Ceramic coating?

MyLittlePony2022

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I never heard of PPF or ceramic coating until I started to research and make my choice of a MME GTPE. I keep my cars over a decade if not closer to two decades. My current car was always had washed by me and professionally waxed. However, the paint on the front end got chipped and it does not hold the luster longer than a few months. I wanted to have my new car look better as it aged. I did the research and elected for a partial PPF and ceramic coating. Both having a 10 year warranty. In my opinion, it is worth the cost since I will not have to spend $500 to $1000 a year for detailing. Also, at the cost of the car, the investment to keep it looking good is money well spent.

I think there will always be people think this is a waste of money, others that love it and everyone in between. Do your research and you need to decide based on your priorities. If you decide to move forward, ask around get a input on a good professional installer. Check their online reviews, ask the forum, talk with the installer, and most importantly get a comfortable feeling that they will do a quality job. If you gut tells you something is wrong, it probably is and walk away. If you do get recommendations from the forum, ensure that the work is a few months to a year old so you know that it was done right. A bad install will not last and over time, it will show the defects. All the above is what I did and I got a great installer. I did walk away from one installer since I did not feel they were going to do it right and I am glad I did.
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My son is a certified 'Ceramic Pro' technician. He flew out of San Diego and was trained. Like Kam-listed, alot of different coatings that are Ceramic Coatings, but like all Soap is Soap, there's a wide variety of Amazing Soaps that perform vastly better than some Soaps.

I have it on my Black F150 and it definitely stays cleaner longer and is much easier to get sap, bugs, etc; off the truck. We didn't put it on our Mach E because i enjoy polishing it.

For that i use Ceramic spray by Mothers.
It's a great shine and i don't have to worry about him taking off the ceramic pro with light compound, clay bar etc.

The good stuff needs to be put on by an experienced shop. more importantly the technician. If a great shop lost their Tech and a newbie is starting, there should be a mentor as you lay the coating on very thin and very even. It will 'Flash', that's the carrier chemicals that keep it liquid in the bottle, and you need to wipe it at the right time and effort. if you put too much on, you will have to remove the high spots.

The paint meter will actually pic up the thickness of Ceramic Pro. It's not as many mm's as clearcoat, but it's measurable so you know it's there.
 

kindofblue

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My son is a certified 'Ceramic Pro' technician. He flew out of San Diego and was trained. Like Kam-listed, alot of different coatings that are Ceramic Coatings, but like all Soap is Soap, there's a wide variety of Amazing Soaps that perform vastly better than some Soaps.

I have it on my Black F150 and it definitely stays cleaner longer and is much easier to get sap, bugs, etc; off the truck. We didn't put it on our Mach E because i enjoy polishing it.

For that i use Ceramic spray by Mothers.
It's a great shine and i don't have to worry about him taking off the ceramic pro with light compound, clay bar etc.

The good stuff needs to be put on by an experienced shop. more importantly the technician. If a great shop lost their Tech and a newbie is starting, there should be a mentor as you lay the coating on very thin and very even. It will 'Flash', that's the carrier chemicals that keep it liquid in the bottle, and you need to wipe it at the right time and effort. if you put too much on, you will have to remove the high spots.

The paint meter will actually pic up the thickness of Ceramic Pro. It's not as many mm's as clearcoat, but it's measurable so you know it's there.
My Ceramic Pro tech also got trained in SD and put it on our MY 15 mo ago. The shine then and today is, by far, the most lustrous I've had on any vehicle and I plan to have it on all our vehicles going forward. Same with the ppf on the frontal surfaces. Our 2017 Volt's frontal surfaces have only one minor scratch where a rock actually tore the ppf (and the tear hasn't spread in 2+ years).

Getting this done as soon as possible after you get your car will lessen the amount of paint correction needed (if any) before the application of the Ceramic Pro. The total cost for the ppf and ceramic pro was $1600.
 

Regularmache

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My Ceramic Pro tech also got trained in SD and put it on our MY 15 mo ago. The shine then and today is, by far, the most lustrous I've had on any vehicle and I plan to have it on all our vehicles going forward. Same with the ppf on the frontal surfaces. Our 2017 Volt's frontal surfaces have only one minor scratch where a rock actually tore the ppf (and the tear hasn't spread in 2+ years).

Getting this done as soon as possible after you get your car will lessen the amount of paint correction needed (if any) before the application of the Ceramic Pro. The total cost for the ppf and ceramic pro was $1600.
That's a very fair price. I imagine the number of providers in Ca helps with the cost competition. Here in Destin Florida, looking at $2400-$3500 depending on vehicle. I thought everything in Cali is more money? That is a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned at that price! Nice!
 

