Jump to content
Customer Service 866.965.0400
  • 0

Ceramic Boost


HouseStark

Question

This going to be a bit long winded but I have mounting frustrations.

 

I had a 2017 Challenger which had Adams paint sealant topped with Adam's Ceramic Wax. Each time I washed the car I applied Ceramic Boost.  My question is what is truly correct because it seems to vary based on the source I read on their website and the representative I speak with.  With the Challenger I was instructed to treat the boost almost as a drying agent. Once it was washed, while still wet, I was to apply it in large amounts and dry which I did. The results I felt were great in that I didn't notice build up, seemed to dry very smoothly and quickly, and had a great shine to. Car was Go Mango Orange.

 

I now have a 2018 Camaro SS 1LE in black.  Like the Challenger it has Adam's Paint Sealant and Ceramic Wax coating. This time around I was told the car must be totally dry to apply. So I dried it and then applied the boost in the same fashion.  I found it to be very hard to work with, lots of build up, hard to wipe down, and left the same shine. All products I'm using to dry are Adam's as is the soap. It's not in direct daylight and on 70-80ish degree days. 

 

So what is the verdict how do you actually apply this thing because I went from being very satisfied with it to very disappointed. Since it already has the Ceramic Wax coating on it and I wash it weekly would Guard and Gloss be a better choice especially considering overspray on windows?  The reps have honestly been great they sent me a bottle of Buttery Wax to wash the car and then apply this as a way of dealing with the build up but long term what is the best route?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0

It sounds like it could be a few things. You may be over applying protection. Ceramic Boost is not a quick detailer that you need to use every single wash. I think using it quarterly is just fine. Ceramic Boost is pretty heavy compared to detail spray. I like to spray Ceramic Boost on a double soft towel and then apply it to the vehicle, flipping the towel over to buff off the excess. A little product goes a long way. Don't use too much. Also, Ceramic Boost as well as H2O G&G hate the sun/heat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Considering I just applied a paint sealant last October then put it in storage. Then I put 2 coats of ceramic wax on it so far as recent as 3 weeks ago. So what your saying is I wash my car, dry it, and then that's it? Use ceramic what every 5-6 washes if it's a once a week wash?

 

My biggest question is when do I apply this thing? Some Adam's sources say while still wet while some say completely dry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
1 hour ago, HouseStark said:

Considering I just applied a paint sealant last October then put it in storage. Then I put 2 coats of ceramic wax on it so far as recent as 3 weeks ago. So what your saying is I wash my car, dry it, and then that's it? Use ceramic what every 5-6 washes if it's a once a week wash?

 

My biggest question is when do I apply this thing? Some Adam's sources say while still wet while some say completely dry.

If you're a weekly washer, you can apply it sooner. You can actually apply it as often as you want, but you will end up with streaks for over applying. I apply it when the car is completely washed and dried. Works perfect for me every time. Your paint contains paint sealant, 2 layers of wax and a ton of boost. It's bound to streak. Try using less Ceramic Boost when you apply it. Mist it on to the paint...don't drench one area. It could be that you're also not using that great of a microfiber towel and its not absorbing the product when you wipe. I find that the Double Soft Polishing Towel works best for me. My paint only has Ceramic Boost and nothing else at the moment, and it works incredibly great. I plan on stripping the boost off and doing a full application of Ceramic Coating. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

From my experience that a little bit of ceramic boost will go a long way. And I’m terms of dry/wet application. I think it’s a personal preference. The bottle has directions for both.

 

i prefer wet to skip the drying step. And I apply once every 4-6 weeks. 

 

If you’re interested in a quick detailer that you can use every time you wash as a drying aid on a ceramic coated car, I would recommend Adams Ceramic Waterless Wash.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
3 minutes ago, Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin said:

From my experience that a little bit of ceramic boost will go a long way. And I’m terms of dry/wet application. I think it’s a personal preference. The bottle has directions for both.

 

i prefer wet to skip the drying step. And I apply once every 4-6 weeks. 

 

If you’re interested in a quick detailer that you can use every time you wash as a drying aid on a ceramic coated car, I would recommend Adams Ceramic Waterless Wash.

Aggreed!  CWW as drying aid every wash, works fine on all surfaces.  (I also alternate this with detail spray)

 

BOOST every other month,  I would avoid windows. Can be wet of dry,  dry is best, Double Soft as mentioned

 

and...

