DIY Ceramic Coating
Discussion
I'll be getting a new car soon, chip shortage permitting.
Any thoughts from professional or very keen DIYers on DIY Ceramic Coating?
I guess I could apply it straight to the paint as it shouldn't be too bad or I could give it q light correction with my DA.
As for which product, I've heard of Avalon King through YouTube but don't know much about them or any of the other brands so happy to be educated.
If this has been covered to death feel free to link to that thread.
Thanks.
Any thoughts from professional or very keen DIYers on DIY Ceramic Coating?
I guess I could apply it straight to the paint as it shouldn't be too bad or I could give it q light correction with my DA.
As for which product, I've heard of Avalon King through YouTube but don't know much about them or any of the other brands so happy to be educated.
If this has been covered to death feel free to link to that thread.
Thanks.
mk1coopers said:
I’ve been very pleased with the 2 coats Avalon King I put on, had reasonable longevity (year and a half plus) car really needs re-doing now, as with all things it’s the prep that gives the results, plus keeping it warm and dry whilst it cures
What sort of prep did you do before you put the ceramic coat on? Edit: Just found this which is pretty helpful
https://www.chemicalguys.com/article-how-do-i-prep...
Edited by scoey1001 on Sunday 6th February 17:03
I had a black car which had a g tech coating on it - it was amazing and just needed a quick clean to get it looking good. However, being black I felt that after a year or so there were tiny scratches that were scratches in the coating rather than in the paint and wouldn’t have been noticeable of the car were not coated. I think this is just a black car thing though - I made sure the next one was silver !
Avalon King is in reality an average Chinese coating with huge marketing. It isn’t that good.
If you want ease of use, you won’t find easier than Feynlab Ceramic Lite. It’s easier to use than other ‘Lite’ coatings but you only get 30ml. CarPro Lite is similarly durable, not quite as easy to use but you get a lot more so is better value. However, coatings start to harden so if you don’t use it in a reasonable amount of time, it is wasted. If you have nothing else to use the extra coating on, it may not be needed. I’m sure you can do something for a family member or something.
Gyeon CanCoat is another excellent product. Slightly less durable, but still excellent and great value. Infinity Wax’s Synergy Lite is the other similar product. It’s USP is that it can get wet within about 30 minutes, which is rare/unique for ceramic coatings. Very cheap as well.
I would not recommend GTechiq’s coatings. Their performance is average and needs to be supplemented by a topcoat called Exo which is expensive and less good than CanCoat. A much better option, if you want a higher solids coating is CarPro CQUK 3.0. It’s cheaper and performs better for longer than GTechniq’s Crystal Serum Light and doesn’t need a top coat. I would say it is the benchmark for consumer coatings and a very solid recommendation. There are other coatings that might do certain things better, but for an all round coating for a beginner, it’s excellent.
This is a good channel which tests lots of coatings - https://youtu.be/gx_v3_kBlVY
This is another which shows the results of consumer coatings after a year. There is a bit of a flaw in that it hasn’t been properly decontaminated, but you can see the performance of some of the big players - https://youtu.be/DxeUhdhvNnw
If you want ease of use, you won’t find easier than Feynlab Ceramic Lite. It’s easier to use than other ‘Lite’ coatings but you only get 30ml. CarPro Lite is similarly durable, not quite as easy to use but you get a lot more so is better value. However, coatings start to harden so if you don’t use it in a reasonable amount of time, it is wasted. If you have nothing else to use the extra coating on, it may not be needed. I’m sure you can do something for a family member or something.
Gyeon CanCoat is another excellent product. Slightly less durable, but still excellent and great value. Infinity Wax’s Synergy Lite is the other similar product. It’s USP is that it can get wet within about 30 minutes, which is rare/unique for ceramic coatings. Very cheap as well.
