I'm in complete support of videos like this and helping keep expectations in check for the coatings. Are they legitimate technologies? Absolutely. Does the marketing give irresponsible expectations? Absolutely.
Thanks Chris! Hope you don't mind I used part of our interview. I think the products today are incredible, I just get frustrated when people make crazy claims. Plus it causes customer confusion where a portion of the customers expect unrealistic things and another portion is so jaded they think every breakthrough in technology is a scam. Sorry I missed you at SEMA, hopefully we'll cross paths soon :-)!
I am not a pro detailer by no means but I've been taking care of my cars and some others ever since I was a teenager. I've learned a lot and I'm a senior citizen now. People have suggested that I do this for a living in my time and I've had detailers compliment my work. I just enjoy mine and sometimes others. I think this video is very informative . I don't get into as much of the science but I understand a lot of it. I found interesting when you said who keeps the car 10 years. You are going to generally do regular maintenance and whether you use basic straight off Walmart shelf or pro line sealant it's going to look good. Coatings does not prevent rock chips and things of that nature. Every little bit helps. A PPF is your biggest deterrent for this. Sorry I'm so long winded but you nailed it very easy to understand.👏😎
Interesting - as a guy who's new to detailing I've had so many questions about various types of products. This really helps level set my expectations. Thank you!!
I’ve always relied on your opinion. I’ve used armor shield IV for 8ish years on many cars. I’m due to reapply . It’s been 3 years and still offers 70% performance. What are your top 3 graphene coatings ? Top 3 ceramic coatings? Which do you recommend and what are your top 3-5 coatings for graphene and ceramic?
LOL 10 years " no one keeps their car that long" ... That is so wrong. I do appreciate the info in the vid. I was looking into a ceramic coating on my new pick up. The new pick up is replacing my last one which I've had for 30 years. I think I'll just wax it.
True. I think the average age of vehicles on the road in the US is already over 10 years. People are keeping their cars longer as new car prices just keep going up. No doubt that’s at least partly responsible for the rise in the popularity of coatings.
agreed, that statement is just not true. The point of owning a classic vehicle is to keep it and take care of it. I am beginning to wonder about the coatings, is it all just hype? What happened to "good ol' washing, and waxing?
@@ronalddean3630 A coating is just another sacrificial layer.. But its harder wearing than a wax... If you clean your car every week or 2 and keep it in the garage or under cover... You dont need a coating
Great video. Keeping things in perspective. What always frustrates me is when I buy a new car. The dealer rings me up just after I have paid my deposit trying to upsell me on a ceramic coating because it protects the paint from say bird droppings or UV. I am like, WTF. Maybe I need to cancel my order because if the manufacture of my shiny, brand new car isn't confident in its product, then Im buying the wrong car. They counter that with, well, it's like buying a case for your new phone. It's pure and utter upselling rubbish where they make 200% or more margins. I say by all means use these products but don't listen to your new dealer and don't buy from your dealer. These products over promise and underdeliver. In my opinion. I do think they are great when you see water run off the paint but as for all the claims made, buyer beware. Great video that sums this up perfectly.
I recently purchased a 2023 Infiniti QX80 and I will be keeping this vehicle for at least 6-8yrs, so I was looking to get PPF done on the front and ceramic coating the rest of the vehicle. But, after a little research, I am really contemplating just doing PPF on the entire front end to protect against rock chips.
@@DDDeath93 I got the entire front end done in PPF and I was expecting a better outcome. I also didn’t expect so much required maintenance to keep the PPF in good condition.
Great video! Around me, some shops definitely sell coatings as a get it and forget. Coating will last X years and it will protect from scratches, bugs, rain, etc. but, as you mentioned, of course the coating will look like it will last if you’re sucked into a maintenance where it’s topped every 6-12 months. At that point, why not just go with a sealant and save hundreds. My wife and I got new cars 6 months apart last year. Hers was coated and ppf. Shop installed a 4 year ceramic pro. After winter, the hydrophobics are gone. It’s “clogged” or “masked”. So I have to deal with that this spring. My car, I just used a sealant every 2-3 months as needed. Side by side, you couldn’t really tell or feel which car was ceramic coated. I wash both cars on a weekly/bi-weekly basis at home, even during the winter. If I had to do it again, I would just stick with PPF and a good sealant.
Thanks! Yea it's silly some of these shops do that. You can try a decon to see if the coating will come back to life, there may be a chance. Both types of products work well, just depends on the preference, there are PPF friendly products so I could see going that route.
This is what I say whenever it comes to a product or item that isn’t a must have. The pricing of the product is often driven by the saying “Are you selling the product or are you buying the product” ? Dealer Installers opinions don’t weigh as heavily in my opinion because well they’re trying to sell the stuff, an installer that is a trying to sell you the product I feel will be more truthful as to the quality of the product and reasons for purchasing the product. Thank you this is very helpful I’m taking delivery on the 2024 Corvette in a few months and this is a big part of the thought process on what I’m gonna do with it right off the truck
The 1st thing about coatings I tell my customers: “Its just an ultra high-end version of a car wax that remains on the paintwork for a much longer time. How fantastic it is depends on country, climate, car usage culture and how often its washed. If its insufficiently washed, you’re back in square one”.
Thanks for the video, Dimitry. It made a big difference and gave much insight. 🤔 I've been struggling with this coating thing since I just purchased a new car. But the prices are high and I don't have that extra cash available.
Everything you stated was true. I am in favor of topping coatings only due to the harsh weather conditions in Arizona. I would like more info on the UV protection factors. When it comes to UV protection on tires I do see a noticeable difference, especially when it comes to sidewall life in the heat. That's why I use the Renew Protect tire coating product line with UV protection. It does keep my RV and truck tires from sun rotting. I only recoat once a year. Great video.
As someone who has applied ceramic to literally thousands of cars I wouldn’t recommend anyone but a trained installer do a dark coloured car. They show everything and high spots really stand out. That being said, dark coloured cars are the ones that stand to benefit most from the environmental protection offered by a coating. Ease of cleaning alone
I love the way you explain things, how you do your camera work. I watch all your b9 content aswell. You definetly outclass all the other youtubers with the way you portray your videos. Camera angles, explanation ect. Just come across your website and I can see its exactly how I imagined it to be. Very well structured. Your s4 build story is also amazing on the website. Keep doing your thing. If you was in the UK I would have most definitely come to your for any mechanical work. 💯
Excellent video. I’ve said multiple times that the myth around product durability and chemical resistance as so fundamentally flawed. I’ve shown real world durability versus chemical resistance and how vast the different results are, but many popular detailing UA-camrs still use chemical resistance as a guide for real world durability. Curious to hear your thoughts on it, as you do one of the more normal versions of chemical resistance testing with just using a basic wash. I find your method far more plausible if still not exact (Mother Nature is the hardest on LSPs) compared to others. I just can bring myself to conduct so many washes for a video. Again, great video!
Thanks for the kind comments. I do think most chem resistance tests are a bit unrealistic as they dont represent what most products experience. The reason I like my largely abrasion based testing (with simple shampoo for lube), is that it is consistent and represents a simple wash. True environmental tests can be really cool, but nature varies for everyone by region and day to day. Thanks for watching!
Projects here if detailing, is to plan the cost and labor, part of every plan is keep it simple.....Paint correction yes!!! it starts there, clean it, eliminate oxidation, wet sand if needed, a good compound,,,,wax , for me a black vehicle, then a Coat it,,,,,Correct again, beautiful Cars are Maintained by the Owner , and takes Pride in what ever there theory to get from a to z......loved this Video
OK, so great video and information! Pretty much how I feel also, this is how I teach my clients when getting a ceramic coating. I personally don't upsell coatings, I leave it to the client to choose.
Agree with all these statements, these so called permanent coatings are a pain when it comes to fixing a scratch. Bought a new car and the dealer was almost screaming that It needs these things to protect it from the elements 😂 chips, ice snow, rain and the bubonic plague will stay away .. I like wax and sealant’s take care of it every weekend and enjoy the process of cleaning my car.
