Hi 

i wonder if any of our helpful members can give any advice as regards ceramic wax and their experience of it and if so where is best to purchase

i have a 2014 superb facelift in ocean blue I believe the colour is known as it’s a dark blue which sometimes looks green depending on the sun 

The car is kept clean and tidy and has a good shine and coat of wax on it at the minute

i recently came across a utube video of ceramic wax being applied to a black Audi and it looked to be a good job 

I was considering applying this to the Skoda and wondered if anyone else has experience of using it

many thanks Eric 

Seconded. I have a new car arriving in a couple of months and even though it’s a lease I’d like to keep it looking decent. 

 

I’ve been looking at various quotes for local companies and I’ve found one based on Leamington Spa (local to me) who come to you to do it, and they do the exterior and interior for £280. “The Diamondbrite treatment includes interior carpet and upholstery both fabric and leather protection and exterior paint protection along with alloy wheel protection”

 

its not a dealer which which makes me feel more confident about it, as does them doing it on my drive so I can actually see what they do. 

 

Doubts come from what seems to be a much lower price than elsewhere and also that it’s done in a day whereas others seem to be overnight or more jobs. 

 

I have zero interest in doing this myself. I never wash my own car, happy to take it to the local hand wash and pay someone else to do it, so let’s not go down the “you can do it yourself” route  I don’t mind spending £300ish if it’s relatively worth it, but reluctant to go much north of that, as it’s only a lease after all. 

 

Any input from someone who’s had diamondbrite or similar but not from a dealer would really be welcomed - thanks!

Please dont fall for the diamondbrite ****, the products are the worst out there, if you want to get your car protected then find a detailer who uses professional products like carbon collective or gtechniq. Supaguard, lifeshine and diamond brite are the treatments that you should avoid at all costs

Hmmm. I’ve been doing some further reading and - at best - the opinions are very mixed. 

 

As its only a lease car I don’t want to spend too much, and from the looks of it to get a really decent product I’m looking more like £500 which I don’t really want to pay for something I’ll only have for 24 months (and don’t have to worry about resale values). 

 

So I’m either going to bite the bullet and give it ago myself (genuinely don’t think I can be bothered with it all) or just live with the gradually deteriorating paint finish (more likely!). 

 

Thanks @Vrsboi for your input. 

Kamikaze Miyabi as a base coat then ISM Pro as a topcoat. 

 

Cant beat this combo - trust me!

I had a new car protection detail completed on mine, at new, for £300, by a local detailer who I trust implicitly.  This was using Gtechniq products, including C5 Wheel Armour - most impressive.  Worth every penny in my opinion, and topped up once a year since.

 

Agree with Vrsboi about ones to avoid.

 

Gaz

5 hours ago, BGB said:

Kamikaze Miyabi as a base coat then ISM Pro as a topcoat. 

 

Cant beat this combo - trust me!

Thanks for the tip. I’ve done some reading and it sounds like it might be one of the easier ones to apply (which appeals to me!) I’ll look into some more, so thanks 

5 hours ago, V6TDI said:

I had a new car protection detail completed on mine, at new, for £300, by a local detailer who I trust implicitly.  This was using Gtechniq products, including C5 Wheel Armour - most impressive.  Worth every penny in my opinion, and topped up once a year since.

I’ve heard Gtechniq is good and seen some great looking pictures, but every quote/price I’ve seen is upwards of £450 which is getting beyond sensible territory for me. And looks like you’re in Eastbourne which is a bit of a drive from the Midlands 

42 minutes ago, maffyou said:

upwards of £450

 

This is cheap. 

 

People are always chasing the lowest prices possible and expecting the world. You get what you pay for. 

 

The double ceramic coating (and a third on the windows) we have on our Octavia cost me £980. 

 

1 minute ago, BGB said:

 

This is cheap. 

 

People are always chasing the lowest prices possible and expecting the world. You get what you pay for. 

 

The double ceramic coating (and a third on the windows) we have on our Octavia cost me £980. 

 

Paying £450 for a car I don’t own and will give back after 2 years is getting into silly money. That effectively increases my monthly rental by £20 a month, which I don’t personally consider a worthwhile use of my money. And £1000 is just silly money for my purposes. If I was buying a car that I intended to keep for 4+ years it might be a different matter, but even then I doubt I’d be prepared to spend that much.

 

It’s not about chasing the lowest prices, although why would anyone willingly spend more than they needed to if they could avoid it? It’s about considering what I can afford, what I’m willing to pay for something, and whether that will meet my needs.

 

Would I like something which can help keep my car looking decent? Yes. 

Can I afford to pay upwards of £500 for it? Yes. 

Is it a necessity? No. 

