Is Ceramic Coating Worth It?

[Desertnate]

Mike Phillips has really great write ups on how to start machine polishing. And is very helpfull to read up on. If you get a scrap yard panel first to practice on to get the feeling of the polisher is a good thing to do. Or if you have someone you know that has a DD that you can do your first polishing on.

Great advice. I'll add another thought.

You can learn to machine polish on your own daily driver, but don't go super aggressive. It seems many people start with the belief their car is a wreck and they go with the most aggressive compound and pads they can find. I'll offer a counter point. Get a a DA, 3~4 polishing, 3~4 compounding pads, and a small bottle of either an AIO or a finishing polish. After watching Mike's videos and doing some thorough reading, go out and try it yourself. As long as your careful, those pads and products will be pretty low risk and will allow you to become comfortable with operating a DA and how a product behaves with different pads. Don't try to fully correct the vehicle on your first try. Once you are more comfortable you can expand out to even more pads and polishing products while working to get better results.

The first car I machine polished, I had no intentions of doing a 100% correction and would have been happy with 50%. Since that car happened to be a Subaru with really soft paint, it turned out much better than expected despite being a very gentle approach. From there, I steadily worked to get better results when working on our other vehicles.

[Mike Phillips]

What would you recommend for the outside trim since my car has a lot of it.

In Florida that stuff fades pretty fast and I would like to protect it for the long haul. I'd like to hold onto this car for at least 5 years and it will sit outside a lot.

Any of the brand name exterior plastic coatings will do a good job. The key is always in the prep work. Do a GREAT job of first cleaning the plastic trim then apply the trim coating per manufacturer's directions.

I would also add to re-apply periodically. While a quality coating will last longer than a dressing, the sun is a formidable enemy and when add the universal solvent "water" in the form of rain, dew and washing, everything is working against your car and all it's surfaces. So periodically, wash the coated surface and then give it a prep wipe and then re-coat.

I've found with exterior plastic exposed to the sun frequent care results in longer lasting beauty and appearance results. Most people do nothing and then look for a miracle product to bring the white, faded oxidized plastic back from the dead.

[SWETM]

I don't remember if anyone has mentioned that since your car is repainted to some panels. They will most likely behave differently when polishing. So I would do test spots on the old paint and to the repainted to dial in what works on them.

If you want one of the easiest coatings to apply and with a awesome results and you have the budget for it. I would go with Polish Angel Viking Coat Kit. The downside is that AGO don't have the PA Invicible Primer yet but their sister site Autopia has it. So think you can get it from AGO when buying if you ask them. The primer does a difference in both finishing polish and longevity. The Viking Coat is made for the winter weather in Sweden and is accually developed just a few miles from where I live. Benefit of that it's made for harsh winter weather is that it's also very heat resistant too. And it's the high content of sio2 in it that does that as why CQUK also is that.

Polish Angel Viking Kit

[Nix]

I dont think Viking coat requires Primer..Their primer is required for Cosmic to reach 9H hardness..Viking coat will be good on its own without the primer I believe...I have not tried the primer with cosmic so cant comment on how it behaves in terms of longevity..

[Whiplash Willy]

Some of us have seen coatings spot more readily than sealants. And it may be impossible to remove the spots without abrading or removing the coating. If you get spots on top of a sealant they're generally easier to remove. Reapplying sealant is generally easier than reapplying a coating. A sealant over a coating can help with this if you keep it maintained. But if you have to add sealant over your coating protect it, why not just use a sealant?


Also depends on the coating. Some will sheet water for a year or more. Others are done in less time, especially in harsh weather. This is based on testing I have done rather than manufacturer's claims.

The only issue I have had with water spots and ceramic coatings (Optimum Gloss Coat) is when my car was parked at work and was hit by a water sprinkler, and left to sit all day in 80*F weather. I had figured it was all over, and I would have to completely remove and re-apply the coating. Luckily, I was able to completely remove all of the waterspots with Carpro Water Spot Remover, quickly and easily, which is impressive, because they were horrible (See my pic below). The best part was that the coating was completely intact, and retained its water beading/sheeting properties.



I don't think water spotting is a reason to avoid ceramic coatings.