I stopped at my local high end reconditioner the other day. I asked him how much for ceramic coating. He gave me a menu of choices.

When I asked him to simplify he basically said you get a one-year warranty with the least expensive option (which was about $700) You get a lifetime warranty with the $2000 option. And it wasn’t just the warranty it was a better product that was more involved to apply. Does anyone know enough about ceramic to help me choose. I know they use the ceramic pro line of products

Also. He told me it would be very beneficial if I could have the dealer leave the car untouched (not washed) prior to bringing it to him

Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should apply and when?

 

Are you paying for just ceramic, or for the paint correction + ceramic?

These days, ceramics have evolved to the point where it can be applied by a competent DIYer. You don't need UV lamps; or have to let it cure for 3 days; etc. And for a lot less than $700 or $2000.

The expensive part is the paint correction. This involves a lot of time, labor, and tools that you may not necessarily own, or want to buy for infrequent use.

Whatever you decide, I would definitely skip the "lifetime warranty" option. Coating products continue to improve exponentially. By the time your current coating finally wears out, there will be something better on the market. Save that money for something else.

 

I believe the installer was trying to avoid the paint correction process, that’s why he wanted the car untouched at the dealer...

 

Not a professional detailer but I would think even a factory paint job would have a small amount of imperfections that a light paint correction process would benefit from.

 

We've seen enough examples from Bowling Green that a paint correction will certainly be necessary; even if it's not a full on wet sand/cut/polish.

And frankly, that's where the real value from a detailer lies. Cutting/polishing takes tools, time, and a certain amount of skill to not burn through your clearcoat. I wouldn't bother getting a ceramic coat if you are not going to paint correct first.

 

I’m going to get whatever they recommend, but he did say his job would be harder if the dealer washed it. I’m guessing it’s going to require more work to correct the swirls from the dealers wash. And that he is not trying to avoid the process entirely just minimalize it

 

My C8 had some thin coverage spots and a number of flaws that the detailer showed me. Some of them I never would have noticed and a couple were really obvious and kinda bad.

It all depends on if you’re happy with the finish from the factory.

 

For my money, I'll put some Griot's Garage ceramic coat myself. $20 a bottle, I can and have coated cars at least 5 times with one bottle. It's easy spray on wipe off. I've done it to all my cars. Sure the protection isn't as long lasting as professionally installed products done with paint correction, but it IS good for at least 6 months here in the Pacific Northwest. Paired with ceramic detailer the cars look great, water bead, easy to wash ... all those things that come the ceramic coating.

I've also used Maguiar's spray on hose off ceramic coating with excellent results. Again it's not 7 year guarantee (speaking of lifetime guarantee, how long have those people been in business? Will they still be in business 10 years from now? Will you still own the car 10 years from now?) But it's good all winter as long as the car gets washed regularly

I will say, my neighbor had his truck coated professionally and it shone like new for at least 5 years. The professional jobs really are better.

YMMV
My 2¢

 

So - IMHO - NO Product is going to last 7 years (particularly if the car is frequently outside), If you spend some time looking around - I think you'll find most Pro Applied Ceramic coatings seem to last a few years tops...

As other posters have said - going over (a.k.a Correcting and polishing) the paint before applying the ceramic coating is pretty much mandatory. Maybe the $700 job includes an hour or two of polishing - but I put a Ceramic Coating (Kamikaze Miambi) on a brand new C7 and I spent probably twice to three times that long with a DA before applying the coating. Just putting two coats on the car took about 4 hours. These days - using a DA and foam pads - no special skills are required - it just takes time. If you want to use a rotary with a wool pad - you can really restore a badly deteriorated finish pretty fast - but you can also burn through it frighteningly fast - so using that kind equipment should be left to people who have a good bit of experience.

If I were you - I'd do two things: a) Discuss how much paint correction is done in the various levels of Ceramic coating Application this detailer offers.
b) Use the search function on this forum and do some reading on other threads involving Ceramic Coatings.

 

Its time and $$$$..... if the factory paint is fine for you, a DIY ceramic is a weekend, and a hundred bucks.... low maintenance, and mine has lasted for over 5 years.... an absolute no-brainer IMHO.... do it. $700 sounds like just a ceramic, with no paint correction....

