what do you guys think of these 'ceramic' coatings?
Comparing PPF and coatings is pointless. They are both used for completely different reasons. I know there are some people claiming that a coating will prevent rock chips but that's BS. PPF is used to protect your paint from rock chips, scratches and things that will cause you to touch up or repaint. Ceramic coating is a wax on steroids. The technology behind them is far greater than any wax you can buy. I haven't waxed any of our cars in the last 6 years because we have had Cquartz Finest on them. Sold the other cars and put the coating on the new ones. We have both our cars fully wrapped in PPF and Finest on top of the film. When you use ppf you still need to maintain it and protect it. You can do this with a wax or go for a ceramic coating which will give you the same benefit as if you applied to paint. The coating will help with the car staying cleaner longer, helps to prevent water spots, bird etching, etc. and washing the cars takes less time because everything comes off easier. For me I can't see buying another car and not fully wrapping in ppf and coating with Cquartz Finest. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We highly recommend it. KAMIKAZE film surface coat is a really "slick" product: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1dauU3WhTQ
I mostly agree with what you say. I will add that my experience is if you are driving in foul weather, the ceramic coatings don't really hold up very long. So for me, the ceramic coating is something you would do on top of the protective film as a way of making it easier to maintain the finish of the film. And thats what I have on my fun time cars. They don't even see rain. I wash them as needed. They are wrapped with the coating on top. When I wash the water really does fall off- like you say, a wax on steroids. I use a blower to dry the car and this helps with drying as well. You just have to remember that some of these coatings prefer that you use their products as a way of maintaining the finish (and probably their bank accounts as well!) My opinion for daily drivers is you are best off without either the film (it really holds dirt and grime!) nor the ceramic coating- it won't hold up to the kind of gunk and junk we have here (road salt, new age snow melt stuff) etc. On a daily car I just apply some Klasse (acrylic based all in one) about 2x a year and leave it there. Its not going to be as show car amazing, but it lasts and handles going through car washes etc... JMHO.
Agreed except for your opinion on PPF - I've truly become a "junky" the stuff is amazing. Maybe nothing sticks to it because my cars are washed so often
I agree that Ceramic Coating is a wax on steroids. I use it on all my cars and it seems to be infinitely more durable than wax and can better protect against minor scratches. It is NOT a substitute for PPF.
I don't do anything... my detailer does! I don't know if C-quartz finest is even sold on the retail level. Yes, he applies it over the film. My .02 is that with the new xpel self healing films it is probably overkill. The best Ceramic coatings don't just protect though. They look great doing it. I had my i8 corrected and coated a year ago. I haven't touched it since, except for having my detailer regularly wash it by hand. I've driven her over 10k miles since and the paint just pops like it's been freshly waxed and there is not a swirl or scratch anywhere to be found
I have the cars ceramic coated and then maintain them myself using CarPro Reload, which has layering qualities - I like the concept of renewing and adding to the ceramic as additional, ongoing protection (especially on a daily driver). I recently bought a 2002 996 Turbo with 29K miles as a daily driver; it was maintained well, but not by somebody as detail oriented as me. Like Caeruleus, I dry my cars with a blower, and initially the blower had zero effectiveness as the water simply stuck to the paint. After a month and about 10 post-wash Reload applications (with no actual ceramic base coat), the water rolls off the paint during washes, blows off with zero drag during drying, and maintains a deep, jeweled shine between washes. Just a testament to the ceramic/silica concept. The 550 and 599 are coated and I maintain them with Reload, and the finish and hydrophobic properties during washes are indistinguishable from the Turbo sans base coat. My guess is if they're maintained regularly with a layerable silica product, there's not much difference. Not necessarily a reason not to start off with the semi-permanent base, however. Regardless, I'm bought it for sure. -Joe
I tried it on my daily car as an experiment. Drove through the winter, took the car to the car wash like I would normally do. At the end of the winter I went to hand wash my car and I was shocked at how much road debris and grime was embedded in the PPF. Maybe I shouldn't have been as we get snow and all that brings with it. I tried claying the PPF- I would say the clay showed about 10x more road debris and grime held by the PPF than the clear coat. I agree with you, if you are going to put it on a car that isn't going to get truly filthy. I cannot avoid that with my daily car. Hence my thought on not worth it for a daily car- at least not for me.
Ceramic Pro. Tried it as a test. so far it's holding up. Makes my 2013 BMW look new. It pays to have it "serviced" every year. It's been redone once at no cost to me.
My 456 is being corrected right now and then getting Feynlab self healing coating. Sounds like the best of both worlds if it works.