[86merc]

The car looks great OP.

Many shops charge a lot because they do a complete decontamination of the car, full paint correction, cleaning, and correct application of the ceramic products. Not all ceramic coatings are the same either. Some do cost a lot more than others. I think CQUartz is only like $60 a bottle. It has a very good reputation. Then there are some that are WAY more expensive. Are they better? Probably. Is the added cost worth it to me? Not for any of my vehicles. haha

The paint correction is huge here. If you get a paint job to where there are no visible scratches and knock down the paints "orange peel" the paint looks deeper and reflects light correctly, versus scattering the light. This is why a good correction will really show off the pearls and metal flake look in the modern paint. So if the paint is prepped like this then coated, the paint will look like that for years to come. THIS is why the job is so expensive versus just slapping the product on so-so paint with contamination.

Not all ceramic coatings are the same. Some are harder than others. So they will not scratch as easy. Some allow you to clean and apply a refresh product on it or even another coat of the product. This is very helpful as over time the ceramic coating will scratch. So not having to remove the old coating and starting over is a big deal. I have used CQuartz on my cars for a few years now and use their refresh product to deal with the light scratches it gets after a year or two.

If your paint is in amazing shape before coating it will look that way for the life of the coating. So a simple wash can make the car look like it was just polished. It is well worth the price and effort. I have a buddy who details cars and is very good at it. He charges about a third of what a lot of shops charge. I don' think the outcome would be any different by spending more money. He is just reasonably priced for using the same products.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Not true.



I've been detailing my own car and family cars for 15+ years. I run the full gambit; clay bar, correction, polish, and sealer coat.

First, there was wax. It would last 1-3 months.

Then there was paint sealant. It would last 6+ months. (everyone used to call this a scam as well. it quickly replaced waxes)

Now, there are ceramic coats and they're amazing. They last 2+ years.

Plus, they're FAR easier to apply and are more forgiving. I coated my car with CQuartz ceramic coating in September of 2015 and I would put up against any wax or sealant applied yesterday. I simply use a spray-on, wipe-off topper coat every 3-6 months after a regular wash and it brings back all the shine.

The only scam is that you can buy the stuff yourself for $100-150 and a shop will charge you hundreds, maybe even $1k to have it applied.

I haven't used back to black or any of that garbage for years. When applied correctly there is simply nothing better for protection. With a good, expensive wax you may get 5% better shine and wet look, but all that hard work doesn't last 3 months.

This stuff doesn't last 2 years but really a year with no garage. If you read about the people who claim this stuff lasts 2 years they always have a garage they always make sure they take care of the car. They don't just never wash their car again with no garage like some people claim. The scam is in the fact every detailer pushes and oversells this stuff because it makes them big money. To apply this stuff you need to have full correction done to your paint and all the guys around here charge 1000 dollars to do that. So yeah you are looking at between 1000-1500 dollars.

Would I use this stuff if I put in on my self? Sure, 60 bucks. Would I pay some jack ass 1500 dollars.. no.. Even if you buy a car brand new these people will still charge you for minor paint correction and a 300-400 dollar installation fee.

[tgyberg]

Wow, that does look great!

[Pladi]

I heard that after 3 years you need to reapply and that can be tricky..

[86merc]

I have seen brand new cars with rail dust all over them. A simple wash won't remove it. So even a new car can need a bunch of work. Factory paint isn't great as far as clarity and orange peel.

My buddy charges about $550 for a smaller car, like a E90. So it is not horrible.

If you have the time, tools, materials, and knowledge to do it yourself, of course, it is worth doing it yourself.

My 1995 F150 Lighting gets driven and sits outside all year round. In crummy Chicago winters with salt everywhere. My CQuartz has been on it for 3.5 years now. It looks great for that amount of time. It does have small scratches in it but not really noticeable from 5 feet away. I plan to decontaminate the surfaces and use their refresh on it. I bet it goes another year or two before it needs recoating. My efforts to wax the truck just once a year would be more than what I have had to do with it so far.

My buddy has a few higher-end vehicles. He uses a product that is "Self-healing". The stuff is hard and if you have an issue I guess you can heat the product and it will flow out again to fix the issue with the coating. I have not had any experience with the stuff. But sounds next level to me. I know they have paint that is the same way. Get a rock chip and just add heat to allow it to flow into the chip. Now that will be awesome to see on cars in the future.

[86merc]

Originally Posted by Pladi

I heard that after 3 years you need to reapply and that can be tricky..

It depends on the product. Some need to be stripped and reapplied. Others can be added on top of existing coats.

I like the CQuartz for the price and the fact you can reapply over existing coats and they offer a refresh product for "maintenance". Other products are the same. I know a couple years ago CQUartz changed their formula and you had to work quickly when applying it. If applied like the old formula it would get cloudy. Just took a different application technique.

