GTECHNIQ paint protection - is it worth doing ?
Discussion
AJB88 said:
Trick is to keep the maintenance up, my previous Leon Cupra had maintenance washes every 6 months by my mate and it looked stunning the day I sold it.
All my cars look stunning as you can see on the other page and the 996 was 15 years old, no need for ceramic coats for cars to keep looking good. I quite like the £49 self wipe ceramic idea my self I might try it, it lasts a year so all good.
Ceramic coats don’t bead water or offer than hi shine, any way, so it depends what you want on your car.
As the poster a few above found out with the red Porsche, they c2 over the ceramic coat for the shine and beeding.
People seem very confused what the ceramic coat is there for, as I said on page one, you have to cover it with some thing else to get the best finish, shine and water beading.
It’s just a extra protective layer hence I lol at people who ceramic coat over ppf and pay £1k to do that. I am sure this must stop the self healing of ppf in some way.
If you have ppf or ceramic coats, you still need a top coat of something, wax, si02 or C2 or what ever you feel like.
Ceramic coating over ppf is a joke but these top detail shop still do it !
To take a quote from the web site who make the product.
Crystal Serum Ultra can be applied either as a stand-alone paint protection product, or for the best hydrophobic performance, it can be over coated with Gtechniq EXO or C2.
COATED OVER , get it yet !
Hence why my cars look amazing, I just skip the hard protective layer, but will use a wax ,si02 or on my white cars a acrylic coating. Which is also what I used on my yellow GT4.
if yuu have PPF then you seal that with the products made for it. and also top that up with a coating also. it's an acrylic polymer, like I use on my white cars.
https://www.xpel.com/XPEL-Paint-Protection-Film-Se...
there is no easy fix, for fit and forget products, hence why I liked using the si02 spray and it's no effort but gives the finish.
Edited by Porsche911R on Tuesday 21st May 09:18
AJB88 said:
Once OPC fix my swirling I will just keep the C2 topped up every few months.
who is paying for that though.they fitted a ceramic coat as asked, (a protective layer) no one asked them to deswirl the car before hand.
when I had ppf on my GT4 front bumper no one did a detail on it 1st !!! lucky I had machined polished it myself any way.
very tricky subject hence why Topaz charge what they do, it's all inc in the price.
Did you ask for a detail or just a ceramic coating ?
A correction detail would be £600 min before you even start with any coatings.
Porsche911R said:
who is paying for that though.
they fitted a ceramic coat as asked, (a protective layer) no one asked them to deswirl the car before hand.
Gtechniq specify their ceramic coating should be applied to swirl and hologram free cars and all of their detailers / approved shops should follow the same. they fitted a ceramic coat as asked, (a protective layer) no one asked them to deswirl the car before hand.
I'll let OPC and Gtechniq argue this one out.
AJB88 said:
Gtechniq specify their ceramic coating should be applied to swirl and hologram free cars and all of their detailers / approved shops should follow the same.
I'll let OPC and Gtechniq argue this one out.
it is a mess I feel sorry for you in the middle, also I would guess the OPC would buy in that service from a 3rd party.I'll let OPC and Gtechniq argue this one out.
Lei OPC use Reep if the cars ceramic coated.
Porsche911R said:
it is a mess I feel sorry for you in the middle, also I would guess the OPC would buy in that service from a 3rd party.
Lei OPC use Reep if the cars ceramic coated.
Sales guy at Silverstone kept mentioning Reep as well, he did say that the guy who "polished" my car had spent 4-6 hours on it, I showed it him in the sun and he agreed it didn't look good. Lei OPC use Reep if the cars ceramic coated.
Hopefully management agree to fixing it, it looks good standing far away but up close its not so good.
Porsche911R said:
All my cars look stunning as you can see on the other page and the 996 was 15 years old, no need for ceramic coats for cars to keep looking good.
I quite like the £49 self wipe ceramic idea my self I might try it, it lasts a year so all good.
Ceramic coats don’t bead water or offer than hi shine, any way, so it depends what you want on your car.
As the poster a few above found out with the red Porsche, they c2 over the ceramic coat for the shine and beeding.
People seem very confused what the ceramic coat is there for, as I said on page one, you have to cover it with some thing else to get the best finish, shine and water beading.
It’s just a extra protective layer hence I lol at people who ceramic coat over ppf and pay £1k to do that. I am sure this must stop the self healing of ppf in some way.