The only minor pick I have is about toppers. Toppers are the “sacrificial layer” that help to keep your coating performing longer on the car. If you use toppers, your coating will last longer. For cost, of course never using toppers is better. Just put a $75 coating on your car every year LOL.
I agree that toppers absolutely can protect the coating and I don't have anything against them in principle if you like the practice, enjoy the looks, etc... I just don't like that a company can claim X years on a product, but then the caveat is that it only "works" if you layer something else over it. Furthermore, I think it takes away from the purported claims of what coatings are supposed to do. If I'm happy with the look and feel of the sealant, and toppers are almost all silica or polymer/silica blend sealants these days, then an even better argument may be to not use a coating at all. Just apply the topper every X washes same way you would any other silica spray. All that being said, I do have experience with multi-year coatings that work fine without ever using a topper. I have nearly a year on my Corvette now, the Adam's Graphene Advanced still beads as good as it did brand new, I don't see it disappearing in the next two months as the year wraps. I have had the older Adam's graphene on the Audi since I got it, part of it had to be redone due to someone rear-ending me, but the front half of the car still has original coating for several years now. My truck had the same spray graphene coating almost the entire time I had it (had cquk on it for a few months at the start), never wore off and that's one of the cheap/easy ones.
@@DmitrysGarage I agree that they should not per se caveat their longevity claims with toppers. But- many products rely on aftercare for longevity. Any nice wood product. Your car’s engine needs new oil. Your roof needs new shingles. Anything that needs maintenance to work longer is similar to a coating that needs a topper for maintenance, is it not? Isn’t a car manufacturer saying you’ll get 75,000 miles out of an engine if you change your oil similar? Or if you clean & moisten your leather seats & let them maintain moisture, that they’ll stay new longer? I don’t think it’s a terrible crime to say “maintain our coating & it will last longer.” Many other products are that way. Love your channel, keep testing & giving us good info, thanks sir!
I think if this is made very clear up front then it's largely ok. We all know cars need new oil, and heck even new coatings/waxes. We just don't think of buying an oil and then reading the fine print that it needs some additive so it really works for 6,000 or 10,000 miles. We expect if it says long life oil that it's a long life oil. Oil is a wear component. If the coating says it lasts 3 years it should last 3 years without need for boosters being sneaked into a TOS, fine print, or just straight up told to a customer who complains after the fact. If a company is being clear about their expectations I think that's fine, I may think the product isn't very good. I'd sure consider an oil pretty bad if it needed additives to work for an industry acceptable length of time.
Lighting is everything with the ceramic coating. Along with prep. But you do have to see what you're doing and if you missed any spots as far as leveling. And that can be hard if you don't have good lighting.
Hey Cindy! It's definitely coming :), you and about 5 others ask me for that one a lot. I'm totally done with the existing batch of filmed vids, so the next batch I film will 100% have it :)
I'm glad i came across your video. Seem like such a genuine person in this world of scammers. Gonna sub & definitely going to check out your other videos. Just bought my first "super car" you could say. For me it is lol. 24 VW Golf R. So I've been watching shit ton of videos on how i can protect and maintain the car. Anyone else, if you have any tippers, please let me know. Wanna baby this car without spending a shit ton of money.
I had a good friend of mine who was a paint and body man. He showed me the proof of paint and its ability to stay shining. He painted his firebird red non metallic. This was back in approximately 1987. 20 years later, in Florida sun, constantly. It still shined like it did when he first painted it. After it was painted, he waited a few months. Then he wet sanded it and polished it. It was like glass. No clear coat. He waxed it then. He used (glaserit) spelling is probably wrong it was a paint he used for Mercedes Benz autos. After that, he just washed it. About once a year or two, he would polish it. The first polish was much more involved. That paint job never looked bad or even average. It always looked like a show car with little care. It looked good when it went to the junk yard. He told me how the sun light UV would go into the top layers of paint if not prepped right and kill the paint bouncing around. Also it wouldn't reflect as well so not as much shine. When you flatten the paint with preparation, wet sanding and polishing correctly. More of the sun UV reflects off of the paint surface. Less damage and more shine. Less contamination in the paint surface to do damage and less shine. All of that will allow the paint surface to last much longer. The flatter, less pourious the surface the greater the shine and longer lasting shine.
I’ve used armor shield IV for 8ish years on many cars. I’m due to reapply . It’s been 3 years and still offers 70% performance. What are your top 3 graphene coatings ? Top 3 ceramic coatings? Which do you recommend and what are your top 3-5 coatings for graphene and ceramic?
I've not played with the Armor Shield IV, but the IX I wasn't a fan of. I have my list of coatings I've tested with the new test here: dmitrysgarage.com/wax On that page there's also a link to the old tests. In the description I also listed some of the favorites :).
Great video Dmitry. It talks in real world terms. I'm one who keeps applying a topper in effort to prolong my coating. I'm 66 and it's quite a bit of work to perform all the necessary steps prior to applying a coating so I want to keep it in good shape for as long as I can. Keep up the good work you do for the detailing world.
From what I have read and spoken to both Renegade Products and Owners Pride, they both have self-healing coatings that actually do work. OP has their OP X that is heat activated self-healing and.both apparently, very resistant to marring, scratches, scuffing . One company and I can't remember who they were; apparently, they said that their coating is so strong and will go head to head with PPF!!
That would definitely be the holy grail of coatings. Ill look at those to see what they’re claiming in a bit, but those would be pretty extreme claims to attempt to go head to head with ppf. Ppf is massively thicker than ceramic coatings. While ive seen coatings be able to handle some very light marring ive never seen it do what ppf can do due to the very thin layer involved. Definitely curious to check those out. Keep in mind in that ppf clip i showed im using a steel brush and cutting deep. Im not making light superficial surface swirls.
I’d be skeptical of a company like Owners Pride. Self-healing is a fallacy when it comes to ceramic coatings. Just imagine if your coating properties changed every time the vehicle surface heated under the sun. That constant change of state required for a solid to heal would destroy the bond over a short period of time. Not to mention the constant expansion/contraction that would take place. PPF works because it’s a thick flexible plastic and scratches are more like depressions in the surface that the PPF responds to by returning to its original non-depressed state. Coatings are too thin and too hard to exhibit that behavior and still maintain their bond.
I prefer a good sealant, wax and I use high quality spray on waxes during my maintenance washes. Wax if properly maintained goes a long way with less maintenance than a coating in the long run.
You nailed it hardcore. if it works for you knock yourself out. a coating is just a coating. I use a graphene wax from adams and polish when it needs it it rolls dirt and it looks great. Just waiting on the erratic weather in Florida to decon my car and ceramic coat it. I used the adams wax on my black mustang after the ceramic cured. Why because it game it an insainly deep glossy look. That stood out at car show even when parked next to a car of the same color and well maintained.
People need to understand that these coatings do lose their protective properties over time but the coatings themselves, do not wear off. They have to be polished/abraded/sanded off. And if you keep your car a long time, it gets expensive to prep and recoat. It also wears out your clear coat in the long run.
I knew a guy that ceramic coated his car then would take it through the carwash tubes... AND then was surprised that it had swirls in it... amazing...!
I think the idea behind toppers is to use a less expensive product to prolong the life of a more expensive product, saving money in the long run. It does sound a bit silly to put protection on your protection, but the logic makes sense.
I don’t really have anything against them, but its really a second product which is not the same as your coating. So it makes it hard to tell how the coating is performing and also the toppers have different qualities than the coating when it comes to looks, slickness, etc... I do use them some times but mainly to temporarily add protection where a coating is starting to fail since they’re easy to apply. I do hate warranties based around their use though since that feels like a total scam.
"10 years; No one keeps their car that long?" That joke went over my head, what was your point? We're not all consumers that upgrade their phone every 3 months 😂
At no point did you come across as angry :) I have very little experience with ceramic coatings or PPF. I do care about washing my car and am careful when I do but I'm also not really setup to do a proper paint correction or ceramic myself and not willing to spend the kind of money it would cost me to have it done professionally. Personally I'd rather put that money into performance mods. I have heard a lot of these myths though so I appreciate you going through those.
