Hi, Has anyone gone the ceramic coating and did you apply it yourself, Where I live I get $800 to $1200 prices and wondering if this is something I can do myself in my garage. I 'm not sure about what kind of coating or brand and I'm told the car has to sit for a few days for the ceramic coating to activate ?

 

Applying the ceramic is the easy part, it's the prep work that makes the ceramic worth it. The better you do the prep/correction, the better you will be. A local shop to me charges $1,200 for a full detail and ceramic.

 

paint correction is the tedious part of ceramic coating. It's fairly affordable to DIY. My one recommendation is that you make sure to get it off, otherwise it will be very stubborn to remove left over streaks.

 

As mentioned here, the paint correction is key to success with ceramic coating. You need a random orbital polisher and pads. If your car has been through many commercial car washes, the finish is loaded with micro scratches and perhaps even deeper. You need to level the paint finish which eliminates the scratches. The ZO6 is just bought a few months ago had seen it's share of car washes and there were an assortment of the micro scratches, but a few deeper ones that required color sanding and then polishing to level the area. Do it under bright lights so you can identify and correct the finish. Once leveled to your satisfaction, you'll need some panel prep spray (mostly alcohol) on all the panels to clean the finish so there are no contaminents or residue from the polishing. Once you've gotten to this point, it's all downhill.

It doesn't take much ceramic to coat a panel. Make sure that you lay it on in one direction, and then apply 90 degrees over the first layer. Give the panel 10 minutes or so for the ceramic to set up; you'll see a rainbow appearance not unlike when you drop oil on water. Buff-off the ceramic coating with a microfiber towel and then polish with another clean microfiber towel. Make absolutely certain that you've hit every bit of the coating; once it sets, there's no going back. You'll need to polish-off the coating and repeat all the steps. The coating will cure overnight and the finish is amazing. When you wash your car, you dry it with a leaf blower! It beads up and rolls off!

I ended-up applying 2 coats of Zymol wax to the ZO6 as it has been prepped for NCRS flight judging, and they frown on coatings other than wax.

You can absolutely do this for a fraction of the $1,200 if you don't mind doing the hard work.

 

I ceramic coated my former TDI. The prep was definitely the bulk of the work. I spent 4 days working through my kid’s then 3-hr nap to wash/clay/polish/prep the paint before applying the coating. Applying the coating was easy enough but I was nervous because if you put too much on in one area during the application you will notice a “high spot.” I had a cpl high spots in hard to notice areas of the car but was happy with the results; especially since it was my first time doing it. At some point, I’ll find the time to do this to the z.



What I used. Worked decent enough


Before

After but not done


Done

 

Yes prep as any imperfections in the paint will be sealed in and you can’t fix it unless you remove the ceramic.

I just do my regular car prep. Each time I do it makes the car better.

 

Ok, Thank you !

 

Good luck. From the pics I have seen of cars that have had the paint correction and ceramic coating, the shine is amazing.

 

It is amazing and for about a year after you do it, when you wash the car, it comes clean so much easier. I use the Avalon King DIY kit I get online. I usually get them when they have a 2 for 1 sale. They make great gifts too for car loving friends and family members. Like Hyperv said, each time I do my normal routine and it gets better and easier. Buy a clay mitt and soap/suds up the car real good and go over the whole car with the clay mitt. Keep the surface good and wet with soap suds when using the clay mitt. That will remove alot of the surface particles and such and smooth out the surface. Power wheel and compound next if you want to take it to really do it up right (paint correct), else 2-3 washes and clay mitt sessions and then apply the ceramic coating. It is easy, wipe on and then a minute later, wipe/buff off. Using clean and fresh micro towel when you buff off makes a difference too. It is very satisfying once you are done with how it comes out. You can also use that ceramic coating on the plastics like the wiper facia and any black trim on the car. Make the plastic look new and last a lot longer than amorall!

1 bottle does the whole car with some left over for plastic touch ups and such. I do mine once a year and it is almost that time for this year!

 

What brand of coating is everyone using?
Anyone use Meguiar's M888

 

I bought some Adam's for my wife's black LX570 but haven't applied it yet.

 

The three I've used are Optimum, Gyeon, and AvalonKing. All three were very easy to apply with AvalonKing being a bit more affordable. As others have said it's the prep work that takes the time and effort. While a ceramic coating does last a long time, you do need to occasionally decontaminate it to bring back the hydrophobics (water beading).

