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I was told by a guy who owns several rare and expensive Corvettes that I should try using a ceramic coating on the paint of my car, which is a C6 Grand Sport. I looked online and found that using a ceramic coating on a car will greatly increase the shine of the paint. However, while I was looking for information on ceramic coatings, I found that there is a graphene coating that is supposed to be even better, if for no other reason than it lasts longer. I'm sure many people on this forum have tried one or both of these. What are your thoughts and experiences?
I have ceramic coating on my GS. Here is a link to some pics from when I picked it up from having PPF installed and ceramic coating applied. I have no experience with graphene.
The car care discussion part of the forum might be a better place to get opinions on this - and there are many. Some will say you need a professional detailer to do paint correction and the ceramic coating - which will of course last much longer than wax. I am not sure that is true, but in looking into ceramics myself I decided against it because I enjoy polishing and waxing my car from time to time. Removing the ceramics is also a pain and scared me off. Again, I like to do my own detail work.
I think it really depends how you use the car and if you like to spend time waxing it.
I use this Gyeon Can Coat. It works great and really enhances the shine. Far better than wax and the water beading is something else. This is easy to apply, can even be done outside. It's a good value as the can will do 2-3 cars. It says it last a year but my DD is coated and 2 years and it still sheds off water. I have purchased 3 cans of this over the past few years and all 5 of my vehicles got coated.
I use Groits garage Ceramic quick shine about every 3 months which really extends the life of the Gyeon coating.
As far a graphene, I tried a 303 product that advertised graphene and to be honest I was not impressed. IMHO the Ceramic outshined the graphene.
I applied adams graphene ceramic coating and do maintenance with their graphene line. It works well, but took a bit to learn how to use their products without streaking. I like it, but I dont know that the graphene makes any sort of difference. Do a solid paint correction and use a quality Ceramic of your choice. Anything that comes in a spray bottle is not a Ceramic coating. Hands down better than wax.
I used Zaino for years across five different cars, and it looked incredible, but since three of those cars were black, it became a full time job keeping them looking good. It seemed I was adding layers to it at least 2-3 times per year, and the Z5 only went so far to hide the micro scratches.
When I picked up my Grand Sport in 2022, it had just over 36K miles on it, and the original owner kept it washed, but never truly detailed. It had hard water spots and horrible swirl marks from years of automatic car washes. It took my guy several weeks and multiple (careful) passes to correct the paint. And just so all that time and effort didn't go to waste, I had the entire front clip covered in paint protection film and then ceramic coated with a 5+ year coating. Since my car is always garaged, I would expect that coating to last several years. So far, it is exceptionally easy to keep clean. Nothing sticks to it, not even bugs or bird poop.
Here it is fresh out of the detail shop. You would never know this was 13 year old car with almost 40K miles on it.
And here it is again a week ago after being torn apart and put back together for new brakes, new wheels/tires, new head unit, etc. Still looking good with a simple spray and wipe to the front end (CarPro Reload). The trunk still has a layer of dust on it because I haven't wiped down the whole car yet (rain).
Wiping down the nose was necessary because it had just a few fingerprints from the trauma of being torn apart.
Probably a dumb question. What is PPF? Also, if you read about applying the ceramic coating, it says the car must be inside for 72 hours before you can drive it.
Probably a dumb question. What is PPF? Also, if you read about applying the ceramic coating, it says the car must be inside for 72 hours before you can drive it.
Paint protection film.
We have it on all of our cars now (except my truck and our 2001 C5 coupe that rarely gets driven). We didn't put it on my wife's 2008 Lexus IS-350, which my mother-in-law drives now, and she came over yesterday with it looking like the nose was sand blasted after 113K miles. It's much cheaper than a paint job, and the new stuff comes with a 10 year guarantee. A garaged vehicle could (in theory) last longer.
This was my 2008 Corvette with just half the hood done with paint protection film. At certain angles, you can see the seam (like in this photo):
No pics yet but I just finished a DIY ceramic coating on my 2010 GS. Turned out nice and not a difficult process. Intend on doing my other vehicles. Time will tell how will hold up but so far so good. If you do it yourself just be sure and follow the proper prep procedures for best results. I used Avalon King Armor Shield IX.
[QUOTE= it says the car must be inside for 72 hours before you can drive it.[/QUOTE]
it depends on the coating you use. The product I posted, Gyeon only needs overnight to set. It seams the longer lasting coatings, like the 5 year and such need a long time to cure up. These are also harder to apply and cost alot more for someone doing it themselves.
Our motorhome PICTURES HERE included Diamond Shield paint protective film on every leading edge including the mirrors and the over-the-van aerodynamic portion. Early in our ownership, I cleaned off the bugs only upon returning home from 3 to 4 week long trips. That is too long of a wait. I learned the hard way to promptly visit a DYI wash place after crossing the Great Plains to get the bugs off.
Bugs that splat yellow juice, if left on too long, PERMANENTLY STAINS the PPF material. I have a few stained yellow splats that are there for good.
it depends on the coating you use. The product I posted, Gyeon only needs overnight to set. It seams the longer lasting coatings, like the 5 year and such need a long time to cure up. These are also harder to apply and cost alot more for someone doing it themselves.
Agreed. I had my car professionally done and it just stayed inside overnight at the detail shop.
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Bugs that splat yellow juice, if left on too long, PERMANENTLY STAINS the PPF material. I have a few stained yellow splats that are there for good.
That's why you need a quality ceramic coating on top of your PPF.
Probably a dumb question. What is PPF? Also, if you read about applying the ceramic coating, it says the car must be inside for 72 hours before you can drive it.
Not a dumb question. Some call it Plastic Protection Film because it is plastic. Some call it Paint Protection Film because it protects paint.
My car has it. I love it. No need for the “bra” if done on the entire front.
However, not cheap. Seriously, not cheap.
05-01-2024, 02:12 PM
Ceramic and Graphene coatings for paint
