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Ok..here I am again asking those who have had ceramic coating on their Vette..the advantages and disadvantages of a ceramic coating application . Costs, maint?, and longevity. My C8 is always garaged,...but does the hot sun have a detrimental affect on the coating after any period of time..In the past I have had my Vettes professionally waxed... periodically. I have seen /quotes of $1500.00 and needing the car for 1 day.. Is i..does it have any advantage for resale in later years? Is it worth it? Thank you for your opinions!
I own a Detailing business as a fun/side hustle. You will get alot of "experts" here saying what to use and what to do when unfortunately, they are buying a product at Walmart that says "Ceramic" on it, and they think their Vette is now "ceramic coated"...and its not. So lets first start with an education:
1) Ceramic coating does not make your paint bullet-proof. You can still get paint chips and scratches. PPF is the only way to PROTECT your paint for actual damage. Ceramic creates a hydrophobic layer on your paint which makes washing / maintaining your car so much easier.
2) Just because a product says "ceramic" on the label, does not mean its a true ceramic coating. There is a simple rule of thumb - if the product doesn't "rainbow", if it doesn't have a cure time and/or it doesn't create "high spots" if neglected, than its NOT a ceramic coating.
3) Regardless of what brand you select, 80% of the ceramic coating process is in the paint correction.
4) ALL CARS - let me repeat - ALL CARS that are to be ceramic coated require some level of paint correction. I dont care if it just rolled off the showroom floor, under any decent light, you will see imperfections. Now everyone's definition of "perfect" is VERY different but if you want your paint to look absolutely perfect, you need to do some paint correction before locking in its condition with ceramic. Also, be aware, that a ceramic coating only exaggerates paint imperfections...which is why its necessary to do paint correction.
Now as for which brand to use, after trying 5 or 6 of the top brands, I exclusively use Adam's Advanced line of ceramic products. They make a 9 year coating (60ml bottle) and a 1 year spray. Both provide insane gloss, outstanding protection, and are super hydrophobic which makes maintenance so much easier. What makes Adam's stand out over ALL other brands is the fact that they offer UV properties in their formulation. Under a UV light (which they include in their kit) you can see where you may have missed a section during the application phase. More importantly it also helps see where you might have missed buffing the coating away, which helps reduce the risk of high spots... The picture below is my wife's C7 (sorry I haven't coated my C8 yet). This was after 10 hours of paint correction and applying Adam's Advanced Coating - you be the judge...
ceramic coatings are indeed a great way to go, they make the car easy to clean and they last for several years. However, it has become an absolute scam by some detailers that are getting upwards of $1500-$2500. If your car is new, go have it professionally polished and then you can wipe on the ceramic. Literally ceramic is just a wipe on product and a quick buff off. Nothing else. There are countless ceramics out there that are good. I like the products from Gyeon and Carpro.
In my opinion there is no resale value other than your car’s paint should look great. It makes if very easy to keep your car clean all the time. It last several years especially if you park in a garage most of the time. To me it is worth it on any expensive car.
I've done our Vette ( 2020) along with 3 other vehicles myself using Adams Graphene Ceramic Coating. Easy to use. 3.5 years later water beads up like I just did the coating. Dust and bugs come off much easier. About $130 for the kit with everything you need. One 60 ml bottle did our Vette including the wheels, which I removed and did the barrels as well as the front side.
If you do it yourself, the prep work is the most important steps. If you have swirl mark, fine scratches, other imperfections, NOW is the time to correct them. Get the car just how you want it before you Ceramic Coat it. If you're not comfortable doing that, or don't have a polisher and the proper pads, and polishing materials, then find a reputable detail shop and pay the price......
There are likely dozens and dozens of threads on this forum regarding the process. You might want to do some searching if you are going to do it yourself. There are also plenty of good videos, including Adams Polishes own videos on using their products.
I am not a fan of the lesser, spray on Ceramic Coatings out there, including Adams Polishes..... many dealers offer "Ceramic Coating" at the finance table..... you say yes, and they charge you $800 ++ and they are done in less than an hour....... geez...... it's just not the same lasting finish.
One of the reasons that professionally applied Ceramic cost "so much" is that the applying detailer, will do a lengthy paint correction before the application is to make the surface as perfect as possible before the Ceramic goes on. Very labor intensive.
thats very true…IF the car has lots of surface problems, but as I said, IF THE CAR IS NEW, it really does not need a lot of correction and some detailers are still socking the customers for 1500-2500….dont fall for it…..or a least question it….
I was able to go straight to the coating after a IPA wipedown, for a few hours work and $125….looks perfect
A big part of what you are paying for cost is polishing the car. I bought a buffer and spent a month this winter polishing all of the orange peel out of the car.
That is a big job. Then a few hours applying Turtle Wax Ceramic Hybrid Wax.
Total Cost: Electric Polisher $89, Polish pads $29, Meguiars Polish $14 Turtle Ceramic Hybrid $13. Labor hours 40 or more.
That the low cost way to do it. If you go to a pro detail shop you are paying for a lot of hours of buffing and a high cost wax.
Is it worth it? I agree with above, highly overpriced. But the polish job will make your car look better, and ceramic wax probably last a long time.
Is that worth anything a few years later when you sell the car? Would you be willing to pay more if the seller says the car is ceramic coated?
