Ceramic Coating Fail?

[mocaSi]

So I took my civic to a highly recommended detail shop that has perfect reviews, I'm talking 5 out of 5 stars on just about every review(~100+) . When I got the car back I was told to let it cure for 5 days, and as my luck goes it rained all 5 days but they assured me it was okay to get rained on just not to wash it. Upon washing it for the first time the coating was no longer sleek and didn't feel silky smooth anymore. It was just the opposite, felt as if it didn't have any paint correction or coating done. I also noticed several high spots all around the car including the taillights being one huge rough high spot. I took it back in a day later and they marked all the problem areas with tape and proceeded to correcting the issues. I got the car back that same day and it appeared to be much better and was back to being sleek and smooth to the touch. Waited 5 days, this time no rain and washed it on day 6. The car isn't rough like before but there are more high spots than ever, some are horrendous and stand out like a sore thumb and also noticing that they didn't even complete the paint correction properly as there are some small tar spots that were on the car prior to ceramic coating that are now ceramic coated themselves! Not to mention that there is ceramic coating on the sunroof that was done by accident so it looks like one huge awful greasy smear. This may be a dumb question but is this normal with "professionally" done coatings? Everywhere I look tells me that the answer is no and over a dozen high spots and half ass paint correction isn't right for a 3 year coating that cost $600. Everything I've read says that if the coating has cured already, to remove high spots you basically have to strip it down in that area and re-coat the whole panel. In this case my whole car needs to be re-coated because they are everywhere. Im quite fed up already because I drive an hour one way to get to this place so it's not the most convenient thing to keep going back and forth and not only that but it's costing me money to drive 2 cars back and forth. At this point I wish I would've never had it done and want the coating stripped back to stock and my money back. I doubt they'd go for that. Help me out guys, what's y'alls opinions? Thanks

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[amirza786]

I've seen ceramic coating on a few cars and I've never seen what you are experiencing. Especially coating the sunroof LOL. Well I would take it back and if they don't do it right the third time than I would ask for a refund. Amazon refunded me $400 for a stove range fan that didn't get delivered the day they promised. I asked the Amazon rep what do I do if it eventually comes in, and he said "it's yours!" It came in the next day. What I'm trying to say is if Amazon can do it, they can to. $600 is no joke

 

[mocaSi]

I've seen ceramic coating on a few cars and I've never seen what you are experiencing. Especially coating the sunroof LOL. Well I would take it back and if they don't do it right the third time than I would ask for a refund. Amazon refunded me $400 for a stove range fan that didn't get delivered the day they promised. I asked the Amazon rep what do I do if it eventually comes in, and he said "it's yours!" It came in the next day. What I'm trying to say is if Amazon can do it, they can to. $600 is no joke

Thankyou my man. Okay I'll do that for sure. Yeah $600 is a lot for something that's been a complete fail twice. It's really shocking because like I said, you won't find a single negative review for them. So I don't know if it's just my luck, things like this happen with everything I do. Or maybe someone being trained was allowed to do the paint correction and coating.

 

[Deleted User 1886347]

Thankyou my man. Okay I'll do that for sure. Yeah $600 is a lot for something that's been a complete fail twice. It's really shocking because like I said, you won't find a single negative review for them. So I don't know if it's just my luck, things like this happen with everything I do. Or maybe someone being trained was allowed to do the paint correction and coating.

If you see a company with all 5 star reviews and not a single bad one, proceed with caution. Not saying that all these companies are shady that have 5 star ratings, BUT a lot of companies will get friends and family to rate them 5 stars even if they have never actually done services with them, or better yet, they’ll create fake accounts.. Key is to watch for reviewers that only have 1-2 reviews on their profile.

Sounds like this is one of those cases because that kind of ceramic coating job screams unprofessional.

 

[SlowAP2]

I'd tell them one last chance to correct it or you will do a charge back and leave reviews. Be polite and patient but firm to get what you want. They fucked up and there should be a warranty on the coating that they provide.

