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Ceramic Pro

Nobody-117

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Nobody-117 Enthusiast

Nobody-117

Posted
Posted

I am doing a little bit of research on possibly getting my 2015 1500 Silverado cermaic coated. My truck is black so it shows dirts and dust fairly easily. I have always applied wax to my previous cars just had heard about ceramic coating through social media. The product that I have heard the most is called CeramicPro. If anyone has used it on their vehicle how did it turn out? Any help is appreciated.

Bash74 Enthusiast

Bash74

Posted
Posted

My last truck was done with it. Haven't done the new truck yet. I think it is great. The important thing is the prep. It shows flaws and problems with the paint a lot more then usual. If doing yourself just pay attention to high spots when applying or it looks bad especially on black truck. If having someone do it make sure they are a legit shop. I can tell you stuff like bird crap, dirt, mud, and even sticky stuff comes off crazy easy.

dieselfan1 Senior Enthusiast

dieselfan1

Posted
Posted

I just did my 2018 Silverado about 6 weeks ago by a shop that is Ceramic Pro certified. Five year warranty too. Turned out very nice. Took hours of buffing to get all the factory flaws out of the paint. 

This subject is controversial on here as a lot of guys said it cost too much and is not worth it. Or it can be done yourself. Good luck with that unless you know what you're doing.

I say it is worth it especially on a black truck.

See for yourself.  

IMG_20190312_115358.jpg

IMG959778.jpg

IMG958413.jpg

Nobody-117 Enthusiast

Nobody-117

Posted
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Posted
1 hour ago, dieselfan1 said:

I just did my 2018 Silverado about 6 weeks ago by a shop that is Ceramic Pro certified. Five year warranty too. Turned out very nice. Took hours of buffing to get all the factory flaws out of the paint. 

This subject is controversial on here as a lot of guys said it cost too much and is not worth it. Or it can be done yourself. Good luck with that unless you know what you're doing.

I say it is worth it especially on a black truck.

See for yourself.  

IMG_20190312_115358.jpg

IMG959778.jpg

IMG958413.jpg

Wow yeah that definitely looks really good. What package did you end up going with on your truck? 

Bohanan23 Enthusiast

Bohanan23

Posted
Posted

Man, that looks great! My truck is silver so I am struggling to determine if it's worth it besides cleaning the car off much easier. Definitely plan to have paint corrected and remove any blimeshes

truckguy82 Senior Enthusiast

truckguy82

Posted
Posted

I tried diy method. First you have to paint correct. I bought a real DA polisher, all the pads, products, and followed all the steps to a T. I researched the shit out of it,

 

I washed the whole truck, iron X’d it, washed, washed, washed, polished. After I’m done polishing I can’t wait to see the results.

 

Didn’t do a god damn thing. I couldn’t polish it, it did not take anything out. I wasted like 5 hours of research, 6 hours of labor, and $200.

 

Apparently GM trucks have a difficult paint to work with. Take it to a pro for sure.

 

Only GM could engineer a paint that’s easy to scratch but difficult to remove scratches. The folks that tune the transmissions must have moonlighted as painters.

CombsL83 Enthusiast

CombsL83

Posted
Posted

Bugs me when people say buff the paint. You wet sand/compound/polish to remove or decrease defects.

 

As far as ceramic coating goes I would not do it. I think it’s just a fad (an expensive one). You take a new vehicle and compound/polish just to put on the ceramic coating to make it a little easier to wash and protect your paint? Never mind that each time you compound/polish you remove a small amount of clear coat which guess what? REDUCES YOUR PAINT PROTECTION.

 

The top of the clear coat has your UV inhibitors. Once that’s gone your paint will go much faster. Compounding and polishing should be done as a last resort on cars with servere swirl marks, clear coat scratches, or to help bring back shine to older paint. 

 

Wash your truck often, and use a good wax and sealer to help protect the paint. Way cheaper than what these guys are charging for ceramic coating. I’m sure that after 5 years your paint will look just as good if you take care of it properly. 

CombsL83 Enthusiast

CombsL83

Posted
Posted
23 minutes ago, truckguy82 said:

I tried diy method. First you have to paint correct. I bought a real DA polisher, all the pads, products, and followed all the steps to a T. I researched the shit out of it,

 

I washed the whole truck, iron X’d it, washed, washed, washed, polished. After I’m done polishing I can’t wait to see the results.

 

Didn’t do a god damn thing. I couldn’t polish it, it did not take anything out. I wasted like 5 hours of research, 6 hours of labor, and $200.

 

Apparently GM trucks have a difficult paint to work with. Take it to a pro for sure.

 

Only GM could engineer a paint that’s easy to scratch but difficult to remove scratches. The folks that tune the transmissions must have moonlighted as painters.

Did the truck have wax that wasn’t removed from the paint first? That will make it much more difficult for the pad to remove the imperfections. Polishing is really the final step. If you had decent clear coat scratches it needs compounded first with a more aggressive abrasive. Also chances are a $200 DA polisher lacked the power to really make a difference on your paint. 

outrag1 Enthusiast

outrag1

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, CombsL83 said:

Bugs me when people say buff the paint. You wet sand/compound/polish to remove or decrease defects.

