Going to Ceramic Coat Truck

[Irregular F150]

Can you ceramic the underbody to help from all of that salt you all have in the north?

No. Waxoyl, steel it, wool wax works. I personally use waxoyl it doesn’t look messy or collect as much dirt as the wool wax and it also has that factory black finish to it.

 

[Irregular F150]

I had mine done. They used GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra. I'm very happy with it so far. I agree that the paint correction is as a crucial step and what makes it so expensive. I paid $2,000 for the paint, the wheels, and the glass. I was quoted $1,600 for just the paint. If your paying much lower than that they are probably skipping or doing a half a$$ed job on the paint correction step

Yes and no. Definitely not disagreeing, do be careful where you go…. Plus it all depends on many factors, like conditions and size of the vehicle, what coating is being used, location(may cost more in one state then it does in another state where they are less likely to even care about their vehicles.) Like up where i am no way would anyone pay $2000 for it vs maybe someone in Cali. Id quit my day job and do full coating service if i knew i could get that kind of cash lol

 

[Larry Jeffords]

We have a very reputable "car salon" here locally. They do incredible work. I had my 2018 Raptor scheduled to go in this week but I backed out a couple weeks ago. $3,000 is a lot of money but it would have been worth every penny. Unfortunately, the truck sits in the back yard with 22,000 miles on it. Why pay almost $6/gallon for premium when I can pay $5/gallon and take my Bronco Sport. Don't get me wrong, I love my truck. But, in the current economy, I suspect I would be paying for an upgrade for someone else to enjoy in the near future.

 

[New recaros]

Ceramic coating are great except one thing. They turn into dust magnets

 

[2slo4u]

I spent a Saturday and did my own for less than $150. You should be asking them what their prep process entails. Wash, iron removal, clay bar, paint correction at a minimum. If they tell you a new car has great paint and typically doesn’t need correction, I’d find another shop

 

[gxgn]

If you never polished a car you can learn and save a lot of money in the process. You will probably buy a bit more supplies than you need but they will last a long time or you can sell it. Get something mid grade like the Adams Swirl Killer for a polisher. if you have another older car you can try your hand first on it. Start with less abrasive pads and compounds an move to more aggrieve if needed. Plan to spend maybe 2-3 day (6-10 hrs each). Learn to clay bar the car and the correct order of the steps (maybe a few weekends of YouTube watch). It's not easy but it's doable and you can probably get it done for 1/4 of the cost you got quoted and have all the supplies. All the work is the preparation. The actual ceramic coating is the easier step. You can try something like the Adams graphene spray that will last 1 year but this way, if you are afraid you might mess it up, you know you can remove it or just wait for it to fade.

 

[gxgn]

One more thought - if you plan to off-road the truck you might be better off doing a more traditional wax rather than going with a ceramic coating. The pinstripes will scratch the ceramic coating and you will have to do a lot of aggressive buffing after to fix these panels.

 

[RivRaptor]

One more thought - if you plan to off-road the truck you might be better off doing a more traditional wax rather than going with a ceramic coating. The pinstripes will scratch the ceramic coating and you will have to do a lot of aggressive buffing after to fix these panels.

Therein lies the problem, your a short time away from rock chips & trail kisses unless she's a garage Queen and than your pondering why you spent all that money for a little more shine or make to make it a little easier for your car wash guy to clean! I've had many cars & bikes done and at first loved it, but shine doesn't last, imperfections show up that need to be buffed out & then your Installer tells you about the new and improved stuff, etc. It's alot of money for a longer lasting wax shine that if done wrong can mess up your paint. Unless I was to invest in doing it myself I'll stick with wax or just stair at the bare clearcoat! Just my experience

 

[lostcuaz]

I had my SRT done full ceramic, if you are not off roading in sand/dusty env you are making a good investment. If common sand/dust areas you have higher chance damaging the work. Conditions matter and should only be hand washed properly, some places offer maintenance washes to help maintain the coating.
Its always up to you how you want it but understand its how you treat it after the fact.

You will spend at least 2-3k, the body has to be prepped and paint corrected and clear coat cleaned up before application. If they dont mention this in their speel do not use them as its a investment for the look and care of your truck. Time wise will take up to a week of work. While its there I'd recommend PPF the front bumper, hood, fender to protect from normal w&t.

I just dropped my 22 Gen3 at my shop.
The work I am having done is post deliver clean, front PPF on front, hood and fenders. They are applying full ceramic to the windows for water repeling, then we are testing a new low maintnance / easy install ceramic with year life. Tint and finishing the B/C Pillars in a matte wrap.

 

[ESPcoatings]

No. Waxoyl, steel it, wool wax works. I personally use waxoyl it doesn’t look messy or collect as much dirt as the wool wax and it also has that factory black finish to it.

I saw this post and I've been looking at Waxoyl for the last 40 minutes and now I'm thinking I need to get the gear and offer the service! Hahaha!

The claims make on their site are pretty... incredible.

May I ask how your experience has been with the hardwax?

The cavity stuff makes sense that it would be permanent. The exterior stuff is what I'm really curious about. If it lasts even 5 years, I won't look down my nose at it at all. ASSUMING the rest of the claims about it stopping rust as well, are true.

I'll assume it looks as good as they say unless you say otherwise.