POLL: Should we get Ceramic Coating to help...

[JSFoster75]

Trying to decide if we should get Ceramic Coating done... (5-year warranty)... Cost is $1,150 + Tax
Our desired outcome is to reduce paint scratches from the automatic, full-contact car washes. We know it won't help with rock chips, etc...

 

[Guest675]

Nothing will prevent scratches on automatic car washes. You could do whole vehicle PPF but the PPF will scratch in the automatic car wash. Plus they are only good for about 5 years and could leave residue/require repainting when removing the ppf if left on too long. PPF gets a hard pass in my book. You either need to hand wash the vehicle to minimize (not prevent) scratches, or accept swirl marks on your paint with auto car washes.

 

[kruising]

why would you want to wash it? jk

 

[JSFoster75]

I found this article helpful...

The Pros and Cons of Ceramic Coating: Is It Worth It? | MCC

Considering ceramic coating for your car? Understand disadvantages of ceramic coating and weigh them against the benefits. Explore more to make an informed decision.

mancavedetail.com

 

[JSFoster75]

And this one:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a33918031/what-ceramic-coatings-can-and-cant-do-for-your-car/

 

[LCNorth]

The quality of these products is only as good as the quality of the application. For best results, see a proper detail shop with a strong history of satisfied customers.

I’ve had ceramic coating on all my cars since 2015. My wife has had company cars throughout that timeframe she refused to spend $ on coatings for. So I’ve washed and cared for coated and not coated side by side.

Ceramic coating makes your car SO MUCH easier to wash. I often don’t need to touch it.

Quick wash: Rinse, snow foam, let it sit a minute, rinse, dry with a leaf blower,done.
Full wash: Rinse, snow foam, let it sit a minute, rinse, car wash in a foam canon, let it sit a minute, quick once over with a wash mit, rinse, dry with a leaf blower, done.

The quick wash doesn’t do a remotely complete job with the uncoated company car. I have to do the full wash. And use more pressure on trouble spots. And I have to dry by hand because the water doesn’t bead up enough for the leaf blower to work.

Ceramic coating alone doesn’t do much to protect your car’s paint from physical damage. That’s environmental. As in, don’t use automatic brush/cloth washes. Ceramic coating holds up just fine in the occasional touchless wash. Rock chips, road debris, that can all still leave marks in the paint. But usually reduced enough to be resolved with paint correction (polishing).

PPF is a different beast. A good detail shop will install and maintain it. They’ll inspect it whenever you take your vehicle in, and they’ll let you know when it’s approaching replacement time. It’s self-healing meaning minor marks will clear up in the heat of the sun.

And yes, you can put ceramic on top of PPF to maintain the ease of cleaning.

On my LC, I got PPF on the front end (hood, painted bumpers, front fenders, a-pillars, and leading edge of the roof). Primarily to protect against rock chips. I got ceramic coating on the entire vehicle. For the first couple of years, rain beads up like mad and everything just falls off it. Quick washes are all I need unless it gets really dirty.

Also wash regularly for best results. If you let gunk sit for weeks in the sun, it will still end up sticking to ceramic and you will need to go hands on to wash it off. Then it goes back to being easy washes.

Final note: most ceramic products come with a maintenance product you use every few washes. You just wipe it on after washing. Easy.

All my vehicles on trading day look exactly like when I got them.

 

[bywaysnothighways]

My biggest concern is trail "pin striping". This is my first new vehicle I will be taking offroad and on the east coast tight trails leave most vehicles with pin striping. My other offroad vehicles are older and I'm not worried about it, but this being expensive and brand new I am more concerned. I'm wondering if Ceramic coat would be a good enough barrier against light trail pin striping? I'm also considering wrapping it as maybe that would give more protection, could even use ceramic coat over the wrap? Anyone with experience in this area?

 

[ultane]

Quick wash: Rinse, snow foam, let it sit a minute, rinse, dry with a leaf blower,done.
Full wash: Rinse, snow foam, let it sit a minute, rinse, car wash in a foam canon, let it sit a minute, quick once over with a wash mit, rinse, dry with a leaf blower, done.


And yes, you can put ceramic on top of PPF to maintain the ease of cleaning.

What is this ‘snow foam’ and ‘foam cannon’ of which you speak?

Inquiring minds want to know..

 

[utahguy]

My biggest concern is trail "pin striping". This is my first new vehicle I will be taking offroad and on the east coast tight trails leave most vehicles with pin striping. My other offroad vehicles are older and I'm not worried about it, but this being expensive and brand new I am more concerned. I'm wondering if Ceramic coat would be a good enough barrier against light trail pin striping? I'm also considering wrapping it as maybe that would give more protection, could even use ceramic coat over the wrap? Anyone with experience in this area?

Ceramic won't prevent but the lightest pin striping. I ceramic coat all of my vehicles and I offroad, but pinstriping still occurs. Paint protection film is the only thing I've found that reliably protects the paint, but it too will be damaged, so you'll see striping in the PPF. Some PPF is self healing when heated and it'll help with appearance.

Ceramic can be applied on top of wraps but it won't last as long.

 

[utahguy]

What is this ‘snow foam’ and ‘foam cannon’ of which you speak?

Inquiring minds want to know..

Snow foam:

 

[ultane]

Snow foam:
View attachment 9027

Shut up and take my money..

 

[NoMe cruiser]

My biggest concern is trail "pin striping". This is my first new vehicle I will be taking offroad and on the east coast tight trails leave most vehicles with pin striping. My other offroad vehicles are older and I'm not worried about it, but this being expensive and brand new I am more concerned. I'm wondering if Ceramic coat would be a good enough barrier against light trail pin striping? I'm also considering wrapping it as maybe that would give more protection, could even use ceramic coat over the wrap? Anyone with experience in this area?

