Polished and ceramic coated our C4 this evening. I can’t believe I almost sold this car. It’s in such great condition. It’s a ‘96 collector edition.

 

Looks great!

I wish my '96 CE looked that good.

 

Nice!

What brand coating did you use? I used Avalon King when I did mine and have two unopened kits for future applications. I am planning on coating my new rims too.

My only complaint is I feel the Avalon ceramic “marrs” pretty easily. I.e. the paint is fine but the ceramic shows every minor ”event”.

I also have a black car, without perfect paint, and it shows absolutely everything.

But, it sure helps with staying clean and going easy on the paint as all I have to do is wash it with a sprayer and it’s clean without touching it.

sorry for the ramble, your car looks great!!!

 

Mine is coated with Kamikaze Miyabi + ISM, looks so much better that I'll never put a drop of wax on it again.

 

Agreed. saves time, looks great, protects the paint better/prevents wear and tear. Ceramic is also great for door handles/plastics and other spots to richen/darken them up and protect them.

 

I have been using black diamond products, but recently switched to Adams polished.

 

Looked up the prices for the Kamikaze products, OUCH. I thought I overpaid for the AvalonKing stuff, interesting video regarding ceramic coatings and where they come from:


I have used the Avalon King a few times, good stuff. Video of one of my kids drying a Miata with 2 year old Avalon King coating:

 

Why use the blower? I just hop in and tear through a couple roundabouts and I’m good

 

Ok I'm an old polish and wax guy, but I want to try a ceramic coating. I am ignorant to it's application. So let me start with do I have to strip off my cars wax first? How do you polish away small scratches? Do you polish them before the ceramic application or does the ceramic application hide small light scratches? What if you get a small scratch after the ceramic application, how do you deal with it? Please education me to it's use.

 

The actual application is very easy, probably 30 to 45 minutes. The preparation is a pita and 90% of the work:

 

I'm hardly an expert - but basically YES !!! (to stripping off the old finish, then compounding / polishing).

Step 1 - Strip Off the old wax / sealant.(I typically wash the car once normally - to get the dirt off - then wash it again with a Strong solution of Citrous Cleaner).
Step 2 - Get out the DA, and use it to get the paint in the best condition possible. What compound / pad you use depends on the condition of the current finish - but get it as good as you can.
Step 3 - Rewash Car to get any residue from compounding off.
Step 4 - Give the car a quick wipedown with Isopropyl Alcohol (sometimes referred to as IA)
Step 5 - Apply the Ceramic Coating
Step 6 - Keep the car dry for at least 24 hours.

If you're never used a Ceramic coating before - you might want to "practice" on a daily driver you don't really care that about. I tried a relatively inexpensive Ceramic - and I had a major problem figuring out when it "flashed": to wipe it off. So - when I did my Vette - I went with the Kamikaze Miambi coat - which is SUPER forgiving about how long you have to wipe it off. IMHO - Came out great. (I did two coats - 24 hours apart from one bottle.)

One other possible "suggestion"... Most spray on ceramic finishes (e.g Mothers / Turtle Wax etc.) contain relatively little actual ceramic coating and don't last very long. However - I've had very good luck with Geyon Can Cote. You spray it onto a microfiber cloth, then apply to a panel on the car - wait a few minutes then buff off. A can costs ~$50, and will do multiple cars. I'd say it lasts quite well compared to conventional waxes / sealants, and it's quite simple to apply. At least you can see if you like the looks of the coating. I still use it on the Daily Drivers... .

One final suggestion - watch some You Tube videos about the Ceramic Coating application process. Some very good info is available out there I'd stick to videos put out by companies who actually sell the products, and want repeat customers - as opposed to a video the kid down the street did ...

 

Good info. Most recommend using a clay bar between your #1 and #2 steps, other than that great suggestions.

 

Thank you for the information I'm going to try it this spring.

 

I like ceramic on the daily. The shine isn't quite as good as some of the synthetic waxes I've used but the ease of use and cleanup let's me ignore that. I've thought about doing it on the vette but for the amount of time it spends outside I won't even bother. With the amount of work I've got going on now I'm down to ~500 miles a year on it. And honestly if it's dusty coming out of the garage I don't even bother cleaning it depending on the day. Not enough time.

Had dad's new truck done. I forget who does it but its through ford. Guaranteed for 5 years. We're about 3 months in and it definitely is getting to need a recharge already. I have yet to find something that you can hose off, even with a pressure washer, that the road grime comes with. We have some nasty road spray around here. Bit again, for the time spent vs how it looks... can't beat it on a daily that's getting some 50k miles a year.

 

Heres how you coat a car

1. Chemical decon - Tar remover, bug remover, then an Iron remover like Gyeon Iron, which removes embedded brake dust and metals you can't see.
2. Mechanical decon - Clay bar the whole car.
3. Compound, usually 2 stages on a vette clear coat. Get the DA polisher out, get a good compound and pads, and remove all the scratches and swirls because the ceramic locks them in. Compounding takes all the time and money, usually a full day, maybe 2. One set of pads to get the deep scratches and another finishing polish pad. I used Lake Country Orange and White pads, Jescar Compound and Jescar Finish polish. Vette clear is pretty tough, it takes a bit of work. Plan on at least 4 pads of each color on one car.

Now the car should be pretty pristine. You can wax now, you can spray ceramic sprays, or you can coat it. Wax lasts months, ceramic sprays about 2x as long as wax, coating lasts 3-5 years. My 2019 and the 88 have had coating for 3 years now. Each particular product lasts different durations of time and have different efforts in application.

4. Alcohol wipedown, these are called coating preps, its just alcohol to wipe off excess compound and fingerprints.

5. Coat the car. I used Kamikaze Miyabi as the base, its very shiny, more reflective than wax. 2 coats on the car. One bottle will probably do 3-4 on a vette, 2 on a large SUV. Process should take about an hour or so per coat, with an hour wait in between.

During the in between, you really need to pull the car outside and look for dark spots, this is where the coating was put too thick, rub them off while you can. Once it hardens, you aren't getting them off without the DA and redoing the whole panel. Ask me how I know.

If you want a depth of wax, you add Kamikaze ISM coat on top of the Miyabi. It looks very much like a car with a couple coats of good #26 or other Carnauba. ISMv2.0 is a bit of a pain, it sets quickly, but now they have updated formulas that are easier to work with. One coat per car with the bottle, which would do 2 vettes easily, might run out if your 2nd car was a large SUV. I'd advise you watch Esoteric Detail's youtube videos on application of these.

Keep the car out of any rain or morning dew for about a week. Do not let it get wet until the ceramic cures.

From then onwards, you need to use car shampoo that is more specific to coatings. Not really any more expensive than any other good car wash. I use CarPro Reset. You also need to take more care in washing with a good set of towels and wash mitt, you don't want to swirl up the ceramic, you'll have to re compound it to get them out and recoat.

After 3 years my 88 needs nothing, the 2019 is black and needs the nose redone, C7s attract gravel like damn magnets.

 

Miyabi is an OK price, $130, but I'm now on year 4 and its still shedding water and looks just as good as application day. 2 coats per car, you could stretch it to two cars if both are smaller.

ISM for the depth of a wax like coating, yes its expensive, $170. Only one coat per car too. My truck got Miyabi and no ISM and theres a noticeable difference.

From my research these were the best two DIY coatings, I couldn't argue now years later.

 

Thank you for the information, it is definately more involved than I originally thought. I am definately going to try it next spring.