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Ceramic Pro for Real?

ryant601

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$500 is pretty reasonable. Considering the bottle will cost you $80-100 to do yourself. At that point it's not much more.

But Im sorry, IMO the people paying a detailer $75-100/hour of actual time spent are insane IMO. Dry time doesnt count as work time as nothing is being done; so it doesnt matter if it took 2 days total.

So with material costs and say even 15 hours of labor, this process should not cost over $1,000 absolutely max. There is no reason it should take more than 10 working hours to wash clay and polish a car and wipe on some coating- not on an S550 that cannot be more than 2 years old only being in production 2 years. It should NOT need heavy correction like a daily driver from 2001.

Reasonable would be about $700; paying more is just getting ripped off.

OBVIOUSLY if detailers werent getting rich off this they wouldnt be offering the service.

You speak the truth. He makes a killing off of it, doesn't make so much doing other things. His target market isn't Odyssey driving soccer moms...it's a low volume service so they've gotta make money where they can. That said, there's a fine line between overcharging and creating customer value.

I'd personally do it again, but not at $1,000. The ease of cleaning is worth it.
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Blk2015GT

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You speak the truth. He makes a killing off of it, doesn't make so much doing other things. His target market isn't Odyssey driving soccer moms...it's a low volume service so they've gotta make money where they can. That said, there's a fine line between overcharging and creating customer value.

I'd personally do it again, but not at $1,000. The ease of cleaning is worth it.
For $500 totally worth it; like I said buying the coating on Autogeek is $80-100 even if you already own a DA and all of the products needed for the process.

Im sure he makes a killing, it's sad the public doesn't get it and overpays because of perceived value of the coating. And then they come here and say oh he said he put 30 hours into it blah blah.

Yehhhhhhhh ok. I'm SURE he put 30 hours into it plus material costs for $1200 (but I guess the same people also believe that it will last 10 years, is a forcefield against scratches despite being 2 microns thick (human hair is 75-100 microns), and they dont need to still meticulously maintain it too). Any detailer spending half that amount of time of actual work hours on a 2015+ car for a fixed price job is a moron. More like the truth is they put as little time as they can to maximize profits; since they make the same fee if they put 7 hours into it or 15 (and then tell you they put 20 so you feel good).

And yet people complain about the doctor or lawyer charging $200-300/hour after years of extra education at 6 figures cost and low-pay training for years, as shysters; but pay a detailer, some guy with an entry barrier into the profession of a few hundred bucks of detailing toys, near $100/hour without blinking an eye. Just nuts mentality.

But no, I dont hate detailers; just to make that clear. There are many who are very good and worth the money; but they are far and few between. If I had a rare car with single stage paint would I ever correct it myself? no way. Id call a guy like Larry/AmmoNYC who is an expert in the industry in that area and extremely passionate and pay him whatever he charges. Guys like that are worth their cost; paying Joe Smith huge fees with a small bay down the road and is no one special, another story.
 
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BoostedRubyRed

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I paid $700 for my 5 year application and paint correction for my Mustang and I feel it is worth every penny. The finish after correction and the 9H coating is like glass and the ease of cleaning is amazing. If I only have to drop it off one day a year for its inspection and topcoat touch up that is also worth the price paid. It usually takes me all weekend to clean and seal a car, so time saved for other things is the biggest benefit.
 

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GTRacerX.

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Cost too high for Ceramic Coating

$500 is pretty reasonable. Considering the bottle will cost you $80-100 to do yourself. At that point it's not much more.

But Im sorry, IMO the people paying a detailer $1200-1500+ at $75-100/hour of actual time spent are insane IMO; or believing it took them 30 hours to do the process. Dry time doesnt count as work time as nothing is being done; so it doesnt matter if it took 2 days total.

So with material costs and say even 15 hours of labor, this process should not cost over $1,000 absolutely max. There is no reason it should take more than 15 working hours (and that is pretty generous amount of time) to wash, clay, polish a car, and wipe on some coating. Not on an S550 that cannot possibly be more than 2 years old only beginning to be sold 2 years ago to the public. It should NOT need heavy correction like a daily driver from 2001.

1 hour max to wash, 1 hour max to clay, 5 hours MAX to compound/polish (personal experience too), and 2 hours max to wipe down and apply the coating. Another 1 hour per layer if multiples. Any more time they are milking your wallet to justify high fees.

And if it's a shop and they have someone doing the work for them then they are paying them $10-12/hour (average detailer hourly- google it). The rest is in the owner's pocket as profit.

Reasonable to me for the job would be about $750; paying more is just getting ripped off. And that's still $50/hour for 13 hours plus a generous $100 in materials (they get the coating less than retail cost to us obviously; tack on some cleaning agents and compound/polish which may total $10-20 for your car).

OBVIOUSLY if detailers werent getting wealthy off this fad at high profit rates, they wouldnt be offering the service.
Heck I rather spend the money on performance mods. Nothing a good quality car wash, clay bar and several coats of wax and sealant can't do for a hell of a lot cheaper. I am sure it has its merits - but cost is not one of them.
I pass on this one. ;)
 

PatrickGT

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The misinformation in this thread is ridiculous :frusty:
What an exceptional amount of clarity you have added to the discussion, thank you so much!