Now a professional detailer can polish out the imperfections, and orange peel in the factory paint, and if you are really picky, will make the car shine, but you're probably looking at least $1-2K extra.... and I wouldn't try this yourself...

You can easily spend $5-7K for a full boat correction with PPF, etc.... so pick your poison....

 

I had my C-5 (black) ceramic coated at least 5 yers ago, and it still looked terrific when I sold it last summer. The good stuff is very durable. I had my C-8 done by the same service last week. My factory paint was 'outstanding' according to the guys that did my car.

 

Try sending our forum member @Loki 6 . He has extensive background on this topic and keeps up-to-date with all the latest products. You ought to see his ride! Wow! Send him a PM. He has many great ideas that would help you decide what steps you may want to pursue.

 

I've read that paint correction is and is not required on a new vehicle. What's the real answer if there is one?

 

For 99% of vehicles that are painted by robots, some kind of paint correction is going to be needed.

This could range anywhere from a simple light cut/polish to get rid of swirls/scratches that inevitably are created by the manufacturing process, to deep wet sanding to remove bad orange peel/runs and the like.

It will still be less labor than on a old car that has been abused; left out in the hot Death Valley sun; pooped on by birds, etc

 

This is subjective, and a point of discussion..... some folks (like me) think the factory paint is just fine.... others see flaws and want them fixed.... there's orange peel, and occasionally, thin spots on any new car.... if these things bother you, the time to fix them is when the car is new, and certainly before any protective finish is applied....

This will cost a couple $K.... but if its something you want to do, do it now... if the paint looks good to you, save your money...

What is required is a very thorough cleaning of the paint... like a clay bar.... you do want any dirt, or contaminates removed from the surface....this can happen during shipping.... or just a few hours sitting in the dealer lot.....

Any good detail shop should do this as a matter of course, and if you DIY, you should do this also.... its a lazy day's work, no big deal.... just some elbow grease, and care.... but absolutely necessary, as anything that is on the paint will be sealed in when you apply the ceramic....

You want the finish absolutely finger smooth before you apply the product.

 

No good detailer would apply ceramic without paint correction first.

 

No, there are minor imperfections on the factory paint. Plus a paint correction will add luster that is not there from the factory. This luster is then locked in with the addition of the ceramic. However I would caution to let the new paint cure about 3 months before you do this.

 

Depending on how far the C8 is shipped from BG, the paint condition can vary. I'm on the west coast, so the paint had minor swirls and scratches upon delivery. Dust/dirt gets under the white shipping covers, and when the wind blows, they can flap and the dirt scratch the paint. It's bound to happen. The unwrapping process can also scratch the paint when the covers are taken off. The dealer wash shouldn't make it worse if done carefully, but unfortunately they can.

When I got PPF put on my car, I didn't care about orange peel; just protecting the factory paint as it came from the factory. I did not want to 'level the clearcoat' which makes it shiny, but removes some clearcoat. They asked me not to do anything to it, and they just did a stage 1 or 2 paint correction on the areas they were covering, which is just removing swirl and scratch marks. Not making the orange peel smoother.

When I got the car back, I did my own swirl/scratch removal on the parts of the car not covered in PPF and then a DIY Adams graphene coating (wash, clay, then polish with a couple of different compounds or pads depending on what was needed). Paint correction or polishing definitely takes a lot of time, even if it's just to remove light scratches and swirls. You don't get an appreciation for all the angles and different surfaces on the C8 until you use a buffer on it. Many are too small to use a 6-inch pad, so you'd have to use smaller pads.

So, IMHO, if you're not trying to correct orange peel and just want the car to look as it did from the factory, do your own 'paint correction' (just remove those swirls and minor scratches) and a DIY ceramic kit. PPF however, is best left to the professionals. I'm glad I got PPF on the rockers in front of the rear wheels - that area gets pummeled from little rocks thrown back by the sticky Z51 tires.

 

For the C8 it would be very wise to purchase a 3 inch polisher with a 2 inch backing plate. You will thank me later.

 

Good advice indeed. I got by with a hand polishing pad for the areas too small for the 6-inch buffer pads as I wanted to finish the job that day. Just a bit more elbow grease on my part, lol.