Glad to hear I didn’t get too angry/ranty haha. I think it is very reasonable to decide not to go with a coating if that is not a job you wanna do yourself and you don’t get enough enjoyment out of the result. If I had a thousand bucks and could either save it towards mods or pay someone to correct and coat my car, Id probably save it towards mods too.
I have the same questions you do. Hopefully we get a reply. I just bought a car at a dealership and they did a Triton ceramic coating and also interior detailing which included fabric and synthetic leather protection. It's supposed to last 7 years
Hahahha 😅 im glad i come across this this video and most people i tell them is a BIG BS... why put coating on a car then go and put sealant makes no sense i even say this to pan the organizer and they keep saying to boost the coating i wish i can cuss out loud their might be a lot of people they can foul and have those people flowing them alone to buy everything they used..... i just hate it that they them self doesn't even know what they're talking about i coat my truck with a one year coating and going above 8 months now still looking good. Because i do maintain it good and never yet add a sealant to it. But these so call themselves detailer tell people to apply sealant after every 2 to 3 wash BS to much to say lol i love this video keep them coming
Glad you enjoyed the video! I think that there are a lot of products out there today and the marketing is all over the place. There is nothing wrong with just using a good sealant or a short term coating. There are also some good high durability and longevity coatings out there that will last for multiple years without any sealants. However, there is just so much marketing and so much confusion that without testing it can be hard to tell what actually works well or not.
According to Scotty Kilmer, the idea of the waterless car wash came from Asia where people living in Condominium buildings didn't have access to a car wash or their are water restrictions. They needed to wash their cars without water.
It's very interesting to hear what you've said. Our new car is coming. We can get a glass coating. But after that, with which product do I wash my car? I don't want any wax our so in it.
I live in snow/salt country. Not fussy about my new car. Does "spread on" ceramic coating protect very much against road salt damage as compared to doing regular hand spray wash that has some ceramic coating properties in it but the spray is not as long lasting (per application) as 'spread on' ?
Love your videos, I see you are watch enthusiast, you have done well in your career (kudos), If they ever figure out how to put sapphire in a coating or even better the clear coat itself and block uv, it would truly be scratch resistant, almost impossible to scratch it, keep the videos coming, Salute 🫡
My current daily driver is 21 years old... Ive owned it for the last 16 years. My other car (68 Buick Wildcat) Ive owned for 31 years. So much for no one keep a car that long.
@@DmitrysGarage Im not an exception.. Plenty of people drive old cars and they keep them until something unavailable or difficult to replace wears out.
@@sahhull The majority of people in the US have had their current car for less than 5 years. It's not about old vs. new. Used and vintage cars trade hands all the time. Keeping a car for 31 years is absolutely exceptional. It's great you've kept your car this long, but to the point of the video you would have to continue to recondition it if you're driving. This video is from a coating longevity perspective.
@@DmitrysGarage Ive never put a ceramic coating on the Buick.. I just wax it. The 21 year old work van has a coating and I wash it infrequently, the interior was cleaned once about 12 years ago. I should do it again, but Im too busy.
I keep my car 10 years. I mean i did ultimately got another one so i have 2. Matter of fact, i bought it in 2011. a 09 impala SS. 2023, I still got it and it still look brand new. Inside and out
That's fair, some people do keep their cars. However, if you drive them you will have small swirls and scratches from washes and just life on the road. So ultimately if you want to maintain truly new looks you'll have to at least occasionally polish which will require a re-coat.
@@DmitrysGarage That's true. My car has some small swirl marks. Especially when you look at it up close but from 5 ft away, you can't see them at all. I did polish it 3 years ago. I'm okay with it because the car still maintains its gloss. As long as it's not heavily swirled up then I'm good. It gets washed either every week or every other week. And thanks to your videos, it give me an idea on what kind of protection I want to put on it. I really don't like coatings because I get bored since it lasts so long And I like trying new products out but I do want something that last and they're 3 to 6 months range
Yea and that's kind of what I was getting at as far as polishing. I'm sure it still looks good after 3 years, but you probably will want to do it again before 10. That was one of my main points with the coatings that you likely won't want to keep it for that long even if you keep the car. I think coatings aren't necessarily for everyone and I totally understand getting bored. There are quite a few products that should last months. I'm very happy with stuff like Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Silica Spray or even something simple like Gyeon Q2 Wax.
I think it’s annoying how retailers tell you that your car MUST be washed, chemically and physically decontaminated with an iron remover and clay bar, and lastly polished just to apply ceramic coating. Sure the coating might last a little longer doing it this way, but you can still get the same protection without all that unnecessary prep work. That wouldn’t make these companies and detailers as much money, so of course they’ll say you need to do all these things. But in reality, you’re doing more damage to your paint by removing your clear coat which is the only thing protecting your car from UV rays. If you ask anybody in the paint industry, not to be confused with the detailing industry, they’ll tell you to never polish your car unless it absolutely needs it, and for the same reasons I just mentioned. But hey, if you dont plan on owning a car more than 10 years old and looks are the #1 priority, then by all means go for it. What I’ll do twice a year is wash my car with a wax-free car soap and use a spray on ceramic coating afterwards, which takes 10 minutes and gives my car tons of protection and looks great. Something like Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Coating cost only $15 and gives amazing performance for the price.
I agree that coatings are used by shops as a way to upsell polishing. They will point out things like not being able to warranty and that you wont get the same level of longevity and looks. I agree with you that you can get a lot of the performance of a coating on an imperfect substrate. Some reasons you might want to polish include maximizing looks, nothing gives as much gloss as polishing. This is why they will rightly point out your car (especially one with a few years of use) will not look as good. Furthermore the cost of a true coating is higher than something like the Turtle Wax you’re using, which I agree is a good easy to use product. With the cost and somewhat increased effort of applying something like Adams Advanced Ceramic (vs your Turtle Wax Spray) you may want to give your car a polish too so you can experience the looks we talked about and also knowing you have maximized durability/longevity/performance. You definitely dont want to polish excessively. Totally agree your clear coat is what saves the base from UV. Much depends on how much you cut. Light finishing polish is very fine grit, it only removes a very thin layer. So as an example I have lost count how many times I have polished my test hood. It must be over 100. It only got one heavy cut to knock down some of the junkyard scratches where possible. Since then it has been cut lightly. Same as I do with a car I buy, first polish is the most dangerous, after that you’re just massaging it to maintain the look. I also very rarely see autobody guys that deliver a good final polish. On that note, hand painted body parts have VERY thick clear coats, humans cant paint like robots. Also paint depth gauges are a good tool that pros should be using. Another good example is the video I did at SEMA with the Vonixx team, they showed sanding and polishing a panel to showcase their new polishing product. They ran that demo probably 8 times a day and on the last day I saw it there was still clear left. I even got a turn at messing it up and polishing it. The point is you have to also know what you’re doing. I respect autobody guys massively. I can’t paint like them for the life of me. That being said they are related, but different fields. It’s not really fair to take an autobody guy’s take on detailing as gospel just like it would be a mistake to take my advice on fixing a wrecked car as gospel.
