Can we talk about ceramic coatings?

[Nate047]

Hey everyone, I know very little about the different paint and finish protection options out there, but I know there are experts on this forum. Thought maybe we can get a dialogue going on some of the better products. I am not a detailing guy, never have been, nor are my cars immaculate. I don't need the obsessed garage approach of maximum OCD solutions. More like, the working man's solution to reasonably protect your car which still gets dirty, rained on, tracked, and otherwise fucked with.

First question: best way to protect wheel finish and make it easy to clean after track use?
Second question: best way to protect clear coated carbon fiber, and minimize yellowing?
Third question: best way to protect paint, if different than the above?

Thanks!

[usdmej]

my friend recommended anything Gyeon and i've been impressed with every product i've purchased from them (including their wheel specific ceramic coating)
the most protection available for your paint is PPF>vinyl wrap>coatings
the gyeon ceramic coating i tried lasted more than 2 years on the family 4runner and that thing has lived outside uncovered it's entire life


OG sells a fantasy, you might feel like you're sitting down with a friend talking and sharing different wines, but you're really just buying the wine he's selling. i find no value in watching any of his content

[Wernd]

I agree gyeon makes some killer products, I left chemical guys for gyeon products and have been VERY happy.

Wheels, get some gyeon iron
Soap, I recommend gyeon bathe+ but you're not to use it on a ceramic coated vehicle (I still do) other wise just use bathe if coated

Ceramic coating, I'd say watch a video or two on Esoteric and buy the one that works for you. They're all 80-90% the same at this point I think. I've done kamikaze sepang coat but it's stupid expensive but easy to work with and was the best shine you could buy at the time.

[MacCube]

For about the past year I’ve been using Graphene Burst Coat made by Torque Detail. It seems expensive, especially for the size of the bottle, but a little goes a long way. And very easy to apply, and I like easy. But it is a protective coating, so the paint surface needs to be in good condition before applying. But the Gyeon looks like a good product and I may give it a try. Thanks.

[toy4to]

PPF is the best protection for any painted surface. For ceramic coatings, they're pretty much temporary coatings that will last about two years. Just don't drink the kool-aid and think it's a permanent coating. At least they last longer than oldskool carnauba wax.

For your CF parts, if you can get PPF on them, I'd recommend doing it.

[Tbonem3]

I don't think ceramic coating on wheels is that necessary because brake dust and wheel cleaner/agitation will wear it down quickly. Just spray the wheels with a polymer type spray (beadmaker) or sio2 type detail spray every wash IMO.

You're asking for the best, but earlier say you're not looking for the best. PPF is the best, but not the working man's solution as you put it, IMO. My friend PPF'd his brand new M5CS - makes sense. Costs a lot. Why PPF a $25k E46 m3 with imperfect paint?

Gyeon Pure Evo is only $60. Cquartz SiC isn't much more. They're the latest enthusiast level coatings I've been eyeing, and are very easy to apply, especially Pure. You do that and get a detail spray like Beadmaker or wolfgang sio2 or sonax ultra slick ceramic detailer etc, and you'll be good for 2 years with little investment. Paint polishing will be the most expensive part, but it's not hard to DIY honestly.

If you just want to have UV protection (and have the car look pretty good), you can go to amazon.com, buy a $15 spray bottle of any brand's ceramic spray (Griot's, turtlewax, meg's, mother's, 3D beaditup etc) or polymer spray (beadmaker, BSD, speedshine), and apply it as a drying aid after every wash and you'll never have to worry about fading.

I would caution you from going to far down the rabbit hole. Pretty soon, you'll be stressing about every little micro swirl and blow drying your car and blot drying etc. Not fun, trust me. Wish I could go back to 2015 when all I cared about was chassis/power mods.

[maw1124]

If you just want to have UV protection (and have the car look pretty good), you can go to amazon.com, buy a $15 spray bottle of any brand's ceramic spray (Griot's, turtlewax, meg's, mother's, 3D beaditup etc) or polymer spray (beadmaker, BSD, speedshine), and apply it as a drying aid after every wash and you'll never have to worry about fading.

This has been my modus operandi, having grown up reconditioning cars and paint. I finally retired from orbital waxing my cars every year and just do this instead, coupled with a paint correction every few years and call it a day. Coin wash, spray this shhtuff on, towel dry and hit the freeway. Done and done.

