Anyone Ceramic Coat their Paint?

[zcspec]

I am considering having my AR's paint and aftermarket rims ceramic coated or a variant of it. Has anyone taken this leap of faith? Please offer me your feedback!

[dbv2]

I've seen the ad for Ceramic Pro Americas.. It looks VERY promising, they have an application that is "lifetime".. Unfortunately they have no contacted me back since I emailed them two weeks ago, asking about local dealers in Toronto Canada...

[adamazing]

I have a buddy who owns a high-end detail shop, and is also a dealer for C. Quartz. When I took delivery of my forged AG wheels, I had him ceramic coat them and let me tell you... smartest idea I've ever had. Brake dust just kind of collects in little patches due to the centrifugal force while driving but I can literally just blow it away. My wheels are in flawless condition almost a year later, not a chip, scratch, or ding on them. If I had the funds available to do the entire car at the time, I probably would have.

[dbv2]

I have a buddy who owns a high-end detail shop, and is also a dealer for C. Quartz. When I took delivery of my forged AG wheels, I had him ceramic coat them and let me tell you... smartest idea I've ever had. Brake dust just kind of collects in little patches due to the centrifugal force while driving but I can literally just blow it away. My wheels are in flawless condition almost a year later, not a chip, scratch, or ding on them. If I had the funds available to do the entire car at the time, I probably would have.

My mechanic shop also does detailing.. I might look into buying the product and having them apply it to my car. But I've seen the videos, ceramic coating is the truth, when I get around to buying wheels for my car that will be a must.

I'm trying to find a clear bra or a shop who can do it.. I'm paranoid of ruining my new car..

[The Fat Kid]

I have Xpel (standard + full hood) and Opti-Coat on my S4.

Opti helps a bit when it comes to keeping the paint in good shape, but it will still pick up contaminants and need to be cared for as if it were another clear coat. Also, it is NOT intended to prevent dings, scratches, or chips. Sure, it might help for light scratches and swirls, but you need PPF for impact-related incidents like getting hit with small pebbles on the highway.

I would do an entire car in PPF if it were in the budget.

[zcspec]

I have a buddy who owns a high-end detail shop, and is also a dealer for C. Quartz. When I took delivery of my forged AG wheels, I had him ceramic coat them and let me tell you... smartest idea I've ever had. Brake dust just kind of collects in little patches due to the centrifugal force while driving but I can literally just blow it away. My wheels are in flawless condition almost a year later, not a chip, scratch, or ding on them. If I had the funds available to do the entire car at the time, I probably would have.

Exactly the feedback which I am looking for. I treasure my car and rims and it's good to know you've had good success with the product.

[JeriQo]

Exactly the feedback which I am looking for. I treasure my car and rims and it's good to know you've had good success with the product.

ceramic pro in kirkland advertised it for 475 bucks.

called them and itll run you about $1200.

where you planning on getting it done?

[adamazing]

You'll need to get a paint correction service performed before applying any kind of ceramic coating though. Otherwise it kind of defeats the point. Full car treatments + ceramic usually ballpark around the $1500-$2000 range.

[JeriQo]

You'll need to get a paint correction service performed before applying any kind of ceramic coating though. Otherwise it kind of defeats the point. Full car treatments + ceramic usually ballpark around the $1500-$2000 range.

yep a paint correction which i dont need which is still "required"

my paints in immaculate condition. thats why i had to pass.

[Shimmy]

I've used Cquartz and Aquartz on previous cars. To be honest, I really didn't see much of a value due to my detailing schedule. I clay, polish and seal/wax once a year... clay seal/wax once a year... So twice a year I'm stripping the sealant/wax and reapplying. The nano coating work, but they still scratch up just as easily. Don't believe the marketing. In the end, it didn't make sense for me to spend that much on those types of coating only to strip them off and reapply that many times due to the inevitable swirls, road grime that you get within a 6 month duration.

I have a brand new bottle of Cquartz if ya want it. :-)

[ChoyV]

I did the whole process DIY. I took a 1 day Hobbyist/Enthusiast training from Esoteric Details here in New Albany, OH. I just bought the stuff from them with the lifetime discount as part of the training. As what mentioned from previous post, you need to do the wash and clay, paint corrections, wash again to get rid of the dust then quartz coating and Cure applications. I used Gyeon since this is my DD car and park mostly outside. You can use Kamikaze which is more shiny but a little less durable. It took me 5 days to do the whole process, that includes the 24 hours curing time. Esoteric did my other car.