I would not recommend GTechiq’s coatings. Their performance is average and needs to be supplemented by a topcoat called Exo which is expensive and less good than CanCoat. A much better option, if you want a higher solids coating is CarPro CQUK 3.0. It’s cheaper and performs better for longer than GTechniq’s Crystal Serum Light and doesn’t need a top coat. I would say it is the benchmark for consumer coatings and a very solid recommendation. There are other coatings that might do certain things better, but for an all round coating for a beginner, it’s excellent.
This is a good channel which tests lots of coatings - https://youtu.be/gx_v3_kBlVY
This is another which shows the results of consumer coatings after a year. There is a bit of a flaw in that it hasn’t been properly decontaminated, but you can see the performance of some of the big players - https://youtu.be/DxeUhdhvNnw
Even if the car is new, you will need to do the proper prep work before applying any kind of ceramic coat. That includes a full decon and at least a light polish. If you don’t do this, the coating won’t bond as well. If you’re using a coating like a CanCoat, this is less of a problem, but if you want to use a full blown coating, then if you want it to do what it’s meant to, you have to do the prep.
All new cars have defects, especially if the dealership valets it before delivery. It will also have contamination so you absolutely cannot skip these stages. To think it won’t is completely incorrect.
All new cars have defects, especially if the dealership valets it before delivery. It will also have contamination so you absolutely cannot skip these stages. To think it won’t is completely incorrect.
roscopervis said:
Even if the car is new, you will need to do the proper prep work before applying any kind of ceramic coat. That includes a full decon and at least a light polish. If you don’t do this, the coating won’t bond as well. If you’re using a coating like a CanCoat, this is less of a problem, but if you want to use a full blown coating, then if you want it to do what it’s meant to, you have to do the prep.
All new cars have defects, especially if the dealership valets it before delivery. It will also have contamination so you absolutely cannot skip these stages. To think it won’t is completely incorrect.
This. If you’re going to apply a ceramic coating you’re definitely going to need a full decontamination and polish. I tried the Autoglym ceramic coating a few years ago to an SL55 AMG. I’d given the car a 2-stage cut and polish and the finish was fantastic. But don’t apply a ceramic coating without prepping the paintwork first. All new cars have defects, especially if the dealership valets it before delivery. It will also have contamination so you absolutely cannot skip these stages. To think it won’t is completely incorrect.
I would suggest that choosing the type of ceramic coating depends on on your your driving habits and lifestyle. For a daily driver and someone who only cleans their car once a month, a more durable product would be better.
I clean our cars weekly, so I'm happy with Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax Spray Coating, especially as it's so easy to apply after each wash - 10-15 mins max wo apply to the whole car - doing it weekly is probably overkill, but a 500ml spray bottle is £14,00 and lasts 4-6 months, it also replaces RainX as I can apply it to glass, and it can be used on plastic and alloys.
I clean our cars weekly, so I'm happy with Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax Spray Coating, especially as it's so easy to apply after each wash - 10-15 mins max wo apply to the whole car - doing it weekly is probably overkill, but a 500ml spray bottle is £14,00 and lasts 4-6 months, it also replaces RainX as I can apply it to glass, and it can be used on plastic and alloys.
vikingaero said:
I would suggest that choosing the type of ceramic coating depends on on your your driving habits and lifestyle. For a daily driver and someone who only cleans their car once a month, a more durable product would be better.
I clean our cars weekly, so I'm happy with Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax Spray Coating, especially as it's so easy to apply after each wash - 10-15 mins max wo apply to the whole car - doing it weekly is probably overkill, but a 500ml spray bottle is £14,00 and lasts 4-6 months, it also replaces RainX as I can apply it to glass, and it can be used on plastic and alloys.
It'll be outside in all weather, washed maybe once a month as family time will rule out a 4hr cleaning session every week. I clean our cars weekly, so I'm happy with Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Wax Spray Coating, especially as it's so easy to apply after each wash - 10-15 mins max wo apply to the whole car - doing it weekly is probably overkill, but a 500ml spray bottle is £14,00 and lasts 4-6 months, it also replaces RainX as I can apply it to glass, and it can be used on plastic and alloys.
That dictates something hard wearing over something that gives the glossied finish. Think I'll go with the recommendation a few posts up.
