New "Ceramic" finish protection

[PeteK]

Gents, lately I'm seeing a lot of advertising for so-called "ceramic" paint protection products. They claim to "chemically bond to the paint" to provide protection against scratches, sun, surface contaminants, etc. (and plain old wax chemically bonds to the paint too, but not very strongly). Does anyone have experience with or technical knowledge of these products, and whether the claims are justified? Is this a major step forward from previous silicone polishes? I tend to think that clear film is more protective, if only because it's thicker than some polished-on coating.

 

[Specracer]

No opinion on the coatings. But I'm finally going to film the whole car with xpel.

 

[NorthwoodGT]

did the whole front of my red car in Xpel last summer. incredible stuff! can't even see it.

 

[Beez]

I can speak to this topic as an end-user and car guy, but not as a technical expert.

The first thing to know is that these coatings are not intended as a replacement for film, but rather for wax. They aren't going to protect from chips. They have superb UV protection. When expertly placed on a flawlessly prepped surface, they can maintain the gloss and depth of the best fresh wax you have ever seen, for years with no maintenance other than washing. If a car has a new film in excellent condition, the coating can be placed on top of the film to also improve it's appearance and performance.

A year ago, I had some paint work done on my Supra by an exclusive high-end one-man shop here in Denver. Although he doesn't do any ceramic coatings himself, he said the technology had matured to be the real-deal. He strongly recommended I look into the C-quartz product line. An often-mentioned competitor is Opticoat.

http://www.cquartz.com

Their highest-end coating, CQuartz finest, is available only through shops that have been manufacturer-trained.

http://www.cqfinest.com

There is only one such certified shop in the state of CO, so that is where I ended up taking the car and getting the top-of-the line coating.



The result factored into my second-in-class finish at CO's most prestigious car show



I am scheduled to take the GT to the same shop tomorrow. However, the owner just informed me that CarPro/CQuartz is just about to release a new top of the line product that is supposed to be (of course) a major step forward in the technology. He is calling to see if he can get a pre-release sample over-nighted, if not I'll be rescheduling to get this latest/greatest coating on the Tungsten.

 

[racelance]

I've used a couple various brands such as Ceramic Pro and OptiCoat on my everyday cars. I used it for the first time about 3 years ago and have applied it to every street car I own. The water repellent is unbelievable... after a year it'll bead up just like the first day you put it on. It makes the car MUCH easier to clean - especially grime, tar & etc. I recently had my '59 vintage race car done as well, I figured it would be a no brainer with all the grime from the track and etc. Let's just say I've been extremely satisfied and will continue doing all my street cars in the future. The technology is pretty impressive for sure... but like mentioned above, you'll still want to put Xpel on the parts you don't want to get chipped up. Have a professional coat your car, don't try to do it yourself. I believe they can coat right over your Xpel as well. I'm an end-user as well, no expert... but I've used plenty of products in the past and can assure any car person this is the wave of the future.

Cheers,

Lance

 

[GTMD]

Hi All,

About a year ago I had both my GT and Mustang Cobra polished and sealed with the Gtechniq Crystal Serum solution. The product is only sold to professionals because it dries about 5 times harder than the paint itself and must be wet sanded off if a mistake is made. The product is truly amazing and very resistant to scuffs/swirls which is what I was looking for. There is literally no maintenance on it for 10+ years guaranteed by the manufacturer. Again, as mentioned, it does not protect against chips like a clear bra. Nonetheless I highly recommend it and will be having it applied to my Focus RS in a few weeks as well.

 

[GTMD]

In case you want to peruse their website: http://usa.gtechniq.com

 

[dbk]

My guy uses Cquartz Finest. He's used most of them and that's what he thinks is best. He has some version that is not yet released that requires IR lights to cure that is supposedly even better.

It's expensive, but it definitely makes the paint WAY easier to clean. Most road grime will literally just spray off instead of having to scrub.

And just to reiterate, it is definitely NOT a substitute for clear bra. It will not offer protection from the types of damage clear bra is primarily used to prevent.

 

[Beez]

My guy uses Cquartz Finest. He's used most of them and that's what he thinks is best. He has some version that is not yet released that requires IR lights to cure that is supposedly even better.

That is exactly what my guy just told me. He already has the IR lights, and we are re-scheduling the GT for 1 -2 weeks from now to receive the first use (in these parts anyway) of this new version.

 

[Simon]

It can also be applied to wheels too for same purposes

I have it on mine.

 

[PeteK]

Thanks guys. Let's keep this thread going and see what other info we can collect.

 

[Joehand1]

I've had Ceramic Pro applied to all my cars, including the GT. it is fantastic and most of my friends who have high end cars like 911 Turbo S and R8s. Have used the same guy. The product is great but real key is who applies the product. My guy also does a paint restoration prior to application that removes any small swirls and scratches.

 

[dbk]

That is exactly what my guy just told me. He already has the IR lights, and we are re-scheduling the GT for 1 -2 weeks from now to receive the first use (in these parts anyway) of this new version.

They applied it on a GT here yesterday, but we had a massive windstorm that nuked power to 1 million people, so can't really tell the results yet. Looked pretty good but the light was too low to really gauge.

 

[txviper]

I use it all the time. I have it applied on my daily drivers that I am not as worried about damage on. Although it is absolutely not a film replacement, it does do a good job of reducing rock chips. Especially if you apply two coats on the problem areas.

And the shine is nothing short of amazing. Once you experience it, you will have to use it on everything.

 

[Joehand1]

Better picture of the finish

 

[B. West]

I have C quartz on my car. It was applied after I had the paint correction done. I am very satisfied with the results.

 

[Simon]

They applied it on a GT here yesterday, but we had a massive windstorm that nuked power to 1 million people, so can't really tell the results yet. Looked pretty good but the light was too low to really gauge.

Do you apply it prior to PPF and/or on the PPF?

TY

 

[dbk]

Conflicting positions. I'm sure all PPF manufacturers will say "nothing on the surface" prior to application but I've seen detailers who do it only before and only after, or before AND after. This car was before.

 

[FENZO]

Have a swirl on the frunk in the black stripe that's driving me crazy.. looked into paint correction and CQuartz. The estimate I got was "starting" at $2,000. American dollars. :eek

Is that right? Is that stuff made from unicorn tears? (am I just a cheap ass?)

 

[Xcentric]

Howard and I were talking with a detailer at C&C today. He quoted $1,500 for paint correction and ceramic finish.

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