[JeriQo]

I've used Cquartz and Aquartz on previous cars. To be honest, I really didn't see much of a value due to my detailing schedule. I clay, polish and seal/wax once a year... clay seal/wax once a year... So twice a year I'm stripping the sealant/wax and reapplying. The nano coating work, but they still scratch up just as easily. Don't believe the marketing. In the end, it didn't make sense for me to spend that much on those types of coating only to strip them off and reapply that many times due to the inevitable swirls, road grime that you get within a 6 month duration.

I have a brand new bottle of Cquartz if ya want it. :-)

ill take that!

[Tyguy]

I am considering having my AR's paint and aftermarket rims ceramic coated or a variant of it. Has anyone taken this leap of faith? Please offer me your feedback!

I've been using coatings for years and swear by them for paint and rims. Optimum was my preferred brand, but they discontinued my favorite coating product, so when I purchased my A4 I tried something new, Gtechniq CSL and EXO. Gtechniq turned out to be horrible with hazing, both imbedded in the coating and then with additional surface hazing when water drips down the mirror and door handles. Awful stuff that I'll be polishing off soon. I'll try out the reformulation of Optimum Gloss Coat next.

I use coatings for two reasons: avoid acid damage, and limit swirls in the clear coat. Carnauba and synthetic sealants never handled those two problems well, but coatings do, plus they make routine cleaning easier. The coating will swirl just like clear coat, but as long as the swirls are minor, it's the coating taking the abuse rather than the paint.

[zcspec]

Gtechniq CSL and EXO. Gtechniq turned out to be horrible with hazing, both imbedded in the coating and then with additional surface hazing when water drips down the mirror and door handles. Awful stuff that I'll be polishing off soon.

The detailer who I had inspect my AR today for the work uses Gtechnig EXO-2. I'm a little disheartened to see your bad experience and hope that perhaps, the "2" stands for version or update EXO "2." We'll see as the quote I received verse the amount of work he's putting in seems to be a pretty fair deal.

[14S4GWM]

I had full paint correction done and C Quartz applied on all exterior parts of the vehicle including wheels. 750$ in my area. Prices do fluctuate depending on your location. Best money i've spent so far. Makes cleaning the car so much easier. I'll have it on every car I own from here on out.

[Powderhound]

Ceramic pro on wife's car a year ago, stored outside, daily driver, water still beads up and rolls off like a fresh wax. Ten year warranty and once a year for $80 it gets an inspection, wash, and additional coat of a "sport" sealant as well. Best investment ever. However, on my car the coating doesn't last as long since the xpel is more porous than the clear coat. Still performs well but end up doing the $80 "sport" coat every six months to keep it fresh, also a daily driver and stored outside 24/7.

[Tyguy]

The detailer who I had inspect my AR today for the work uses Gtechnig EXO-2. I'm a little disheartened to see your bad experience and hope that perhaps, the "2" stands for version or update EXO "2." We'll see as the quote I received verse the amount of work he's putting in seems to be a pretty fair deal.

I applied a coat of CSL and then two coats of EXO-2 per recommendations from the manufacturer, so I can't determine if the problems arose from the CSL, the EXO, or the combination of the two. I will say this, the coating is very hydrophobic and does a nice job of beading water as a new coating. Gloss is decent, too, but that's mostly due to how much time and effort I invested in the surface prep before the coatings. I can't vouch for longevity since I'll be polishing it off after a couple of months.

Below is a picture of the surface haze I mentioned. The hazy patches appear after a rain storm or washing the vehicle and wherever water drips down the vertical surfaces. The arrow on the bottom shows where water is dripping down, and then the arrow on the top points out the haze that developed since the last wash (last week).



One other negative characteristic of the Gtechniq combo I started noticing this weekend is a strange spotting on the vehicle horizontal surfaces. I noticed tiny water-spot dots appearing that wouldn't wash off, which I didn't experience with Optimum. The good news is that both the surface haze resulting from water and the spots on the horizontal surfaces buff out with a microfiber towel and Optimum detail spray, but of course, that step adds time to a normal wash with the potential to create fine halos after rubbing down the surface. Unfortunately there are hazy spots embedded in the coating that won't come out until I polish the coating off the paint. Overall I dislike this product combo and will steer clear of Gtechniq in the future.

I'm hoping your experience will be better than mine since only the EXO will be applied and no CSL like in my case.

[zcspec]

Sounds like you've had good personal experience with the product and I do hope it works out for me. I will say though, a combination of your elbow grease and product use gives one amazingly looking mirror finish. It's just an exaggeration, but damn!!! I can see almost all the pores of the stones on the column of your house!

[Tyguy]

LOL. Thanks. It's a 2013 that I purchased in January, and unfortunately the previous owner didn't follow good wash technique protocols. Later I'll post up some pictures of the process to bring out the shine. Audi brilliant black is terrific for showing off paint care efforts, and equally amazing at showing neglect.