Ceramic...

[mandp]

Good Day, All.

My current car was professionally `Ceramic Coated` with Gtechniq Crystal Serum with Exo from new. (with a 9yr guarantee)

I'm changing the car very soon and am intending to again get it professionally treated from new.

But, I'm unable to get anyone within the local area to ``Ceramic Coat` it and being as its a few days procedure I don't want to do all that traveling back and forth.

So, I'm thinking about a `Ceramic Polish` instead which I can get done locally and at a far more attractive cost!

It'll obviously have nothing like the longevity of the Ceramic Coat but I was wondering whether anyone on here had any experience of this Ceramic Polish` and could give me any tips.

Many thanks.

 

Mike.

[UndertheRadar]

It’s just a polish that uses the buzz word ceramic. 
Ive tried a few of them and some of the quick “ceramic” sprays just out of interest, and most can’t even outlast a hand applied sealant or a good wax. 
it’ll be hard to beat a genuine ceramic coating once your used to it. 

[ckyliu]

You're going to have to be more specific about the product, what "Ceramic Polish" is it you speak of? Like UnderTheRadar said unfortunately “ceramic” is a buzz word that everyone is using now, it covers such a huge range of things it’s almost meaningless beyond saying the product has some silica content that will promote water beading. And "polish" implies no protection abilities, polish is used to correct defects by fine abrasives and sometimes polymer fillers.

 

Any long lasting tough ceramic coating with 3+ year life span requires professional application after machine correction (yes, even on a new car), it's unlikely to be a one day affair but plenty of detailers offer it using a variety of products, so you should find someone local who can get it turned around in a couple of days.

 

Here's a post I did elsewhere last year that you may find helpful, the bit I've bolded in particular:

Quote

There are good ceramic sprays using SiO2 chemistry such as TAC Moonlight, Gtechniq C2v3, Gyeon Wet Coat or Kamikaze Overcoat but these are not to be confused with professional ceramic coatings that last for years; you’ll get a similar stay clean and bead effect but perhaps only for 6 months and with little scratch resistance, IMO these are more correctly “silica toppers/sealants”. Generally simple to apply with a spray on and wipe off, although the car should be very clean first - cost wise £15-£25 for the spray and then another £10 on decent microfibres (not the cheap nasty supermarket ones, proper Korean edgless 300+ gsm plush).

 

Longer term ceramic coatings that last 2+ years such as Cquartz UK 3.0, GTechniq Crystal Serum Light or Shelby Ceramic are reputable but these really need polish and decontaminate before application so they can bond properly - cost of the chemicals is circa £50.

 

The ones that last 3-6 years I think need professional application for £350-£700 as they take time to cure and if you mess up, good luck getting them off! At that price the car will be fully machine polished to almost perfect paint first. Also a point people forget is that any scratches incurred post longlife coating are very difficult to polish unless aggressively machine compounding or waiting until the coating has worn off. And they usually have specific products recommended to wash the car with after to top-up the protection, so there’s an on-going cost with them.

 

Edited 19 January, 2022 by ckyliu

[mandp]

1 hour ago, ckyliu said:

You're going to have to be more specific about the product, what "Ceramic Polish" is it you speak of? Like UnderTheRadar said unfortunately “ceramic” is a buzz word that everyone is using now, it covers such a huge range of things it’s almost meaningless beyond saying the product has some silica content that will promote water beading. And "polish" implies no protection abilities, polish is used to correct defects by fine abrasives and sometimes polymer fillers.

 

Any long lasting tough ceramic coating with 3+ year life span requires professional application after machine correction (yes, even on a new car), it's unlikely to be a one day affair but plenty of detailers offer it using a variety of products, so you should find someone local who can get it turned around in a couple of days.

 

Here's a post I did elsewhere last year that you may find helpful, the bit I've bolded in particular:

 

Thank you for your input, `ckyliu`.

Above is the sort of thing I was thinking of.

That said, because I cannot find a `Professional Detailer` able to apply a proper Ceramic Coat (as in my original post) within a 50 mile radius, I have more or less decided to get a local Car Valet chap to professionally prepare my new car the best he can using Polish, Sealant and Wax.

As I said, it wont be as good or as protected as my Skoda, but I'll have to live with that.

Thanks again for you reply.

[UndertheRadar]

23 minutes ago, mandp said:

Thank you for your input, `ckyliu`.

Above is the sort of thing I was thinking of.

That said, because I cannot find a `Professional Detailer` able to apply a proper Ceramic Coat (as in my original post) within a 50 mile radius, I have more or less decided to get a local Car Valet chap to professionally prepare my new car the best he can using Polish, Sealant and Wax.

As I said, it wont be as good or as protected as my Skoda, but I'll have to live with that.

Thanks again for you reply.

I tried the ceramic spray turtle wax when it first came out, as reviews raved about it and I wanted to see for myself. I completely corrected a bonnet. I mean wet sanded and brought back using 4 stages of pad with the machine. 
Then panel wiped before application. 
It managed a few months before it looked like it wasn’t there anymore and to be honest it’s just as handy to apply a genuine ceramic coating, as the spray turtle wax flashed terribly and was a complete PITA to put on. 
not sure how long that one would last, but I’d maybe be more inclined to see if whoever preps the car would be happy enough to apply something like can coat, as it’s straight forward and lasts. 

[mandp]

19 minutes ago, UndertheRadar said:

I tried the ceramic spray turtle wax when it first came out, as reviews raved about it and I wanted to see for myself. I completely corrected a bonnet. I mean wet sanded and brought back using 4 stages of pad with the machine. 
Then panel wiped before application. 
It managed a few months before it looked like it wasn’t there anymore and to be honest it’s just as handy to apply a genuine ceramic coating, as the spray turtle wax flashed terribly and was a complete PITA to put on. 
not sure how long that one would last, but I’d maybe be more inclined to see if whoever preps the car would be happy enough to apply something like can coat, as it’s straight forward and lasts. 

Sounds like a fine option.

Many thanks, `UndertheRadar`

[MikeTV]

On 19/01/2022 at 15:24, mandp said:

Thank you for your input, `ckyliu`.

Above is the sort of thing I was thinking of.

That said, because I cannot find a `Professional Detailer` able to apply a proper Ceramic Coat (as in my original post) within a 50 mile radius, I have more or less decided to get a local Car Valet chap to professionally prepare my new car the best he can using Polish, Sealant and Wax.

As I said, it wont be as good or as protected as my Skoda, but I'll have to live with that.

Thanks again for you reply.

I can recommend the Turtle Wax Hybrid series - not overly expensive and does a good job.  Won’t beat a professional indoor machine detail though but good enough for the weekly wash 👍