Ceramic coating, any good?

P

Paulr

Active member
Keep getting these ads for ‘super ceramic coating’ where there are videos of water just sliding off the car paintwork, or water beading on cloth trousers and just bouncing off, and so on. Looks all very impressive.

Anyone have any experience of these sort of coatings? Is it all hype, or is it any good?
 
I got the Gtechniq Platinum coating thrown in with the Cayman purchase.

Seems good so far but I have only washed the car 3 times so far in 4 months. She doesn't get out that much, other than decent road trips.

This thread on PH may help. https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1527336

H.
 
My Zed is treated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum. Seems to be really tough stuff and washing the car is a breeze as dirt just slides off so easily, plus the glossy shine is very impressive. It has to be professionally applied but comes with a 7 year guarantee. Some friends who have seen it have had their cars treated too and are similarly satisfied :D
 
Have tried a variety of these now and my conclusion is that the only one worth its salt is the Gtechniq Crystal Serum. As above though, they won't sell it to you for DIY application which makes it very expensive.

After spending almost a week fully detailing my car with a DA, my main aim was to give a layer of increased durability for prevention of future swirl marks. I started off with a £20 product from Sonax and was very unimpressed. A few weeks later I decided to go for the most expensive DIY product with good reviews which is the Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light. Again, there is a ton of prep to do if you are applying properly (which can't be ignored) but I have to say the improvement in swirl and scratch resistance is minimal. And I do top with a quality canuba as I think you don't get great depth from a ceramic coating alone.

Come away pretty underwhelmed tbh.
 
Thanks for the feedback, and the PH link was an interesting read. Do we know the long term results of these coatings? When I was in the motor trade in the eighties we tended to avoid any coatings as we knew that they seem to go slightly yellowed after a few years, or just made things worse in the long run. It was still better just to give it a polish & Turtle Wax twice a year, it may be that paints are better these days - 80's was still oil based, or two-pack cellulose.
 
I generally don't get into this sort of debate as a lot of it is subjective, however I have used Gtechniq EXO v3 Ultra Durable Hydrophobic Coating on my new car, it's been on a year and is still beading well and making washing very easy. It's a mid range product (£44) and is easy to apply with the right preparation.
 
I had the professionally applied coating done (can't remember what it was called but I think Black which was multiple coats of the Crystal I think) and it does make the whole washing of the car easier. A quick snow foam and rinse and the Car is clean and looking respectable. To really get that shine you still need in my opinion to add an easy applied wax, topax or even a QD like 50cal.
 
In my professional opinion. Chrystal serum is stunning with fantastic water run off. Hardly any beading as water just runs off. PH neutral snow foam weekly and you will hardly need to touch the paint with anything thus reducing swirls.
Problem is unless the paint is new it will need machine polishing and prepping before application.
 
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