Most of these coatings have plenty of information online. Research your options before you buy or have a shop apply them. It's nice to have the options.


Do I think these coatings work? Yes. Do I think some make claims in their advertising that might not be true? Yes. haha

And yes, I mention Cquartz a lot because that is what I have the most experience with. haha

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by 86merc

I have seen brand new cars with rail dust all over them. A simple wash won't remove it. So even a new car can need a bunch of work. Factory paint isn't great as far as clarity and orange peel.

My buddy charges about $550 for a smaller car, like a E90. So it is not horrible.

If you have the time, tools, materials, and knowledge to do it yourself, of course, it is worth doing it yourself.

My 1995 F150 Lighting gets driven and sits outside all year round. In crummy Chicago winters with salt everywhere. My CQuartz has been on it for 3.5 years now. It looks great for that amount of time. It does have small scratches in it but not really noticeable from 5 feet away. I plan to decontaminate the surfaces and use their refresh on it. I bet it goes another year or two before it needs recoating. My efforts to wax the truck just once a year would be more than what I have had to do with it so far.

My buddy has a few higher-end vehicles. He uses a product that is "Self-healing". The stuff is hard and if you have an issue I guess you can heat the product and it will flow out again to fix the issue with the coating. I have not had any experience with the stuff. But sounds next level to me. I know they have paint that is the same way. Get a rock chip and just add heat to allow it to flow into the chip. Now that will be awesome to see on cars in the future.

550 just to apply the stuff or 550 for paint correction and to apply the stuff?

[86merc]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

550 just to apply the stuff or 550 for paint correction and to apply the stuff?

Decontamination, correction, and application of CQuartz. His prices go up from there. If the paint is really oxidized, paint chips fixed, and other paint correction it goes up. Same if he uses other products at the customer's request. But he is very reasonable.

A friend had him do his new F350, extended carb, long bead. It was $1200. That is a lot of square footage to cover. haha

He also used coatings on the interior. Especially light colored leather seats. Many options for these products.


Also, like the coatings on the black plastic trim that some cars have. It keeps them looking nice and doesn't allow them to turn whiteish and dull.



Not to steal the thunder from the OP, but this was my Lightning a little over two years after the coating was applied. Nothing but regular car washes since then. Original 1995 oxidized paint he corrected and sealed. Still looks great. Again, waxing it wouldn't have kept it this nice. No doubt in my mind.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by 86merc

Decontamination, correction, and application of CQuartz. His prices go up from there. If the paint is really oxidized, paint chips fixed, and other paint correction it goes up. Same if he uses other products at the customer's request. But he is very reasonable.

A friend had him do his new F350, extended carb, long bead. It was $1200. That is a lot of square footage to cover. haha

He also used coatings on the interior. Especially light colored leather seats. Many options for these products.


Also, like the coatings on the black plastic trim that some cars have. It keeps them looking nice and doesn't allow them to turn whiteish and dull.



Not to steal the thunder from the OP, but this was my Lightning a little over two years after the coating was applied. Nothing but regular car washes since then. Original 1995 oxidized paint he corrected and sealed. Still looks great. Again, waxing it wouldn't have kept it this nice. No doubt in my mind.

550 is pretty fair and you should consider yourself lucky. I have all the pads and polishes to do paint correction myself but I am too lazy to do it anymore. I called around here years ago and none of these jackasses will even give a base price without looking at the car. They come out look at the car and tell me 1000 bucks just to correct the paint. I know how much work is involved because I used to do it myself. They can just fuck right off.. 1000 dollars...

[atmosphericM]

I paid around $400-500 to have my baby's paint cleaned, corrected, polished, sealed, and waxed. That also included a basic interior and engine bay detail. It was more than I'm thrilled about, but you gotta pay to play, and I included that cost in the purchase price of this car in my mind because it was necessary. I do almost all car work myself but have not yet gotten into buying a orbital buffer and learning about all of that, so I just do wash, clay, and wax myself. For most cars that is all that's necessary, so I'm good with only having those skills. Unfortunately though, the previous owner of this BMW let some major water spot etching happen which is what led me to seek professional help. The extreme-ness of the etching is part of why I had to pay so much to have my paint corrected.

The same guy works with CQuartz but it wasn't worth it to me.. can't remember how much extra it would have been for the ceramic coating but at least another $200-400. Basically his opinion on the ceramic coatings is that they just last longer than traditional waxes/sealants. Meh. I'm probably not as hard core as most though when it comes to having "perfect paint." A good 3 coat wax job is good for at least 6 months IMO. To each his own. Of course there are many factors though that affect that timeline such as how often the car is washed and if it's garage kept.

