Hello, from New Port Richey Florida

[CNUMB]

Not a detail guy yet...just a plumbing contractor...Brought a 2018 Dodge Challenger RT 5 months ago for something to get away from the working world.. or I thought!!! Have been entering in local car shows and meeting a great bunch of folks....Thinking about getting the Ceramic coating done, just now sure if it is worth it or not..

[Mike Phillips]

Hi and welcome to AutogeekOnline!


I pushed your pending account through this morning.


If you're willing to wash your new car "carefully" then I think coatings are a great choice for looks and longevity but unless the car is a garage queen I don't see a benefit after a year or so. The paint on any car will look its best after just being waxes, or sealed with a sealant or coated with a coating. Key word in the last sentence being "just".

So if you want your car to look like it was just coated then just coat it.


I use Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating on my wife's MB SL500 and it's been around a year since I last coated the hood. So I'm fixing to bring it in, wash it, chemically decontaminate it, clay it and then machine polish it followed by chemical stripping and re-application of the PBL Paint Coating.

When I'm done - it will look like a million bucks. It will also stay looking like a million bucks for at least a good year. After a year though, I'll do some sort of polishing maintenance again and then re-coat it and then I'll know for sure I have 100% protection and the blinding gloss that looks so good on white paint.


Lots of other options. The GYEON One is a great first-time coating for someone new to coatings I have a review and how-to for this product that is exhaustive in its detail. If you like, I can post the link.

[CNUMB]

Thank You Mike!!! Yes if you can post that link.. I would appreciate that.. My car is kept in a garage and covered.. I brought it just for something to play with not to drive everyday.. I use to do a lot of tournament kingfishing but since retired from that, but needed a hobby.. Looked several years for a 1970-74 challenger but did not want to spend over 50k and all the vehicles I looked at had to many issues so last November I decided new... just want to keep it that way also..Currently using P21S cleaner and the carnauba/beewax blend wax..

[Paul A.]

Welcome to the Autogeek Forum, CNUMB! If you'd like any hands on help or to try anything out I'd be happy to do so. I'm right down the road in Tampa.

[ronkh57]

hi

[luckydawg]

Welcome to the forum. Lots of knowledge and good advice on here, and you got the best from the first fella to chime in- he's the "godfather" of detailing.
Pay close attention to everything he says and you wont go wrong.

My limited exp. with coatings is they can be tricky. There are a few tweeners ( between coatings and sealants) that are easy to apply with just about no chance of screwing them up.
My second best advice to you is take your time and dont get in a rush to get something PRIOR to you doing research.

[Mike Phillips]

Thank You Mike!!!

Yes if you can post that link.. I would appreciate that..

Here you go.... in this one review and how-to article I also break-down all the coating jargon and what the words mean as it can be confusing and for no good reason. This is what happens when the Genie is let out of the bottle.


Review: GYEON Q2 ONE Enthusiast Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips


One of the things I stressed in this write-up is you need the ample amount of quality microfiber towels to both chemically strip paint and to do the final wipe after applying the coating.

When I take pictures and share them in a write-up, there's MEANING to them. I didn't just set 12 microfiber towels on this roll-around-cart and take the picture for no reason.

[Mike Phillips]

And on the topic of mf towels...

After the GYEON review I wrote another article sharing some more info on towels.

Microfiber towels for ceramic paint coatings - How to care for - by Mike Phillips


And the above is the real deal. By this I mean, I didn't just put together the case and the towels to "mock-up" an article.


This last Tuesday, myself and a team of guy detailed a Corvette and a Durango and coated them with the new BLACKFIRE Pro Ceramic Coating.

To do the chemical stripping.... I took the case of towels with me so the guys would have the proper tools to do the job right. Here's Steve using the same microfiber towels used from my GYEON review in January of this year on the Corvette.





Here's the write-up Elliot posted for that project,

Autogeek Show Car Makeover in Nokomis, Fl


Good towels are just as important as a good coating.