A big part of what you are paying for cost is polishing the car. I bought a buffer and spent a month this winter polishing all of the orange peel out of the car.
That is a big job. Then a few hours applying Turtle Wax Ceramic Hybrid Wax.
Total Cost: Electric Polisher $89, Polish pads $29, Meguiars Polish $14 Turtle Ceramic Hybrid $13. Labor hours 40 or more.
That the low cost way to do it. If you go to a pro detail shop you are paying for a lot of hours of buffing and a high cost wax.
Is it worth it? I agree with above, highly overpriced. But the polish job will make your car look better, and ceramic wax probably last a long time.
Is that worth anything a few years later when you sell the car? Would you be willing to pay more if the seller says the car is ceramic coated?
I done my 2012 GS.First I washed it then done the clay bar treatment then I used Nexgen ceramic spray.The torch red really looked very nice and it felt smooth as glass.I was really impressed with how it looked
I've done our Vette ( 2020) along with 3 other vehicles myself using Adams Graphene Ceramic Coating. Easy to use. 3.5 years later water beads up like I just did the coating. Dust and bugs come off much easier. About $130 for the kit with everything you need. One 60 ml bottle did our Vette including the wheels, which I removed and did the barrels as well as the front side.
If you do it yourself, the prep work is the most important steps. If you have swirl mark, fine scratches, other imperfections, NOW is the time to correct them. Get the car just how you want it before you Ceramic Coat it. If you're not comfortable doing that, or don't have a polisher and the proper pads, and polishing materials, then find a reputable detail shop and pay the price......
There are likely dozens and dozens of threads on this forum regarding the process. You might want to do some searching if you are going to do it yourself. There are also plenty of good videos, including Adams Polishes own videos on using their products.
I am not a fan of the lesser, spray on Ceramic Coatings out there, including Adams Polishes..... many dealers offer "Ceramic Coating" at the finance table..... you say yes, and they charge you $800 ++ and they are done in less than an hour....... geez...... it's just not the same lasting finish.
They need it for a minimum of 2 days. One for paint correction and ceramic application (that WOULD be a quick job on the paint correction) and one day just to let the car sit and CURE. Three days would be more likely for a good job, and maybe even 4 for a great one. .. There should be no labor charge for the day of curing, but since space IS taken up in a shop, that's another car that can't be worked on, so charging for that last day is to be expected.
I have detailed my cars for years via RO buffers, and have always thought I did a great job. I have done this same treatment to my 2021 z51 red mist as well. BUT, when I saw the work that the renowned Esoteric folks were doing, right here in my home town, I could no longer resist.
My red mist z51 is not my daily driver, always garaged, and has never gotten wet (!). BUT they still did 12 hours of paint correction, followed by 5-year Kamikazi ceramic coating. I was just blown away by how it looks. I couldn't come close to making it look this good....as always, pictures don't do it justice, but here is a link to some pics of my car during and after their process: https://www.esotericdetail.com/proje...rvette-c8-122/
These folks deserve all the praise they receive. The look is just incredible. I have never been a fan of PPF, but ceramic, if done correctly, is simply amazing...
M y 2024 C8 Z51 Red Mist has 42 miles on it..took delivery in January and garaged since due to normal and abnormal weather here in WNY.
I do believe that there would be little or no paint correction on it..But thank you all as I have been quoted $1500.00
NOW knowing that part of the labor charge is preparation.., perhaps I have some leverage in negotiating the Quoted $1500.00 cost
Again...I value Corvette Forum.. not only for a wealth of info...but to the generosity of those who will offer their opinion and experiences!!!
2023 C8 I recently purchased used had ceramic coating professionally applied about a year ago when it was new. It still has a nice shine, but what if I wanted to apply another ceramic coat to replenish it? What product would I use? What type of prep work would be required since it already has been ceramic coated?
go on YouTube and search for “my coating is one year old, ceramic maintenance”, etc. and you’ll find lots of answers as to what to do. There are polishes that are made for coatings, and Coatings formulated to use to go on top of prev coating. if all else fails, try the gyeonor CarPro helpdesks… they give great info.
There is no resale value added by ceramic coating. Professional coating lasts 2-5 years. Some maintenance is required. I just use Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic DIY and recently compared with a friends $1000 pro coating and we cannot see much difference. Basically the ceramic coating reduces wash/dry time and that's it.
go on YouTube and search for “my coating is one year old, ceramic maintenance”, etc. and you’ll find lots of answers as to what to do. There are polishes that are made for coatings, and Coatings formulated to use to go on top of prev coating. if all else fails, try the gyeonor CarPro helpdesks… they give great info.
I did my own car, didn’t bother with paint correction, white is very forgiving in that respect. I did ceramic my older black Benz…that paint correction was very involved.
ceramic coatings are great, but need a booster spray every now and again especially when kept outside. Inside cars probably don’t.
I still have a car I wax, it’s a pain, lol.
but, I think wax looks better, but it’s not worth the effort unless you enter car shows. Ceramic is just so easy.
I use Gtechniq ceramic and as far as wax, P21s and Best in Show spray.
resale, probably no effect, PPF might give you a few more at resale.
I'm planning this as well. My car is 5 months old, 2K miles for paint is really almost new. Clean, clay bar then apply is the plan. The ceramic material looks to be in the $125-$150 range.
Ceramic coating
