[BRZtoch]

Looks just as good a year later too.

 

[EVASIVE TRUENO]

For $900 for 3yrs, I would rather pay $25 a month for unlimited washes at the express wash and get the so called, "sealer wax" and have access to free vacuums. But, in 10yrs you will probably have to repaint parts of your car.

Thank you!
With detailer did ensure me they would clay bar and polish the car prior to application.
For 1 year of protection I'll definitely look into this. How often do you recommend I polish my car using this method?

Will make sure to watch your video!

Polishing is really only necessary if you plan on applying a semi permanent form of protection immediately after.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend polishing the vehicle for anything less than a 3 year ceramic coating. The only situation I’d say you could fudge the rule is if you clay the car and the paint gets marred up (which will happen on these cars) and you need to just remove that surface level marring.

In that case, soft black pad / finishing pad and a few passes at very low speed. Not building up heat and throw that sealant of choice on there.

Again though I still really believe if you’re going to go through the hassle of claying your car and polishing it you may as well ceramic coat it. That prep work is 90% of the coating job to begin with.

Otherwise, I’d recommend a very thorough exterior detailing / decontamination wash using iron remover and then apply your sealant of choice without polishing the vehicle.

 

[Sian]

Hard to beat ceramic for good looks with ease of care.

 

[FreedomPenguin]

why do people say ease of care? doesn't it always be ease of care once you wash it? its the same steps anyway for a dirty or clean vehicle to me. hit with water, soap, buckets, rinse, dry.
idk. im not a pro and idc about ultimate looks as I dont polish or anything, I just use PPF and keep it clean, wax is just something fun to do.

 

[ophidia31]

The pros of ceramic is it stays cleaner longer. You still get the small hairline scratches and such. If you're washing your car on a weekly basis, I don't see the point. I had one car coated once and it was nice during the winter when I couldn't wash it much and it stayed much cleaner than usual, but the rest of the year it made no point to have it since I was just washing it anyway. Anymore I just use turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray wax and it lasts a few months. A couple layers of it and gets through the winter looking better than usual. If you want to do it, go ahead. Its not bad. But unless you do it yourself, I don't see it being worth the money. Put that money towards a front end PPF.

 

[Mike Roadway]

Hard to beat ceramic for good looks with ease of care. View attachment 51045

Nice color 😎🤙

 

[FreedomPenguin]

The pros of ceramic is it stays cleaner longer. You still get the small hairline scratches and such. If you're washing your car on a weekly basis, I don't see the point. I had one car coated once and it was nice during the winter when I couldn't wash it much and it stayed much cleaner than usual, but the rest of the year it made no point to have it since I was just washing it anyway. Anymore I just use turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray wax and it lasts a few months. A couple layers of it and gets through the winter looking better than usual. If you want to do it, go ahead. Its not bad. But unless you do it yourself, I don't see it being worth the money. Put that money towards a front end PPF.

my logic exactly, exactly what I did/doing. looks good as can be for me.

 

[SheperdX]

why do people say ease of care? doesn't it always be ease of care once you wash it? its the same steps anyway for a dirty or clean vehicle to me. hit with water, soap, buckets, rinse, dry.
idk. im not a pro and idc about ultimate looks as I dont polish or anything, I just use PPF and keep it clean, wax is just something fun to do.

First, you're correct. If you don't care about ultimate looks, there's no need for ceramic coating. I love when a car looks clean with flawless, glass-like paint. Maintaining that standard on a daily driver without a lot of work is tough. If you’re fine without that level of detail, that's great, and we can end the discussion here.

The problem and difficulty with these types of discussions is everyone shows their max-age-of-2-years-BRZ/86 and say, “doesn’t mine look great without all this extra money and work?”

That's the equivalent of a person working out for a week and asking "where's my 6-pack"? (inverse example, but still valid nonetheless)

The real concern is longevity. As our pro detailer mentioned, there's a limited amount of clear coat. Over time, you'll notice more swirls from washing, yellowing of PPF, or you’ll eventually strip the clear coat if you frequently paint correct and cut.

