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I just finished ceramic coating my '95. Came out good. I backed it out of the garage to clean the wheels and tires. Looks great in the sun. To prep the paint, I used Griot's Garage Fast Correcting Cream with their orbital buffer, then a second pass using their Correcting Cream. An alcohol wipe down (and a little alcohol for the applicator-me), then applied the ceramic coating: AvalonKing Armor Shield IX. The whole process took about 4 hours. The ceramic step was by far the easiest. I bought two kits thinking one would not be enough, but didn't even use one bottle. Let me know what you think!!
Nick
I did it to my 88 this past May, used Kamikaze Miyabi, turned out great. Lots of swirls that I had to correct and I didn't get every one, but it looks 10x better and it stays that way.
I just had my rims refinished so I used a coating explicitly for rims.
I have my hood finished removing swirls and will work on the rest of the car over the winter to prep for ceramic.
4 hours sounds good! I'm pretty sure I will have to put more than that into mine.
I just finished ceramic coating my '95. Came out good. I backed it out of the garage to clean the wheels and tires. Looks great in the sun. To prep the paint, I used Griot's Garage Fast Correcting Cream with their orbital buffer, then a second pass using their Correcting Cream. An alcohol wipe down (and a little alcohol for the applicator-me), then applied the ceramic coating: AvalonKing Armor Shield IX. The whole process took about 4 hours. The ceramic step was by far the easiest. I bought two kits thinking one would not be enough, but didn't even use one bottle. Let me know what you think!!
Nick
Just one coat?
Last edited by scotth48; Nov 18, 2019 at 12:21 AM.
Looks fantastic, for sure. But, my question is: HOW DURABLE is it?? I mean when it comes down to it, preparation is the key. And, once prepped properly (as that black beauty appears to be) even the cheapo junk will look great - at least till the sun hits it for an hour or so.
I've been a Zaino fan for over a decade. From my experience, it takes hours and hours and dozens of applications to get to the level seen in this post. That's the negative - especially since I have a wee bit of arthritis in my shoulders: the rubbing gets tiresome darn quick. But, on the flip side, Zaino ended my having to strip and re-apply to avoid hazing (due to contaminants taking root in the carnuba wax). Case in point: The Z in this photo was Zaino'ed (new paint) in 2014. It (I think) looks good - BUT not as good as the ceramic examples like the OP's black beauty is rocking! (just WOW!!)
So.... the selling point (for me) on the ceramic treatment would be durability. If it keeps that look and the settling pollen and dust just rinses off with water (like Zaino does) and blow dries to that mirror finish...year after year WITHOUT having to apply a zillion coats to get this look we see on this black car, I'd be a convert!
Thanks for sharing these piix and how and what was applied. That look, WITH durability to boot, is a "no brainer"!
Last edited by Paul Workman; Nov 20, 2019 at 08:02 AM.
I don't keep my vettes outside anymore but after a year on the black C7, its still perfect. The C4 has about 6 mos and is likewise. Both have Miyabi, but the C7 has another layer of ISM Coat v2.0. Those are more expensive and higher quality coatings.
The black Tacoma gets dirty and driven daily, and it also has two coats of Blackfire, it washes off very easily and looks just as sharp and reflective as the day I applied it, 1.5 years ago now.
If you can't keep waxing and polishing, this is the way to go, thats why I did it.
DIY Ceramic Coating