If you have ppf or ceramic coats, you still need a top coat of something, wax, si02 or C2 or what ever you feel like.
Ceramic coating over ppf is a joke but these top detail shop still do it !
To take a quote from the web site who make the product.
Crystal Serum Ultra can be applied either as a stand-alone paint protection product, or for the best hydrophobic performance, it can be over coated with Gtechniq EXO or C2.
COATED OVER , get it yet !
Hence why my cars look amazing, I just skip the hard protective layer, but will use a wax ,si02 or on my white cars a acrylic coating. Which is also what I used on my yellow GT4.
if yuu have PPF then you seal that with the products made for it. and also top that up with a coating also. it's an acrylic polymer, like I use on my white cars.
https://www.xpel.com/XPEL-Paint-Protection-Film-Se...
there is no easy fix, for fit and forget products, hence why I liked using the si02 spray and it's no effort but gives the finish.
Just to pick up a couple of points. I quite like the £49 self wipe ceramic idea my self I might try it, it lasts a year so all good.
Ceramic coats don’t bead water or offer than hi shine, any way, so it depends what you want on your car.
As the poster a few above found out with the red Porsche, they c2 over the ceramic coat for the shine and beeding.
People seem very confused what the ceramic coat is there for, as I said on page one, you have to cover it with some thing else to get the best finish, shine and water beading.
It’s just a extra protective layer hence I lol at people who ceramic coat over ppf and pay £1k to do that. I am sure this must stop the self healing of ppf in some way.
If you have ppf or ceramic coats, you still need a top coat of something, wax, si02 or C2 or what ever you feel like.
Ceramic coating over ppf is a joke but these top detail shop still do it !
To take a quote from the web site who make the product.
Crystal Serum Ultra can be applied either as a stand-alone paint protection product, or for the best hydrophobic performance, it can be over coated with Gtechniq EXO or C2.
COATED OVER , get it yet !
Hence why my cars look amazing, I just skip the hard protective layer, but will use a wax ,si02 or on my white cars a acrylic coating. Which is also what I used on my yellow GT4.
if yuu have PPF then you seal that with the products made for it. and also top that up with a coating also. it's an acrylic polymer, like I use on my white cars.
https://www.xpel.com/XPEL-Paint-Protection-Film-Se...
there is no easy fix, for fit and forget products, hence why I liked using the si02 spray and it's no effort but gives the finish.
Edited by Porsche911R on Tuesday 21st May 09:18
You get beading with IGL Kenzo and Gtechniq ceramic coatings without anything on top. The IGL is exceptionally shiny
blueg33 said:
Just to pick up a couple of points.
You get beading with IGL Kenzo and Gtechniq ceramic coatings without anything on top. The IGL is exceptionally shiny
only to a point on ceramic due to having very smooth paint after a correction detail and the Ceramic being very smooth and shiny anyway.You get beading with IGL Kenzo and Gtechniq ceramic coatings without anything on top. The IGL is exceptionally shiny
Hence why C2 or all the other products you put on top of a ceramic coat to get the wow finish.
Water will always beed of a very smooth surface to a point. I still think 90%people are unsure what a ceramic coating is.
Most say for the shine and ease of wash, it's neither, it's a protection layer for the paint from lazy washers who put swirls in their cars.
the just detailed shine comes from the correction polish ! as always prep of the paint gives the flawless finish.
It's on the manufacture web site, not my words.
looking at Kenzo it's a 100% silica product hence the "HYDROPHOBIC QUALITY" it's not a ceramic coating it seems.
there are 30 to 40 of these products now, it's trying to dig out what they all do and what one wants to use.
Porsche911R said:
only to a point on ceramic due to having very smooth paint after a correction detail and the Ceramic being very smooth and shiny anyway.
Hence why C2 or all the other products you put on top of a ceramic coat to get the wow finish.
Water will always beed of a very smooth surface to a point. I still think 90%people are unsure what a ceramic coating is.
Most say for the shine and ease of wash, it's neither, it's a protection layer for the paint from lazy washers who put swirls in their cars.
the just detailed shine comes from the correction polish ! as always prep of the paint gives the flawless finish.
It's on the manufacture web site, not my words.
looking at Kenzo it's a 100% silica product hence the "HYDROPHOBIC QUALITY" it's not a ceramic coating it seems.
there are 30 to 40 of these products now, it's trying to dig out what they all do and what one wants to use.
