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Ceramic coatings often offer plenty of claims about how well they work to protect your car’s paint, but how much of that is the truth and how much of that is just marketing hype?
In order to find out, we ask detailing professional Tim McNair from Grand Prix Concours. Presented by CRC Industries.
I had my 135 ceramic coated, it was amazing how easy it was to keep the car clean and looking great.
I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Helps prevent rock chips AND keeps the car super easy to keep clean.
z31maniac said:I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Then repaint the car a favorite color, ceramic coat that, clear wrap, then ceramic coat that wrap.
Then repeat as needed.
L5wolvesf said:z31maniac said:I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Then repaint the car a favorite color, ceramic coat that, clear wrap, then ceramic coat that wrap.
Then repeat as needed.
Don't quit your day job. 
z31maniac said:I had my 135 ceramic coated, it was amazing how easy it was to keep the car clean and looking great.
I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Helps prevent rock chips AND keeps the car super easy to keep clean.
How much does all that usually cost? I have heard that the price of a good wrap can equal that of a decent paint job. Is that true?
dean1484 said:z31maniac said:I had my 135 ceramic coated, it was amazing how easy it was to keep the car clean and looking great.
I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Helps prevent rock chips AND keeps the car super easy to keep clean.
How much does all that usually cost? I have heard that the price of a good wrap can equal that of a decent paint job. Is that true?
Good wrap rivals the cost of paint for sure.
dean1484 said:z31maniac said:I had my 135 ceramic coated, it was amazing how easy it was to keep the car clean and looking great.
I've found the common thing to do now is, wrap the entire car in 3M clear wrap, then ceramic coat the wrap.
Helps prevent rock chips AND keeps the car super easy to keep clean.
How much does all that usually cost? I have heard that the price of a good wrap can equal that of a decent paint job. Is that true?
No way. My friend did a full ceramic on his GT3RS. Other semi-exotics I've seen wrapped. It's expensive but nothing compared to a quality repaint on a high end car. Maaco or your brother's friend Rico might paint your GT3RS for less but nobody who actually owns an exotic is going for a less expensive repaint.
About $2000-2500 from what I've seen in the OKC area.
Just Ceramic coating is in the $600-800 range. It's incredibly labor intensive. First you need to do a great wash of the car, then clay bar, then polish the paint, THEN you can coat the car/windows/wheels.
In reply to z31maniac :
If you have carbon ceramic brakes then you don't need to do the wheels, they'll get ceramic coated on their own to the tune of $16k worth of rotor wear.
$2000-2500 is pretty cheap as far as paint is concerned, if you want a paint job done to the standards that you'd have if you wanted to ceramic coat your car.
When I think "decent paint job" my mind goes to the $10-15k range. Depending on color, $2k might not buy you the paint.
Trying to understand how something that isn't fired is called "ceramic".
If it's not actually ceramic, it seems like more marketing wank for silicone polish.
In reply to ShawnG :
The silicon dioxide used in ceramic coatings is a very real quantity in the world of fired ceramics. I don't think the term is used unreasonably.
Ceramic coating is typically composed of silicon dioxide (silica, Si02), which is sourced from natural materials such as quartz and sand. Some types and brands also use titanium dioxide (titania, Ti02) as an additional hardening agent. When applied to a car's paint, the two create a chemical bond with hydrophobic, aka water-repellent, properties.
In ceramics, SiO2 comes up when technicians talk about glaze chemistry. It is an oxide contributed by many ceramic materials: all clays, feldspars and frits. Quartz or silica powder is almost 100% SiO2. But the SiO2 in quartz is something completely different than SiO2 in feldspar. In the latter it is chemically combined with Al2O3 and KNaO.
SiO2 is the principle, and often only glass forming oxide in glaze. Normally comprises more than 60% of most glazes and 70% of clays. Special purpose formulations which lack SiO2 often compromise structural stability and strength. Floating and container glass are more than 70% SiO2.
FWIW, I'm following Tim McNair's advice and have been topping everything with the Griot's 3-in-1 ceramic. It's like $20/bottle, goes on very easily, and seems to deliver a long-lasting shine.
It really is just fancy wax. But don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan.
Yes, it's a lot of work to do a decent job of applying it and not forking it up, but if you're a DIY kinda guy and you can wash, thoroughly clean, and wax your car, you can apply a ceramic coating like C-Quartz.
Biggest potential problem: If you forget to buff an area after you've waxed it with conventional wax, no biggie, just buff it off later. Do the same thing with a ceramic coating, and you're cutting it off with rubbing compound and re-applying to that area.
First of all, a Polish burnishes the paint and a Wax will coat the paint. Some readers' comments are confused. Now 1st- to get a great looking finish you have to start with a smooooth paint finish. If you don't have that, get that. 2nd- all wax tests I have seen over the years recommend more than one step to finish the job. 3rd- but, here is the problem we all should be addressing- what to coat your vehicle's paint with a UV protectant. Most vehicles have that clear coat paint job, where the clear separates from the color layer and turns white/gray. We should all be concerned with the sun and paint drying to prevent that! True, I have found adding a wax with no cleaners put on twice or more will add glossiness. And, synthetic wax will gloss longer than older formula waxes. I am actually a fan of just adding a no cleaner synthetic wax over and over to fill scratches and not too concerned with what is underneath. But that UV protection is what I'm after in writing this post! ANY HELP WITH A UV PROTECTANT SUGGESTION? THANK YOU!
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