PS that was sarcasm, why don't you try correcting some of it if you're so smart? We are waiting...
 

SVT-DADDY

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I spent $90 on the Cquartz kit and did it myself. Shines like no other car I've seen.
 

Endokendal

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I spent $90 on the Cquartz kit and did it myself. Shines like no other car I've seen.
Me too. Did it a few weeks back and love the results. Wash and go, and shines like crazy.
 

SVT-DADDY

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Me too. Did it a few weeks back and love the results. Wash and go, and shines like crazy.
Providing the paint is in good shape, I don't know why anyone would do anything else.
 

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aham23

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Me too. Did it a few weeks back and love the results. Wash and go, and shines like crazy.
Providing the paint is in good shape, I don't know why anyone would do anything else.
proper prep is key.

last week i took Tuesday off to knock out a detail and CQuarts. Legit detail; wash, iron x, rinse, clay, rinse, polish and......damn it took so long i did not do the ceramic coating. i knew it would take time and patience. so i slapped on some Jet Seal and called it day.

do not put the coating over imperfect paint!

how long did it take you guys to apply the ceramic coating and any tips?
 

SVT-DADDY

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proper prep is key.

last week i took Tuesday off to knock out a detail and CQuarts. Legit detail; wash, iron x, rinse, clay, rinse, polish and......damn it took so long i did not do the ceramic coating. i knew it would take time and patience. so i slapped on some Jet Seal and called it day.

do not put the coating over imperfect paint!

how long did it take you guys to apply the ceramic coating and any tips?
I just had my car polished when the Xpel was put on the nose so I cheated a bit there. Here is what I can tell you:

-Use eraser section by section as you work. I wore gloves too so I didn't get oils from my skin on the car.

-Do small sections, for example I broke the fender into 2 parts. Hood into 3.

-Use a fresh MF towel every time you buff, again for example I used one towel just for the fender flipping it between the 2 parts. They get crusty!

-You can tell when it's time to come off because it gets hazy. I timed the sections at first. At the beginning of the day when it was cool I waited 3 minutes, as it warmed up it was just over a minute. Err on the side of too early, you'll know if it's too early because it will be like spreading oil on the car and you just stop. Wait too long and you'll have a high spot. I have one small one and it does not come off sans buffing wheel!

-I did 2 coats with an hour between, with my wife helping me. We took turns applying, buffing, and getting beer. It took about 3-4 hours with the break.

-If you can, let the car sit in the sun to bake for the rest of the day to set the finish.

-I put my car in the garage for 2 days and didn't look at it. It seems like the coating really set over that time. The pop was incredible when I opened the door. I hit it with some reload because I am greedy and hit the road.

-I know it sounds like a lot of it's actually easier than waxing if you ask me.

-I didn't use it on the trim, didn't like the way it looked. So I just today grabbed some Dlux for the wheels and trim.

LMK if you have any more questions! Steve
 

Voo Doo

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I just had my car polished when the Xpel was put on the nose so I cheated a bit there. Here is what I can tell you:

-Use eraser section by section as you work. I wore gloves too so I didn't get oils from my skin on the car.

-Do small sections, for example I broke the fender into 2 parts. Hood into 3.

-Use a fresh MF towel every time you buff, again for example I used one towel just for the fender flipping it between the 2 parts. They get crusty!

-You can tell when it's time to come off because it gets hazy. I timed the sections at first. At the beginning of the day when it was cool I waited 3 minutes, as it warmed up it was just over a minute. Err on the side of too early, you'll know if it's too early because it will be like spreading oil on the car and you just stop. Wait too long and you'll have a high spot. I have one small one and it does not come off sans buffing wheel!

-I did 2 coats with an hour between, with my wife helping me. We took turns applying, buffing, and getting beer. It took about 3-4 hours with the break.

-If you can, let the car sit in the sun to bake for the rest of the day to set the finish.

-I put my car in the garage for 2 days and didn't look at it. It seems like the coating really set over that time. The pop was incredible when I opened the door. I hit it with some reload because I am greedy and hit the road.

-I know it sounds like a lot of it's actually easier than waxing if you ask me.

-I didn't use it on the trim, didn't like the way it looked. So I just today grabbed some Dlux for the wheels and trim.

LMK if you have any more questions! Steve
I guess the only questions would be...... Where's the pics?? C'mon, let's see it pop! I have everything including the CQuartz UK to apply and the reload. Waiting for this rain to stop!! Pacific Northwest has been unkind!!
 

SVT-DADDY

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Yeah I guess not posting pics was pretty weak! Here ya go, just don't tell my wife that I showed her cleavage to the whole world!
IMG_0340.jpg
IMG_0341.jpg
IMG_0314.jpg
 

Spartanator

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Had a good friend do mine for about $300. I like it, IF I didn't have that friend I would prefer Xpel.
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