 

[n2da2nd]

So I took my civic to a highly recommended detail shop that has perfect reviews, I'm talking 5 out of 5 stars on just about every review(~100+) . When I got the car back I was told to let it cure for 5 days, and as my luck goes it rained all 5 days but they assured me it was okay to get rained on just not to wash it. Upon washing it for the first time the coating was no longer sleek and didn't feel silky smooth anymore. It was just the opposite, felt as if it didn't have any paint correction or coating done. I also noticed several high spots all around the car including the taillights being one huge rough high spot. I took it back in a day later and they marked all the problem areas with tape and proceeded to correcting the issues. I got the car back that same day and it appeared to be much better and was back to being sleek and smooth to the touch. Waited 5 days, this time no rain and washed it on day 6. The car isn't rough like before but there are more high spots than ever, some are horrendous and stand out like a sore thumb and also noticing that they didn't even complete the paint correction properly as there are some small tar spots that were on the car prior to ceramic coating that are now ceramic coated themselves! Not to mention that there is ceramic coating on the sunroof that was done by accident so it looks like one huge awful greasy smear. This may be a dumb question but is this normal with "professionally" done coatings? Everywhere I look tells me that the answer is no and over a dozen high spots and half ass paint correction isn't right for a 3 year coating that cost $600. Everything I've read says that if the coating has cured already, to remove high spots you basically have to strip it down in that area and re-coat the whole panel. In this case my whole car needs to be re-coated because they are everywhere. Im quite fed up already because I drive an hour one way to get to this place so it's not the most convenient thing to keep going back and forth and not only that but it's costing me money to drive 2 cars back and forth. At this point I wish I would've never had it done and want the coating stripped back to stock and my money back. I doubt they'd go for that. Help me out guys, what's y'alls opinions? Thanks

What is the brand of the coating they used? I did the ceramic coating myself with my buddy on several cars but nothing like you have mentioned. I did leave my car to cure for 3 days without getting it wet and 2 weeks before I washed it with only water. Bring it back to the shop, ask them to fix it correctly by removing the coat of the whole car and reapply it. If they couldn't make it right this time, I would definitely ask for the money back. $600 is a lot of money but some shops in my area charge close to a $1000 for the 3yr coat with paint correction.

 

[amirza786]

Thankyou my man. Okay I'll do that for sure. Yeah $600 is a lot for something that's been a complete fail twice. It's really shocking because like I said, you won't find a single negative review for them. So I don't know if it's just my luck, things like this happen with everything I do. Or maybe someone being trained was allowed to do the paint correction and coating.

My mechanic used to have a muffler shop next door to him. I needed some work done on my exhaust and my mechanic told me in no plain words to never take my car to them (he called them amature ass clowns). When I looked at their Yelp reviews, there were hundreds of them 5 star. When I asked my mechanic about it, he told me they pay highschool students to do reviews, and when I looked closer at the reviews, it did look suspicious with lots of recently joined Yelp members with lines like "They are best". Well, they are closed down after 3 years in business

 

[mocaSi]

If you see a company with all 5 star reviews and not a single bad one, proceed with caution. Not saying that all these companies are shady that have 5 star ratings, BUT a lot of companies will get friends and family to rate them 5 stars even if they have never actually done services with them, or better yet, they’ll create fake accounts.. Key is to watch for reviewers that only have 1-2 reviews on their profile.

Sounds like this is one of those cases because that kind of ceramic coating job screams unprofessional.

Yeah that's what my wife and I have been talking about. Almost to good to be true. They came highly recommended from a guy that wouldn't lie to me though and he has had great experiences. They do have proof of coating high dollar cars quite regularly with no issues as far as I know. Wife just spoke to them and they are going to strip the entire car and re-coat it which is what I was hoping for. She told me that it may have been a bad batch, I don't know what to think about that. I m leaning more towards thinking they let someone coat the car that hasn't been doing it long.

 

[mocaSi]

I'd tell them one last chance to correct it or you will do a charge back and leave reviews. Be polite and patient but firm to get what you want. They fucked up and there should be a warranty on the coating that they provide.

Yeah absolutely. We are being very patient and understanding with them. They are going to strip and re-coat the car in a few weeks under warranty.

 

[mocaSi]

What is the brand of the coating they used? I did the ceramic coating myself with my buddy on several cars but nothing like you have mentioned. I did leave my car to cure for 3 days without getting it wet and 2 weeks before I washed it with only water. Bring it back to the shop, ask them to fix it correctly by removing the coat of the whole car and reapply it. If they couldn't make it right this time, I would definitely ask for the money back. $600 is a lot of money but some shops in my area charge close to a $1000 for the 3yr coat with paint correction.

