How much have you paid for full paint correction and coatings

[AdamsPolishes]

Just to clear some things up here, our new 9H Ceramic Paint Coating is quite durable and should last upwards of 2 years if applied properly. Our chemists have tested to to 170 washes before the coating begins to wear down, so at 1-2 washes a week, figure 2-3 years of protection if washed correctly and then maintained properly with Ceramic Boost about once every 1-2 months. I've had our older 7H Paint Coating on my daily driver for 21 months now, and there are a few spots that have some light swirl marks (coatings are much more durable but can still scratch and swirl) and some spots down low where it's not holding up as well, so I will be polishing it off to re-coat the vehicle.

 

We never claimed for our coating to be a 5 year coating. We're offering for the average detail enthusiast consumer to have a great protection option for a few years at a very affordable do-it-yourself price. With the 50ml bottle in the kit, I'm usually able to coat 2-3 vehicles.

 

Our Paint Sealant will last typically 4-6 months on a daily driven vehicle, provided it is applied properly as well, i.e. to a bare clayed and polished panel. I let it haze up for 5-10 minutes in the shade or in the garage before removal. Applying it over a glaze or wax will affect the life span per application. On my parents SUV that is garaged and only sees 5-10k miles of driving per year, our Paint Sealant was still beading great on the hood and roof after 13 months. The doors and tailgate saw more wear and tear through winter months, so it was not beading quite as well there.

 

And to avoid any confusion, our Americana Paste Wax is priced at $49.99 before discounts. Carnauba waxes obviously are not going to hold up as well on a daily driver when compared to an acrylic sealant like our Paint Sealant, or a Ceramic Coating, due to temperatures, sunlight exposure, and other factors, so I reserve waxes more for my weekend/show vehicle. On my GTO that I only drove a handful of times last year due to work travel and life, I've had a coat of Patriot Wax on half of the car and Americana on the other half on it for over a year in my climate controlled garage and it's still holding up great.

[Nasty]

2 hours ago, cbrsilv15 said:

I don’t care what a test in the UK from 9years ago says. I detail cars as a side gig and have been doing it for years. I know what works and what doesn’t for me.  That’s just the average lifespan for wax. Will some last longer than others, sure, but some won’t last as long. Will the car be garage kept or out in the sun?  Too many factors to give an exact time frame for the wax. Lol. 

 

I prefer my $40 Blackfire wet diamond paint sealant over my $100 Americana wax. Wax gives the paint more depth and shine, while a sealant adds durability and longer protection. 

I couldn't agree with you more.  I do the same as a side thing (love my rupes bigfoot)

As fot sealant i like jetseal and white light

[EDL]

Ok, more reading and such.  It's hard to get any actual chemical data and mechanical test information from the industry in general, so much of it is "real-world" test simulations (i.e. put some on a test panel, sit it outside and wash it once a month to see how long it beads water).

 

I would agree that these coatings are better than waxes and sealants in terms of time.  Certain ones do last longer, but it seems some of the cheaper DIY brands aren't any better than a good sealant (CQUARTZ, for example).  At this point, my skepticism with coatings revolves around a couple factors:

 

Cost - the ones that seem to hold up in the tests are crazy expensive (and only available to installers, not the general public).  So, now you're going to pay for the install labor as well as the product.  From the tests I've seen, they do last longer than sealants, but not long enough in my opinion to warrant the cost.

 

Paint "correction" - for me this is the biggy.  I'm ok if the product costs $100 and I can apply it without having to spend $1,000 for some one with a DA polisher to make my OEM paint look a little better before applying it.  If it's so good, it should work over OEM paint without having to have all the polishing done.  I say that for one primary reason:  Once you go down that route, you're locked into an expensive cycle of paint care.  I believe the warranties on the product hinge on your ability to prove you've washed and topped the vehicle with some special top coating, or "boost" they like to call it, on a regular basis.  Sorry, if it is so good, why do I have to keep putting another expensive chemical over it to keep it working?  Doesn't add up (well, it does for the detailer's pocket, but...).

 

However, the polishing "paint correction" thing is the hook.  No matter how well you take care of it after that, you are going to get swirls and scratches and after spending that kind of money, you're going to freak out and spend another big hunk of money to have it fixed again and again.  One detailer's video I watched nailed it:  "Any time you're touching the paint, you're scratching it."  Dead on with that and even the most labor intensive process of multiple buckets, snow foams and the like, you will still be rubbing a wash mitt on the vehicle.  Even these coatings will not prevent the fine scratches, they may prolong the effects, but it will happen.

 

OEM paint doesn't have enough clear coat to do a proper cut and buff, especially several times.  You can get away with it once or twice by just polishing, but that won't get rid of all the orange peel.  It will absolutely look much better than stock, but as you polish it over time, that OEM clear will get mighty thin, and that will, in itself cause issues.  If you really, really want smoother paint, get a DA and some very fine compound and do it yourself.  It isn't difficult and is very forgiving (unlike a cutting rotary with a wool disk and aggressive cutting compound, that will get you in trouble real quick).

