Ceramic/titanium coating on Super White

[dpacifico13]

Out of curiosity - are you doing this by hand or with an orbital?

I apply ceramic by hand with a small applicator sponge which has a suede cloth wrapped over it. The reload si02 comes in a spray bottle and can be applied via microfiber towel.

Before applying ceramic I always polish my cars with an orbital to get rid of any swirls. It’s not necessary though.

 

[bwoody]

if you don't do any paint correction you will be looking at those swirls for a long time. You can remove the ceramic coating but you will be buffing or wet sanding it off.

 

[ferrisDJB]

Latest n greatest

I've been doing detailing for years. These "coatings" are just the flavor of the week. Nothing that is applied in this manner will provide a shield to protect the paint from impact and abrasions. All of these products are designed to "optically" improve the surface. They protect it by making it harder for surface contaminants to stick on the surface. The slicker the surface, the easier it is to clean, and the less likely that you will get any contaminants to etch into the paint.

Waxes and polishes have been doing this for years. Polish is the best optical enhancer out there, but it is not durable at all. It requires a wax to protect the optical enhancements. Waxes vary in durability, but for the most part, they should be reapplied every month or two. Waxes and polishes also have nutrients that are very important to the paint which needs to oils to stay "alive". The more sun that the paint is exposed to, and the higher the temperature, the more often this needs to be reapplied.

These coatings that everyone is talking about still have to be reapplied, and the "paint correction" involved is the same process that is needed for a top quality shine from a wax. If you just apply wax, it will bead water, but the finish won't be as shiny as you could get. The coating folks are making their money on the correction end of the detail process which is invaluable for the best appearance. The actual coating that is put on, is just another version of wax when it all boils down.

I've seen the amount of money that is charged for these coatings. I'll stick with my Meguiar's process which can be done in about a half day....

Totally agree. I'm new to this ceramic coatings circus....so I contacted my detail supplier and he suggested this product to start with, TEC582 ceramic spray. My test vehicle was a 2008 Ford Escape...black. So this should be a good place to start, especially with black paint. Overall condition of paint was good. I buffed first with Maguire's MGH30 then polished with Full Throttle finishing compound, I was not going to claybar anything. Final step was to do one panel at a time with this Technicians Choice TEC582 ceramic spray. The final look was very nice, however was that due to the buff and polish, or buff, polish and ceramic spray! I've ported cars, full time, yrs. ago when Rusty Jones, Polyglycoat, Finish Coat, Race Glaze and every other razzmataz product was out there as the latest and greatest. This is nothing new, so to speak. It did give an extremely slick finish, fairly durable (weather and such) four months ago, and ease of application was spot on. No streaks but elbow grease and constant wipe downs with good quality micro fiber towels is a must. For the DIYr, average to above average detailer this is a good product. I'm happy with the results,......but I was also happy with all the other aforementioned products as well.
Just another voice in the crowd for what its worth. Happy New Year to all....be safe...its truly a jungle out there. :cheers:

 

[Phoreal]

Great thread. Really good perspective on Ceramic Coating vs PPF.

I’m currently using Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Wax on a few of my other cars. Works well from an aesthetic perspective, but doubt it provides any protection.

Recently acquired a new TRD Pro and am leaning towards XPEL PPF given this car I own outright and hope to keep long term.


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[vdog2000002]

Just purchased a 2019 TRD off road. Brought it home from the dealer, 11 miles. Did a very thorough wash and dry. Let it set overnight and inspected the paint the next day. Touched up any spots that were not perfectly clean. Since the truck was new, no need to claybar.

Proceeded with the cquartz uk 3.0 application as stated in the instruction but using 3 micro fibers to buff, the yellow one that came with the kit first, then a blue one, then a final wipe with third white micro fiber.

Once done took a 30 minute break. Then went back for a second complete coat.

Coated the black valances as well but not the grill garnish.

Let car sit for 7 days.

Temps during application 68 degrees, 35 percent humidity.

Very happy with results

I used cquartz uk 3.0 too and did it my self. I have it on my mustang and it has lasted 4 years (the car is garage kept) by using the recharge spray that comes with the kit. I put it on the 4runner as well. The only scratches it seems to prevent are swirl marks from washing and drying. I can tell you this about the ceramic coating, it is hard when it dries. It actually crystalizes, I can see it on the mouth of the bottle that it comes in. Looks like little crystalized flakes. The applicator cloth that you use can not be washed and reused because the ceramic coating does not dissolve in water. Once it dries the area where the ceramic coating touched is hard and rough. It soaks into the cloth and dries hard like thick cardboard. The area where the ceramic coating did not soak in remains normal like a regular microfiber cloth. I also did the a Suntek PPf to prevent sandblasting the front end. Suntek has a 10 year warranty from pealing and yellowing. It is also self healing with heat from the sun. I did both the PPF and ceramic coating within weeks of buying both vehicles. The mustang's front end looks new with no chips. The PPF will protect the vehicle form scratches but gets expensive when doing the entire vehicle. I only did the front ends of 4runner and mustang.