There are many single coat products that are sold under the general topic of ceramic. Gyeon, CQUK, Nanolex come to mind. These brands also have a 2 coat product. A base layer which doesnt bead that well but provides UV protection etc then a top coat that gives the beading or Hydrophobic effect I think you are referring to those here.Hence why C2 or all the other products you put on top of a ceramic coat to get the wow finish.
Water will always beed of a very smooth surface to a point. I still think 90%people are unsure what a ceramic coating is.
Most say for the shine and ease of wash, it's neither, it's a protection layer for the paint from lazy washers who put swirls in their cars.
the just detailed shine comes from the correction polish ! as always prep of the paint gives the flawless finish.
It's on the manufacture web site, not my words.
looking at Kenzo it's a 100% silica product hence the "HYDROPHOBIC QUALITY" it's not a ceramic coating it seems.
there are 30 to 40 of these products now, it's trying to dig out what they all do and what one wants to use.
From my point of view for a daily driver I wouldnt be looking at these 3-5 year products as I stated above, but the One year products like Gyeon Pure, CQUK V2/3 or Nanolex are excellent. I particularly like the wheel and trim versions as they make the cleaning of wheels extremely easy and the trim darkens and looks like new for 9-12 months, depending where on the car the trim is.
I do agree with you on the subject of PPF then coating it, just seems like a way to extract some cash from people, BUT if people want to spend there money on that, who am I to dissuade them.
Porsche911R said:
It's on the manufacture web site, not my words.
looking at Kenzo it's a 100% silica product hence the "HYDROPHOBIC QUALITY" it's not a ceramic coating it seems.
there are 30 to 40 of these products now, it's trying to dig out what they all do and what one wants to use.
You do know that silica is the main ingredient in ceramic? The IGL website describes it at ceramic. looking at Kenzo it's a 100% silica product hence the "HYDROPHOBIC QUALITY" it's not a ceramic coating it seems.
there are 30 to 40 of these products now, it's trying to dig out what they all do and what one wants to use.
Kenzo is a ceramic sealant, it seems you also fall into the category of people who don’t know what ceramic is.
Silicon dioxide SIO2 is silica. It’s also the primary ingredient in glass and ceramic.
Edited by blueg33 on Tuesday 21st May 15:46
Edited by blueg33 on Tuesday 21st May 16:15
Interesting - 911r spent the whole thread with a superior attitude saying people don't know what ceramic is and he does, and then when its pointed out that he doesn't either he goes very quiet 
Fundamentally, if you are thinking of any sort of semi permanent coating, be it ceramic or polymer they you should try and look at treated and untreated cars, read the reviews, read the manufacturers specs and claims, but don't try to claim you understand the science.
Fundamentally, if you are thinking of any sort of semi permanent coating, be it ceramic or polymer they you should try and look at treated and untreated cars, read the reviews, read the manufacturers specs and claims, but don't try to claim you understand the science.
Interesting thread really.
I was a total sceptic of Gtechniq until i had it on my car. Basically thought it was a waste of money and their products were overpriced. That was 2.5 years ago and ive never used a wax or traditional product since. I can only speak from my own experince and i'll never go back to traditional waxes. Now ive converted friends and family to "ceramic" coatings, so much so that my dad is actually having his AMV8 done right now by Boyd at BR Detailing who is using Siramik HR
Sure you dont NEED to have your car coated and it sure isnt for everyone, you pays your money, you make yuour choice. Just remember though, its your car and your choice, so do what makes you happy.
Bottom line:
Do you NEED it to have a shiny car? - No.
Does it make washing easier? - Yes.
Does it stop alot of unwanted crap sticking to the car? - Yes.
Does it protect against light swirls - Yes providing you're careful and still use the multi bucket/wash mitt method.
Does it stop stone chips? - No.
Does it remain hydrophobic? - No it requires topping up.
Can I add wax over the top? - No
Is it suitable for me? - Your choice
I was a total sceptic of Gtechniq until i had it on my car. Basically thought it was a waste of money and their products were overpriced. That was 2.5 years ago and ive never used a wax or traditional product since. I can only speak from my own experince and i'll never go back to traditional waxes. Now ive converted friends and family to "ceramic" coatings, so much so that my dad is actually having his AMV8 done right now by Boyd at BR Detailing who is using Siramik HR
Sure you dont NEED to have your car coated and it sure isnt for everyone, you pays your money, you make yuour choice. Just remember though, its your car and your choice, so do what makes you happy.
Bottom line:
Do you NEED it to have a shiny car? - No.