CheesecakeRunner said:
So what are you looking to achieve with it then? Ceramic coatings don’t provide any sort of scratch resistance. They just make a car shinier and marginally easier to clean. But if you’re only doing it once a month, the difference in time to clean will be nonexistent. In fact it may be more because you need to faff with top up coatings to preserve the water repellency.
And when a coated car does get scratched, which it will, it’s a pain to fix as you can’t just polish it out. You need to remove the coating often by machine, polish out the mark, and then reapply the coating to the whole panel. Whereas with a wax you can just do the area of the mark.
99% of people will be better off with a good machine prep, decent wash routine and a good wax every six months. It’ll be cheaper, easier to look after, and provide results just as good.
What coatings are you talking about? It is clear from your answer you are just slightly behind the times and aren't quite up to date on what is available. If a coating requires a top up coating to preserve its repellency, it isn't a very good coating. There are many coatings that don't need that, just keep them clean and periodically decontaminated, as per this video:And when a coated car does get scratched, which it will, it’s a pain to fix as you can’t just polish it out. You need to remove the coating often by machine, polish out the mark, and then reapply the coating to the whole panel. Whereas with a wax you can just do the area of the mark.
99% of people will be better off with a good machine prep, decent wash routine and a good wax every six months. It’ll be cheaper, easier to look after, and provide results just as good.
https://youtu.be/vWYyw-yKM3A
CheesecakeRunner said:
So what are you looking to achieve with it then? Ceramic coatings don’t provide any sort of scratch resistance. They just make a car shinier and marginally easier to clean. But if you’re only doing it once a month, the difference in time to clean will be nonexistent. In fact it may be more because you need to faff with top up coatings to preserve the water repellency.
And when a coated car does get scratched, which it will, it’s a pain to fix as you can’t just polish it out. You need to remove the coating often by machine, polish out the mark, and then reapply the coating to the whole panel. Whereas with a wax you can just do the area of the mark.
99% of people will be better off with a good machine prep, decent wash routine and a good wax every six months. It’ll be cheaper, easier to look after, and provide results just as good.
I absolutely disagree. I ceramic coat all my cars / bikes because they bring out the richness of the colour and the gloss effect leaves any carnauba wax looking lame.And when a coated car does get scratched, which it will, it’s a pain to fix as you can’t just polish it out. You need to remove the coating often by machine, polish out the mark, and then reapply the coating to the whole panel. Whereas with a wax you can just do the area of the mark.
99% of people will be better off with a good machine prep, decent wash routine and a good wax every six months. It’ll be cheaper, easier to look after, and provide results just as good.
The gloss look that can be achieved when done properly is superb and something I've never quite replicated with wax products.
To get the best from them you need to be prepared to wash AND dry your vehicle as water marks can be more apparent but if you tend to do that anyway then it's no issue.
Yes more work is required before ceramic coating as you don't want to seal in any defects but as for them being just as easily marked, I don't think that's the case. I find them more robust and harder wearing in paint protection terms.
If your panel is scratched then yes the coating is scratched and needs a DA on it for best results but without the coating it would be the clear coat scratched and a DA would be needed anyway. To believe a scratch would only ever be wax deep is unrealistic. I would 100% take a ceramic coating over a wax coating every single time. I've done 4 cars and 3 motorcycles over hhe years and fully intend to do the car I've just purchased too
Think we shall continue to disagree on this one.
My preference is for the deeper gloss effect from a coating and I like it's harder protective properties against the light swirl type marks that modern paints so easily attract.
If you prefer wax then that's great but I don't think you can universally claim it to be better than ceramic coatings it's different yes and with the popularity of ceramic then it must have something going for it apart from for use on garage queens
My preference is for the deeper gloss effect from a coating and I like it's harder protective properties against the light swirl type marks that modern paints so easily attract.
If you prefer wax then that's great but I don't think you can universally claim it to be better than ceramic coatings it's different yes and with the popularity of ceramic then it must have something going for it apart from for use on garage queens
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