Enlighten Me on Ceramic Coating

[TR6speed]

OK, I will admit I am a little confused on the whole ceramic coating issue.  I realize that if the paint is corrected completely and the coating is applied correctly, the only real maintenance will be washing and drying.  What I am a little confused on is the different coatings.  I have heard and read about the ceramic coating that is put on a freshly prepared painted surface and how it is applied, but I see that there is a spray ceramic coating and a ceramic paste wax which I believe is the SIO2.  I believe I also read of an H9 ceramic coating by Adams.  

Now I just completed a full detail on my '07 Corvette and applied the Patriot Wax which I just purchased seeing my Americana was almost gone.  While my Corvette is not a daily driver I am more interested in doing it to the 2018 Equinox that e (wife and I) use daily.  I may do the Corvette but not sure.  

So again which product will fit my need for either or both vehicles. 

Here is a shot of the Corvette at the show just after the full detail

[RayS]

8 minutes ago, TR6speed said:

OK, I will admit I am a little confused on the whole ceramic coating issue.  I realize that if the paint is corrected completely and the coating is applied correctly, the only real maintenance will be washing and drying.  What I am a little confused on is the different coatings.  I have heard and read about the ceramic coating that is put on a freshly prepared painted surface and how it is applied, but I see that there is a spray ceramic coating and a ceramic paste wax which I believe is the SIO2.  I believe I also read of an H9 ceramic coating by Adams.  

Now I just completed a full detail on my '07 Corvette and applied the Patriot Wax which I just purchased seeing my Americana was almost gone.  While my Corvette is not a daily driver I am more interested in doing it to the 2018 Equinox that e (wife and I) use daily.  I may do the Corvette but not sure.  

So again which product will fit my need for either or both vehicles. 

Here is a shot of the Corvette at the show just after the full detail

 

Hi Jack,  First let me say that your Vette is beautiful.  As with most of the members, we have opinions, so I'm going to focus my opinion on the Ceramic Paste Wax which I have been converting to for my daily drivers and the one pseudo-classic Mustang.   As with all the products the results will be a direct outcome of the prep, which I have no doubt you already know.

 

The CPW can be applied without the additional work or expense of the Coating Prep, the rest is exactly the same with the Clay and Polish as needed.  The CPW goes on very thin and has amazing shine, depth and beading properties.  By using a regular wash or the Ceramic Waterless Wash and applying Ceramic Boost every 4-6 weeks as a drying agent, you'll get 6+ months out of each application.   If you want that extra pop when you are going to a show, you can still apply Brilliant Glaze over CPW.   I have used Buttery, Americana and Patriot and am switching almost all the vehicles to CPW and based on the amount of product needed, it looks like I should get between 20-25 waxes out of a container of CPW.  

 

When the wife gets her new vehicle, leaning toward a Blazer or Range Rover, that will have a professionally applied ceramic coating.   The Datsun 240z will most likely get the Spray Coating once it has been repainted, but that's at least a year a way, so we'll see where the products are at.  Overall, my opinion is that for a daily driver the CPW or Spray Coating is fine.  For a new vehicle, go with a professional coating.  I'll also admit that if I didn't already have the CPW before the Spray Coating came out, I might have went with the Spray Coating in lieu of CPW.

[Rich]

Beautiful Vette!  I've been using the Ceramic Paste Wax on my Vette and daily driver, and have ZERO complaints.  As for the ceramic coating, I'm not going to attempt to do it myself and screw it up, because I've read what all is required to remove it and I'm not willing to chance it.  I use the CPW, and then I'll hit it with Ceramic Boost like a detail spray and it really pops.  

[Tim]

I only use Patriot on my Vette. It is garaged and quite frankly rarely driven.

 

We did have a 2017 Equinox on a two-year lease and I knew it would be outside the whole time because we only have a three car garage. I used the original formula ceramic paint coating and the original trim coating on that. It was my first attempt at coating and it is hard to imagine it being THAT simple, but it is. I did maintain it with ceramic boost every once in a while, but it was really easy to wash and always looked great.

 

i also coated my Model S when I got it 18 months ago (9 months after getting the Equinox) and maintain it with either boost or ceramic paste wax. If I have the time, I go with the wax, I find it relaxing. The biggest headache with the Model S is the water runs off the hood so fast, it will soak my shoes if I don’t stand to the side!

 

I haven’t coated my wife’s Volt because, dang it, I need something to wax more often. (Patriot on that)

 

i did recently use the Ceramic Spray Coating, on my new riding mower. That was only a couple of weeks ago, but it sure does hose off nicely!

 

The spray coating is quick to use, but has a shorter life than the paint coating, so you have trade offs to consider. If you want your regular washes to be easier, coat the Equinox, you won’t be sorry.

[Dkhazlett]

I just ceramic coated my wife’s car last Saturday after having the kit for a few months.  I too read the dire warnings on the forums about the consequences of screwing it up.  So, I was a little apprehensive.  But, it was just what I have come to expect of Adams products.  Very forgiving for a DIY-er, the products behaved as advertised and I am delighted with the results.  I uploaded a photo, hope it uploaded properly.  A few things:

 

- the rainbow flash thing in the tutorials doesn’t show up as readily on light-colored vehicles - Adam says so himself in one of the ceramic coating videos.   So with a light colored car you have to use tackiness to decide when to buff rather than the flash.

 

- the glass bottle is basically opaque, so apart from a shake test it’s hard to tell if I have enough coating left for another vehicle. I will probably bite the bullet and just buy another bottle to make sure before I coat my truck.  

 

- to maintain a controlled environment I closed myself in the garage for the job. The lights in there aren’t meant for this work thought so I bought a LED work light on a tripod to illuminate the panels as I went.  Worked great.  

 

My only regret is that I waited so long to do this.  Time will tell on durability but I think the coating is great.