I just got an email from Optimum and they have a new Hyper Shine DIY Ceramic Coating. It's supposed to be easier for a DIYer to apply and it also fills light swirls and scratches:

Hyper Shine DIY Ceramic Coating

While surface prep is best for an ideal surface for the coating to adhere and look it's best, it isn't absolutely necessary to go overboard. Just watch a few YouTube videos and you'll get the feel for it. You can also just start out with a spray detailer that contains some Si02 (ceramic) for an extremely slick surface that will repel dirt and make washing easier for 1 to 3 months. Just one that I've had very good luck with:

Ceramic Speed Shine

 

coated my 97 and my 2022 Honda CR-V. just follow the directions and everything will be good.

 

I did a light paint correction and used the GTechiq CSL coating. Not hard to do but like another member said, the prep is where it counts. I was doing some paint work which involved wetsanding, cutting and buffing anyway so it made sense to do it.

LINK

Results were pretty amazing

 

I coated my C5 in Opti-Coat in 2017. I loved it. That said, I am a detailer and I would charge approximately $60/ for three days, so call it ~$1,800.00 and yes I'll bring lunch and dinner for myself. This is what I would do, it's going to sound like an ad, but I have no desire for more customers. Detailing is not my first, or even second job.

I would be doing so much more than coating though, the entire car would be enhanced at as-perfect as I can get it. You're paying for experience, know-how with chemicals to include compatibility, and a lot of labor. Larry Kosilla was the forst person I heard use the term "Framing." You are paying for framing, and there's more than you think.

I would wash it, and while I am washing it I am familiarizing myself with this specific car, use the wheel woolies on the wheels and Adam's tire cleaner on the rubber. Then perform an iron decontamination (I like Iron-X), then, (since I'll be polishing) I'd use synthetic clay. Normally I would write down all of the paint thicknesses for each panel and give it to the owner, but since this car is plastic and fiberglass my Paint Thickness gauge doesn't read on it. Next I polish the glass with CeriGlass, which not only removes any water spots, but makes the glass look supremely clean.

Then I would use 3M Adhesive Remover to remove the tar from the wheel wells, fenders and the bottom of the rear bumper, so it doesn't get onto my pads. Set up some lights and get to polishing with my 5 inch DA, my 3 inch DA, and the 1 inch backing plate for small spots. Some of this car has to be polished by hand, for example the slits in the rear bumper and the tail light housings. Some of this will be laying on the ground because I don't have a lift. I have to remove the taillights to get the bumper perfect, then polish the lights and put them back in last. I might polish the door jambs, but that's got to be up to the owner. Window rubber gets masking tape.

Dress the cowl and fenders now in case I slip and hit them with my pad. Remove the wheels and wash what I missed the first time, clean the barrels with 3M adhesive remover, then polish the barrels and faces. Polish my heart out, this is the longest step. For all of this I'm using non-petroleum polish because it's getting coated. I'm also using something with diminishing abrasives. My "checker light" will help me gauge my progress here. The wheels are going to get some significant hand polishing too. While I have the wheels off I need to tend to the pain in the butt plastics. They need to be cleaned and dressed as well, otherwise the lack of contrast is going to make the car look half-assed.

Once the wheels are hand torqued back on I can begin wiping everything down with IPA. Once the car us surgically clean, spot free, swirl and scratch free (for the most part) I can begin coating it. Coating will probably take 2 hours to include time waiting for haze and addressing high spots where my applicator overlapped. If needed I can cut OptiCoat with OptiSeal. Once the paint is coated I would use Invisible Glass on a glass towel to clean the windows, windshield, and rear glass, obviously model dependent.

Once she's done (imputing gender) I ask if the owner wants matte or gloss tires and use Pinnacle or VRT and *wipe the excess* so it doesn't fling all over when the owner drives. If the exhaust is polished, then I have metal polish for it and I can use a combination of 3 inch pads and hand polishing with a towel. I like Borla polish.

In a perfect world we'd do a photoshoot at a location chosen by the owner next because the car is never going to be this clean again. At a minimum I want to see it in the daylight because if I have somehow missed a spot I want to address it. Don't forget plastic "blades" to get the microfiber into the creases and crevices.

This much work can make it hard to see colors properly afterwards. I've driven home many times thinking "I can barely see." Something happens when you stare at a color for hours on end and when you look away the whole world looks green.

I say that to say this: Getting a car coated is so much more than just getting it coated.