[86merc]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

550 is pretty fair and you should consider yourself lucky. I have all the pads and polishes to do paint correction myself but I am too lazy to do it anymore. I called around here years ago and none of these jackasses will even give a base price without looking at the car. They come out look at the car and tell me 1000 bucks just to correct the paint. I know how much work is involved because I used to do it myself. They can just fuck right off.. 1000 dollars...

It can be a lot of work for sure. I know we have shops around here that range from reasonable to insane. So I get that. And I do know I am lucky. I decontaminated my new 2015 Mustang GT. He polished, cleaned, and coated it for $350. Guy is a hook up for sure. I send a lot of people his way. So it works out well for both of us.

[atmosphericM]

The prices are definitely annoying but that's because we are talking about specialty work. There are so few consumers out there that even care about waxing their car. Therefore there are very few detail guys who can and care to go into business doing this, so they pretty much get to set whatever price they want, depending on their customer base. It's not like you have to invest in a $50-100,000 education to learn how to detail cars, so yeah, them making $50+ an hour kind of annoys me, especially when they're a "mobile detailer" with virtually zero overhead. C'est la vie though. If I cared enough I guess I'd just switch careers huh. Blue collar work and wages are really picking up these days it seems.

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by atmosphericM

The prices are definitely annoying but that's because we are talking about specialty work. There are so few consumers out there that even care about waxing their car. Therefore there are very few detail guys who can and care to go into business doing this, so they pretty much get to set whatever price they want, depending on their customer base. It's not like you have to invest in a $50-100,000 education to learn how to detail cars, so yeah, them making $50+ an hour kind of annoys me, especially when they're a "mobile detailer" with virtually zero overhead. C'est la vie though. If I cared enough I guess I'd just switch careers huh. Blue collar work and wages are really picking up these days it seems.

Exactly my thoughts. I used to be a real auto detail nut myself and had an insane amount of chemicals and pads. 50 dollars an hour, there are guys out here charging 75+ an hour. Is auto detailing hard work YES.. Is it as nearly skilled as these guys make it out to be no way.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

Exactly my thoughts. I used to be a real auto detail nut myself and had an insane amount of chemicals and pads. 50 dollars an hour, there are guys out here charging 75+ an hour. Is auto detailing hard work YES.. Is it as nearly skilled as these guys make it out to be no way.

Well, the time value of money certainly does change and depending on how long ago you used to detail...

Also, my car sits outside, on the street in the city and has for 2.5 years since I used the CQuartz. Washed ~3-4 months and still looks great and beads right up. I washed/clay'd/iron-x/Eraser before applying. Did not polish as didn't have space or time. I top up with Reload about twice a year. I have used Iron-x once since then, as well, which definitely helped with the insane fallout we get here.

I would never go back to waxes unless I had a Ferrari garage queen.

I think I was maybe even more impressed with the CarPro D-Lux for plastics. Makes black plastic look new for years with zero maintenance.

[SHEEDI]

here is mine, I did it myself and ceramic coating is not a scam. if you don't take care of anything it wont last that long, same as your health, clothes, shoes etc you know wjhat I mean...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1388355

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

here is mine, I did it myself and ceramic coating is not a scam. if you don't take care of anything it wont last that long, same as your health, clothes, shoes etc you know wjhat I mean...

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1388355

If it was as good as people say it is the manufacture would use it. I can get P21S to last 3 months if I garage queen my car too. Doesn't mean anything.

[AWSB328iM]

Yes it's great and low maintenance but you can't tell the difference from a photo.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

If it was as good as people say it is the manufacture would use it. I can get P21S to last 3 months if I garage queen my car too. Doesn't mean anything.

Your arguments are hilarious. Get with the times.

Manufacturers are in the business of selling you more cars. Detailers are in the business of prolonging your current car. They're not the same. When's the last time any manufacturer sold any car with the tagline "we coated your car with X product" - lolwut

You haven't used it. Your opinion is worthless and based on nothing.

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by BravoJohny33

If it was as good as people say it is the manufacture would use it. I can get P21S to last 3 months if I garage queen my car too. Doesn't mean anything.

I park it outside and don't wax or polish it and it stays clean.

[86merc]

Many dealerships offer coatings. That isn't new. They like to sell you all kinds of accessories and add ons.

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Your arguments are hilarious. Get with the times.

Manufacturers are in the business of selling you more cars. Detailers are in the business of prolonging your current car. They're not the same. When's the last time any manufacturer sold any car with the tagline "we coated your car with X product" - lolwut

You haven't used it. Your opinion is worthless and based on nothing.

Dealer coated his car when they sold to him lol

Mine stays like that even just simple wash makes it brand new

[BravoJohny33]

Originally Posted by 86merc

Many dealerships offer coatings. That isn't new. They like to sell you all kinds of accessories and add ons.

I would question which coating the dealer uses and how well its put on. I know years ago dealers would charge you 200 dollars for a paint sealant but just use turtle wax