I've been using this one... https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-50...54&sr=8-3&th=1... they also have a hybrid ceramic but I cannot tell the difference TBH. They both work for what I'm after.

I'm also not so certain about ceramic residue on things, and this tends to keep wheels, brake calipers, etc, cleaner over the long run. I've noticed the dirt just sprays off.

maw

[Lagunaseca_Blau]

Lmao I just got an air compressor (finally) and the blow drying has begun. Pretty much what everyone is saying has been what I’ve learned over the years as well. I would just add that specific soaps are recommended to not be used with coatings waxes and sealants as they have detergents or solvents that will strip those. It’s a needed product for prepping panels for polishing but when you’re maintaining that’s when you want softer cleaning agents like Lusso or another non-stripping soap. Also, I’ve seen ppf rip clear+base coat right off so I’m wary of it.

[D-O]

I'll pile on the spray detailer/drying aid recommendation. I use Beadmaker. It adds only a few minutes to the cleaning process and it will really help to keep stuff from sticking.

Only ceramics I have used was on the Brembos after I had them painted. How hard is it to get a ceramic coating off when the time comes?

D-O

[Tbonem3]

To get the semi-permanent ceramic coating off completely, you'd need to polish the paint.

While the coating might look to be almost completely gone after 18 months or whatever, it's still there to some degree, and you'd want to polish (even a super fine polish so as not to waste too much more clear coat) before getting a new coating/sealant/wax to bond perfectly well.

There was a really good thread on autogeek where people were testing the durability of wax/sealant/coating and it was quite impressive how dawn (was a popular method because people assumed it cleaned really well) and even IPA did not really strip protection much at all. With the dawn, it tricked people into thinking it stripped the protection because of lack of water beading, but poeple proved that it only did that because it left surficants behind. Once you cleaned the panel with IPA, the water beaded up well again proving that the panel still had protection bonded.

That's why you can wash the car, decon it with iron x type product, and your ceramic coating will not be damaged. You can then "boost it" with a sio2 spray (if it's a sio2 based coating). Though, I wonder how much bonding an sio2 spray has with a coating. I don't know how you'd test it. Perhaps simply that a coated car will bead up really well for 24 months with "boosting" versus only 18 months if no "boosting" is as good a proof as well get?

I say coating wheels is a waste becuase the brake dust does eat the coating, and you're physcially abrading the coating when you agitate the wheel with your hands (towel/sponge) or wheel cleaning brush. The paint near the wheel (like the fender) mich have it's coating eaten away faster due to brake dust, so maybe you do a double application there initially, or later down the line?

[Nate047]

Cool thanks guys. So yea I guess what I mean more accurately is, I'm looking for a good solution that isn't film, maybe that's a better way of putting it.

[oceansize]

After a good paint correction I would simply:

1. Wash regularly
2. Spray coating of your choice (ceramic/graphene) at regular intervals.
3. Clay bar every few months
4. Repeat.

For the track, throw on some that temporary film to protect the front bumper, hood, and headlights.

[PSUEng]

I've dabbled with coating 2 vehicles--paint and wheels--using Blackfire coating (Autogeek) and also CQuartz on a set of wheels. As I understand it, those coatings are not pro-grade, but rather a "pro-consumer" grade product meaning they don't last as long as a pro grade coating, but also prevent you from having more serious issues due to mis-application. I'd like to try other coatings, but it's a lot of prep work and I don't have the time for it anymore. I will say that there is definitely a huge improvement in ease of keeping the surfaces clean, but prep is key and take a lot of effort. I also found that the flash time is key in that if you don't get it wiped off, it ends up being too thick and a sort of "rainbow" coloration effect happens; to correct that, you need to machine remove the coating.

Now recently I've tried the Griot's 3-in-1 Ceramic Spray wax on my daily driver truck that rarely gets washed. I also use spray SiO2 after regular washes and honestly, I may just stick with sprays due to ease of application and time constraints. I'll echo oceansize's post about regular washing and a spray coating and in some cases, PPF makes sense (I use that as well to help mitigate rock chips).

[Syfon]

I've never used a ceramic coating. On any of my cars. M3 has always been hand-washed and hand-polished & waxed. Interested in trying a ceramic coating on the body + wheels

[fattycharged]

after having CC done on multiple vehicles and paying someone an exorbitant amount of money, imo, they are only beneficial for the guy selling the service.

I'll jump on the bandwagon of products I have leftover from the ceramic coating care, I use Refresh, and it's pretty decent