Anyone done 'Ceramic coat' / 'Crystal glass coat' on their car?

[jack71]

I was thinking of doing ceramic coat. Price quoted 25k to 30k for 2 yrs. Can take back up to 8 times in 2 years. 

 

Is it worth doing?

 

Does it mean that it stays on the car for the life of the car or can it be taken off?

 

Any negatives for doing it?

thanks

[vinny41]

Itw worth doing some research on the brand of coating I came across one that was product of Germany but unable to find anyone in Germany that had used it or for sale anywhere.

You don't mention what size of car as that affects the price

I paid 12.5k baht  for a malaysian brand for a double cab pickup 5 year warranty , wash inside and out and top up if required every 6 months for 300 baht

Most places offer an underseal service(rust proofing) for 2-3k useful if where you drive the roads are flooded often

I did find coating prices range from 10k to 50K depending on the how long you want the warranty for

Edited September 14, 2022 by vinny41

[stubuzz]

27 minutes ago, jack71 said:

Can take back up to 8 times in 2 years. 

 

Is it worth doing?

 

Does it mean that it stays on the car for the life of the car or can it be taken off?

It is a sacrificial barrier the will need to be reapplied.

[vinny41]

How long will ie last I think that depends on many factors

When a ceramic or graphene coating is on your car, it is there for good. It may wear a little thin and not repel water and dirt like it did when it was fresh, but it's not gone.

https://cars.newagain.co.uk/blog.asp?topic=How-long-do-ceramic-coatings-really-last&tag=&id=39#:~:text=Ceramic Coating Guarantees,%2C comfortably for 5-years.

 

I had a red car in the uk not ceramic coated left in years in the sun after a few years paint looked dull and part of the bonnet was a different colour due to oxidation

[yankyoakum]

looking for someone in Sattahip that does this...

[rwill]

Makes it so you don't have to wax/polish to keep it shiny.  Don't believe claims about preventing chips and such.  And dirt doesn't just fall off.

[BananaGuy]

If you have a brand new vehicle then your first line of defence needs to be an (expensive) paint protection product … a physical film applied to scratch prone areas usually nose and sills.

 

’Ceramic’ products are basically glorified waxes. If your paint is new or near-new they’ll improve appearance a little and make washing easier.

 

Big ‘but ’ … no product will compensate for existing scratches, swirls, chips or sun damage … if the vehicle has been out of the showroom more than a month or two you’d be wasting money on any of these products ….

 

… money probably better saved for a re-spray or a (much cheaper) cut-and-polish job.

[DUNROAMIN]

Waste of money, if you garage your car, good polish once a year.

[thailand49]

Personally waste of money does it help sure does it last again personally no. 

Whatever guarantee they give you will know when it is too late.  

[Tropposurfer]

4 hours ago, DUNROAMIN said:

Waste of money, if you garage your car, good polish once a year.

I agree with you DunR about a waste of money ...

I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to car waxing lol ????????

 

Time between waxes depends on the 'wax' you use, the climate, the time out in the sun, the quality of the paint at application, the brand of car  ... "once a year"?

Polishing once a year is nowhere near enough if you want to preserve paint, deter rusting, and keep a deep shine and provide hydrophobic surfacing.

Carnauba in an ideal world needs to be applied roughly every 2 to 2.5 months.

Polymer waxes last a tad longer than Carnauba - there are devotees of both. Polymer/synthetic's [especially liquids] are easier to apply in my opinion.

 

I bought an expensive car in BKK a year and bit ago (my first here) and I looked very closely at a possible ceramic coatings straight from the dealer to be applied before delivery but decided against it.

I checked both with contacts in Oz and BKK just in case there was a product I was unaware of that might be amazing.

 

Ceramics don't stop chipping or scratching (micro swirl scratches from washing to a degree yes, as all waxes regularly applied will do [none will protect against micro-scratching if you use a rubbish wash and washing system e.g. dirty cloths, no rinse bucket between applying new soap to the mitt, if you use quality cleaning products e.g. like a pressure washer & around 2000 PSI no higher to blow the dust n grit off the paint before the soap is applied, using a foam gun and the pressure washer really helps with preserving the previous wax coat]. 

Properly applied quality cleaning products are always best.