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Have to say...
- I did ceramic with PPF on Grill and rear hatch shelf. I am very happy with the result. I love the way my car looks!
- I did a lot of research. Key is a good professional installer who does a thorough job of paint prep prior. If it does not take three days, he is probably not doing it right.
- I find it much easier to keep clean. I keep car in my garage, dust it, then apply a spray on ceramic wax the installer provided once a month.
 


Tyldum

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This is the first car I've had ceramic coating on, professionally applied. And where I live, with 6 months of winter with grime and salt it really, really made washing the car easy during the winter.
Here you have to prewash the car with a degreasing solvent, which also removes any wax. But the ceramic coating has now lasted 14 months and water is still repelled.

Definitely not snake oil around here. The older types of "paint sealing" that was common around here did feel like snake oil, though.

Edit: only a yearly rebuff on mine, not often as I see others mentioning.
 
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I'm a body shop guy... with 3 collision centers... I think it's an expensive wax... pay the extra money for the clear bra... and make sure you get the headlights and GT grille done... painting the front end is about 2000.00 but, the headlights are approx. 1600.00 each and if you have a GT the grille it is another 1800.00... I don't believe any applied coating is going to hold up after several washes... Lastly, most insurance companies will pay for the clear bra/PPF clear decals if they need replacing after an accident... Just my 2 cents...

29706149-8d91-48c7-b5f0-782a0ff9dc6f.jpg
I don't think I've ever seen a car this shiny. It looks like a mirror. Beautiful!
 

MRyan7465

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There are two general types of ceramic coatings. First, there are professionally applied coatings that require respirators and special equipment for curing. Those will be more expensive than do-it-yourself type coatings. They will also last for years with proper maintenance (washing mostly). One advantage these coatings have is they also provide UV protection to your paint for those who live in an area where this is critical (such as me). You pay for the prep work and the ability to use professional-grade equipment. The ads you see where they squirt lighter fluid on the paint and light it with no ill effects? Yeah, that is late-night television salesmanship.

The second broad category is the spray-on type coatings. Turtle Wax, for example, has a very popular line of Ceramic Sprays. The various graphene spray coatings would fall in here as well. These are fairly low in SiO2 (or graphene) but do give a nice shine, and should outlast a normal paste wax. They will need to be reapplied regularly to maintain the luster and paint protection. How long will they last? Ask someone who doesn’t live in excessive UV light Hawaii. Out here a paste wax finish might last 2 months if you’re lucky. Elsewhere it’s much better I’m sure.

There is actually a third category to consider and that is the consumer level ceramic coatings applied by wiping on. These are small bottles where you use a few drops on an applicator, wipe a section of the car in two directions, and wipe off with a microfiber towel. They take longer to apply but last far longer than spray-on coatings. These coatings are softer than the professional coatings but harder than a wax or spray ceramic coating. I did our restored Jeep Wrangler in AvalonKing's Armor IX, it turned out great.

Also keep in mind that any product, wax or ceramic, needs prep work. That will be the most time-consuming and tedious part. Wash, claybar, polish, clean, etc. if you’re good at that, you can save time and money and get great results. Or pay someone to do it using a professional product and get great long lasting results. As I said, I did it myself on our resorted Jeep, we had a local detail shop apply Ceramic Pro sliver plus (3 coats) on our 2020 Raptor and 2021 MME.
I’ve watched a couple Youtube videos and applying a ceramic coat doesn’t look THAT complicated, right? Right?

I’ve never personally done any type of detailing to any car I’ve owned. Am I a fool to think I could properly apply a ceramic coat to my MME? I’d do it within a day or two of picking it up from the dealer so would I need to clean/polish it? How bad could I make it look?

I have a feeling 99% of you are gonna say I’m being a cheapskate and foolish, but maybe there’re one or two of you that can support this crazy idea of mine…
 

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I’ve watched a couple Youtube videos and applying a ceramic coat doesn’t look THAT complicated, right? Right?

I’ve never personally done any type of detailing to any car I’ve owned. Am I a fool to think I could properly apply a ceramic coat to my MME? I’d do it within a day or two of picking it up from the dealer so would I need to clean/polish it? How bad could I make it look?

I have a feeling 99% of you are gonna say I’m being a cheapskate and foolish, but maybe there’re one or two of you that can support this crazy idea of mine…
I assume we are talking the liquid drop ceramic and not the spray on.
I would say as long as you've watched a few videos on how to apply it properly and you are comfortable attempting to do it yourself, you should be fine. Just don't try to do too much at one time. Work in small sections.
 

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I’ve watched a couple Youtube videos and applying a ceramic coat doesn’t look THAT complicated, right? Right?

I’ve never personally done any type of detailing to any car I’ve owned. Am I a fool to think I could properly apply a ceramic coat to my MME? I’d do it within a day or two of picking it up from the dealer so would I need to clean/polish it? How bad could I make it look?