@@DmitrysGarage you make an excellent point on how far polishing has come. I didn’t realize newer finishing polishes remove such a thin amount of clear coat. I agree if you’re using a high end coating that costs hundreds of dollars for just 1 bottle, it would only make sense to do a polish to maximize your investment and get the best looks to. Would using only a finishing polish be good enough for maximizing a ceramic coatings lifespan and protective abilities? And would you still recommend doing a polish on an old 20+ year old car with hundreds of thousands of miles on it? It seems whenever I watch a video of someone applying a ceramic coating, it’s always on a nearly new vehicle. And I guess I was also trying to point out if the paint already looks good to begin with, a polish shouldn’t be necessary. I suppose it all depends on each individuals goals and how much money they’re willing to spend, and I respect everyone’s decision! I just disagree with the misleading money grabbing advice people give. Thanks for responding and I’ll be sure to check out your SEMA video
The level of polishing needed would definitely depend on current paint condition and expectations. If you're just trying to give a smooth substrate then a decontamination and a light finishing polish will generally accomplish that and work well to just apply the coating. Many detailers even sell a quickie 1-step light polish + coating for hundreds not thousands of dollars. Past that it's more for optimizing looks, seeing how much you can polish out scratches, wet sanding as needed, etc... The big part of the skill here is knowing what you can and can't safely fix. I have polished older cars as well, typically they have thicker paint assuming it was multi-stage paint with clear coat, new car paint is getting thinner and thinner. For example I had some great results with the '96 240sx I had. bit.ly/dg240sx I think ceramic coatings are also more popular with newer cars, because older folks tend to be interested in classic/older cars and younger folks tend to be more interested in newer technologies like ceramics. You can certainly ceramic coat an older car's clear coat. Polishing overall is definitely a personal choice, you can skip it, spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars doing it. I think a good detailer should understand their customer's end goals or help guide the customer to figuring out what they want to do rather than insisting everyone has to get a thousand dollar paint correction first.
Nice channel. But don't say nobody keep their car ten years. I have a 1998 Honda coupe V-6 original paint very good to excellent used car condition . Same with my 1994 GMC Serria 5.7. 2014 E350 and 2011 Ram 1500. Wish i could post pictures of all to provide content proof. But nice videos and contents.😊😊😊
Thanks! Of course i was exaggerating, but most Americans just don’t keep their cars very long. Even older cars swap hands all the time. You are absolutely an anomaly (in a good way) if you had those cars since they were new
Thing is, Clear coat was invented in the 70's to protect the paint. And the clear coat has UV blockers. If you take care of it with simply washing with a soft cloth and a light wax you'll be fine. I clay bar and wax my own vehicle twice a year. looks like new.
Ceramic Products Are Hard To Install: I thought that professional installers use coatings that require more professional application including different cure times, UV light curing and temperature. I never thought that the DIY coatings were hard to install but I thought the professional ones were, the ones that work better and are not easily DIY. You Don't Have To Wash Your Car Anymore: I thought the myth was that your paint will be more durable and less likely to degrade over time due to lack of washing, not that the car wouldn't get dirty with a coating. From my understanding ceramic coatings protect the paint better which means unlike a traditional wax they don't have to be reapplied as frequently to get the same benefits over the long run. In turn neglecting your car due to not washing will be less harmful on it over time than if you didn't coat it. You Must Boost Coatings Regularly: I thought the myth was that boosters extend the life of the ceramic coating beyond the life claimed by the manufacturer. Makes the coating last even longer or makes it more likely to last the claimed time in harsh conditions. Hey Dmitri I really love your channel and appreciate this video! I wanted to provide some perspective from the average consumer end and see what you think. Are the myths I listed above actually myths or truths? I think these are the marketing claims impression on me I just don't know if they are true.
Hey, thanks for the thoughtful reply. I think there are so many angles to these products due to the complexity, expectations, marketing, and individual use cases. The stuff you listed I think can be both myths and truths. Marketing is so strong in the detailing world that it's really tough to not have it affect you. Difficulty: Some ceramic products do have complicated curing times, are more tacky and difficult to flash/remove correctly, and those can be hard to use. Most indeed are dealer/installer only products and not sold to consumers over usual distribution channels. However, in general I do not find ceramics hard to use, including pro products I've gotten my hands on. The higher the solids concentration the more difficult the products can be to use, but again it's not the application itself that tends to be hard for the vast majority of products I've played with, it's the prep work. I suspect most of the super complicated pro coatings are not significantly better than the simpler products or even consumer DIY ones. Furthermore coatings were heavily marketed as a dealer/installer only technologies, because it was a terrific way to get the general public interested in paint correction. Hardcore enthusiasts have known about polishing paint for a long time, but paint correction as a coating "requirement" was a brand new way to sell the service to the average enthusiast. So there is an advantage in having lines of mystery dealer-only products that consumers can't get on amazon. Otherwise the customer is more likely to just buy the same bottle on amazon and go for it without any prep. Car Washing: You are correct in your understanding of how coatings work to improve car washing. They are very hydrophobic, they help make the wash easier, they do keep the paint a bit less dirty by being so hydrophobic over the same exposure compared to a normal wax. The fact that you don't have to keep re-waxing also helps too. There are a lot of different myths, but the one I focused on was specifically that the car just needs a rinse or that the rain will wash it. I hear this a lot from people that are just getting interested in nice cars. I've had multiple personal friends float this theory just over the last few months and I see it online constantly. It usually goes like this: "I got my new car coated at XYZ Detail Shop, so now I'm thinking I can just hose it off once a week and then drive really fast down the road to dry it right?" ... "What did XYZ tell you to do?" ... "Get it hand washed, but I thought..." ... "No sorry, you can't just rinse the car off with a hose and then drive to to dry it....." Boosting: As with washing above, boosting has various myths around it. In my case I was focused more on the lie/misconception angle than myth. Boosters absolutely will extend the life of your coating by acting as yet another layer that must wear off. You're literally just adding protection on top of protection. However, if your coating is supposed to last for 3 years and it won't last 6 months without being boosted, I call shenanigans. There are coatings that perform very well without any boosters/toppers and I expect a quality coating to do that. Installers or products that won't back their warranty without the use of a booster are in my opinion lying about the quality of their products. I also wonder why not just use a silica spray sealant full time then? If you're ok with taking the time to re-seal your car every few months (boosters are nearly all just silica/polymer sealants) why spend the money on the coating? You could have the car paint corrected then just use your favorite sealant. That's what people did for ages before coatings and many still do. As I mentioned in the difficulty section above, paint correction only became synonymous with coatings recently. One of the greatest purported benefits of coatings is the durability and lower overall maintenance compared to having to re-seal all the time. Love having these kind of discussions, and appreciate you watching the videos :).
@@DmitrysGarage this really helps me and everything you said makes total sense. Maybe I'll start doing PPF>ceramic>booster>carnauba 😂 now to figure out what to protect the carnauba with! Marketing is so strong in detailing I think because it's so hard to prove the claims and easy to believe them.
Exactly. The marketing for detailing products is out of control. There are so many brands and products. Anyone can white label products and start a new brand tomorrow. So there is a lot of fluff, FUD, and sometimes straight up lies.
Not sure about your comment on UV protection from ceramic coatings as there was little evidence given one way or the other. Not sure gow much it matters as the topcoat provides UV protection itself. More important on use over plastics. Good discussion.
The clear coat does provide the vast majority of the UV protection. What I was referring to is past testing I've done in other videos where I used equipment to show that damaging UV light is not being blocked by coatings and waxes. I did however demonstrate that clear coat absolutely does block damaging UV light.
Detailing since 2003. First in my country to use Matrix Micro Coatings (USA) back in 2006 when coatings started to appear. On my own cars washed 3 times weekly (due to tropical rainy dusty climate), they are only treated with spray-type GRIOTS 3-in-1 (green liquid) once every month. Absolutely no staining, cars always look great and saves me lots of money. Most fantastic part is, such un-coated surfaces remain perfectly polishable and if i do need to use a machine to remove any residual marks from tree sap etc, Im not damaging/degrading a layer of real coating. I just polish, IPA and then. respray my Griots and allow 24hr curing. Cheap, practical, sensible.
