ir0nman11

Hey all,

I was wondering if I could get some input from professional detailers on which brand of ceramic coating to use? I am looking for consumer grade ceramic application. I am very familiar with CQuartz UK, since I applied that to my previous car and it turned out great but that was about 4 years ago so I am sure a lot of stuff has changed in the market.

Thanks in advance

BudgetPlan1

You'll likely get as many different answers as there are stars in the sky, 99% will be solid choices.

First thing you should do is decide what you want out of a coating; things to consider:

1. Durability, longevity

2. What kind of appearance? i.e. hard, candy-like gloss or deeper, warmer wax-like glow

3. Ease of application important?

4. Climate; what might work nice in Arizona (dry) might not be so nice in New Jersey (rain/snow)

5. Do you like beading or sheeting?

6. Are self-cleaning characteristics important to you or are you gonna wash your car weekly regardless?

7. How much do you wanna spend?

8. Daily driver or hobby car?

While quartz/glass/ceramic coatings are all in the same general category with respect to LSP's, there are subtle differences in them and you may as well go with one that is strong in your primary areas of concern.

And FWIW, claims of hardness, scratch resistance and such are, IMO, way over-marketed with coatings. While they may provide some minor resistance to light marring, it's a harsh world out there and many things (jewelry banging paint around door handles, boxes hitting trunk areas while loading, leaning on hood of vehicle with grimy sweatshirts, etc) *will* leave a mark. Problem with coatings is the only way to remedy those marks/marring is to re-polish (removing coating) and re-coating that area, generally an entire panel as many coatings don't lend themselves well to spot fixes. If you're horribly OCD-ish about having a totally defect free car for 2 years, a coating may not be the best way to go...or a 'lighter' coating like Gyeon CanCoat may be more appropriate.

I'm a coating junkie but there are certain allowances you have to learn to live with; for me the benefits of a coating far outweigh the downside(s) but that's a decision only you can make. Read and research...there is no *BEST* coating but there likely is a *BEST FOR YOU*.

I live in NE Ohio so all ny findings/thoughts are based on that climate. The characteristics of a coating that matter most to me are:

1. Great Self Cleaning Abilities: Our cars see rain and often get rained on in the morning and then sit outside in the sun in the afternoon; don't like waterspots. I like clean cars but don't like cleaning cars.

2. Durability and resistance to environmental contamination like water spots and bird bombs. Don't wanna have to worry about running home and immediately dealing with removing things that would otherwise etch bare paint. Like hard water spots did to our Corvette during the Zaino years. Also has to last cuz I don't wanna be hauling out compounds and polishes every Spring, given reasonable maintenance.

3. Appearance: Well, stuff has to look good. Has to accentuate body lines, curves and hard edges. It needs to make me stop and admire it when walking towards it, walking away from it or catching a glance in the garage when I take out the garbage.

FWIW, Kamikaze Miyabi or ISM or both give me what I need, as does 22ple HPC. Feynlab is another great choice, gives a very brilliant shine. Gyeon Syncro has the nuttiest water bearing I've seen.

If you were happy with Cquartz, they just released Cquartz UK 3.0 although I've never used it.

Stick with a solid company, likely can't go wrong.

Edit: I'm just a hobbyist with a fondness for coatings. Tried 20+ different ones just for fun and to see how they did.

ir0nman11

Hey BudgetPlan1,

First off, I'd like to say thank you for taking the time to reply, those are some good points to think about.

For me, I live in Houston, TX so we also have the so called "bi-polar" weather down here, so foremost I'd like something that will help mitigate etching on the paint from waterspots and such. Secondly ease of application and appearance are my secondary goals. I know with cquartz uk it was not hard to apply at all, and it turned out great.

I have a white car so I am not sure exactly what kind of appearance / finish is best for this type of color. I think I'd like something that looks wet and with a soft glow. Mirror like finish probably won't look that cool since the color is white. Preferably a product that does water sheeting rather than beading, because I don't always have the time to go in and clean up the car right after it rains or every weekend. My car is a semi-daily (?) (as in, I don't always have to commute to work so most of the time is for leisure)

BudgetPlan1

If you want to give something new a try, 22ple HPC might be a good choice. Very, very easy to apply, great durability and self cleaning. Kinda a 'molten glass' kind of look. Used it on a white car once, very nice pearlescent look.

Recently ran across a Ford Explorer I did with 22ple last November, daily driver, so-so maintenance (likely touchless tunnel washes) and it still looks great.

Applied to a fleet vehicle in March 2017, outdoors 24/7, 35k since application and it's still looking good.