Ceramic coating addresses these issues. It can be applied on top of paint and PPF (preventing PPF from yellowing), adds insane hydrophobic properties, and protects your clear coat by taking the scratches itself. Plus, it provides a beautiful glass-like shine that’s easier to maintain over time.

Let’s revisit this discussion in 5+ years and compare our vehicles' paint or PPF. You'll see significant differences and less time spent on paint repairs whilst one keeping that glass look.

edit: updated to be more clear and concise

 

[FreedomPenguin]

The problem and difficulty with these types of discussions is everyone shows their max-age-of-2-years-BRZ/86 and say, “doesn’t mine look great without all this extra money and work?”

Thats the equivalent of a person working out for a week and asking "where's my 6-pack"? (inverse example, but still valid nonetheless)

The issue resides with longevity. As our pro detailer said there is only so much clear coat, and the older our cars get, you’ll start to see more swirls from washing on clearcoat, or yellowing of PPF, or if you’re always paint correcting and cutting, at some point, you'll strip all the clearcoat.

Ceramic coating is something that helps with all of this. You can put ceramic coatings on top of paint and PPF (putting it on PPF helps prevent it from yellowing), adds pretty insane hydrophobic properties that last an extremely long time, and prevents you scratching your clearcoat when you was because it "scratches" the coating instead.

Lets all have this discussion 5+ years down the road and compare our vehicles paints or PPFs then, and youll start to see significant differences, and/or time spent on repairing paints on our cars.

I have 13 year ppf on my daily driven car. and surprisingly, looks great. no ceramic, and didnt even wash it for many years, like twice a year. but I do sealant once a year.
220k on it, and ppf has been installed since day 1. llumar. 4 years in, I just do a once a year sealant on the car. does that help the ppf? not sure. but still looks good.
I dont know what type of sealant it is though, we have a place called ziebart I paid like 250 bucks back in 2015, and it gets a wash/sealant and under coating for rust every spring.

 

[SheperdX]

I have 13 year ppf on my daily driven car. and surprisingly, looks great. no ceramic, and didnt even wash it for many years, like twice a year. but I do sealant once a year.

Wonderful, and I am happy for you. I am just pointing out reasoning's as to why someone would want a ceramic coating.

A better test would be to have two seperate cars, one like you have PPF'ed only, and then one PPF'ed and ceramic coated. That would be something i'd be interested in seeing results on.

edit: Just saw the photo! Nice! Though I will say, while the photo shows your paint in-tact, the PPF makes it look a bit "dull" or fuzzy? not sure the right term, but it definitely doesn't seem to have the same glass sheen that ceramic coating shows over a long-term period. Idk, that is just something I enjoy, hence why i did it. But to each their own!

 

[suaveflooder]

Hard to beat ceramic for good looks with ease of care. View attachment 51045

Not ceramic coated and 35k miles. Not washed for a couple weeks here. Tape was for a small ding repair. Car is just a little over 40k miles now. Still looks the same. Just take car of it.

 

[FreedomPenguin]

Wonderful, and I am happy for you. I am just pointing out reasoning's as to why someone would want a ceramic coating.

A better test would be to have two seperate cars, one like you have PPF'ed only, and then one PPF'ed and ceramic coated. That would be something i'd be interested in seeing results on.

do you think ziebart diamond glow shield crap is any good or comparable to ceramic in 2015 I moved to ohio, paid 250 bucks and got under coating/rust proofing and they put that yearly diamond gloss sealant on it. (honestly dont care about it) but it was part of the package, now its free for life. (well I paid 250) but ive been doing it for almost 10 years now every year

 

[FreedomPenguin]

Not ceramic coated and 35k miles. Not washed for a couple weeks here. Tape was for a small ding repair. Car is just a little over 40k miles. Still looks the same. Just take car of it.

you dont ride peoples butts. thats the issue I see I think with all car owners, im on highway going 70mph with 4 bars on cruise in my car, plenty of distance, brb see people going 80mph, and 1 car length or half a car length between each other in the flying lane. riding each others ass, getting every rock chip they deserve.
people dont give enough room

 

[SheperdX]

do you think ziebart diamond glow shield crap is any good or comparable to ceramic in 2015 I moved to ohio, paid 250 bucks and got under coating/rust proofing and they put that yearly diamond gloss sealant on it. (honestly dont care about it) but it was part of the package, now its free for life. (well I paid 250) but ive been doing it for almost 10 years now every year

Sadly, I can't comment on it as I do not have any experience. Most of the stuff I look at was online tests done by detailers over a long period, and then use a coating that best suits my needs, is available for the general public, etc.