Found your video trying to educate myself on coatings. Wondering if you'd care to venture a guess on whether a coating is a good choice for me. I am buying a new Pilot Trailsport in the sky blue pearl color. Not really an enthusiest car but a sharp looking rig. It will be our family hauler but only see ~8k miles/yr. Hopefully keep it ~10 yrs. Live in new england. We want to have a garage built soon but at the moment it will be in the driveway (nothing above). I absolutely do appreciate a good looking car and would love to have the kind of shine that makes one wonder how it looks so good, but heres the rub: I do not have the time or interest to keep applying products of any sort to a vehicle at this point in my life. A few hand washes per year is about all it will get in warm months, and some touchless car washes to remove salt as needed in the cold ones. So i'm looking for a lazy mans way of making washing easier and generally keeping it looking above average over the years. Reality is by the time we plan to sell it, it will be worth so little i have no expectation ill get the $1500-$2k back that i'm being quoted for coatings, but i could see myself extracting that sort of value out of its appearance... If its actually going to make a meaningful difference for my situation. If washing is as easy as some report it to be i could see myself upping the frequency if the results are rewarding... But this car will not see a clay bar from my hand anyway- been there and done that as a much younger person with more time on my hands. Zero patience or time for such things now. Does it sound like coating is a good choice for me or would i be better off keeping the $$ in my pocket and using it for a professional wash+ wax after the mud dries up each spring instead?
The issue I see is that touch-less washes typically use very alkaline detergents to remove contaminants during the wash. This will impact the life span of most coatings depending on how harsh the detergent is. So I would personally look towards a nice spray product you can apply easily. Wolfgang Uber SiO2 is nice, just watch for high spots on wipe off. Turtle Wax Seal N Shine is really good too if you want something super easy to use. Renegade Graphene Spray was quite nice as well in a recent test. Otherwise you could go for a coating, but I wouldn't spend thousands on it. I would do a 1 step paint correction and a commercial coating like Adams or similar, or a dealer only coating if you can get a reasonable price on it. There are detailers around here that offer packages like this in the sub $1000 range, some as low as $500. This won't be a full multi-stage correction obviously, but you also won't be spending a ton of money on something you can't reasonably maintain.
I have a new vehicle that is red. Sadly there is no garage for the car and just hoping to add some additional protection - say against bird droppings, tar etc. Ceramic coating seems to perhaps be an option to prolong the life of the paint. Thoughts?
A funny question,i must apply the ceramic coat in a place with some shade, under a roof, i think i have to avoid the sunlight,because it would dry fast and make the process kind of complicated, am i right?
It's seems that these detailing shops are turning to talking the customer out of ceramic coating and more to ppf, more money in ppf then coatings I guess.
I'm not surprised, because PPF is the latest craze and it has a potential to be highly lucrative for installers. The issue in detailing cars for a living is racking up high paying jobs so that your hours spent working are very profitable. The average customer used to want essentially a hand car wash. Some wanted a decon, paint correction, high end wax/sealant, etc... but those were the higher end customers/enthusiasts. Then coatings came along and became really hot where every owner of a sports/luxury car and fledgling car enthusiasts suddenly wanted high end detailing work done. Coatings became synonymous with paint correction and paint correction is big money. That's a lot of work you can bill for, you can spend hours, days or hell even a week cleaning up a car if the owner has the pockets for it. When you think about it, PPF is even better. You can do all the same prep work and then even more hours for the PPF install. The coating install itself was the fast part of the job, PPF isn't that fast. You now are pushing customers to spend as much as $2-5K or even more vs. $500-1000.
I think it depends on how you wash the car, your goals, and if you are able to diy or not vs the cost of a pro install. I like coatings on daily driven cars, they really save a ton of time spent reapplying sealants. However, im able to do it myself so cost is minimal (i already own the gear) and i hand wash my cars. On the other hand if you tunnel wash (touch or touchless) you will wreck a coating more rapidly and the touch wash will swirl the paint quickly so all that polishing work is down the drain especially if you paid for it. You can also polish and use sealants. Sealants are great for people who dont have time to hand wash or to pay for hand washes, also they’re cheaper and great if you love applying them.
I'm in a disagreement with a guy say his coating doesn't have to wash his RV for 5 to 7 years he was told. I told him bull crap they pulled his leg. He believes this.
Yea unfortunately those myths really cling on and some people still sell that way. It might look nicer a bit longer with the coating, but it wont remain clean.
Thanks for the informative video. I'm currently looking into coatings for a new car. I was highly recommended borophene by a detailer who's been in the business for decades. It's fairly new and not a lot of info is out there. Any thoughts on borophene? Thanks!
What I wish you folks would stop saying is "installing" these coatings. It's just long lasting wax in a tiny bottle that makes your car really shiny if you did the prep properly. It's not a stereo or an exhaust or anything that requires tools and fasteners to get on your car. It's really just an "application".
I would argue prep requires tools. The process is more finicky than a wax and requires more experience. With wax you miss wiping up a spot and it’s no big deal, with a good coating you have to polish again because it won’t just wipe up a day later. Historically if a person wanted to find someone with the skills to apply the product for them searching for a “coating installer in city X” sounds more natural than “coating applicator in city X” and not all detailers did coatings, most did not early on. Today you can just search detailer and most do it, many are even good at it.
To be honest it's probably a bit outside the scope of what I do. I think it would take me a lot of trial and error I'm not up for. I wish Corsa would consider making us an exhaust, I've never not loved their stuff.
So a question for you…. I’m older, & have waxed more than my share of cars in the past. I have a ‘16 Dodge Challenger dark grey, that’s in pretty good shape. It had a dealer installed treatment that still beads when driven through the car wash. (I know, that’s bad, but I’m over the 4+ hours of work) …. So finally to my question…. If I don’t do all the polishing & clay bar work (ie prepping) & I put on a spray silicone (like Adam’s) will it look good, or horrible…… Signed, tired older lazy golfer… 😂
Definitely paint protective film. That will actually do what you want. There is no product you can wipe on that will protect from anything more than superficial scratches and swirls.
Same as all waxes and sealants, but much longer lasting. Better looks, reduction in marring, less contamination of the paint, reduction in exposure to oxidative agents, easier washing, etc…
I'm in complete support of videos like this and helping keep expectations in check for the coatings. Are they legitimate technologies? Absolutely. Does the marketing give irresponsible expectations? Absolutely.
Thanks Chris! Hope you don't mind I used part of our interview. I think the products today are incredible, I just get frustrated when people make crazy claims. Plus it causes customer confusion where a portion of the customers expect unrealistic things and another portion is so jaded they think every breakthrough in technology is a scam. Sorry I missed you at SEMA, hopefully we'll cross paths soon :-)!
I am not a pro detailer by no means but I've been taking care of my cars and some others ever since I was a teenager. I've learned a lot and I'm a senior citizen now. People have suggested that I do this for a living in my time and I've had detailers compliment my work. I just enjoy mine and sometimes others. I think this video is very informative . I don't get into as much of the science but I understand a lot of it. I found interesting when you said who keeps the car 10 years. You are going to generally do regular maintenance and whether you use basic straight off Walmart shelf or pro line sealant it's going to look good. Coatings does not prevent rock chips and things of that nature. Every little bit helps. A PPF is your biggest deterrent for this. Sorry I'm so long winded but you nailed it very easy to understand.👏😎
I absolutely LOVE how honest you are in the delivery of all these details. Thank you! 👍🏼👍🏼🙏👏🏼👏🏼 New subscriber.
Interesting - as a guy who's new to detailing I've had so many questions about various types of products. This really helps level set my expectations. Thank you!!
I enjoyed your video Dmitry! You covered a lot of great points I often remind my viewers of. Good job! 👍🏻
Thanks Pan, definitely appreciate you watching the video! Hopefully we can both continue to educate where we can :-)
Pan the Organizer, so true
Did Pan just get paid for his comment? Not a fan of Pan, unless it has eggs in it.
I’ve always relied on your opinion. I’ve used armor shield IV for 8ish years on many cars. I’m due to reapply . It’s been 3 years and still offers 70% performance. What are your top 3 graphene coatings ? Top 3 ceramic coatings? Which do you recommend and what are your top 3-5 coatings for graphene and ceramic?
Ben....do you think he gives a crap what a loser thinks?
LOL 10 years " no one keeps their car that long" ... That is so wrong. I do appreciate the info in the vid. I was looking into a ceramic coating on my new pick up. The new pick up is replacing my last one which I've had for 30 years. I think I'll just wax it.
True. I think the average age of vehicles on the road in the US is already over 10 years. People are keeping their cars longer as new car prices just keep going up. No doubt that’s at least partly responsible for the rise in the popularity of coatings.
