemical resistance.
I had to get a Motorhome specific quote with pictures and details of what I wanted done...
but generic price comparison examples are
6 month protection on an SUV > £110
3 year protection on an SUV > £340
I'm not sure I want to even know what a 3 year protection coat would cost on my great big white brick

Returning customers also get discounts apparently so topping up the coat with less (or no) machine polishing beforehand should be much cheaper next spring... Hopefully

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[The Wino]

How does the "ceramic" thing work? I thought ceramics were created by exposing sand to very high temperatures isn't it a con to call them that?

 

[Rob Turner]

A friend of mine who valets high end stuff does my vehicles.
He has just done my new one and did my other van every 12 months.
He uses Autoglym lifeshine and applies it properly.
The van always looks a million dollars.

I asked him about ceramic coating and he said it’s a 2 day process and there’s not many people that actually do it right as it takes so long.
Apparently it needs leaving 24 hours in between each process in a dust free environment and if it isn’t then he said you’re wasting your time and money.

I don’t know, I’m just saying what he told me

 

[cornish boy]

From experience, protective coatings on gelcoat surfaces make washing easier (provided you use the right products when washing) but do not seem to offer the UV protection of a high end wax.

You pay your money and make your choice. Some of my old marine customers would spend a fortune on protective coatings to prevent damage from bird mess, but have to accept that the gelcoat on their boats would yellow very quickly from UV damage when compared to boats that had been waxed.

For my money, I use high UV protection marine wax on GRP and favour GTechniq C1 for paint products where a clear coat is already offering UV protection.

 

[Pausim]

A quick Googling of this subject reveals an amazing range of claims concerning durability, uv protection and hardness. Some say ceramic gives better uv protection than wax and some make claims about hardness. There is clearly a heap of sales bovine faeces included in some claims, particularly around hardness. Perhaps the most useful bit of the sales information is the length of guarantee given, which seems to range from none to 5 years.

I can only go back to the op’s request for peoples direct experience and say that I am impressed with the ceramic coating applied to my wife’s Audi. Sufficiently impressed that we are having our new Carthago treated, despite the cost.

 

[Coolcats]

How does the "ceramic" thing work? I thought ceramics were created by exposing sand to very high temperatures isn't it a con to call them that?

The


The sales Blurb:

"Ceramic Coat can be applied to your vehicle leaving an extremely durable and high-gloss finish which prevents pollutants from impacting your car’s paintwork.

Once treated with Ceramic Coat your paintwork is guaranteed for 5 years and you will never have to polish it again. Some paint protection products require the use of an ‘enhancer’ to maintain both the gloss shine and the lifetime guarantee. Ceramic Coat does not; all you need do to re-validate the guarantee is to have your vehicle inspected by the selling dealer after five years. In the unlikely event they find any problems with the coat, they will reapply Ceramic Coat*.

Without Ceramic Coat protection your paintwork could be become dull and faded over time, when exposed to atmospheric pollutants and harsh car wash chemicals. The paintwork will progressively fade and hold dirt meaning cleaning and washing will become harder."

Is it better than just to Wax your car regularly, I suspect there is an argument for and against, but if I don't have to Wax the MoHo...Happy days I have other cars that I can spend my time waxing

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