Does it make washing easier? - Yes.
Does it stop alot of unwanted crap sticking to the car? - Yes.
Does it protect against light swirls - Yes providing you're careful and still use the multi bucket/wash mitt method.
Does it stop stone chips? - No.
Does it remain hydrophobic? - No it requires topping up.
Can I add wax over the top? - No
Is it suitable for me? - Your choice
AJB88 said:
Trick is to keep the maintenance up, my previous Leon Cupra had maintenance washes every 6 months by my mate and it looked stunning the day I sold it.
That makes total sense to me, however, I have a Mercedes GLE which had a new car detail with Gtechniq three years ago and the coating is still just as effective now as it was then. Considering that it hasn't had a single maintenance wash and has endured the extremes of Chicago weather, I have to put it down to the quality of the application. Just to give my two pennies worth, I bought a 2009 metallic black (basalt black) Boxster from an OPC last May (2019). I could tell the paint-work had a polishing going over as it looked too good to be a 10 year old car. There were still some swirl marks but the paint worked looked more like a 3 year old car. Turned out it had a GTechniq Platinum treatment - GTechniq Crystal ceramic coat (similar to Crystal Serum Light), leather protector, carpet/fabric protector, wheel and glass protector. I've been using the local car wash and it's held up well. I'm now having a guy come over now at the end of every third week who uses the GTechniq Foam, G Wash & Quick Detailer. Looks stunning. The GTechniq ceramic coatings are not hydrophobic, the Quick Detailer adds that. You can also use C2 v3 or EXO on top if you want to do that for longer lasting hydrophobic action. I'm gonna get him (valeter/detailer) to do a deep clean next.
I'm that impressed with it (GTechniq) I'm planning on getting the 3 year old Evoque coated next. I've seen some GTechniq Platinum coatings kit on eBay for £30-£40, seems a bargain. I'll get him correct the paint-work then apply the coatings, I'll also get the EXO separately for longer-term hydrophobic action.
The reason I'm not using the local car wash any more, one damaged the interior trim on the Evoque and the other damaged the powder coating on the Boxster convertible roof.
I'm that impressed with it (GTechniq) I'm planning on getting the 3 year old Evoque coated next. I've seen some GTechniq Platinum coatings kit on eBay for £30-£40, seems a bargain. I'll get him correct the paint-work then apply the coatings, I'll also get the EXO separately for longer-term hydrophobic action.
The reason I'm not using the local car wash any more, one damaged the interior trim on the Evoque and the other damaged the powder coating on the Boxster convertible roof.
PaulD86 said:
Porsche911R said:
the issue is you still get fall out on ceramic coating so to keep them smooth and easy to wash you have to wax them or top them up with A si02 spay, other wise they feel rough. Also bird s
t still etches ceramic coats !!
a modern spray keeps your car sealed 100% of the time, every thing falls off easier than on a ceramic coat. (unless you wax/treat the ceramic coating)
also no need to snow foam or 2 bucket wash !!! another snake oil is snow foam !!! it does NOTHING bar look cool for the neighbours and make a mess on your drive/road ! for detailers it makes it look like the £1k detail is doing something !!
rain washes my car it's so slippy !
The main 2 issues with ceramic coats are,
1: it needs the upmost perfect prep as any swirl mark is sealed !! (that's where the cost is, st detail st ceramic coat finish)
2: if you get a stone chip or worse a small scratch, you will have to wet sand the coat off.
wax always will win the concours look and imo offers the best smoothing and best finish but is hassle.
modern Si02 spays seem to be the new king and what I tend to use, offers 2/3 months full beading and takes 10 seconds to do, YES 10 seconds !
SiO2 Liquid Glass is a coating of pure, safe, quartz glass or silicon dioxide (Si02).
http://www.sio2.ca/
in fact I think people with ceramic coats have to also top up with a Si02 coat wash to keep it working right and offer the beading and wash protection.
Some form of SiO2 Liquid Glass is king of washing imo today.