My current daily driver is 21 years old... Ive owned it for the last 16 years.
My other car (68 Buick Wildcat) Ive owned for 31 years.
Even if we don't keep them 10 years, its our $$$$ and we'll do what we want, yes? 🇺🇲
agreed, that statement is just not true. The point of owning a classic vehicle is to keep it and take care of it. I am beginning to wonder about the coatings, is it all just hype? What happened to "good ol' washing, and waxing?
@@ronalddean3630 A coating is just another sacrificial layer.. But its harder wearing than a wax...
If you clean your car every week or 2 and keep it in the garage or under cover... You dont need a coating
Great video. Keeping things in perspective.
What always frustrates me is when I buy a new car. The dealer rings me up just after I have paid my deposit trying to upsell me on a ceramic coating because it protects the paint from say bird droppings or UV. I am like, WTF. Maybe I need to cancel my order because if the manufacture of my shiny, brand new car isn't confident in its product, then Im buying the wrong car. They counter that with, well, it's like buying a case for your new phone. It's pure and utter upselling rubbish where they make 200% or more margins.
I say by all means use these products but don't listen to your new dealer and don't buy from your dealer. These products over promise and underdeliver. In my opinion. I do think they are great when you see water run off the paint but as for all the claims made, buyer beware.
Great video that sums this up perfectly.
I recently purchased a 2023 Infiniti QX80 and I will be keeping this vehicle for at least 6-8yrs, so I was looking to get PPF done on the front and ceramic coating the rest of the vehicle. But, after a little research, I am really contemplating just doing PPF on the entire front end to protect against rock chips.
Why did you change your mind?
@@DDDeath93 I got the entire front end done in PPF and I was expecting a better outcome. I also didn’t expect so much required maintenance to keep the PPF in good condition.
Great video! Around me, some shops definitely sell coatings as a get it and forget. Coating will last X years and it will protect from scratches, bugs, rain, etc. but, as you mentioned, of course the coating will look like it will last if you’re sucked into a maintenance where it’s topped every 6-12 months. At that point, why not just go with a sealant and save hundreds.
My wife and I got new cars 6 months apart last year. Hers was coated and ppf. Shop installed a 4 year ceramic pro. After winter, the hydrophobics are gone. It’s “clogged” or “masked”. So I have to deal with that this spring. My car, I just used a sealant every 2-3 months as needed. Side by side, you couldn’t really tell or feel which car was ceramic coated. I wash both cars on a weekly/bi-weekly basis at home, even during the winter.
If I had to do it again, I would just stick with PPF and a good sealant.
Thanks! Yea it's silly some of these shops do that. You can try a decon to see if the coating will come back to life, there may be a chance. Both types of products work well, just depends on the preference, there are PPF friendly products so I could see going that route.
This is what I say whenever it comes to a product or item that isn’t a must have. The pricing of the product is often driven by the saying “Are you selling the product or are you buying the product” ? Dealer Installers opinions don’t weigh as heavily in my opinion because well they’re trying to sell the stuff, an installer that is a trying to sell you the product I feel will be more truthful as to the quality of the product and reasons for purchasing the product. Thank you this is very helpful I’m taking delivery on the 2024 Corvette in a few months and this is a big part of the thought process on what I’m gonna do with it right off the truck
Thanks Dmitry! Always enjoy your videos and learn something everytime. Keep them coming!
Appreciate the kind words, I have a bunch more I want to put out soon :-), just busy holiday times with family and friends.
The 1st thing about coatings I tell my customers:
“Its just an ultra high-end version of a car wax that remains on the paintwork for a much longer time. How fantastic it is depends on country, climate, car usage culture and how often its washed. If its insufficiently washed, you’re back in square one”.
Thanks for the video, Dimitry. It made a big difference and gave much insight. 🤔 I've been struggling with this coating thing since I just purchased a new car. But the prices are high and I don't have that extra cash available.
110% right i wash car for a living and we love Adams
While watching this video my handy- dandy 'porkymeter' needle stayed firmly in the green area!
Good down to earth video sir.
Everything you stated was true. I am in favor of topping coatings only due to the harsh weather conditions in Arizona. I would like more info on the UV protection factors. When it comes to UV protection on tires I do see a noticeable difference, especially when it comes to sidewall life in the heat. That's why I use the Renew Protect tire coating product line with UV protection. It does keep my RV and truck tires from sun rotting. I only recoat once a year. Great video.
Great video - thanks for taking the time and for sharing your insight
No lies in this video, all great points
Except when he said he wasn’t nearly a rocket scientist. That was a lie.
A very well made articulate and conscience presentation.
Great video Dmitry! Glad to hear your thoughts again. I can’t wait for new videos in 2024
More to come and thank you :)
As someone who has applied ceramic to literally thousands of cars I wouldn’t recommend anyone but a trained installer do a dark coloured car. They show everything and high spots really stand out. That being said, dark coloured cars are the ones that stand to benefit most from the environmental protection offered by a coating. Ease of cleaning alone
I love the way you explain things, how you do your camera work. I watch all your b9 content aswell. You definetly outclass all the other youtubers with the way you portray your videos. Camera angles, explanation ect. Just come across your website and I can see its exactly how I imagined it to be. Very well structured. Your s4 build story is also amazing on the website. Keep doing your thing. If you was in the UK I would have most definitely come to your for any mechanical work. 💯
Thank you for the kind comments! I really appreciate your viewership.
Great video! Thank you for taking the time for this topic. The more I learn about coatings, I can of get to the same conclusions that you mentioned.
Thanks for watching!
Excellent topics Dmitry.. thanks for putting this together.
My pleasure! Always great hearing from ya.
Excellent video. I’ve said multiple times that the myth around product durability and chemical resistance as so fundamentally flawed. I’ve shown real world durability versus chemical resistance and how vast the different results are, but many popular detailing UA-camrs still use chemical resistance as a guide for real world durability. Curious to hear your thoughts on it, as you do one of the more normal versions of chemical resistance testing with just using a basic wash. I find your method far more plausible if still not exact (Mother Nature is the hardest on LSPs) compared to others. I just can bring myself to conduct so many washes for a video.
Again, great video!
Thanks for the kind comments. I do think most chem resistance tests are a bit unrealistic as they dont represent what most products experience. The reason I like my largely abrasion based testing (with simple shampoo for lube), is that it is consistent and represents a simple wash. True environmental tests can be really cool, but nature varies for everyone by region and day to day. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for a balanced and informative video, Sir.
Saw an ad for a ceramic coating spray, wanted to look up coating and ended up here :)
Projects here if detailing, is to plan the cost and labor, part of every plan is keep it simple.....Paint correction yes!!! it starts there, clean it, eliminate oxidation, wet sand if needed, a good compound,,,,wax , for me a black vehicle, then a Coat it,,,,,Correct again, beautiful Cars are Maintained by the Owner , and takes Pride in what ever there theory to get from a to z......loved this Video
No lies detected. All true statements
OK, so great video and information! Pretty much how I feel also, this is how I teach my clients when getting a ceramic coating. I personally don't upsell coatings, I leave it to the client to choose.
Agree with all these statements, these so called permanent coatings are a pain when it comes to fixing a scratch. Bought a new car and the dealer was almost screaming that It needs these things to protect it from the elements 😂 chips, ice snow, rain and the bubonic plague will stay away .. I like wax and sealant’s take care of it every weekend and enjoy the process of cleaning my car.
I completely agree collision specialist for 30 years I use different products for different situations.
The only minor pick I have is about toppers. Toppers are the “sacrificial layer” that help to keep your coating performing longer on the car. If you use toppers, your coating will last longer. For cost, of course never using toppers is better. Just put a $75 coating on your car every year LOL.