I’m on the east coast also. I scratched the hell out of my 4 runner while hunting/fishing old logging roads. I’m handing it over to my son for his first vehicle and wanted to clear those scratches. I purchased meguiars scratch X kit with drill attachment foam buffer. I was extremely impressed with how it removed scratches. I was worried about taking a new $70k vehicle in the woods but now I know I can repair scratches myself I am no longer worried. Granted my 4r is classic silver and the lc is pearl, results may be different on a black vehicle but I removed a couple scratches on my wife’s magnetic grey highlander and it worked but left the area a little hazy. The 4r I had to do all the side panels like a wax job, it was bad but turned out great.

 

[pdizzle]

I’m on the east coast also. I scratched the hell out of my 4 runner while hunting/fishing old logging roads. I’m handing it over to my son for his first vehicle and wanted to clear those scratches. I purchased meguiars scratch X kit with drill attachment foam buffer. I was extremely impressed with how it removed scratches. I was worried about taking a new $70k vehicle in the woods but now I know I can repair scratches myself I am no longer worried. Granted my 4r is classic silver and the lc is pearl, results may be different on a black vehicle but I removed a couple scratches on my wife’s magnetic grey highlander and it worked but left the area a little hazy. The 4r I had to do all the side panels like a wax job, it was bad but turned out great.

The saleswoman asked me if my 4runner got in a fight with a mountain lion during trade in. My experience, white paint shows the least pinstripes, black invites them.

 

[HarvLC]

Wash the vehicle and occasionally wax it. It's a truck.

If you start going down the full PPF & ceramic trail, you'll find yourself being obsessed with not damaging the ceramic coating or underlying film. Then you'll be researching foam cannons, two-bucket wash methods and cranking up the leaf blower just to dry the dang truck. It's one thing to do all that with a new Porsche, but I'm not going down that road for a new truck or SUV. Such is greatly missing the point, in my view.

 

[JSFoster75]

Wash the vehicle and occasionally wax it. It's a truck.

If you start going down the full PPF & ceramic trail, you'll find yourself being obsessed with not damaging the ceramic coating or underlying film. Then you'll be researching foam cannons, two-bucket wash methods and cranking up the leaf blower just to dry the dang truck. It's one thing to do all that with a new Porsche, but I'm not going down that road for a new truck or SUV. Such is greatly missing the point, in my view.

If it was mine, totally agree, however, the wife is a little High Maintenance... She actually put a sticker on her last Jeep that said "High Maintenance" LOL She contributes a lot to the marriage financially, so if she wants to do something, I try to make it happen.

 

[HarvLC]

A wise man picks his battles!

 

[Don]

My vote would be "Probably helps some, but the money might be better put towards detailing".

There's definitely a trend back towards more traditional waxing with modern products. Most people with $70K vehicles primarily have other do the exterior work. But these discussions are dominted by, understandably, the minority who do the work themselves.

Those of us in urban areas mostly live in similar socio-economic areas. The only person I have ever seen washing their own vehicle is me. I seldom wash my own vehicle.

I might consider cermic coating with a black vehicle. But I would never buy a black vehicle do to the dirt issue. Those of use with Underground find that a bit of dirt enhances out gangster vibe.

 

[wedemmoez]

Wash the vehicle and occasionally wax it. It's a truck.

If you start going down the full PPF & ceramic trail, you'll find yourself being obsessed with not damaging the ceramic coating or underlying film. Then you'll be researching foam cannons, two-bucket wash methods and cranking up the leaf blower just to dry the dang truck. It's one thing to do all that with a new Porsche, but I'm not going down that road for a new truck or SUV. Such is greatly missing the point, in my view.

Yeah i'll beat the crap out of my trucks/SUVs because they're utility vehicles that I enjoy. My Porsche though, is 10000% for pleasure. Its 17 years old and in amazing condition. Since i've owned it, i've treated it better than I treat most people hand wash and wax only, every couple weeks

 

[LCNorth]

Had a Wrangler I ran more trails with than I can remember. Still washed it right, and kept it clean.

 

[Blue Bear]

What is this ‘snow foam’ and ‘foam cannon’ of which you speak?

Inquiring minds want to know..

You need a pressure washer to use a foam cannon (the ones that work on a garden hose don't foam like the ones attached to a pressure washer.) I love my foam cannon, but it's not necessary to get a scratch free wash on a car. I think any good detailer would tell you that utilizing the two bucket method to wash is the most important thing you can do to help prevent swirls. If you want to go down this rabbit hole, I recommend checking out Matt from Obsessed Garage or The Forensic Detailing channel.

I picked up my Heritage Blue LC a week ago. At my request, the dealer didn't wash the vehicle so I could ensure that it didn't go through a scratch inducing car wash. I've washed twice already. First wash to clean and the second wash to decontaminate and get ready to do a full paint correction and ceramic coating. Since the truck is getting PPF on the front clip, I didn't apply the ceramic coating anywhere on the front. Once I get it back, I'll coat the PPF with a different ceramic coating meant for the PPF. The real advantage of the coating is that it makes it so much easier to clean and maintain the exterior. I use Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light (CSL) and top it off with GTechniq EXO V5. EXO adds to the gloss and hydryophobicity and can be reapplied every 18-24 months to help maintain the look and hydrophobic properties.

I know the paint on a new car always looks good, but it still needs some work to maximize the effectiveness and appearance of the ceramic coating. So, a good paint correction is recommended prior to applying a ceramic coating. 90% of the effort of applying a ceramic coating is the prep work to get the truck ready for it. If a detail shop isn't charging a premium (think $1000 or so) to apply a ceramic coating, then they aren't doing a full paint protection and you'd be better off doing it yourself.

Here's a look at my hood after doing a paint correction yesterday: