Many people want ceramic coatings but with so many on the market which one is the best one to choose? Or is ceramic even for you? In many cases it can be confusing considering the market is so unstable right now with misinformation about ceramic coatings. Price points are all different. Life time of the coatings are different and some even claim a “lifetime coating” . In this post we aim to clarify all that confusion for you. But first you must know what the product is that you are about to purchase and is it the right fit for you.
For one we want all our customs to see ceramic as a sacrificial layer of protection and the first line of defense for your clear coat. Now we use the term protection very carefully. Many detailers would claim coatings don’t scratch, coatings protect against rock chips so on and so on. This is simply not true, if you are looking for impact protection that is the services of PPF aka Paint Protection Film. Ceramic is the first line of protection against weather elements and fallout. Things such as bird poop, acid rain, pine tar, road tar and water etching. It also has UV inhibitors protecting the paint from future clear coat fading this is what we mean when coatings provide paint protection.
Secondly maintenance is key to keeping a ceramic coating fresh. This theory of never washing again is not true. You need to maintain the vehicle with regular safe hand washes for best results. You can’t expect the coating to remain fresh when it’s never cleaned. With our coatings we recommend washing it with us at least once a month, weekly or bi-weekly and or washing it yourself once every two weeks. Dependent on usage and storage of the vehicle. Washing regularly not allowing the dirt and grime to build up makes for the safest of washes.
To find out what coating fits best for you. The questions we should ask would be similar to this. How is the car stored? How long do you plan on keeping the car? How often do you clean the car? If the car sits outside, is it under a tree all day? All very important questions a true ceramic coating installer should ask the client. Ceramic coatings aren’t for everyone and that’s ok too. But those question are very important. Why put a 3-4 year coating on a car you plan on keeping for only 2 years?
Lets talk cost why is there so many different prices? Why are some prices more but claim less years while others have long lasting coatings for so cheap? There are many different prices out there and I can tell that it’s difficult for customers to decide. For example we offer a 2 year coating for $1850 starting price. Someone else offers a 4 year coating at $800. Now you would ask what’s the difference why is the 2 year more expensive? Prep work is what separates the two. What we value in the company is the quality of the overall finish. So we include at least a single stage paint correction. This process removes 85-90% of all defects present in the paint. Your $800 company will not. New cars it’s the same process for us as well. Then we proceed to Polish the vehicle before coating. Your $800 company considers our polishing stage thier paint correction step. The paint correction process takes our shop about 8-10 man hours while others rush the car out the door for $800. We take 4 hours just to apply 2 layers of coating and 24-48 of cure time in the shop. Totaling $1850 out the door for a 2 year coating. Plus we back it with warranty coverage. All of our coatings come with either in house warranty or a CQUARTZ warranty.
To summarize coatings make washes easier, coatings must be maintained on a regular basis to remain fresh. Coatings do add protection against weather elements and fallout. They do not protect against object impacts. Coatings cost can vary dependent on the prep work done before coating application, durability, lifetime of the coating and warranty. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope it helps for your future choice in Ceramic coating services.
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