Too many variables involved when determining how long a coating will last. Daily driven 300 miles a week with no garage? (like my situation), expect the coating to last about half of the time they claim...that goes for waxes & low end ceramic coatings.
Here's the products I've used on my daily driven vehicles:
In terms of the cheap ceramic products, Gyeon has impressed me the most...and it's the easiest to apply: spray on, rinse off. The McKee's is spray on rinse off as well. One I will probably try in the future is Gyeon Cancoat, suppose to have an amazing amount of SiO2 for the price.
- Meguiars Gold Class wax (1 coat): Lasted about a month, good shine
- Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic (2 coats): Lasted about 2 months, wasn't impressed with it's hydrophobic properties, shine, or slickness.
- Turtle Wax Hybrid Graphene (2 coats): Lasted about 3 months, hydrophobic properties slightly better than the ceramic version. Shine & slickness about the same, not impressive.
- Griot's 3-in-1 Ceramic (1 coat): Lasted about 4 months, hydrophobic properties much better than the 3 products above. Shine & slickness good but not amazing.
- Mckee's 37 Hydro Pro Blue (2 coats): Lasted about 3 months. Had great hydrophobic properties, great shine, super slick.
- Gyeon Q2M WetCoat (2 coats): don't know about the longevity yet as I've only had this applied for a couple weeks (I expect 2-3 months). The best hydrophobic properties I've used, the best shine, just as slick as McKee's
A real ceramic coating is paramount, but considering you have to refresh the coating every 3-4 months with a ceramic topper...I'd basically be doing what I have been doing every 3 months anyway. So, for myself, I couldn't really justify the cost.
I have to protest a bit here. Most of these are as chrisz5z very cleverly hinted at aren't "real" ceramic coatings. It isnt a real ceramic coating unless you have the possibility of fucking up your car with flash times. Thats a byproduct of ceramic coatings by default, which is why people say to take it to a professional.I went with the Mothers CMX Ceramic spray coating product. After 4 months it still gives me small water beads and a good shine (when I wash the car...). My car is garaged and only driven a couple of times a week so that helps. I'm happy with the product.
I am with LiquidSnake on this one and concur that ceramic coatings are game changers. None of these spray-on ones though. Go find one that will last 5 years and you'll note the difference.
PS, real ceramic coatings don't have to be stupid expensive. For example:
Heres one for $25
Another for $40
Another for $20
I personally, am a huge fan of gtechniqs ceramic coatings due to seeing them used by multiple detailers in the valley, and on YouTube.
For those interested, take a look at Chicago Auto Pros reviews of 26 different ceramic/wax/protective coatings:
Also, if you guys love watching high end detailing jobs, look at chicago auto pros doing a $10k detailing job on this NSX :