Ceramic Coating

[mrbojangles]

Picking up a new car next week. Never had a brand new one before, so want to protect it as much as possible from the elements over here. Black paint.

 

Has anyone had the ceramic coat done? If so, what is the cost please and is it worth it?

 

Thanks all

[mistral53]

Two elements will determine the cost - the quality of the ceramic coating product, and the extent of the paint preparation. It will be difficult for anybody to give you a useful answer because a low price could very well mean a poor application of this technology. I think in the end you will get what you pay for.........

What irks me in all this is that while labor costs here in Thailand are certainly lower than in e.g. the US, prices I have seen are equal to or even higher then over there..........go figure! That said, I would stay away from the really low ball offers.......but that is just me.

[mrbojangles]

10 hours ago, mistral53 said:

Two elements will determine the cost - the quality of the ceramic coating product, and the extent of the paint preparation. It will be difficult for anybody to give you a useful answer because a low price could very well mean a poor application of this technology. I think in the end you will get what you pay for.........

What irks me in all this is that while labor costs here in Thailand are certainly lower than in e.g. the US, prices I have seen are equal to or even higher then over there..........go figure! That said, I would stay away from the really low ball offers.......but that is just me.

 

Thanks for that mistral ???? I'll go and have a hunt around and see what prices they come up with. It's one of those dilemma's where if you don't do it when you first buy it, you never do it. On the other hand, a brand new car should have enough protection already in the paint itself.......I would think!!

[petermik]

Mr BJ...I had a new black car here a couple of years back,keeping them looking clean is a nightmare.....I followed it with a silver one, looks better and doesn`t show half as much muck on it....too late to change....p.s. I would forget the ceramic coating also,that seems the conclusion judging by the previous threads on it.....up to you of course.

[kotsak]

Just now, petermik said:

Mr BJ...I had a new black car here a couple of years back,keeping them looking clean is a nightmare.....I followed it with a silver one, looks better and doesn`t show half as much muck on it....too late to change....p.s. I would forget the ceramic coating also,that seems the conclusion judging by the previous threads on it.....up to you of course.

Totally aggree, keeping a black color car in good condition can be a full time job. Besides silver I find mountain gray color to be very good for masking/hiding dirt..

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2015_Mercedes-Benz_CLA_250_4MATIC,_Mountain_Grey_Met._-_rear_left.jpg

 

 

[Excel]

I have had 2 cars coated here. Is it worth it, hard to tell really as I have all my life hand polished my cars until then and though I do not do that any more here I honestly could not say whether it was worth the cost or not. The last one I had done was a LR Evoque which cost me 32,000 in 2014 I seemed to recall with a so called 3 year guarantee that they would re-coat it if you had an accident and needed new paintwork re-treated. Never needed to see if that held good. 

[JAS21]

3 hours ago, mrbojangles said:

 

Thanks for that mistral ???? I'll go and have a hunt around and see what prices they come up with. It's one of those dilemma's where if you don't do it when you first buy it, you never do it. On the other hand, a brand new car should have enough protection already in the paint itself.......I would think!!

On the other hand, a brand new car should have enough protection already in the paint itself.......I would think!!  Actually no...  New paint, older paint is just the same... you need to put something on it, and whatever you put on won't last long. Even ceramic coating need 'maintenance' about every three months.  

 

One of the biggest problems in Thailand is bird poo ... with the heat some will eat into your clear coat quite quickly. Best way to remove bird poo is to wet some 'unused' toilet tissue and then place it over the poo until it softens enough to allow it to be gently wiped off ....

[Benz Channarong]

i saw an ad a few months ago about pricing options for 1 year to 3 years warranty (6-12k) so why not try look for a 1 year coating first then extend if satisfied....????

[Lancashirelad]

Why buy a black car in a tropical country? It will get so much hotter inside than a lighter colour.

[Rampant Rabbit]

Snake  oil.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/8/2021 at 7:17 PM, mrbojangles said:

so want to protect it as much as possible from the elements over here.

Keep  it  out of the sun  problem solved, everytime I wash  mine I also  polish it.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/8/2021 at 7:17 PM, mrbojangles said:

want to protect it as much as possible

The  manufacturer  did  that for you by galvanising all body  parts, paints just there to make it  look  pretty these  days.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/9/2021 at 1:30 PM, JAS21 said:

Best way to remove bird poo is

To get it  off  instantly, as I keep  telling my Wife , who doesn't  listen but then she doesn't  have to clean it, I do.

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/9/2021 at 11:21 AM, Excel said:

which cost me 32,000

As I said , snake  oil and overpriced at that,  just Polish it once a month here that's  it.

[mistral53]

6 hours ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

As I said , snake  oil and overpriced at that,  just Polish it once a month here that's  it.

In case you really polish your car once a month, chances are, you will be about through the clear coat in a year to 18 months......... that is not what I consider good paint protection.

Ceramic coating does the opposite - the car is prepped (paint correction i.e. polished) once, then the ceramic coating is applied - the end result is a car paint protected up to 3 years. The reason for paint correction is to maximize shine, the coating is just an added layer of protection.

The THB 32K mentioned must be a top line application, with warranty and maintenance for 3 years included - a perfectly sensible investment for a THB 5+ mil car, probably not so much for a THB 500K car.

[Rampant Rabbit]

24 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

car paint protected up to 3 years.

???? yeah who needs  galvanised  panels.  Funny  how  all the videos  on it are done by the people selling it. My 3  year  old  car disagrees  with you  polishing theory.