The brand is Carpro that they're using. I wanted to do it myself like you did but don't have a garage and im not from here so I don't know anyone with one. I really wish I was able to have done it myself to avoid all this aggravation. Theyre going to remove the coating and reapply. Yeah I'll be doing that for sure, I knew $600 was very reasonable but like you said it is a lot of money. At least now when they strip it they can finish the paint correction that wasn't fully completed before

 

[mocaSi]

My mechanic used to have a muffler shop next door to him. I needed some work done on my exhaust and my mechanic told me in no plain words to never take my car to them (he called them amature ass clowns). When I looked at their Yelp reviews, there were hundreds of them 5 star. When I asked my mechanic about it, he told me they pay highschool students to do reviews, and when I looked closer at the reviews, it did look suspicious with lots of recently joined Yelp members with lines like "They are best". Well, they are closed down after 3 years in business

Oh wow. Was this a detailing place in your area?

 

[amirza786]

Oh wow. Was this a detailing place in your area?

No, it was a muffler/mechanic shop. Cars would go in running, leave and sometimes the same day they had to be towed back to their shop. One time they were repairing a rack and pinion steering on an Acura, the mechanic stripped the bolt, instead of replacing the part, they decided to weld it together (muffler shop!). Well here's the thing...the pinion has to be able to rotate in turns. When you weld it, it can no longer rotate. As the customer was making a right turn on the freeway, the pinion snapped and the car had to be towed back. Any half competent backyard mechanic would know that the pinion steering gear has to rotate LOL!

 

[mocaSi]

From the poor treatment you have gotten thus far, Before it gets even worse.. I would cut your losses and take it somewhere else more reputable. Thats just my opinion. If you have high spots like that they clearly didnt prep the paint properly and arent applying it properly either.

That's how I feel about it too, if they couldn't get it right twice I'm worried they won't finally fix it at my next appointment. I would for sure cut my losses but I don't have money like that to just throw away $600 and go somewhere else and spend $600-$1000. I went thru today shortly before it started raining and marked high spots with yellow electrical tape since my camera won't pick up on the high spot streaks. I got maybe half way done before the sky fell to put in perspective how bad it is. This is an examp!e of what the spots look like and they re covering the car. Example is just a photo from Bing images following pics of my car with tape marked bad spots

 

[mocaSi]

No, it was a muffler/mechanic shop. Cars would go in running, leave and sometimes the same day they had to be towed back to their shop. One time they were repairing a rack and pinion steering on an Acura, the mechanic stripped the bolt, instead of replacing the part, they decided to weld it together (muffler shop!). Well here's the thing...the pinion has to be able to rotate in turns. When you weld it, it can no longer rotate. As the customer was making a right turn on the freeway, the pinion snapped and the car had to be towed back. Any half competent backyard mechanic would know that the pinion steering gear has to rotate LOL!

Woooow, what an idiot to do something like that. That's incredible. I'm holding on to hope that it's just their first instance of messing up a coating or someone new tried to take a swing at coating my car. I don't even know but I'm for sure going to get my money back and go elsewhere if they can't make it right the third time.

 

[mocaSi]

Dropped off the car this morning for her "3rd times a charm" ceramic coating. Hopefully. It's all become so clear to me. As soon as I pulled in, faster than I could even shut the car off, I see the owner of this establishments son charging towards my car. I get out and greet him kindly as I always do and he goes off on how "it's impossible that you still have high spots! I got them all out the second time! There is no way! I've never done a bad coating! I just did my white F150 and it's perfect! go look at it!" My response once he was done venting. " yeah, there is at least 50 high spots not counting the wheels, wheels are a disaster, each wheel is one big high spot/streaked rainbow. He replied " okay then show me and I'll mark them with this yellow tape " I respond "it's very hard to spot them in the bright daylight, I spotted them all around 7 when it started dimming" he then responds with "nope! Not true you can only see them in the bright sunshine" this response got me super excited to make him look like a fool so I took him to the worst spot on the front bumper and i said "hmm I know there is a bad one somewhere around here"(playing dumb of course) he then says "nope! No high spots there!" Haha he fell right into my trap! I respond with shading the horrible area with my hand to block out some daylight and I ask him" well what is that if there isn't a bad high spot? "HAAAA GOT EEEEM! THE LOOK ON HIS FACE!? He then started to simmer down a bit after that and admitted that it was a bad high spot. I told him that was a good example of what's covering the whole car. So in the end at least I know for certain what has been going wrong. They've allowed there son to start coating because he did a "good job" on his white big boy truck. I'm calling tomorrow to make sure they do the whole thing over again and best believe if it's not right this time my money is going to be refunded. I'm not driving this 2 hour drive anymore. They're wasting my time and money on gas. Just an update guys.

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