Paint correction/ceramic coating $

[16VetteScott]

Mike , we have a 2016 Corvette Black on black , what would the price to have your team do paint correction and a ceramic coating done ?

[Mike Phillips]

Mike , we have a 2016 Corvette Black on black , what would the price to have your team do paint correction and a ceramic coating done ?




Autogeek is not a detail shop, I know some of the locals think we are but truth is we are the world's largest online supplier of car detailing supplies and the educations that goes with them.


Now me on the other hand, besides working for Autogeek full time I do detail cars on the side, usually one or two cars per month. I teach others to have at least 3 Detailing Packages in for their business and do the same and each package is targeted for a person's,


Budget
Type and condition of vehicle
Expectations



With coatings, like many things, the end results depend totally upon the prep work. The worse the condition of the car the more prep work is needed to prep the paint for the coating and thus the more time, labor and materials are needed for the prep step. Even a car in great condition, if I'm going to coat it I'm going to do a minimum of one machine polishing step and that can take about 3-5 hours depending upon the size and complexity of the body styles.

For me to install a ceramic paint coating you're looking at packages 2 and 3 and these would $700.00 and $1,100.00 and obviously the package 3 prices means the car needs to be compounded thus it's in bad enough condition that polishing will not remove the swirls and scratches to an acceptable level. The compounding step alone will take 4-5 hours and then the paint must be re-polished and that's another 2-3 hours, thus a car in bad condition, AFTER washing wheels and tires, washing the car, chemical decontamination, mechanical decontamination, (about 2 hours), will then need an additional 6 to 8 hours of machine polishing and that's where both time and labor come into play. After that the paint must be chemically stripped and the coating applied, an additional 2-3 hours. Dress the tires and then stick a fork in it and call it done. Notice none of that included interior or engine detailing, that's exterior only.


:)

[yakky]

Mike, glad to see your time breakdown. I often wonder what sort of work people are doing when they "detail" and coat a car in an afternoon.

[Thomkirby]

A very quick job and you get what you pay for! Mike's method is proven to work and last as the manufacturer has projected given normal conditions with proper care. Any of the new ceramic coatings really want the car to sit several hours in a controlled temp to cure. I did a wheels off coat with Carpro DLUX and it took an entire afternoon and then sitting overnight for it to cure. If your Corvette is kept up then the exterior clean is easy and think of doing one of the newer spray SIO2 products. That can easily be done in an afternoon with NO paint correction. For a great video, watch the time lapse of a full day's work by Mike.

[Calendyr]

Mike, glad to see your time breakdown. I often wonder what sort of work people are doing when they "detail" and coat a car in an afternoon.

I offer a coating package without polishing. It can be done in about 5 hours. Basicly it's a detailed wash, paint decontamination, paint degreasing and then coating application. It's not something I recommend, I suggest to my client to have at leasts a polishing step done so that the paint can have maximum gloss before coating, but many people with brand new car don't want to pay for the extra. So I leave it up to them, I make my recommendations but it's their car, so their choice.

[Farmallluvr]

Mike, glad to see your time breakdown. I often wonder what sort of work people are doing when they "detail" and coat a car in an afternoon.

The only place I am famaliar with that does ceramic coatings is in Midland,MI,,I am sure there are more but my Car Brite guy also supplies him with some stuff so thats how I know of him.

My Car Brite jobber told me his is an almost 3 day process,but he is highly recommended I guess and always has plenty of work,,if you have a Vette,Porsche or Lambo thats the place to go.