Ceramic coating

[goodenuf]

I had my C8 VIN 694 ceramic coated before she left the dealership. They used products by GTECHNIQ.
The car had been driven about 240 highway miles when the pictures were taken.
Some of you may remember seeing a wooden version of this ship at the NCM a few years ago.
She may still be on display there. She is a Flower Class Ship - The HMCS Snowberry.
They were small and fast and they were called "CORVETTE"
Roger

[2015 See 7]

I bought my 2015 C7 last year here in the Great PNW and was fortunate to meet John at some club meetings and pick his brain for recommendations. I heeded his advice on the ceramic coating shop and took mine to Nick @ Autowerx Detailing (Newberg, OR). My used car was very pampered (890 miles) when I got her and had always been garaged. The paint was in great shape except for micro swirl marks, especially on the rear end. (I think mostly caused by the previous owner always putting her under a car cover.)

I understand that not everyone has the same budget but it was honestly, next to my dogs, the best money I've ever spent. I'm sure you can DIY, but when you see a real pro like Nick, who has all the equipment and the experience AND the enthusiasm, you realize pros like him are in a different league. He took many dozens of thickness readings across my entire car to understand how thick the clear coat was prior to any paint correcting. I was blown away when I picked up the car! It absolutely looked like a new car and probably shined better than when new. I haven't had to drive her in the rain yet, and thus, have never had to do anything other than a pre-rinse, pressure wash w/ foam cannon, and a pressure wash rinse then microfiber towel dry. A completely contact-free wash! Here are a couple pics that I hope can help point out what I am talking about. Keep in mind the swirl marks are exaggerated in Nick's shop which is VERY well lit from many different angles.

[Alvin]

Does anybody have recommendations for a good ceramic coating shop in the St. Louis, MO area? My prior experience with a 3M clear wrap on another car was so so, fine for about 4 years then slow but recognizable haze (car was always garaged) so I'm thinking ceramic for the C8.

[WhiteHorse]

John: From your experience would you recommend only ceramic or front bumper and hood with PPF?
What brand did such a good job for you?
You said you never had to wax it, but did you put any of those booster ceramic treatments on it?

Anyone else here do a both/and treatment?

[Texas BA]

Great info guys, but would help us on the fence to see some prices? Also Shop you used and if you were happy?

Thanks to all that share.

[Meldoon]

I will be trying SPS GRAPHENE whenever the Governor lets my detailer go back to work. He has it on his own car and loves it! Says it has all the attributes of ceramic coatings but is far less susceptible to water spots.

https://surfaceprotectivesolutions.com/graphene/

[AirdaleC7]

I just finished using Turtle Was Ceramic polish/wax and the spray on coatings on my Lime Rock Green C7 and the results are fantastic. In fact my neighbor who is a paint/body guy at a BMW dealer asked who did the work? All I used was a orbital polishing rig on my B&D cordless drill. It made the 6.5 year old paint smooth and shiny as glass. It may be a slight, tiny, little bitty bit better to have a professional do it, but to me, a big part of the fun of owning a Corvette is cleaning and detailing -- It I have to do it twice a year then all the better for me.

https://www.turtlewax.com/en-us/our-...c-wax-coating/

[Vetter1]

You can have the car immediately ceramic coated if direct from the factory. This is not the case if any work is done by a body shop. The reason is due to the curing process. Paint is totally cured when an automobile leaves the factory. Takes much longer to cure if paintwork is done by a body shop.

[Fetalos]

I have heard only great things about the ceramic shine jobs. I researched and find that 1850.00 is avg. price for RGO 4 yr. Includes paint prepping and all 4 wheels. For the ultimate, long lasting gloss, I will seriously consider the treatment for my version of our GM flagship.
It will be my first experience with Ceramic Coating.

I've just completed 2 DIY cars Ceramic coating samples (My Spark EV 2016 and my wife's Toyota C-HR 2018). I'M really impressed by the results. If you have time and a bit of manual ability and you don't have this money, do not hesitate to do it by yourself. It take about 2.5 days of work in two weeks.

I'll never pay for that, even more on a new car with perfect paint.

[Happy2bHere]

For those folks that have taken delivery of their cars and had some form of paint protection, either PPF or ceramic coating applied, I would love to hear the early reviews!

[JPD1111]

Can I have a ceramic coating done immediately or does the paint need additional time to cure?

[Marvin Rush]

Does anyone here know about Valpro 360. My dealer is recommending it. He says along with the chemical coating they offer a film made by 3m. It looks ok, but I am new to this type of protection. I am a bit skeptical. But to be fair I thought I would ask the group mind.😁

[Pzilly]

I am definitely doing the front on my c8 w expel, but I am on the fence about doing ceramic coating again, I mean it looked amazing when done, and it dried easier with less spots, but things still stick more then I think they should and even though I had mine done by same people here that do all the high end cars, and always washed it with their products, filtered water and how they said to do it, getting bugs off sucked and worse I kept getting a light haze especially on the hood???? For 1800 i could have it detailed monthly inside and out for 3 years....idk...

[arctic stingray]

Has anyone had any dealings with GTechniq Crystal Serum Ceramic Coating? The highly recommended detailers I've talked to have changed over to this from CQuartz. From what I was told, it's a 10h protection with a 9 year guarantee out of the UK.

[Bobfred44]

I concur and did my C7 myself. I used a ceramic coating kit from Adam’s Polishes. I think I paid $120 for the kit, and learned by watching their educational videos. I also did 3 other cars I have as well. While that product worked well for me, there are plenty of good DIY products on the market. I would tell you NOT to do it yourself unless you are willing to invest a lot of time in preparing the surface before you apply the coating. You should strip wash the car, clay bar it, and do paint correction to get any swirls or imperfections out before you apply the ceramic coating. If you aren’t willing or able to do all of the prep steps, then going the professional route is the way to go. I probably put 20-24 hours of labor into the C7 for the prep and coating process. When you pay a professional, the cost is high for all of the time and care spent getting the surface perfect before it is coated. The coating process itself does not take that long. As mentioned, ceramic does not offer self healing protection like film does, but it is also common for professionals to put ceramic coating over film. That provides the best combination of protection and shine, but is also the most expensive route. The ceramic provided a gloss and shine that is hard to beat. I will be doing the C8 myself at the first chance I get once it is home. I have already bought TracWrap for the nose, splitter, and ground effects near the rocker panels for the ride home from the Museum.

I agree 100%. The success to applying ceramic coatings is in the prep work. Even if the car is new. I did spend the hours on prep work to all three of our cars including our C7. I will also be doing the same to the TPW 3/23 C8 with Adams CC. Their customer service help during the process is what taught me how to complete the process.