 

I still BOOST my wheels every wash!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I'm with @Nickfire20 and @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin about using CWW as the drying aid on the weekly washes and Ceramic Boost  as the drying aid over Ceramic Paste Wax once a month.   As for when to apply CB, first make sure you have the 2.0 version and it will have the wet method, plus state that it is safe for glass.  If you still have the 1.0 version, then the dry method is the way to use it. 

 

When it comes to the wheels, I use CB as a drying aid every other wash or every couple of weeks, whichever is longer.  It makes a huge difference on the amount of brake dust that collects, except on the Range Rover wheels, but they are different story altogether. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

I’m always perplexed when I see discussions about drying aides on ceramic coated cars!  I get it if your objective is to get down a layer of Boost, but what are you guys doing otherwise?  When I sheet the water off my ceramic vehicles with a flat stream of water after washing, there literally nothing there to dry.  I’d have to do 10X the wiping to get the drying aide off then if I just hit the few beads of water sitting around somewhere.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

One thing that seems to get forgotten is you can develop a haze when you really start to layer products. This is even more true when laying products with different bases (sealant is not silica based like “ceramic” products are).

 

Many enthusiasts like to touch their cars and apply product to “make it shine.” The truth is that sometimes less really is more. 

 

Before adding more product, what protection is left?  What layers are still there?  Wax will disappear before a sealant as an example. Frequent use of some products allows them to build up and become more difficult to work with. 

 

It’s often brought up about streaking when using too much of a product in application. Frequent application creates the same effect. 

 

My daily driver and the wife’s daily drivers are both ceramic coated (with another product, not Adam’s for full disclosure) and admittedly don’t get washed as often as they should or could. I’ve applied a spray top coat to our vehicles once or twice since application and that’s in New England winter. They were coated in August and September of last year. A wash, clay and reapplication and they looked like we had just done them. 

 

The garage queen gets washed more often, but boosted less since it’s not driven often. It gets a top coat once a year. 

 

With waxes/sealants you need to do more frequent applications, but this should be measured in months. Not days. 

 

Don’t over complicate or overthink your processes. Make it easy on yourself and pick a set of products that work for you and stick with them. If you’re “ceramic based,” stick with them. If your traditional, stick with them. Don’t cross them over looking for a magic formula of shine. The real truth is that the gloss comes from how you finish your paint before ever applying protection. The other layers merely lock it in to with varying degree. Pick the products that fit with your style of maintaining your finish. If you’re hands on, go with products that will allow you to satisfy yourself. If you’re the “I just want to drive it” type, go with products that lend themselves to that goal. 

 

In the end you can spend a lot of money on products you don’t need or don’t fit your style and then drive yourself crazy trying to make them work for you. It’s needless stress.

Edited by shane@detailedreflections
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
10 hours ago, galaxy said:

I’m always perplexed when I see discussions about drying aides on ceramic coated cars!  I get it if your objective is to get down a layer of Boost, but what are you guys doing otherwise?  When I sheet the water off my ceramic vehicles with a flat stream of water after washing, there literally nothing there to dry.  I’d have to do 10X the wiping to get the drying aide off then if I just hit the few beads of water sitting around somewhere.   

Very good point. I think most of use don’t think to be that crafty. Such a simple thing to do but will save so much time and unnecessary contact

 

@shane@detailedreflections Good write up! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Ok so the census is apply while wet.  I noticed a massive difference apply wet in my challenger and dry on my Camaro.  Much better on the challenger.  Also all towels I use are Adams including the polish and grey soft towels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
10 minutes ago, HouseStark said:

Ok so the census is apply while wet.  I noticed a massive difference apply wet in my challenger and dry on my Camaro.  Much better on the challenger.  Also all towels I use are Adams including the polish and grey soft towels.

 

Actually, either wet or dry, but if you prefer while wet, go for it. Just less is more either way. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
On 6/23/2019 at 2:32 AM, RayS said:

I'm with @Nickfire20 and @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin about using CWW as the drying aid on the weekly washes and Ceramic Boost  as the drying aid over Ceramic Paste Wax once a month.   As for when to apply CB, first make sure you have the 2.0 version and it will have the wet method, plus state that it is safe for glass.  If you still have the 1.0 version, then the dry method is the way to use it. 

