Ceramic Coating (Detail shop or by myself)?

[got_stanged]

Hi Everyone, is it recommended to ceramic coat from a detail shop or is this something I can do by myself in my garage? Any advice is helpful. Thank you. I have no prior experience in hand washing my cars

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[Labradog]

Applying a ceramic coating is a last step of a detailing process (correct washing technique, decontamination, paint correction, then coating). If you’ve never even washed a car before then take it somewhere. Lots of good detailing videos online (ex Ammo NYC). Applying a coating is definitely something that can be done as a DIY, but you aren’t ready.

 

[Jetnoise]

Curious about this too. Local shop wants 1k.....not gonna happen.
Seems to be a good diy'r project for less coin and & quality 1 on 1 time ;)

 

[Joe 5.0]

Curious about this too. Local shop wants 1k.....not gonna happen.
Seems to be a good diy'r project for less coin and & quality 1 on 1 time ;)

That $1,000 also includes the wash, clay, paint correction, other surface preparation, materials and labor. The actual coating is the easy part. What you’re actually paying for is a labor intensive service.

 

[Mrmarkmac]

Just did ceramic on mine two weeks ago, and came out great. My car only has 2,500 miles on it, so paint is practically new to start and no correction required, just polish to make it pop.

The prep work was the real effort. All together took m better part of whole weekend.

Wash with foam cannon and microfiber mitt.
Spray down with IronX, and then wash again with mitt and foam cannon
Clay bar entire car
Polished paint
Wipe off polish oil with Carpro Eraser
2 x CQuartz UK 3.0
1 x Carpro Gliss (makes it crazy slick)

Last weekend I did all trim with DLUX, and leather with Carpro Leather. Amazing what a quality product does in comparison to cheaper ones. Trim looks slick and wet, but is dry to the touch, and slick for easy clean. Leather is soft, not greasy, and looks better than when I picked it up.

If a detailed is going to use top quality products, $1,000 isn’t bad for the amount of work involved. Products above that I used were probably $250, and two days of work.

 

[Horseplay]

The hard part isn’t necessarily the ceramic coating; it’s the detailing required beforehand. It’s back-breaking work and takes a long time.

It’s also hard to find a shop that shares my obsessive-compulsive attention to detail. It’s a learning curve, but if you really trust the people doing the work, it’s worth the money.

 

[Mrmarkmac]

The hard part isn’t necessarily the ceramic coating; it’s the detailing required beforehand. It’s back-breaking work and takes a long time.

It’s also hard to find a shop that shares my obsessive-compulsive attention to detail.

Exactly. The ceramic 2 coats took probably 3h total, but the prep was a day and a half.

 

[Voo Doo]

Well...I cut polished my Black Stang 4yrs ago... then did the entire prep..then the application...then the Reload the next day! For me... a 4-5 day process...remember, once the Ceramic is applied...use Reload the next day..then let it sit for 24hrs!!! So ya... PREP TIME and LABOR is what you are paying for!! Worth it for the novice who has no DA Polisher or products...

 

[20ducks]

Well...I cut polished my Black Stang 4yrs ago... then did the entire prep..then the application...then the Reload the next day! For me... a 4-5 day process...remember, once the Ceramic is applied...use Reload the next day..then let it sit for 24hrs!!! So ya... PREP TIME and LABOR is what you are paying for!! Worth it for the novice who has no DA Polisher or products...

Agreed. I'm a little confused about your comment: "Worth it for the novice who has no DA polisher of products.". Surely you aren't suggesting one can achieve corrected paint without a polisher and products are you?

 

[LSchicago]

I had a friend do mine for $400. Amazing work!

 

[K4fxd]

What you can do is get a spray on hybrid ceramic.

Wash the car with dawn dish soap. Then wash with a ceramic prep. Then follow the directions on the ceramic hybrid bottle. Put it in the garage over night, best to let it sit 24 hours. Then hit it with Nufinish or someother long lasting wax. This will stop the water spotting.

The paint will look like it is 6 feet deep from about 3 feet away.

 

[Horseplay]

What you can do is get a spray on hybrid ceramic.

Wash the car with dawn dish soap. Then wash with a ceramic prep. Then follow the directions on the ceramic hybrid bottle. Put it in the garage over night, best to let it sit 24 hours. Then hit it with Nufinish or someother long lasting wax. This will stop the water spotting.

The paint will look like it is 6 feet deep from about 3 feet away.

-Do not wash your car with dish soap.
-Dish soap is not for cars.
-Your car does not want to be washed with dish soap.

 

[K4fxd]

Why not? It strips off all the wax and grease. That is what you want if you are going to coat it.

 

[Voo Doo]

Why not? It strips off all the wax and grease. That is what you want if you are going to coat it.

not in a million years.... CR Pro Eraser and their products and others.. do,the perfect job! I agree Dawn is the magic for a lot of things.,,no..not cars!! Nowhere near them!!

 

[Arknsawchuck]

I agree with NO dish soap...never. Another thing to consider is do you have a garage to do it in and leave it in for the 24 hours it needs to sit. Ceramic coating is not an outdoor job. Coating the car is not hard, its all the prep that is. Your coating will only be as good as the surface you put it on. It's not for covering up imperfections.

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