Fine dirt flying past the paint will be deflected by a ceramic or good wax layer to a degree but heavy impact contaminants - no. Stuff like hot brake dust and sharp gravel particles will embed no matter what coating you have on the car.

In my opinion of owning and detailing cars for 40 odd years (and I'm damn good at it) I'd say Carnauba waxes produce the best depth of shine of all 'coatings'.

 

Regular clay-bar decontamination before waxing is also advised to help promote a mirror shine. This stop dragging of the  imbedded micro-fine gunk across the paint as you wax which simply adds more scratches.

 

if you want to take care of your cars paint ... NEVER use an automated car wash.

 

I clay bar my cars 3 times a year here and this seems to work very well.

 

I lived in one of the toughest countries on the planet for UV rays etc so I got some idea what I'm talking about. I also had a successful business detailing exotic cars.

Carnauba doesn't last quite as long as polymer/synthetics but looks deeper and better in the shine in my opinion.

Some say Carnauba wax is better on dark colours while synthetics on lighter colours.

My experience of waxing cars has taught me with light or dark colours Carnauba gives a depth of shine others do not, is well-hydrophobic, deters micro-scratching from drive-by particle strike too.

Carnauba over a year or so of regular application and buffing fills in really persistent, buffing compound resistant micro scratches far better than synthetic waxes do.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Tropposurfer

[Tiuangmoh]

How about PPF? The idea behind it seems very logical ie protecting the paint with a physical plastic film that seems very strong (nail puncture test).

[straylight]

Especially good for white color cars as they tend to yellow here.

[rickudon]

Metallic finishes last longer.  My car 10 years old, not garaged (partially protected by a roofed area) and no special care (washed when too dirty). A couple of chips but i think plastic underneath so no rust. Nearly as good as new. Also have to drive through floods some times. Just a basic eco-car.

[jack71]

48 minutes ago, Tropposurfer said:

I agree with you DunR about a waste of money ...

I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to car waxing lol ????????

 

Time between waxes depends on the 'wax' you use, the climate, the time out in the sun, the quality of the paint at application, the brand of car  ... "once a year"?

Polishing once a year is nowhere near enough if you want to preserve paint, deter rusting, and keep a deep shine and provide hydrophobic surfacing.

Carnauba in an ideal world needs to be applied roughly every 2 to 2.5 months.

Polymer waxes last a tad longer than Carnauba - there are devotees of both. Polymer/synthetic's [especially liquids] are easier to apply in my opinion.

 

I bought an expensive car in BKK a year and bit ago (my first here) and I looked very closely at a possible ceramic coatings straight from the dealer to be applied before delivery but decided against it.

I checked both with contacts in Oz and BKK just in case there was a product I was unaware of that might be amazing.

 

Ceramics don't stop chipping or scratching (micro swirl scratches from washing to a degree yes, as all waxes regularly applied will do [none will protect against micro-scratching if you use a rubbish wash and washing system e.g. dirty cloths, no rinse bucket between applying new soap to the mitt, if you use quality cleaning products e.g. like a pressure washer & around 2000 PSI no higher to blow the dust n grit off the paint before the soap is applied, using a foam gun and the pressure washer really helps with preserving the previous wax coat]. 

Properly applied quality cleaning products are always best.

Fine dirt flying past the paint will be deflected by a ceramic or good wax layer to a degree but heavy impact contaminants - no. Stuff like hot brake dust and sharp gravel particles will embed no matter what coating you have on the car.

In my opinion of owning and detailing cars for 40 odd years (and I'm damn good at it) I'd say Carnauba waxes produce the best depth of shine of all 'coatings'.

 

Regular clay-bar decontamination before waxing is also advised to help promote a mirror shine. This stop dragging of the  imbedded micro-fine gunk across the paint as you wax which simply adds more scratches.

 

if you want to take care of your cars paint ... NEVER use an automated car wash.

 

I clay bar my cars 3 times a year here and this seems to work very well.

 

I lived in one of the toughest countries on the planet for UV rays etc so I got some idea what I'm talking about. I also had a successful business detailing exotic cars.

Carnauba doesn't last quite as long as polymer/synthetics but looks deeper and better in the shine in my opinion.

