DIY Ceramic Coating

[Jxm8669]

Has anyone done ceramic coating themselves? I know you can buy some pretty high quality coatings, but just curious how tough the application is. I have done some light paint correction in the past that came out pretty good, so is this doable? I imagine it's just a lot of prep work and time consuming, otherwise fairly straightforward?

Granted I don't have a truck yet but just planning. Have a hard time justifying full cost to have a shop do it.

Opinions?

 

[RobR651]

Has anyone done ceramic coating themselves? I know you can buy some pretty high quality coatings, but just curious how tough the application is. I have done some light paint correction in the past that came out pretty good, so is this doable? I imagine it's just a lot of prep work and time consuming, otherwise fairly straightforward?

Granted I don't have a truck yet but just planning. Have a hard time justifying full cost to have a shop do it.

Opinions?

Unless you have experience with paint correction and have the correct equipment for the prep work, I would say do not attempt it. If you do it’s not hard and well worth the effort.

 

[Creamsicle]

I performed a paint correction and ceramic coating on my mom’s Mercedes SLC 300. It turned out incredibly well and that was with paint that has seen trips across the continent and lots of “improper” washing. With a new vehicle (and paint in correspondingly better condition), the install process would be simple and quick.

The coating I used was SUPER easy to apply - a totally stress free experience compared to what I was expecting. The vast majority of time was spent on paint correction.

I can’t speak to the durability of the specific coating I used as I only applied the product in fall and the car hasn’t gone outside since, but it seemed to be a highly regarded product in the DIY space. Purchased from www.avalonking.com.

Plan on doing our other vehicles (including the TRX) as soon as the weather allows.

 

[Jxm8669]

I performed a paint correction and ceramic coating on my mom’s Mercedes SLC 300. It turned out incredibly well and that was with paint that has seen trips across the continent and lots of “improper” washing. With a new vehicle (and paint in correspondingly better condition), the install process would be simple and quick.

The coating I used was SUPER easy to apply - a totally stress free experience compared to what I was expecting. The vast majority of time was spent on paint correction.

I can’t speak to the durability of the specific coating I used as I only applied the product in fall and the car hasn’t gone outside since, but it seemed to be a highly regarded product in the DIY space. Purchased from www.avalonking.com.

Plan on doing our other vehicles (including the TRX) as soon as the weather allows.

Wow that came out really nice! Gives me some hope I may be able to do it. Still weighing thr scales. I guess I'll make that decision when I see what kind of shape the truck shows up in. Nice job though. Your truck will look awesome.

 

[Creamsicle]

Unless you have experience with paint correction and have the correct equipment for the prep work, I would say do not attempt it. If you do it’s not hard and well worth the effort.

Not likely that significant paint correction should be needed on a new vehicle.

Wow that came out really nice! Gives me some hope I may be able to do it. Still weighing thr scales. I guess I'll make that decision when I see what kind of shape the truck shows up in. Nice job though. Your truck will look awesome.

Consider that your truck will not likely need paint correction and the coating is only a couple hundred bucks. You could do this in half a day taking a very slow and conscientious approach. Give ‘er!

 

[RedEyeTRX]

I performed a paint correction and ceramic coating on my mom’s Mercedes SLC 300. It turned out incredibly well and that was with paint that has seen trips across the continent and lots of “improper” washing. With a new vehicle (and paint in correspondingly better condition), the install process would be simple and quick.

The coating I used was SUPER easy to apply - a totally stress free experience compared to what I was expecting. The vast majority of time was spent on paint correction.

I can’t speak to the durability of the specific coating I used as I only applied the product in fall and the car hasn’t gone outside since, but it seemed to be a highly regarded product in the DIY space. Purchased from www.avalonking.com.

Plan on doing our other vehicles (including the TRX) as soon as the weather allows.

Does the paint correction remove any of the factory orange peel? Interesting, on my truck it looks like the hood and front fenders are nearly orange peel free, but the doors and box had much more.

 

[Half Black Viking]

I have read articles and watched numerous videos. The process seems pretty easy if you have the patience. Most common tips were take your time, do it panel by panel small sections at a time, and don’t go cheap.

I already know I would start off great and end up rushing at the end…not for me.

 

[Jxm8669]

Not likely that significant paint correction should be needed on a new vehicle.