I agree that toppers absolutely can protect the coating and I don't have anything against them in principle if you like the practice, enjoy the looks, etc... I just don't like that a company can claim X years on a product, but then the caveat is that it only "works" if you layer something else over it. Furthermore, I think it takes away from the purported claims of what coatings are supposed to do. If I'm happy with the look and feel of the sealant, and toppers are almost all silica or polymer/silica blend sealants these days, then an even better argument may be to not use a coating at all. Just apply the topper every X washes same way you would any other silica spray.
All that being said, I do have experience with multi-year coatings that work fine without ever using a topper. I have nearly a year on my Corvette now, the Adam's Graphene Advanced still beads as good as it did brand new, I don't see it disappearing in the next two months as the year wraps. I have had the older Adam's graphene on the Audi since I got it, part of it had to be redone due to someone rear-ending me, but the front half of the car still has original coating for several years now. My truck had the same spray graphene coating almost the entire time I had it (had cquk on it for a few months at the start), never wore off and that's one of the cheap/easy ones.
@@DmitrysGarage I agree that they should not per se caveat their longevity claims with toppers. But- many products rely on aftercare for longevity. Any nice wood product. Your car’s engine needs new oil. Your roof needs new shingles. Anything that needs maintenance to work longer is similar to a coating that needs a topper for maintenance, is it not? Isn’t a car manufacturer saying you’ll get 75,000 miles out of an engine if you change your oil similar? Or if you clean & moisten your leather seats & let them maintain moisture, that they’ll stay new longer? I don’t think it’s a terrible crime to say “maintain our coating & it will last longer.” Many other products are that way. Love your channel, keep testing & giving us good info, thanks sir!
I think if this is made very clear up front then it's largely ok. We all know cars need new oil, and heck even new coatings/waxes. We just don't think of buying an oil and then reading the fine print that it needs some additive so it really works for 6,000 or 10,000 miles. We expect if it says long life oil that it's a long life oil. Oil is a wear component. If the coating says it lasts 3 years it should last 3 years without need for boosters being sneaked into a TOS, fine print, or just straight up told to a customer who complains after the fact. If a company is being clear about their expectations I think that's fine, I may think the product isn't very good. I'd sure consider an oil pretty bad if it needed additives to work for an industry acceptable length of time.
there's no point in getting a ceramic coating if you're going to constantly apply sealant (I refuse to use the marketing buzzword "topper")
@@tier1detailingIt’s a personal choice & philosophy. Neither is wrong.
Lighting is everything with the ceramic coating. Along with prep. But you do have to see what you're doing and if you missed any spots as far as leveling. And that can be hard if you don't have good lighting.
I really enjoyed your video! Keep it up
Thank you!
Dmitry, interesting video but still anxiously awaiting your review of Cerakote ceramic paint sealant?!
Hey Cindy! It's definitely coming :), you and about 5 others ask me for that one a lot. I'm totally done with the existing batch of filmed vids, so the next batch I film will 100% have it :)
Still waiting @@DmitrysGarage
I'm glad i came across your video. Seem like such a genuine person in this world of scammers. Gonna sub & definitely going to check out your other videos.
Just bought my first "super car" you could say. For me it is lol. 24 VW Golf R. So I've been watching shit ton of videos on how i can protect and maintain the car.
Anyone else, if you have any tippers, please let me know. Wanna baby this car without spending a shit ton of money.
Adam from Adam’s polishes, himself, prefers just a ceramic coating spray in oppose to a glass bottle coating.
Thanks for the information.
I had a good friend of mine who was a paint and body man. He showed me the proof of paint and its ability to stay shining.
He painted his firebird red non metallic. This was back in approximately 1987. 20 years later, in Florida sun, constantly. It still shined like it did when he first painted it. After it was painted, he waited a few months. Then he wet sanded it and polished it. It was like glass. No clear coat. He waxed it then. He used (glaserit) spelling is probably wrong it was a paint he used for Mercedes Benz autos.
After that, he just washed it. About once a year or two, he would polish it. The first polish was much more involved. That paint job never looked bad or even average.
It always looked like a show car with little care. It looked good when it went to the junk yard.
He told me how the sun light UV would go into the top layers of paint if not prepped right and kill the paint bouncing around. Also it wouldn't reflect as well so not as much shine.
When you flatten the paint with preparation, wet sanding and polishing correctly. More of the sun UV reflects off of the paint surface. Less damage and more shine. Less contamination in the paint surface to do damage and less shine. All of that will allow the paint surface to last much longer.
The flatter, less pourious the surface the greater the shine and longer lasting shine.
I’ve used armor shield IV for 8ish years on many cars. I’m due to reapply . It’s been 3 years and still offers 70% performance. What are your top 3 graphene coatings ? Top 3 ceramic coatings? Which do you recommend and what are your top 3-5 coatings for graphene and ceramic?
I've not played with the Armor Shield IV, but the IX I wasn't a fan of. I have my list of coatings I've tested with the new test here: dmitrysgarage.com/wax
On that page there's also a link to the old tests. In the description I also listed some of the favorites :).
Great video Dmitry. It talks in real world terms. I'm one who keeps applying a topper in effort to prolong my coating. I'm 66 and it's quite a bit of work to perform all the necessary steps prior to applying a coating so I want to keep it in good shape for as long as I can. Keep up the good work you do for the detailing world.
From what I have read and spoken to both Renegade Products and Owners Pride, they both have self-healing coatings that actually do work. OP has their OP X that is heat activated self-healing and.both apparently, very resistant to
marring, scratches, scuffing .
One company and I can't remember who they were; apparently, they said that their coating is so strong and will go head to head with PPF!!
That would definitely be the holy grail of coatings. Ill look at those to see what they’re claiming in a bit, but those would be pretty extreme claims to attempt to go head to head with ppf. Ppf is massively thicker than ceramic coatings. While ive seen coatings be able to handle some very light marring ive never seen it do what ppf can do due to the very thin layer involved. Definitely curious to check those out.
Keep in mind in that ppf clip i showed im using a steel brush and cutting deep. Im not making light superficial surface swirls.
@DmitrysGarage
yeah I agree! regarding the.dyatrment about comparing a coating vs PPF
I’d be skeptical of a company like Owners Pride. Self-healing is a fallacy when it comes to ceramic coatings. Just imagine if your coating properties changed every time the vehicle surface heated under the sun. That constant change of state required for a solid to heal would destroy the bond over a short period of time. Not to mention the constant expansion/contraction that would take place. PPF works because it’s a thick flexible plastic and scratches are more like depressions in the surface that the PPF responds to by returning to its original non-depressed state. Coatings are too thin and too hard to exhibit that behavior and still maintain their bond.
I appreciate your honest assessment.
Hey, love your Vonixx series & love your videos always very informative. I’m patiently waiting for your review on Vonixx V-Paint pro!
Thanks! Im a big fan of all the Vonixx kit. I may be waiting for a new special something to test :-)
I prefer a good sealant, wax and I use high quality spray on waxes during my maintenance washes. Wax if properly maintained goes a long way with less maintenance than a coating in the long run.
I love the fact you talked about options...many sealants are still a great option.
Thanks! I totally agree that there are a ton of great options like sealants.
My gripe is marketing self healing coating, which theoretically possible means it must be pliable. Rocks that remove clear remove coatings too!
Awesome video and content brother
Thanks my friend, always awesome to hear from you!
You nailed it hardcore. if it works for you knock yourself out. a coating is just a coating. I use a graphene wax from adams and polish when it needs it it rolls dirt and it looks great. Just waiting on the erratic weather in Florida to decon my car and ceramic coat it. I used the adams wax on my black mustang after the ceramic cured. Why because it game it an insainly deep glossy look. That stood out at car show even when parked next to a car of the same color and well maintained.
Been washing with “Wash and Wax” made for airplanes!
It is the best I have ever used!
This is a really good video. Right on.🇨🇦👍👍
Thank you! Appreciate the kind comments.
1st from Canada 🇨🇦
People need to understand that these coatings do lose their protective properties over time but the coatings themselves, do not wear off. They have to be polished/abraded/sanded off. And if you keep your car a long time, it gets expensive to prep and recoat. It also wears out your clear coat in the long run.