I have disagree on some points there. Snow foam being the main one. If I powerhose the car then snowfoam it and powerhose it a 2nd time there is a vast difference in what comes off. So it isn't doing nothing. I tend not to let the car get especially dirty and often a snow foam and rinse gets the car looking pretty much clean. There are plenty videos out there that show the assertion that it does nothing to be incorrect. After winter it is also good at getting those small sandy particles off the car before you touch it. A lot more hose off post snowfoam than pre snowfoam. I've tested this theory myself so I know it to be correct.t still etches ceramic coats !!a modern spray keeps your car sealed 100% of the time, every thing falls off easier than on a ceramic coat. (unless you wax/treat the ceramic coating)
also no need to snow foam or 2 bucket wash !!! another snake oil is snow foam !!! it does NOTHING bar look cool for the neighbours and make a mess on your drive/road ! for detailers it makes it look like the £1k detail is doing something !!
rain washes my car it's so slippy !
The main 2 issues with ceramic coats are,
1: it needs the upmost perfect prep as any swirl mark is sealed !! (that's where the cost is, s
t detail st ceramic coat finish)2: if you get a stone chip or worse a small scratch, you will have to wet sand the coat off.
wax always will win the concours look and imo offers the best smoothing and best finish but is hassle.
modern Si02 spays seem to be the new king and what I tend to use, offers 2/3 months full beading and takes 10 seconds to do, YES 10 seconds !
SiO2 Liquid Glass is a coating of pure, safe, quartz glass or silicon dioxide (Si02).
http://www.sio2.ca/
in fact I think people with ceramic coats have to also top up with a Si02 coat wash to keep it working right and offer the beading and wash protection.
Some form of SiO2 Liquid Glass is king of washing imo today.
The top up for my coating involves a quick misting of spray over the freshly rinsed car before it is dried. So maybe adds about a minute to the wash process. I have no need to wax the coating. I've also never had any etchings from bird mess, although a couple of flies have left slight marks.
All coatings and protection have their pros and cons be it PPF, ceramic, or Si02. You need to find the product that suits. If you have a daily left in the street or a garaged toy that never sees rain then the solution wont be the same.
I have had plenty stone chips on my car. I fill them with paint, wet sand if needed and polish. The Gyeon coat doesn't cause a problem with this, though I mask around the chip so I'm not polishing more than necessary. And as you know the only proper way to get the pain right after a stone chip is a respray anyway.
Coatings are horses for courses. Best is to figure what you want from them, what you're prepared to pay, how much you are or aren't happy to top them up etc and then make a choice.
Edited by PSB1 on Thursday 9th April 20:16
^^^ this ^^^ or pay someone!
Chap who lives opposite, complete petrolhead has a couple of gorgeous cars, he spends a good portion of his weekend detailing them. When he sees my 992, his teeth must itch! I cant remember what coat I had on mine, but a quick jetwash and it looks good enough to me
Chap who lives opposite, complete petrolhead has a couple of gorgeous cars, he spends a good portion of his weekend detailing them. When he sees my 992, his teeth must itch! I cant remember what coat I had on mine, but a quick jetwash and it looks good enough to me
Ceramic coats are good to protect against swirling and bird droppings and tree sap, you put a topping on top of that to keep the ceramic coating in good order. Washing the car is much better and quicker.
PPF is excellent if installed correctly, but it's not 100 per cent as it will lift and bubble slightly in different places due to the weather and heat, a ceramic coat on top stops swirling when washing as not all PPF is self-healing.
Here is a vid from the best in Industry. I would guess 10k.
https://youtu.be/Uv8q3llmqlo
PPF is excellent if installed correctly, but it's not 100 per cent as it will lift and bubble slightly in different places due to the weather and heat, a ceramic coat on top stops swirling when washing as not all PPF is self-healing.
Here is a vid from the best in Industry. I would guess 10k.
https://youtu.be/Uv8q3llmqlo
5 years ago I applied Gyeon Mohs ceramic coat to my Cayman. Since then all I've done is wash it and occasionally add a "rinse aid" style top up.
The car has done 20k miles since, although it is garaged so not exposed to the elemnets.The car still cleans miles easier than before I did it, although it is getting to the point of needing redone now.
I'd highly recommend it, and highly recommend the Gyeon range.
The car has done 20k miles since, although it is garaged so not exposed to the elemnets.The car still cleans miles easier than before I did it, although it is getting to the point of needing redone now.
I'd highly recommend it, and highly recommend the Gyeon range.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
It's really nice warming your hands and putting the wax on.I have given in on my GT3 though and had it ceramic coated as it lives outside.
And I have gone for the xpel ceramic boost and quick detailer to keep it quick and easy to look after.
(I have a frozen shoulder so just could not look after my cars as well as normal)
My other car is zymol concours though with 3 layers of wax, it feels really nice. Rub it in , microfibre it off then buff.
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