Consider that your truck will not likely need paint correction and the coating is only a couple hundred bucks. You could do this in half a day taking a very slow and conscientious approach. Give ‘er!

I think I might!! Save a boat load of money too

 

[Creamsicle]

Does the paint correction remove any of the factory orange peel? Interesting, on my truck it looks like the hood and front fenders are nearly orange peel free, but the doors and box had much more.

A paint correction that would sort out the orange peel would have to be VERY aggressive. My understanding is that the modern paints, which are much greener, have a tough time looking as good as the old-school super toxic stuff.

Even premium modern cars have relatively sh$%^ paint jobs these days.

 

[RobR651]

Not likely that significant paint correction should be needed on a new vehicle.

Consider that your truck will not likely need paint correction and the coating is only a couple hundred bucks. You could do this in half a day taking a very slow and conscientious approach. Give ‘er!

Depends on the condition of the vehicle. I’ve seen some messed up new cars. They mostly get messed up in transit and by the dealership. You can’t guarantee what condition it’s it. This is mine 1 year after coating. It needed some fairly decent correction in some areas. The whole process took about 10 hours.

 

[RobR651]

A few more… it’s well worth the effort if you know what you’re doing. If you look close you can see the orange peel is still there.

 

[Creamsicle]

A few more… it’s well worth the effort if you know what you’re doing.

Truck turned out amazing! Great work.

The ease of cleaning the vehicle post-coating is unreal. Hose and the blow dry with your leaf blower. Done in 10 minutes.

 

[OnTheReel]

At a minimum you want to do a good decontamination. If the paint looks as good as you care for it to look, you obviously don’t need to do any correction. Most of the time there is a benefit to doing it though. Because whatever you coat over is pretty much forever. I wound up using the Adam’s Graphene kit and it came out great. The UV light it comes with helps a lot with tracking what you’ve covered.

Otherwise there are some pretty decent spray products on the market too that are good for a year-ish. Might be a good compromise since the stakes are a lot lower. This stuff works really well:

Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating - 16 Fl Oz. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYPS3P...t_i_90VXK65E6C9KS365NRFH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Jxm8669]

Thanks for all the input fellas! I think it's really gonna come down to what kind of condition the paint is in when the truck shows up. If it's not too bad I may give it a shot myself.

 

[RobR651]

Thanks for all the input fellas! I think it's really gonna come down to what kind of condition the paint is in when the truck shows up. If it's not too bad I may give it a shot myself.

Tell the dealership to not touch the paint. They’ll likely be the ones messing it up

 

[enve46]

I’ve been doing my own ceramic for years. I’ve polished/corrected most of them, a couple brand new vehicles I didn’t but you usually should. Decon wash is a must. Did my trx and my neighbor and I spent 40 hours on my M3

 

[Jxm8669]

I’ve been doing my own ceramic for years. I’ve polished/corrected most of them, a couple brand new vehicles I didn’t but you usually should. Decon wash is a must. Did my trx and my neighbor and I spent 40 hours on my M3

Looks great. What coating do you like to use? If I decide to do it that would be the next decision. Kinda seems like ethos, gtechniq, and Evo are the more well known brands.

 

[enve46]

Looks great. What coating do you like to use? If I decide to do it that would be the next decision. Kinda seems like ethos, gtechniq, and Evo are the more well known brands.

I switched to Gtechniq CSL/EXO combo and haven’t looked back. I will say its been favorite since ceramic was my thing but EXO is oily a tad difficult to work with. Cquartz was my good to before and very user friendly. I haven’t used Ethos or Evo, or have heard of them but I’m also no professional either, weekend warrior with years of detailing at home. I’d recommend Gtechniq if you’re going to be in a lower humidity environment for application.

 

[NoHo Hank]

Anybody go the graphene route?

 

[Jxm8669]

I switched to Gtechniq CSL/EXO combo and haven’t looked back. I will say its been favorite since ceramic was my thing but EXO is oily a tad difficult to work with. Cquartz was my good to before and very user friendly. I haven’t used Ethos or Evo, or have heard of them but I’m also no professional either, weekend warrior with years of detailing at home. I’d recommend Gtechniq if you’re going to be in a lower humidity environment for application.

I've heard good things about the cquartz as well from what I read. Probably will go with one of the 2. Maybe cquartz if it's easier to apply and this will be my first time.