Ceramic Coating Recommendation

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Ophelia895

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Here are the results from my Detailer.

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Looks great! After much thought I have decided to bite the bullet and pay a professional to ceramic coat my car. I just didn't want to risk screwing it up doing it myself and the car looking like crap. At least I know it will be done correctly now.
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Looks great! After much thought I have decided to bite the bullet and pay a professional to ceramic coat my car. I just didn't want to risk screwing it up doing it myself and the car looking like crap. At least I know it will be done correctly now.
This maybe a silly question but do you think the ceramic coating make the color pop a lot more than just a good wax job? If so, is it a substantial difference? I honestly don't know anyone that has had ceramic coating done so I can only go off of what people say on the internet.
 

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Looks great! After much thought I have decided to bite the bullet and pay a professional to ceramic coat my car. I just didn't want to risk screwing it up doing it myself and the car looking like crap. At least I know it will be done correctly now.
As other people on this thread have said its all about the surface preparation, which is why I think its worth paying to have it done professionally.
I had my MX5 done earlier this year & its now a breeze to keep clean, for me it just made sense to have the FK8 done from new.
The G-Techniq has a 9 year guarantee which includes a free annual check.
 

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CQUARTZ . Checked several reviews, this brand and other 1-2 products(G-techniq,...) are on top, having close performance.
First I must say the car went right after delivery into my garage. Only 10 miles. To avoid paint contamination. I washed it several times.

So What I used:
- on the painted surfaces(painted door interiors, engine bay) / gloss plastics: 2 layers Carpro Cquartz UK 3.0 + 2 layers Carpro Gliss
- on lower plastics - 2 layers Carpro Skin
- on windows 2 layers: Flyby Forte - Extreme Glass Sealant
- rims 2 layers CQuartz UK 3.0

This is the result(had still the winter wheels): https://www.civicx.com/threads/offi...pe-r-picture-thread.12974/page-31#post-605326

This work took me about 4 wends. All these angles, surfaces, details take a lot of time. It's mainly to protect from swirls, sun, fading and clean it easier.
Why ceramic DIY?
- I don't trust anybody (shop/garage) to leave there the car there out of sight. Even less to let them dismantle it to install ppf or such stuff.
- I can do the job in a more responsible way(insist on details) because I care about my car. The engine bay, inside door metalic surfaces, sills, A,B pillars, around trunk opening. Highly unlikely to get this level of details from a business.
- I won't pay 2-3 k euros for this. Yes I spent time, but I enjoyed it, I learned smth and found it relaxing and therapeutic
- I got more familiar with the car, got to know it better, every angle/space. It was really fun.

I had no previous experience regarding ceramic coating.
Yes there are a few small unnoticeable imperfections(did not buff enough) but that's expected since the garage lighting sources are not pro level. But I am pleased with overall result, how the car has this glass shine that makes lines stand out more and that is easy to clean.
All the consumables(products, gloves, towels, 3M vapor mask included) cost me about 400 euros.

Trust yourself, not much to screw/worry. Do a small surface see how it goes. The flashing time varies with temperature, moisture. And do it inside a garage. Use some portable light source, will improve much the visibility to know when/where to buff. Take few hours and watch youtube guides.
It's also time vs money, whichever of them is most valuable to you.
 
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This maybe a silly question but do you think the ceramic coating make the color pop a lot more than just a good wax job? If so, is it a substantial difference? I honestly don't know anyone that has had ceramic coating done so I can only go off of what people say on the internet.
I don't know if I would say that it makes the color pop a lot more than a good wax job. It does give you that nice "wet" look. The main reason for me is I want the UV protection from it as well as the ease of keeping the car clean.
 


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This maybe a silly question but do you think the ceramic coating make the color pop a lot more than just a good wax job? If so, is it a substantial difference? I honestly don't know anyone that has had ceramic coating done so I can only go off of what people say on the internet.
I was using before a sillicone wax: Wolfgang Deepgloss 3.0. I can say that they are about the same as shine. However if you add more layers of ceramic, it will enhance the shine and pop out more(check my pics). Is like having glass on top of the paint.
An advantage of ceramic over the wax is the hardness. It's protecting much better against the swirls. Plus with wax if you are really insisting you can wipe it off with a cloth. With ceramic you need to resort to a motor brush to remove it.
Because it's resilient ceramic needs to be applied less often(every 1-2 years if car is a daily driver). In contrast wax needs to be applied each 3-4 months. Plus that wax has less fluid consistence(difficult to control the application perimeter) and might stain porous surface elements(plastics, rubbers).
 
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jcp227

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I was using before a sillicone wax: Wolfgang Deepgloss 3.0. I can say that they are about the same as shine. However if you add more layers of ceramic, it will enhance the shine and pop out more(check my pics). Is like having glass on top of the paint.
An advantage of ceramic over the wax is the hardness. It's protecting much better against the swirls. Plus with wax if you are really insisting you can wipe it off with a cloth. With ceramic you need to resort to a motor brush to remove it.
Because it's resilient ceramic needs to be applied less often(every 1-2 years if car is a daily driver). In contrast wax needs to be applied each 3-4 months. Plus that wax has less fluid consistence(difficult to control the application perimeter) and might stain porous surface elements(plastics, rubbers).
Thank you for the feedback. Yes I have used the Wolfgang wax before and that has been one of my favorite waxes to use. I don't DD mine and only drive it on dry days. I have had the car for a year and a half now and almost have 3000 miles on it.
I have never even washed the car with a hose believe it or not. After every drive I use mothers quick detail spray cleaner.
If I go the ceramic coating route, can I use use spray cleaner or is there something else I should be using?
Thanks again for the feedback because I think I am going to have this done before I tuck the car away for the winter.
 

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Thank you for the feedback. Yes I have used the Wolfgang wax before and that has been one of my favorite waxes to use. I don't DD mine and only drive it on dry days. I have had the car for a year and a half now and almost have 3000 miles on it.
I have never even washed the car with a hose believe it or not. After every drive I use mothers quick detail spray cleaner.
If I go the ceramic coating route, can I use use spray cleaner or is there something else I should be using?
Thanks again for the feedback because I think I am going to have this done before I tuck the car away for the winter.
Your're welcome. (I don't dd mine either, it's just an wend toy. Same mileage for me but I have it since February. It was manufactured on 2'nd of January 2019 :)).
CARPRO reccomends using their ph neutral Reset shampo: https://carpro.global/catalog/reset/ .I use it and it's pretty effective so far.
I don't know how other products interact with the quartz layer. From what I understood the more aggressive ones(acid, alkaline) tend to strip it faster. You could ask CARPRO about the safety using spray cleaner with their product.
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