Some say Carnauba wax is better on dark colours while synthetics on lighter colours.

My experience of waxing cars has taught me with light or dark colours Carnauba gives a depth of shine others do not, is well-hydrophobic, deters micro-scratching from drive-by particle strike too.

Carnauba over a year or so of regular application and buffing fills in really persistent, buffing compound resistant micro scratches far better than synthetic waxes do.

 

 

Nice reply thanks. 

 

I wanted to know if you can give step by step instructions how to wax ones car and advise the best brand. I don't know how to do it

thanks

[G Rex]

Great response from Tropposurfer.

 I have owned a multitude of cars, both here and in Australia. I had a stable of 6 Mustangs before I left there for good.  
I have always detailed and cut and polished my own cars, using various products.  I am getting lazier as I get older! and have applied AvalonKing Armour Shield IX to several of my cars here in LOS , and get the ceramic coat shine and protection at a fraction of the cost of the shops because it is DIY. 
I have been very happy with the results- my cars reel water very well, and are much easier to clean when dirty , The ceramic will scratch - but “buffs out” if required.

[JBChiangRai]

19 hours ago, Tiuangmoh said:

How about PPF? The idea behind it seems very logical ie protecting the paint with a physical plastic film that seems very strong (nail puncture test).

My car wash of choice is run by a Chinese guy who is anal about how a car should be washed/protected and he offers a 48 hour warranty, if the car gets dirty in 48 hours, he washes it again for free but that doesn't extend to redoing the interior.

 

He jet washes the car first to remove dirt, then some kind of detergent is manually applied before an automatic contactless car wash rinses the car and blow dries it.  I have learned a lot from him, for example the first thing I do at any other car wash is check the staff, if they are wearing rings, watches, belts, necklaces they get a lecture from me and I leave.

 

He put a ceramic coating on my last car from new, a Benz E class, I paid 9,000 baht for it and he also did my daughters Kawasaki Ninja 400 for free.  Every 3 months he topped it up for free.  I wash my car every time it gets dirty, sometimes 2 or 3 times a week.  Ceramic coating helps with swirls, but it doesn't stop them, it doesn't stop stone chips/scratches at all.  If I remember right he used Kinsho Japanese Ceramic coating, I did some research and unsurprisingly, it came out as one of the best.  After 2 years he told me it was wearing off because the car was washed so often and wanted to renew it, I passed because I had plans to change the car.  

 

On my current car, a Porsche I went to another guy here in Chiang Rai who fitted Rhino Self-Healing PPF.  More expensive at 65,000 baht but if you want to preserve the paint, nothing else comes close.  You can remove the film after a few years and the paint underneath is still new.  Fitting it is a PITA, it's quite thick and it probably took him 4 or 5 attempts to get it right.  It will peel and it's important that the installer offers a warranty to replace any section that peels, typically tight bends.  There are 2 ways of fitting PPF, computer cut or manually cut.  Computer cut will make the pieces applied slightly smaller than the cars panels and at the edge of each panel there will be a lip where the film is slightly smaller than the panel, typically 1mm.  Over time you will get a black line there as dirt accumulates.  Manually cut, the film will cover the panel, wrap over the edge and impossible to tell it has film unless you look under the panel (door, bonnet, trunk etc) where you can see where it finishes.  I paid extra for self-healing PPF, you can scuff it up with a wire brush and the scratches disappear in the sun.  On reflection, I wouldn't pay the extra for that.  I did have to pay 6,000 baht for where a motorcycle tore the film with a foot stand, and a large piece needed replacing, fortunately the paint work was undamaged.  The self healing film appears to stop swirls in the film as it repairs them, but whether it's worth the cost, I'm not sure.  The finish with self-healing PPF is not as good as the original paint, on sharp bends in the bodywork, the film is stretched and if you look closely you can see it.  My intention is to remove the film after a few years to either renew it with a colour change or sell the car.  If you have an expensive car and want to get top dollar for it when you sell it, or you drive fast and want to avoid stone chips (I don't) then I'd say it's worth doing.  The main benefit is when you remove the film, the car paintwork is still brand new.

 

Some people even put ceramic coating on top of PPF, I don't think it's worth doing that, certainly self healing PPF will never swirl.