 

When it comes to the wheels, I use CB as a drying aid every other wash or every couple of weeks, whichever is longer.  It makes a huge difference on the amount of brake dust that collects, except on the Range Rover wheels, but they are different story altogether. 

i agree those brakes cause a lot of dust but man that ceramic coating helps a ton!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
On 6/23/2019 at 5:32 AM, RayS said:

I'm with @Nickfire20 and @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin about using CWW as the drying aid on the weekly washes and Ceramic Boost  as the drying aid over Ceramic Paste Wax once a month.   As for when to apply CB, first make sure you have the 2.0 version and it will have the wet method, plus state that it is safe for glass.  If you still have the 1.0 version, then the dry method is the way to use it. 

 

When it comes to the wheels, I use CB as a drying aid every other wash or every couple of weeks, whichever is longer.  It makes a huge difference on the amount of brake dust that collects, except on the Range Rover wheels, but they are different story altogether. 

How do I know if it's the 2.0 version?  I'm pretty sure I have the 1.0 is it the bottle with the new wrapper design? So it's decided the 2.0 as a drying aid is safer. I used 1.0 as I said previously and I thought it was much much better than applying on a dry surface.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

 

On 6/24/2019 at 11:26 PM, galaxy said:

I’m always perplexed when I see discussions about drying aides on ceramic coated cars!  I get it if your objective is to get down a layer of Boost, but what are you guys doing otherwise?  When I sheet the water off my ceramic vehicles with a flat stream of water after washing, there literally nothing there to dry.  I’d have to do 10X the wiping to get the drying aide off then if I just hit the few beads of water sitting around somewhere.   

 

Well it's not ceramic coated.  I put Adams paint sealant on it then on top of that is Adams Ceramic Wax

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
On 7/18/2019 at 2:50 PM, HouseStark said:

 

 

I put Adams paint sealant on it then on top of that is Adams Ceramic Wax

Same difference.  I have a layer of ceramic wax over my coating.  Your wash/water is going to react to whatever the top layer is.  In this case if you have ceramic wax over the coating, the coating becomes irrelevant.  My statement still stands.  You guys are rubbing on your car waaaay too much.  Water reaction difference between ceramic coating and ceramic is by all accounts indiscernible.

Edited by galaxy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Quick question in going through Adam's website I came across their Ceramic Liquid Wax which is far cheaper than the Ceramic Wax Paste. I'm all out of the paste as I've had it for 2 years now. I was going to buy more paste and the 2.0 Ceramic boost. Does anyone know if there is any difference between the Ceramic Liquid Wax and Ceramic Wax Paste? My brother has a buffer so I though it would be much faster to apply later this year with his buffer with the liquid wax versus by hand with the paste.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
1 hour ago, HouseStark said:

Quick question in going through Adam's website I came across their Ceramic Liquid Wax which is far cheaper than the Ceramic Wax Paste. I'm all out of the paste as I've had it for 2 years now. I was going to buy more paste and the 2.0 Ceramic boost. Does anyone know if there is any difference between the Ceramic Liquid Wax and Ceramic Wax Paste? My brother has a buffer so I though it would be much faster to apply later this year with his buffer with the liquid wax versus by hand with the paste.

 

As @Firebuff17 said, it's essentially the same, only real difference is the form, paste vs. cream. The Liquid Ceramic wax is like the Buttery Wax in terms of consistency and application, if that gives you a reference. Oh, and it smells INCREDIBLE (blueberry cheesecake!).

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0

Ceramic paste has 5% more SIO2 according to an Adams chart I’ve seen (35% versus 30%) and the ceramic paste is durability rated at 6-8 months whereas the ceramic liquid wax is 5-6 months.  If you want to apply with a polisher I’d go with the ceramic liquid for ease and faster application personally.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 0
4 hours ago, Firebuff17 said:

Ah... forgot about the durability part. 

Thanks @falcaineer and @Parad0x

Thank you @falcaineer and @Parad0x for the additional details.  I know I have a while before I will need to a Ceramic Wax again, I'll keep this info in mind.   While the CPW does have a higher price point, I'm also wondering how many average sized vehicles a 12 ounce bottle of the Ceramic Liquid Wax will cover.   With the CPW I've done 7 vehicles so far and it doesn't seem like I've used any from the container yet since a little goes a long way. 

 

With CPW, I'm expecting to get 25-30 per container, so how far does the Liquid variant go?  With the Liquid being 5-6 months, most likely 6+ for the garage queens, so if the number of vehicles comes out the price point could be well worth getting some of the Liquid variant.  

Edited by RayS
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...