Is Ceramic Coating Worth It?

[TheGrayAero]

Is Ceramic Coating Worth It?


I repainted half of my 05 Saab 9-2x Aero due to the original owners not removing love bugs from the front end. Been thinking how am I going to maintain this in Central Florida with the heat and sun while also protecting the front end of the car from bugs and chips.

I'm pretty set on doing PPF (Xpel okay?) but I'm still hesitant on the Ceramic Coating. I'm not a professional detailer and don't feel comfortable doing it myself. I know my car is only worth $10-$12k even with only 33k miles so I know I don't want to invest a crazy amount into the car over time having to have it reapplied.

Originally I wanted to do Cquartz Finest but the local guy wanted $2k and thats not even doing the trim. More than I want to spend.

Another local offers Feynlab w/1 year $600, 3 year $800, 5 year $1100, 7 year $2500 and that includes the trim and cleaning the interior.


I know "Is it worth it" is a matter of opinion but I'd love some feedback or suggestions.

I've watched a ton of videos and the common thread is detailers saying it is 5/7/10 year but in reality it might only last 1-2 years depending on how well you maintain it. Who wants to pay for 5 years if in reality it only last 2?

Seems to be a lot of people offering this even as mobile detailers but I don't know if this process is really meant for someone doing mobile? I'm open to other brands and locations and what might be best for a daily driver in central Florida.

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/VR4ownzU/2005%20Saab%209-2x%20Aero%20Gray%205spd/IMG_1193_zpsapuhe5h7.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/VR4ownzU/2005%20Saab%209-2x%20Aero%20Gray%205spd/IMG_1652_zpsxs4q8zyo.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/VR4ownzU/2005%20Saab%209-2x%20Aero%20Gray%205spd/IMG_5314_zpsqn70ytu9.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/VR4ownzU/2005%20Saab%209-2x%20Aero%20Gray%205spd/IMG_1021_zpszhvrmzt6.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i26/VR4ownzU/2005%20Saab%209-2x%20Aero%20Gray%205spd/IMG_3655_zpstj1nehsn.jpg




:)

[Mike Phillips]

Since this is your first post...

Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


Hope you don't mind, I edited your post and broke up the one huge chunk of text into smaller bites so others will read it.



:)

[Mike Phillips]

I'll let others chime in first and then I'll give you my take.

I will say that applying a coating is easy, no need to pay someone to do it for you.


:)

[Desertnate]

My thoughts:

1. Yes, a coating is worth it. It has made maintaining my vehicles far less time consuming and they always look good. However, you must keep up on the washing and keep the vehicle clean in order to get the maximum effects they provide and longest durability.

2. While I'm sure the pro-grade stuff is far more durable, you might want to learn the whole detailing process and do it yourself!

[Chopper280]

I'll give you my opinion only on what I have used. We have 4 cars and 3 motorcycles and I like to do something different on each.

Polish Angel- If you can wax a car you can use this and be very pleased!
PBL paint coating- I was hesitant because of hearing of high spots. I did small sections at a time and rubbed it in till it disappeared. My red truck came out perfect.
Blackfire crystal paint sealant- I have a lot of this older product and use it in the house since newer products last much longer.
Don't be afraid!!!

[FrankS]

The paint or coating will get dirty over time, especially on a daily driver. So it should be decontaminated (iron remover and clay) and polished once a year, even if it's a light polish.

I think a coating that last a year or two is sufficient. A coating will give you the best protection. Unless you want to apply a wax or sealant every few weeks or months.

There are several good coatings that are very easy to apply. A couple that comes to mind are Pinnacle Black Label and McKee's 37.

[FUNX650]

Just a couple of “touch-points”:

First off:
•Ceramic Coatings won't provide anywhere
near the protection that Paint Protection Films
(PPF)/Clear Bras, or those black vinyl bras will.

-Note: I prefer the XPel Ultimate for PPF.


Secondly:
•IMO...Getting a vehicle Ceramic Coat(ed) is a
sign of commitment—a commitment to put an
end to any/all "bad habits" of improper car-care;
-and, also: to educate ones self on how best to
keep the 'Coating' in A-1 shape for its expected
service-life.


Bob

[RippyD]

First of all, what Bob said.

I'm fairly inexperienced, so factor that in. On my wife's Boxster, I wish we had used some soft of protection film on the front. Far more road rash than I expected. Coating does nothing to help with physical impact (arguable, but practically so).

