Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating

[WKUSMC]

Well there really is a wide variety of options out there, from lasting short term to long term. Me personally I like the long term options and not the quick spray on ceramic coatings and things that last a few weeks to even a few months sometimes. If I were you I would do this, inspect the damage first and see exactly what you want. For example are you going to want protection from rock chips? If so your more then likely gonna want to put a paint protection film like XPEL,3M, etc. on the front parts of the truck. Ceramic coatings kinda help with small rocks but anything a pebble size and up it’ll go right through. This is quite pricey typically tho between $1000-$3000 for someone to do it for you depending on the area you live in. I hear it’s a nightmare installing ppf on your own if your not trained so highly recommended to have a credited profesional do it for you, also if you wanted to do that on your own you could but it be a very time consuming risky task. Keep in mind thats just for the important parts, front bumper, fenders, hood, roof, A pillars, and mirrors. Everything else would cost you more. Now if you really don’t mind the random rock chip here and there you could just skip that and do a good 2-6 Year ceramic coating. You could ppf and ceramic coat on top of the ppf if you really wanted to for that extra extra protection and hydrophobic property. I could go on and on about which is the best ceramic coating out in the market but there are so many reviews and videos out there that compare every single one, do some research and find one you think you would like the most, every detailer has there favorites, so there really is never a bad option unless you pick a very cheap one, Ive always done the Qtechniq Crystal serum light and exo kit for a my trucks and it usually runs me between $110-$220, other coatings vary. Now before you decide to do any of those 2 things, your paint needs to be in either perfect or near perfect condition, now what does perfect condition mean, it means check if you have any swirl marks which you will more then likely have, check if they are deep or light swirl marks, deep scratches you can usually see in low light environments typically and you can really see in bright lit areas, if you can barely see them in heavy lit areas you will Only have to do a 1 step polish paint correction, if you think you have very heavy swirl marks you will need to do a 2 step compound cut and then polish paint correction. Now when it comes to money I wouldn’t pay someone to do a paint correction unless it was a 15 plus year old vehicle or if the clear coat is very thin and scratched to hell. Paint correcting is fairly easy to learn on new vehicles and can be learned through many good profesional detailers on YouTube that show you exactly what to do. If you needed a number on how much this would cost you to do, it would mainly come down to the cost in supplies like a random orbital polisher, polisher pads, polish, compound, good towels, and maybe even a bright light. Typically running around the $300-$400 mark all together for the generic non profesional things you can find at places like auto zone that work great. Now you have a Gen 2 so I’m assuming you would just need a 1 stage paint correction and ceramic coating unless you've ran that truck through the car wash every single time since you’ve owned it or there is literal tree branch scratches everywhere lol. So $410-$620 if you were to do it and learn on your own. If you want to save your labor and time, spend the extra cash you already know your quotes, $1000-$1900 ain’t to bad In my area.
Hope this helped haha

If you want it done , do it yourself! Great post!

 

[ATXraptor75]

Sounds like PPF or clear bra is the way to go.

 

[Dnpbakon]

I can honestly say, if your truck is leadfoot, black, or AMB. Ceramic coating is an absolute must. Makes the truck look flawless in every aspect and the paint always looks “wet”z
Well worth the $1500

 

[BIZZnice]

22ple glass coat, used it on my '14, lasts for years...simple application and wipe off. will be doing the same very soon on my '22

 

[pat247]

Meguiar's wash and wax is what I've used since new.

 

[daytona1783]

Just dropped off my truck for a full correction, full front PPF, and gtechniq CSL application. I can’t wait to get it back…it’s going to look awesome. Will post pics afterward.

 

[daytona1783]

 

[psmwrx]

Meguiar's wash and wax is what I've used since new.

View attachment 389565View attachment 389566

Beautiful truck. Makes me miss my 2014.

 

[Space Ghost]

Reapplied Ceramic on rap and wax on lightning.
Prob should do ceramic on the lightning one of these days

 

[AkamiNW]

I have had it professionally done twice, one cost 1400.00 and the other 750.00. I think the Adams spray graphene advanced ceramic coating works just as well. I do it myself at a cost of less than 100 bucks which includes the application cloths I throw away. I do it a couple time a year. It’s easy and fun, I do two coatings about 4 hours apart.

How long does the ceramic coat usually last?