Here is an example of a good detailer that shows age after 1 year:

pretty neat.

 

[suaveflooder]

you dont ride peoples butts. thats the issue I see I think with all car owners, im on highway going 70mph with 4 bars on cruise in my car, plenty of distance, brb see people going 80mph, and 1 car length or half a car length between each other in the flying lane. riding each others ass, getting every rock chip they deserve.
people dont give enough room

I ride at 80 on cruise, but you are 100% correct. I give people room. I do have rocks chips, but I definitely avoid a lot by giving plenty of distance! It does help that I work early and I’m usually headed into work at 0400

 

[Trueno1]

DIY. The money spent on what you need to do it all yourself is a fraction of what it would be to get it done professionally.
The only real part that you need to careful with is the paint correction. Putting the actual product on is super easy. There are so many videos that fully go through the process, there is no reason to pay unless you just can't trust yourself. Evasive Trueno in here explains it all in here: https://www.gr86.org/threads/protec...rotect-your-investment-a-diy-guide-to-ceramic-coating-your-gr86-brz.9002/page-2
I did it on my FRS and it made a big difference in care since stuff really doesn't stick to the paint as easily. Not sure how long it eventually lasted but when I sold it had been on I think 3-4 years and it was still doing what it was supposed to. I used this:https://www.amazon.com/20H-Advanced...d_rd_r=a10d520e-48ca-4351-8eab-396ed65893fb&ref_=pd_hp_d_atf_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m but I know there are much better products out there now. I haven't done the 86 yet as I need a covered area for the drying period after it's done and that's the only reason it's not done yet.

I totally agree with this. The paint is soft so is really affected by bugs and bird crap. Paint maintenance isn’t difficult if you do some research and try. It’s more satisfying when you do it yourself and know how to touch it up if it needs it.

 

[Anotherdude]

Do it yourself. I did and was absolutely astounded that people charge over a thousand dollars for it. I use a ceramic spray every other month to keep it slick and shiny. Everything just comes off the car so easy. Way way way WAY better than wax.

I do wash my car once a week, sometimes 2 weeks if it's been sunny and dry for a while, but each wash is effortless. Work smarter, not harder.

 

[Sian]

The pros of ceramic is it stays cleaner longer. You still get the small hairline scratches and such. If you're washing your car on a weekly basis, I don't see the point. I had one car coated once and it was nice during the winter when I couldn't wash it much and it stayed much cleaner than usual, but the rest of the year it made no point to have it since I was just washing it anyway. Anymore I just use turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray wax and it lasts a few months. A couple layers of it and gets through the winter looking better than usual. If you want to do it, go ahead. Its not bad. But unless you do it yourself, I don't see it being worth the money. Put that money towards a front end PPF.

Stuff that would stick and need to be carefully cleaned just washes off instead. The washing itself is easier due to the extreme hydrophobic properties, air dry means only the slightest toweling is needed, and a quick application of a topper refresh and you're done.

 

[CharlesV]

why do people say ease of care? doesn't it always be ease of care once you wash it? its the same steps anyway for a dirty or clean vehicle to me. hit with water, soap, buckets, rinse, dry.
idk. im not a pro and idc about ultimate looks as I dont polish or anything, I just use PPF and keep it clean, wax is just something fun to do.

It’s drastically easier to wash when coated. The coating repels most dirt.

 

[s346k]

It’s drastically easier to wash when coated. The coating repels most dirt.

it is also much easier to dry.

also i noticed that the ceramic coating resisted light scuffing and scratching really well. like the neighbors dog jumped up on the door and the marks just wiped off. ultimately i dealt with ceramic coating for 35k miles on a black car. the cars paint, painted brake calipers and wheels still looked excellent after 40k miles. the car frequently saw 150+ mph. was a fun car so it got driven hard every time it went out. legit 15 minute wash start to finish and the car looked like a million bucks every time.