Edited May 13, 2021 by Rampant Rabbit

[Rampant Rabbit]

On 5/8/2021 at 7:17 PM, mrbojangles said:

want to protect it as much as possible from the elements over here

OK, so go get it wrapped, that really  will protect it,  unlike the rocking horse nano ceramic diamond  hard with extra  graphene poop being sold.????

Edited May 13, 2021 by Rampant Rabbit

[Rdrokit]

Bought my CX30 last July and had it ceramic coated a week after I bought it. There were 3 different levels of ceramic coating and I took the middle one which was 13,000 baht which included 6 additional coatings over 3 years so I got a second coating in January and will get a 3rd in July. Car still looks like I drove it out of the showroom with 12,000km driven. I am very satisfied with the product.

[bkmbkk]

BMW is charging me for a "glass coating" package for 5 years and 24 treatments = 35000 Bht. I will understand later if it is worth it, getting the car next week.

[Yellowtail]

The ceramic coating thing seems like something of a time-share to me...

[alacrity]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:25 AM, mistral53 said:

In case you really polish your car once a month, chances are, you will be about through the clear coat in a year to 18 months......... that is not what I consider good paint protection.

Ceramic coating does the opposite - the car is prepped (paint correction i.e. polished) once, then the ceramic coating is applied - the end result is a car paint protected up to 3 years. The reason for paint correction is to maximize shine, the coating is just an added layer of protection.

The THB 32K mentioned must be a top line application, with warranty and maintenance for 3 years included - a perfectly sensible investment for a THB 5+ mil car, probably not so much for a THB 500K car.

Polishing and waxing become confused terms. Excessive polishing (with a polishing compound) will degrade the paintwork over time. Waxing re-generates the existing wax.

 

Nothing looks better than a well waxed black finish.

[alacrity]

On 5/13/2021 at 4:30 PM, Lancashirelad said:

Why buy a black car in a tropical country? It will get so much hotter inside than a lighter colour.

Black also re-radiates quicker. So cools quicker.

A/C is for keeping the car interior cool.

[mistral53]

On 5/25/2021 at 7:48 PM, alacrity said:

Polishing and waxing become confused terms. Excessive polishing (with a polishing compound) will degrade the paintwork over time. Waxing re-generates the existing wax.

 

Nothing looks better than a well waxed black finish.

At least some people have reading comprehension - not sure the luddite commenting to my post will read yours and gets properly educated on what polishing does.............lol

[Lancashirelad]

In my early 20's I worked for a Ford Main Agent. All the new and used cars in their respective showrooms were hand 'polished' by cleaning staff every morning using an easy on-easy off Autoglym (other makes available) polish. (That same polish is still available today).

 

Some of you seem to be mixing up polishing with buffing or mopping as its often called these days which entails using a cutting compound and rotary head electric machine.

Edited May 29, 2021 by Lancashirelad
typo

[Yellowtail]

In the US car lots generally just spray the cars off in the morning with DI water.

 

As I understand it, using a buffer makes polishing easier, but it is not required.

[Klonko]

THB 30k is a reasonable price as quality ceramic fluid is very expensive. I have applied ceramic protection on my car and motorcycle back in Europe and it works well, especially on the motorcycle which I have to wash myself. For the car, I think I would not do it again. And in  Thailand, having your car washed regularly is inexpensive.

[mistral53]

7 hours ago, Klonko said:

THB 30k is a reasonable price as quality ceramic fluid is very expensive. I have applied ceramic protection on my car and motorcycle back in Europe and it works well, especially on the motorcycle which I have to wash myself. For the car, I think I would not do it again. And in  Thailand, having your car washed regularly is inexpensive.

A complete car wash in Thailand is indeed inexpensive - but have you ever watched them? using the same drying towel first on the wheels and then on the paint, then on the rocker panels, then on the roof etc., probably all day long, same towel........ cheap yes, professionally - heck no.....!

 

On one of our cars with an exposed rear camera, after a few years of weekly car washes at the local shop, I could barely see anything during daylight, and just glare at night.

[mikebike]

9 minutes ago, mistral53 said:

On one of our cars with an exposed rear camera, after a few years of weekly car washes at the local shop, I could barely see anything during daylight, and just glare at night.

And you can confirm washing was the issue rather than low-quality plastic or any other issue how?

 

 My guess is everyone with the same car as you has the same issue as you... 

 

Subjective stories about an individual's personal experience are rarely helpful other than for entertainment.

[Yellowtail]

12 hours ago, mistral53 said:

A complete car wash in Thailand is indeed inexpensive - but have you ever watched them? using the same drying towel first on the wheels and then on the paint, then on the rocker panels, then on the roof etc., probably all day long, same towel........ cheap yes, professionally - heck no.....!

 

On one of our cars with an exposed rear camera, after a few years of weekly car washes at the local shop, I could barely see anything during daylight, and just glare at night.

 

On my third vehicle with an OEM rear camera and regular washes and have not experienced this. Perhaps yours is aftermarket or DIO?

 

I don't remember ever seeing the towel issue you are describing. Where I go they seem to use the big towels on the hood and roof and the small towels on the sides and they blow the wheels off with air.  

[mrbojangles]

On 5/9/2021 at 10:13 AM, petermik said:

Mr BJ...I had a new black car here a couple of years back,keeping them looking clean is a nightmare.....I followed it with a silver one, looks better and doesn`t show half as much muck on it....too late to change....p.s. I would forget the ceramic coating also,that seems the conclusion judging by the previous threads on it.....up to you of course.

 

I went and priced one up last week. Due to the size, warranty and product, I was quoted 41k. I politely left.

 

As for keeping it clean. Yep. Nightmare but it looks great in black. I've seen them in other colours and imo they don't look as good aesthetically speaking