Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them?

Steve R

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I've known a detailing guy for about 25 years and he swears on just using wax and wants to do it every 3 months. He says he's used the ceramic stuff and it's just gimmick and not worth it. He also wants $350 for his 2-hours of work (him and a helper). My hunch is that he knocks the ceramic because he'd rather have a customer every 3 months rather than every 3 years.....any thoughts?
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I have cars coated with ceramic and no ceramic. The one with ceramic is so easy to clean. We recently had rain and all i had to do is wipe off the water and the car looks clean compared to the car with no ceramic. This is just my experience and I am no expert in this topic.
 

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Wax looks different than ceramic coating. It's a warner look, not so synthetic.
Old timers like wax better for that reason too.

I wouldn't put ceramic coating on older cars
 

whitex

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I've known a detailing guy for about 25 years and he swears on just using wax and wants to do it every 3 months. He says he's used the ceramic stuff and it's just gimmick and not worth it. He also wants $350 for his 2-hours of work (him and a helper). My hunch is that he knocks the ceramic because he'd rather have a customer every 3 months rather than every 3 years.....any thoughts?
$350 for wax every 3 months vs. how much for full ceramic coating and then a car wash every 3 months (to make the comparison close - shiny car every 3 months)?
 


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My 5 year ceramic coat was £349 and the car always looks quite clean.
 

Bigben

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Depends on which wax but while it’ll look marginally better on gloss and bead even more, it simply won’t hold for more than 3-6 months depending on how often you wash it.
I had been detailing my cars for 10 years before adding ceramic to one, and I’ll probably carry on doing it.

Few caveats on ceramic based on my experience - 1. it is less recommended for older paint / with defects and requires great prep work 2. You can’t polish any fine scratch out or it’ll remove the coating 3. It requires extra care for people not used to spend time on washing (pH neutral products, pre wash, avoid contact when dying…) 4. It’ll require a top coat boost after c.18mo if you want to keep the gloss / beading properties. Alternatively, it can be enhanced with wax or quick detailer sealants after washes.

But final result of ceramic will be worth it if you’re prepared to care for it:

Upon application:
Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? E207A530-63AC-4DB6-ABF6-AF060D00DE24

Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? FA701A94-F3B1-4B1A-9D42-0F1AF281D438

Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? D71F9D7A-497E-4552-AF3F-D0D318FD2BDC



After 1.5 year:
Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? 5D61A770-C094-4361-94C8-F78B1D9AAD51

Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? 5FEC4BE7-1B66-47B9-BD8B-9B463FB70FA7


Without any coating on brand new paint, all water just stays there:
Porsche Taycan Ceramic coatings / sealant, do details guys not like this produce because it takes their every-3-month work away from them? 8E2644A1-357C-48CC-8434-38D83A0CD36C
 

RAHRCR

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I've known a detailing guy for about 25 years and he swears on just using wax and wants to do it every 3 months. He says he's used the ceramic stuff and it's just gimmick and not worth it. He also wants $350 for his 2-hours of work (him and a helper). My hunch is that he knocks the ceramic because he'd rather have a customer every 3 months rather than every 3 years.....any thoughts?
This is a heavily debated topic. There are some good arguments to be made that support your detail guy’s position. There are other ways to protect your paint without going with a conventional ceramic coating. Ceramic coatings make the most sense for those that dont do regular/quality maintenance on their cars….which is the vast majority of people. Ceramic can take the abuse of UV, poor and no washing as a sacrificial layer to protect paint. If you take good care of your car personally and see a detailer regularly, you can achieve a similar outcome as conventional ceramic.

I am giving my car a full ceramic treatment primarily because I want my car professionally paint corrected. Once the paint is in “perfect” condition, I am protecting it with PPF and ceramic to preserve the perfection and make it easy to maintain….which I do 1-2 times per week because I enjoy it. This is a very expensive way to achieve a good outcome but I am doing this because I enjoy the maintenance process and not because I had to in order to get a great looking paint finish.

Hope this helps if you are trying to make a decision.
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