I have a feeling 99% of you are gonna say I’m being a cheapskate and foolish, but maybe there’re one or two of you that can support this crazy idea of mine…
Totally doable if you have the patience and enjoy detailing your vehicle, though you can't buy the best coatings if you're not a "professional". Just make sure your paint is corrected before you apply anything.

I used the Adam's Graphene Ceramic and was impressed with the results.
 
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This is the first car I've had ceramic coating on, professionally applied. And where I live, with 6 months of winter with grime and salt it really, really made washing the car easy during the winter....
How much does ceramic coating for a Mach E cost in Norway?
 

MRyan7465

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I assume we are talking the liquid drop ceramic and not the spray on.
I would say as long as you've watched a few videos on how to apply it properly and you are comfortable attempting to do it yourself, you should be fine. Just don't try to do too much at one time. Work in small sections.
Yup. Looking at Gtechnig's Crystal Serum Light. Like I originally said, watching the YouTube videos, it doesn't look THAT hard, just time consuming. Do you think I'd need to wash/polish it if I get straight from the dealer? I have incredibly hard water (I've had multiple plumbers/water softener installers/Culligan all tell me that they've rarely seen water as "hard" as mine) so I have a very hard time keeping it "spotless" when I wash at home and there aren't any hand car washes near me...
 

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Yup. Looking at Gtechnig's Crystal Serum Light. Like I originally said, watching the YouTube videos, it doesn't look THAT hard, just time consuming. Do you think I'd need to wash/polish it if I get straight from the dealer? I have incredibly hard water (I've had multiple plumbers/water softener installers/Culligan all tell me that they've rarely seen water as "hard" as mine) so I have a very hard time keeping it "spotless" when I wash at home and there aren't any hand car washes near me...
I've heard Gtechnig is good, but I've only ever used Adam's Graphene and Carpro cquartz

As far as prep, you for sure want to wash, but you don't want to wax or polish. Any paint correction should also not be needed since the car is new. Most likely you just need a isopropyl (IPA) wipe down and maybe a quick spray decontamination to be safe. Make sure your wash shampoo does not contain any wax. The idea is the strip the car all the way to the clear and then add the the ceramic to bond with that clear coat.

Also you are gonna want to do this in a covered area/garage is possible. Definitely not in direct sun.
 

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I’ve watched a couple Youtube videos and applying a ceramic coat doesn’t look THAT complicated, right? Right?

I’ve never personally done any type of detailing to any car I’ve owned. Am I a fool to think I could properly apply a ceramic coat to my MME? I’d do it within a day or two of picking it up from the dealer so would I need to clean/polish it? How bad could I make it look?

I have a feeling 99% of you are gonna say I’m being a cheapskate and foolish, but maybe there’re one or two of you that can support this crazy idea of mine…
A couple things to consider.

First wash the car with a good car shampoo (without wax as has been stated). Follow that up with a fallout/ironite remover to get rid of the contamination from shipping. These will chemically bond with iron and other metals and rinse off. I use Griot’s Fallout Remover, but there are a ton of good products.

At that point, inspect your paint. My car was 11 weeks in shipping with over 6 of those spent sitting at the dock in San Diego waiting for the boat to Hawaii. I had water spots on both the paint and windows. Small and not very heavy, but they were there. Your car likely will fare far better. This inspection will determine if you need to paint correction or not.

Regardless of whether you’re going to be polishing or not your next step is to clay bar the car. This will remove any small particles from tge oaint, making it very smooth. You can use a natural clay bar made for car paint or a synthetic one. You’ll also need a lubricant. Water doesn’t count. I use a speed shine (detailing spray).

Once all that is done, polish if you’re going to do paint correction.

After polishing, (or clay bar if not paint correcting) you need to wipe down the car with an Isopropyl Alcohol spray (50% IPA-50% distilled water). Thus removes all the residue you may have missed when cleaning up after polishing as well as any other minor surface contamination.

Now you can do your ceramic coating. I used Avalon King’s Armor IX on our restored 2000 Jeep Wrangler. It works great. There are many good brands though. Take your time (sort of). Spread a small section in two directions and wipe it off fairly quickly. Do two coats as you’ll miss a spot.

Keep in mind that even the better consumer grade ceramic coatings are somewhat softer than professionally applied coatings. Professional coatings often require various special lights for curing and respirators. They have thinner but very hard coats. What you’ll be applying is by its nature thicker and thus a bit softer. Amateur coatings can last a long time though if you properly maintain your car (wash very regularly. Don’t let dirt sit on it, etc.).

Our 2021 Mach-e and 2020 Raptor were professionally curated with Ceramic Pro. We had the Silver Plus package done. 3 coats. They look great. I did the Jeep. It looks great (it’s red. Ceramic coatings make red really pop. The Raptor is performance blue, the MME is infinite blue).

Good luck :)
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