 

At this point, my opinion is that for a daily driver it's probably not a good choice (more so from the polishing work portion because you will forever be chasing that goose).  A good sealant with an occasional topcoat of wax would be much cheaper and afford you plenty of protection and water beading (making it easier to clean, because a daily driver is going to get washed more).  With a daily driver, you're really need to get used to the idea of swirls over time, it's going to happen no matter what.

 

If, on the other hand, you have a nice second vehicle, like a Hellcat Challenger or something, that you don't drive every day, but it does see road use and maybe some rain here and there, then this might be the ticket. 

 

Show cars that sit in a garage and get trailered to shows, no benefit whatsoever.

 

I once made the mistake of putting "show" paint on a daily driver (I worked in a custom shop in my youth as a painter).  Drove me nuts because I couldn't keep it perfect.  I wasted a lot of time and money on that paint job.

 

Either way, that's just my opinion as of right now.  I'm still learning about this stuff and I may change my tune as I learn more.  Maybe I can get my hands on some and do my own testing as well.  I also recognize that paint and paint care has changed a lot since my days of painting too.  I haven't kept up with the technology since I haven't painted or built a car in years,  so there is definitely some catching up I need to do there as well.

 

[EDL]

On 6/27/2018 at 11:02 AM, AdamsPolishes said:

Just to clear some things up here, our new 9H Ceramic Paint Coating is quite durable and should last upwards of 2 years if applied properly. Our chemists have tested to to 170 washes before the coating begins to wear down, so at 1-2 washes a week, figure 2-3 years of protection if washed correctly and then maintained properly with Ceramic Boost about once every 1-2 months. I've had our older 7H Paint Coating on my daily driver for 21 months now, and there are a few spots that have some light swirl marks (coatings are much more durable but can still scratch and swirl) and some spots down low where it's not holding up as well, so I will be polishing it off to re-coat the vehicle.

 

We never claimed for our coating to be a 5 year coating. We're offering for the average detail enthusiast consumer to have a great protection option for a few years at a very affordable do-it-yourself price. With the 50ml bottle in the kit, I'm usually able to coat 2-3 vehicles.

 

Our Paint Sealant will last typically 4-6 months on a daily driven vehicle, provided it is applied properly as well, i.e. to a bare clayed and polished panel. I let it haze up for 5-10 minutes in the shade or in the garage before removal. Applying it over a glaze or wax will affect the life span per application. On my parents SUV that is garaged and only sees 5-10k miles of driving per year, our Paint Sealant was still beading great on the hood and roof after 13 months. The doors and tailgate saw more wear and tear through winter months, so it was not beading quite as well there.

 

And to avoid any confusion, our Americana Paste Wax is priced at $49.99 before discounts. Carnauba waxes obviously are not going to hold up as well on a daily driver when compared to an acrylic sealant like our Paint Sealant, or a Ceramic Coating, due to temperatures, sunlight exposure, and other factors, so I reserve waxes more for my weekend/show vehicle. On my GTO that I only drove a handful of times last year due to work travel and life, I've had a coat of Patriot Wax on half of the car and Americana on the other half on it for over a year in my climate controlled garage and it's still holding up great.

170 washes before it begins to wear down?  Sorry, calling bull ca-ca on that.  It wears every time you wash it.

 

Also, if the coating is so good, why do I have to apply yet another expensive chemical over it on a regular basis to keep it working?

 

7H, 9H, whatever.  Now that I understand which system is supposedly used to measure the hardness of these coatings, the pencil test (U.S. DIN ISO 15184:2012 or ASTM D3363, based on the Japanese Industrial Standards Committee (JISC) JIS K-5600-5-4)  I have to question these hardness claims of these coating makers.  This particular test is well noted in the materials science industry as one of the most fudged tests out there primarily for two reasons:  the actual pencils used vary and the pressure applied can be lowered to increase the test ratings.

 

Hardness alone is not an indicator of scratch resistance.  This very same argument is used in the "hardened screen protectors" available for smart phones.  Many claim 9H hardness as well, but in reality are closer to 6, but even then, they will still scratch.  Not so much in the favor of ceramic coatings is the extremely thin layer applied, on the order of 3 microns or less.  Sorry, you could make that stuff as hard as a diamond and it's still going to scratch, especially with repeated washings and it's extremely thin layer.

 

More than anything, washing your car makes scratches, period.  Hydrophobic coatings of any kind, be it wax, sealant, or ceramic coatings help prevent fine scratches because hydrophobic nature also means dirt doesn't stick and washes off easier (less aggressive wiping to clean it).  Coatings also stand up to sun exposure better, but outside that, it's still going to scratch when it's washed, it's still going to wear down with washings.

[18Midnight]

I paid 1900 for the ceramic pro gold with wheels off doing 4 or 5 coats over everything.  I use only touchless car washes and have had ceramic coatings on my last 3 vehicles and never noticed any problems.  I love how smooth it looks and feels, like freshly waxed all day every day.  And the water beads are amazing.  It does look better on metallic or quartz than flat black which are the 3 I've had done, but I'm still loving it on black too.

 

 

[18Midnight]