Experience with ceramic coating

[Michael K.]

A friend thinks I need to put ceramic coating on my 67 roadster. My car is base coat / clear coat, repainted about 10 years ago.
Opinions???

[Terry M.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

A friend thinks I need to put ceramic coating on my 67 roadster. My car is base coat / clear coat, repainted about 10 years ago.
Opinions???

I had my C6 done 4 years ago. Not cheap, but I like it. Mine is a road car and there is less and easier clean up now.

[Michael K.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

thanks Terry

[Jack J.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Michael, please help me to understand your "ceramic coating" statement. Just what are you referring to? Exhaust manifolds? Jack J.

[Terry M.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Michael, please help me to understand your "ceramic coating" statement. Just what are you referring to? Exhaust manifolds? Jack J.

Good point Jack. I assUmed Michael was talking about the ceramic coatings for the body of the car. His statement about base/clear lead me to think his question referred to the body finish. We will both wait to find the answer to your question.

[Gary B.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

All,

If the OP is talking about ceramic coating of exhaust manifolds, just a heads up that when I contacted Jerry MacNeish last year (May or so) about coating exhaust manifolds he said his AL sintering machine was broken and there was no timetable for fixing it.

Gary

[Dave H.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Good point Jack. I assUmed Michael was talking about the ceramic coatings for the body of the car. His statement about base/clear lead me to think his question referred to the body finish. We will both wait to find the answer to your question.

I put (clear) ceramic coating on my aluminum wheels after I polished them. They have remained remarkably oxidation free after a full year of daily driving, and sitting outside at night.

[Michael K.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Jack, sorry for the confusion. I was asking about ceramic coating over body of car. It is like the new heavy duty wax. They will buff the car for hours, get the scratches out, take the spots out, bring the paint back to that "new" look, then, apply 3 or more coats of ceramic coating, then wet sand and buff again and again. from what I understand, it protects your paint, there is no need to chamois, water simply beads and falls to the floor. I understand it will last for 5 plus years. Its kinda pricy. I have estimates for $1,000 to $2000...

[Terry M.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Jack, sorry for the confusion. I was asking about ceramic coating over body of car. It is like the new heavy duty wax. They will buff the car for hours, get the scratches out, take the spots out, bring the paint back to that "new" look, then, apply 3 or more coats of ceramic coating, then wet sand and buff again and again. from what I understand, it protects your paint, there is no need to chamois, water simply beads and falls to the floor. I understand it will last for 5 plus years. Its kinda pricy. I have estimates for $1,000 to $2000...

FWIW: My C6 was $1200, but that included the glass and wheels, and interior detail with some kind of coating on the seats.

[Duke W.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Jack, sorry for the confusion. I was asking about ceramic coating over body of car. It is like the new heavy duty wax. They will buff the car for hours, get the scratches out, take the spots out, bring the paint back to that "new" look, then, apply 3 or more coats of ceramic coating, then wet sand and buff again and again. from what I understand, it protects your paint, there is no need to chamois, water simply beads and falls to the floor. I understand it will last for 5 plus years. Its kinda pricy. I have estimates for $1,000 to $2000...

This process is new to me and I wonder if "ceramic" is just a marketing term. Ceramic usually implies an inorganic material that starts out as a clay-like substance and then is "fired" in an oven to harden and cure it like a ceramic flower pot.

So can you or anyone else explain how this material is applied and cured. Is it just some kind or organic clear coat like catalyzed urethane?

Duke

[Terry M.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

This process is new to me and I wonder if "ceramic" is just a marketing term. Ceramic usually implies an inorganic material that starts out as a clay-like substance and then is "fired" in an oven to harden and cure it like a ceramic flower pot.

So can you or anyone else explain how this material is applied and cured. Is it just some kind or organic clear coat like catalyzed urethane?

Duke

There are a lot of these products on the market, and I am not sure what the term "ceramic" has to do with them. Here is the first Google result that showed up. The first of hundreds;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY-8KyRrOuE

This looks better:

https://exclusivedetail.com/ceramic-coating-for-cars/

[Michael K.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Thank you Terry. Very informative information... I hope you have a great weekend.

[Gary C.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Duke,

As little as I know about Ceramic coating, it's supposed to be a new style, premium wax replacement, that bonds to the paint, prevents oxidation, etc.

It's not a substitute for paint protection film.

Gary
....

[Terry M.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Duke,

As little as I know about Ceramic coating, it's supposed to be a new style, premium wax replacement, that bonds to the paint, prevents oxidation, etc.

It's not a substitute for paint protection film.

Gary
....

The treatment I had done to my C6 was done on top of the paint protection film (where that film was previously applied), and included all the glass and the wheels. The shop that applied the coating had the car for two days.

[Frank D.]

Re: Experience with ceramic coating

Ceramic has gotten to be one of those ubiquitous, over-used, misapplied terms now - about like "artificial intelligence" in commercials...
I was in Pep Boys the other day and several car finish products had ceramic somewhere in the name or on the labeling.
I doubt they are the $1,200 treatments...

Wax over ceramic whatever and all that over clear coat ? I don't know where all this is going..