Am I willing to pay upwards of £500 for it? No, it’s not important enough for me, there are other things I’d rather spend that money  on. 

Seems like more money than sense is the problem.  You can get some really good Meguiars stuff at Halfords. Then just do it yourself , enjoy some satisfaction and reward yourself.

47 minutes ago, melbury said:

Seems like more money than sense is the problem.  You can get some really good Meguiars stuff at Halfords. Then just do it yourself , enjoy some satisfaction and reward yourself.

 

We are car enthusiasts - we always spend more money then the normal guy.

 

Sounds like you are a Turtle Wax guy, have fun. Remember, wax on - wax off.

No ! I think I said meguiars but whatever. Being a member of an enthusiasts club myself I can only recommend the satisfaction of doing the work ones self. Never heard of an enthusiast who doesn't want to. Although there could be some who want to but for various reasons can't.

I'd recommend Soft 99 Fusso Dark if you are planning to do it yourself. It isn't "ceramic" as such, but promises and delivers brilliant results and longevity, with pretty much no chance of getting it wrong. I put two very thin coats on mine, and repeat the process after 6 months. In between I top it up with alternate coats of Meguiar's Ultimate Wax and Quik-Wax. Obviously the outcome is largely a result of the quality of the preparation, so you would also need to invest in a good paint cleanser (I use Bilt Hamber) and decontamination products such as Oblitarate and Iron-X or other similar metal deposit remover to use before you start with the Fusso. You can go crazy of course (I have gone from machine wash to fairly committed/obsessed home cleaner in just one year) and it certainly can get expensive, though you can get everything you need for an initial investment of c£100, and a whole lot more satisfaction from seeing the results of doing it yourself.

Thanks @BriskodaJeff for the tips. I guess I’ll see how I feel closer to the time. I’ve just found out my car is going to be a couple of months later so won’t be arriving until July time now, and as I’ll have more time in the summer (and the weather might even be nicer!) I might feel inclined to give it a go! 

 

Will come back for your tips if I do! 

Honestly, wash the car, polish it with a reasonable polish, then apply two coats of collenite 476s.

 

Looks good enough and lasts 6 months plus even through winter.

 

Car will look good and total outlay will be under £50.

 

if it’s going back in 2 years why spend loads.

Edited 12 March, 20197 yr by cheezemonkhai

On 16/02/2019 at 18:29, BriskodaJeff said:

I'd recommend Soft 99 Fusso Dark if you are planning to do it yourself. It isn't "ceramic" as such, but promises and delivers brilliant results and longevity, with pretty much no chance of getting it wrong. I put two very thin coats on mine, and repeat the process after 6 months. In between I top it up with alternate coats of Meguiar's Ultimate Wax and Quik-Wax. Obviously the outcome is largely a result of the quality of the preparation, so you would also need to invest in a good paint cleanser (I use Bilt Hamber) and decontamination products such as Oblitarate and Iron-X or other similar metal deposit remover to use before you start with the Fusso. You can go crazy of course (I have gone from machine wash to fairly committed/obsessed home cleaner in just one year) and it certainly can get expensive, though you can get everything you need for an initial investment of c£100, and a whole lot more satisfaction from seeing the results of doing it yourself.

I can vouch for Soft 99 Fusso too! Very durable, relatively inexpensive and very easy to apply.

 

A true (i.e. one that is worth having) ceramic coating needs almost lab conditions to apply correctly and plenty of prep work to make sure you're not sealing in damage or other contamination.

 

There's a guy local(ish) to me who is one of the few certified detailers in the country that can apply a self-healing ceramic coating (youtube Feynlabs self-healing ceramic coating) but before applying it he spends 30-60 hours machine polishing/preping the vehicle and charges around £1500 for the service!  He tends to do higher end cars and again, if you're interested in this sort of stuff look up "The Car Carer Witham", his attention to detail is second to none!!

 

Anyway, I digress...... as Briskodajeff says, with a moderate investment in some good quality products, you can prep and protect your car better than these snake-oil treatments the dealers sell you.  Once you invest a little time up front and apply a decent wax/sealant, normal cleaning becomes very easy.

 

I can clean my car and the wife's C-Max, including wheels (and inside of the glass if the girls have put their mucky mitts all over it) in around an hour.

 

 

On 12/03/2019 at 09:26, cheezemonkhai said:

if it’s going back in 2 years why spend loads.

I wholeheartedly agree! But I’m also lazy and get no pleasure from cleaning cars (complete chore for me) so it’s finding the balance 

 

As I said before, seeing as July is looking like a probable delivery date I might be inclined as a) the weather will hopefully be good and b) I’ll be on summer hols then so will have time!

 

Thanks for the advice