My (limited) experience with coatings is that they work great in certain conditions: if your car doesn't get rained frequently and is garaged I could see them being very helpful. In my case I have 2 cars outside 24x7 that are driven in rain 7-8 months out of the year. This means a lot of road grime, which means a coating accumulates grime, which means it no longer repels water they way you would expect. You can clay a coating to restore the repellency, but also reduces the life expectancy of the coating to some degree and introduce marring. You can use a specific polish to get rid of the marring and/or clean the coating. Then you're essentially polishing your coating. So.... really?

At this point if you're polishing why not just polish?

For my garaged car that doesn't get driven much in the winter I may use a coating a again. For the others I'm using a sealant that lasts 6+ months and planning to do physical paint cleaning or polishing 1-2x per year (DA + light polish or paint cleaner product).

My experience with Polish Angel is that it doesn't hold up in the weather. There are more durable and less expensive coatings available. Others will disagree.

[Detail Oriented LLC]

@FUNX650, you always have the most well stated replies, concise thoughts, and helpful information.

I see a coating as more than an investment in the protection of the vehicle. If you take pride in your ride, and cant keep your hands off the paint, coat it and then use a good wax and sealant throughout the year ; )
If you want simple maintenance, and proper car care, coat it, and follow suit'

My coating did a lot for me, it was a mental preparation of the vehicle that I drive to work, family, and life tasks. When I work on an ambulance, I have already done the mental and physical prep (much like when i took 3 full days to correct and coat my truck) and I am ready to serve. For my family, I know that others note the extreme care I take of my vehicle, and that sets US apart. What more care are we taking of family and important life tasks?
It is a good feeling to still take pride in cleaning my vehicle, and in the fraction of the time when i must be prompt. or diligently when i do have time. The cost is so low compared to longevity.

[Kamakaz1961]

IMO a ceramic coating is worth it! Do I use it on my ride....NO. I use a great quality wax. Additionally, my ride is a garage queen. I COAT my friends car and a couple of others. The reason why is a coating can handle the environment and exterior elements better than any other product. That is of course, my opinion. My friend converted his garage into a storage/work area space and he really doesn't maintaining his ride. SAD but there are people like that. The coating will last longer and will handle the elements better. Additionally, if you prepped the ride correctly it will look ALMOST as good as a great carnauba wax (my opinion again).

[david b]

Great question and welcome to the forum!

I have limited experience with coatings. Of course they work, are somewhat simple to apply(practice makes perfect) and keep a vehicle looking good. So much so that I've considered it for my daily drivers. However, I'm OCD(like most on this forum) so there's nothing I enjoy more than 'tinkering' on the weekend in the garage, applying a fresh coat of Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax, #845, or Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant.

Takes so little time to apply and gives me a great deal of satisfaction when I stop at the lights and the guy in the next lane over looks my way and I see his lips moving, telling his wife "look at that shine"!

David

[Nix]

Well i went back to waxes and sealants..I like to try new products on my personal cars so coating is not for me..plus water spotting is a headache..if you can maintain it then coating will be fine..But i personally prefer sealants and waxes..

[RippyD]

I neglected to mention spotting - one of the biggest issues I have with coatings. When you get sun/rain cycles during the day and water can dry on the car. These can be hard to remove. You may need to use extreme measures. Back to my "ff you need to polish it, why use a coating?" comment.

[BudgetPlan1]

I enjoy coatings because, while I like a clean vehicle, I'm also lazy. Wanna wash as little as possible, coatings help. Daily drivers, 2 black and a blue; if it's raining that day, they're getting rained on that day, probably dry in sun in afternoon and still look remarkably clean. Don't really have water spotting issues from natural occurring water, maybe location differences?

NE Ohio winter means I'll spray some tar remover on side panels to remove winter grime when Spring gets here, Foam and wash as usual and well be back to good performance.

Downside is somehow a few light scratches/marring around high traffic areas (door handle, trunk) and if I wanna get rid of those, will have to repolish and re-coat those entire panels which is more than a bit inconvenient, especially when you're lazy like me.

So, pluses and minuses; for me the former outweigh the latter. YMMV.

[RDZL1]

XPEL (Ultimate) is one the top PPF companies. PPF will provide more protection against rock chips. You may think about installing PPF on the vulnerable areas and apply coating on rest of the car.

Gtechniq is another option for coating.

Is it worth it?
If you put time into a car to properly maintain the protection on it then coatings will be much easier to maintain and will last longer compare to waxes or sealants.
On the other hand, if a car is not properly maintained coating is not the right way to go.
Coating has a higher resistance to chemicals than waxes & sealants but it is not a force field or armor. It can get water spots.