 

As far as ceramic coating goes I would not do it. I think it’s just a fad (an expensive one). You take a new vehicle and compound/polish just to put on the ceramic coating to make it a little easier to wash and protect your paint? Never mind that each time you compound/polish you remove a small amount of clear coat which guess what? REDUCES YOUR PAINT PROTECTION.

 

The top of the clear coat has your UV inhibitors. Once that’s gone your paint will go much faster. Compounding and polishing should be done as a last resort on cars with servere swirl marks, clear coat scratches, or to help bring back shine to older paint. 

 

Wash your truck often, and use a good wax and sealer to help protect the paint. Way cheaper than what these guys are charging for ceramic coating. I’m sure that after 5 years your paint will look just as good if you take care of it properly. 

Agree with this post.  I'm on the fence with the ceramic coat process.  I've restored and painted cars, detailed cars etc. over the years.  I'm sure I could handle the DIY route for the ceramic stuff. 

 

I did a bit of research on products and process etc.  It turns out most of what I found out is you are buying into a new process.  In other words, you're not just swapping out wax/sealant for ceramic coating and everything else stays the same.  If I want to wash my truck after ceramic, I'm advised to use a specialized wash meant for ceramic coatings.  If I want to use a quick detailer after I wash my truck, I'm advised to use a specialized ceramic coating appropriate quick detailer.  I'm advised to use specific applicators and go through microfiber towels like they're going out of style.  The other thing I found out is the unused ceramic coating has a very short shelf life, so for the high expense you had better use it quickly (I think Myabi was within 30 days). 

 

I've got a cabinet full of detail supplies as well as a rotary, flex and cyclo machine.  I like the concept of the coating technology, and I've used nano technology in some of the menzerna polishes in the past, but for now I think I'm going to just do my 18 Silverado the way I've always done it. 

dieselfan1 Senior Enthusiast

dieselfan1

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Nobody-117 said:

Wow yeah that definitely looks really good. What package did you end up going with on your truck? 

The five year warranty package which I believe is three coats of the ceramic.

 

I told you it's controversial on here.

Some guys aren't willing to pay the high buck for something new 

I guess you can't teach old dogs new tricks.

You need to get rid of the paint defects from the factory before you can apply the coating  

Trust me the paint on these trucks sucks.

Here's a before and after the paint correction.

This truck had 3000 miles on it when I got it done 

 

IMG958411.jpg

truckguy82 Senior Enthusiast

truckguy82

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, CombsL83 said:

Did the truck have wax that wasn’t removed from the paint first? That will make it much more difficult for the pad to remove the imperfections. Polishing is really the final step. If you had decent clear coat scratches it needs compounded first with a more aggressive abrasive. Also chances are a $200 DA polisher lacked the power to really make a difference on your paint. 

I wash it 3 times with dish soap, after the first wash I ironX’d the whole truck

 

when I said polish, i meant compound.

truckguy82 Senior Enthusiast

truckguy82

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, CombsL83 said:

Bugs me when people say buff the paint. You wet sand/compound/polish to remove or decrease defects.

 

As far as ceramic coating goes I would not do it. I think it’s just a fad (an expensive one). You take a new vehicle and compound/polish just to put on the ceramic coating to make it a little easier to wash and protect your paint? Never mind that each time you compound/polish you remove a small amount of clear coat which guess what? REDUCES YOUR PAINT PROTECTION.

 

The top of the clear coat has your UV inhibitors. Once that’s gone your paint will go much faster. Compounding and polishing should be done as a last resort on cars with servere swirl marks, clear coat scratches, or to help bring back shine to older paint. 

 

Wash your truck often, and use a good wax and sealer to help protect the paint. Way cheaper than what these guys are charging for ceramic coating. I’m sure that after 5 years your paint will look just as good if you take care of it properly. 

This is exactly why I want ceramic coating. Because I don’t feel like properly washing and waxing the truck every time.

 

with a ceramic coating, you can literally just drive through a touchless car wash and it will look like you just got finished a full detail, and you can do this for years.

 

with wax you have to go through said process every six months, thats if you use a very high quality wax.

 

Ceramic is legit.

TRKLGND Enthusiast

TRKLGND

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, CombsL83 said:

 Also chances are a $200 DA polisher lacked the power to really make a difference on your paint. 

I use a $60 variable speed DA from Harbor Freight with Maguires microfiber cutting and polishing discs and their Microfiber correction compound and finishing wax.  It takes 99% of the swirls and scratches out.  You most certainly do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on a DA.  Just take your time and you good pads, compounds and polishes.  

To wash, clay bar, re-wash, correct, polish and detail spray a full size truck takes me a good 6 hours.

SirenRed16 Senior Enthusiast

SirenRed16

Posted
Posted
Man, that looks great! My truck is silver so I am struggling to determine if it's worth it besides cleaning the car off much easier. Definitely plan to have paint corrected and remove any blimeshes
In your case I would look into a paint correction and good sealant. I cant justify the amount of the ceramic coating so I asked around for the second best option and it was using a sealant, good for 1 year. Around my area for a job like that it's going from $300-450 which isnt that bad compared to ceramic coating.

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