I knew a guy that ceramic coated his car then would take it through the carwash tubes... AND then was surprised that it had swirls in it... amazing...!
I think the idea behind toppers is to use a less expensive product to prolong the life of a more expensive product, saving money in the long run. It does sound a bit silly to put protection on your protection, but the logic makes sense.
I don’t really have anything against them, but its really a second product which is not the same as your coating. So it makes it hard to tell how the coating is performing and also the toppers have different qualities than the coating when it comes to looks, slickness, etc... I do use them some times but mainly to temporarily add protection where a coating is starting to fail since they’re easy to apply. I do hate warranties based around their use though since that feels like a total scam.
Yes I got my truck ceramic coated 5-7 year warranty NOT it lasted 3 years But silly me doing it again but with a two year coating lol ✌️🙏🇨🇦
For a show or photoshoot the best thing you can put on the paint is a nice Carnauba wax
That was terrific!
I agree with it all
Thanks!
"10 years; No one keeps their car that long?"
That joke went over my head, what was your point?
We're not all consumers that upgrade their phone every 3 months 😂
At no point did you come across as angry :)
I have very little experience with ceramic coatings or PPF. I do care about washing my car and am careful when I do but I'm also not really setup to do a proper paint correction or ceramic myself and not willing to spend the kind of money it would cost me to have it done professionally. Personally I'd rather put that money into performance mods.
I have heard a lot of these myths though so I appreciate you going through those.
Glad to hear I didn’t get too angry/ranty haha. I think it is very reasonable to decide not to go with a coating if that is not a job you wanna do yourself and you don’t get enough enjoyment out of the result. If I had a thousand bucks and could either save it towards mods or pay someone to correct and coat my car, Id probably save it towards mods too.
Great video! Do ceramic coatings protect against etching from things like bird bombs, bugs, etc. if left on for a few days vs just clear coat?
I have the same questions you do. Hopefully we get a reply. I just bought a car at a dealership and they did a Triton ceramic coating and also interior detailing which included fabric and synthetic leather protection. It's supposed to last 7 years
Hahahha 😅 im glad i come across this this video and most people i tell them is a BIG BS... why put coating on a car then go and put sealant makes no sense i even say this to pan the organizer and they keep saying to boost the coating i wish i can cuss out loud their might be a lot of people they can foul and have those people flowing them alone to buy everything they used..... i just hate it that they them self doesn't even know what they're talking about i coat my truck with a one year coating and going above 8 months now still looking good. Because i do maintain it good and never yet add a sealant to it. But these so call themselves detailer tell people to apply sealant after every 2 to 3 wash BS to much to say lol i love this video keep them coming
Glad you enjoyed the video! I think that there are a lot of products out there today and the marketing is all over the place. There is nothing wrong with just using a good sealant or a short term coating. There are also some good high durability and longevity coatings out there that will last for multiple years without any sealants. However, there is just so much marketing and so much confusion that without testing it can be hard to tell what actually works well or not.
According to Scotty Kilmer, the idea of the waterless car wash came from Asia where people living in Condominium buildings didn't have access to a car wash or their are water restrictions. They needed to wash their cars without water.
Imo nothing beats a blk vehicle with it freshly waxed.that depth and glow is unmatched
True! Until the first dust settles and the first finger smudges it theres nothing like deep wet piano black paint :-)
@@DmitrysGarage 😆😆😆😆
It's very interesting to hear what you've said. Our new car is coming. We can get a glass coating. But after that, with which product do I wash my car? I don't want any wax our so in it.
I live in snow/salt country. Not fussy about my new car. Does "spread on" ceramic coating protect very much against road salt damage as compared to doing regular hand spray wash that has some ceramic coating properties in it but the spray is not as long lasting (per application) as 'spread on' ?
Love your videos, I see you are watch enthusiast, you have done well in your career (kudos), If they ever figure out how to put sapphire in a coating or even better the clear coat itself and block uv, it would truly be scratch resistant, almost impossible to scratch it, keep the videos coming, Salute 🫡
My current daily driver is 21 years old... Ive owned it for the last 16 years.
My other car (68 Buick Wildcat) Ive owned for 31 years.
So much for no one keep a car that long.
Obviously you are an exception. Either way if you drive them on the street my point stands, you have to continue to recondition the car.
@@DmitrysGarage Im not an exception.. Plenty of people drive old cars and they keep them until something unavailable or difficult to replace wears out.
@@sahhull The majority of people in the US have had their current car for less than 5 years. It's not about old vs. new. Used and vintage cars trade hands all the time. Keeping a car for 31 years is absolutely exceptional. It's great you've kept your car this long, but to the point of the video you would have to continue to recondition it if you're driving. This video is from a coating longevity perspective.
@@DmitrysGarage Ive never put a ceramic coating on the Buick.. I just wax it.
The 21 year old work van has a coating and I wash it infrequently, the interior was cleaned once about 12 years ago. I should do it again, but Im too busy.
I keep my car 10 years. I mean i did ultimately got another one so i have 2. Matter of fact, i bought it in 2011. a 09 impala SS. 2023, I still got it and it still look brand new. Inside and out
That's fair, some people do keep their cars. However, if you drive them you will have small swirls and scratches from washes and just life on the road. So ultimately if you want to maintain truly new looks you'll have to at least occasionally polish which will require a re-coat.
@@DmitrysGarage That's true. My car has some small swirl marks. Especially when you look at it up close but from 5 ft away, you can't see them at all. I did polish it 3 years ago. I'm okay with it because the car still maintains its gloss. As long as it's not heavily swirled up then I'm good. It gets washed either every week or every other week. And thanks to your videos, it give me an idea on what kind of protection I want to put on it. I really don't like coatings because I get bored since it lasts so long And I like trying new products out but I do want something that last and they're 3 to 6 months range
Yea and that's kind of what I was getting at as far as polishing. I'm sure it still looks good after 3 years, but you probably will want to do it again before 10. That was one of my main points with the coatings that you likely won't want to keep it for that long even if you keep the car. I think coatings aren't necessarily for everyone and I totally understand getting bored. There are quite a few products that should last months. I'm very happy with stuff like Wolfgang Uber SiO2 Silica Spray or even something simple like Gyeon Q2 Wax.
I think it’s annoying how retailers tell you that your car MUST be washed, chemically and physically decontaminated with an iron remover and clay bar, and lastly polished just to apply ceramic coating. Sure the coating might last a little longer doing it this way, but you can still get the same protection without all that unnecessary prep work. That wouldn’t make these companies and detailers as much money, so of course they’ll say you need to do all these things. But in reality, you’re doing more damage to your paint by removing your clear coat which is the only thing protecting your car from UV rays. If you ask anybody in the paint industry, not to be confused with the detailing industry, they’ll tell you to never polish your car unless it absolutely needs it, and for the same reasons I just mentioned. But hey, if you dont plan on owning a car more than 10 years old and looks are the #1 priority, then by all means go for it.
What I’ll do twice a year is wash my car with a wax-free car soap and use a spray on ceramic coating afterwards, which takes 10 minutes and gives my car tons of protection and looks great. Something like Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Coating cost only $15 and gives amazing performance for the price.
I agree that coatings are used by shops as a way to upsell polishing. They will point out things like not being able to warranty and that you wont get the same level of longevity and looks. I agree with you that you can get a lot of the performance of a coating on an imperfect substrate.
Some reasons you might want to polish include maximizing looks, nothing gives as much gloss as polishing. This is why they will rightly point out your car (especially one with a few years of use) will not look as good. Furthermore the cost of a true coating is higher than something like the Turtle Wax you’re using, which I agree is a good easy to use product. With the cost and somewhat increased effort of applying something like Adams Advanced Ceramic (vs your Turtle Wax Spray) you may want to give your car a polish too so you can experience the looks we talked about and also knowing you have maximized durability/longevity/performance.
You definitely dont want to polish excessively. Totally agree your clear coat is what saves the base from UV. Much depends on how much you cut. Light finishing polish is very fine grit, it only removes a very thin layer. So as an example I have lost count how many times I have polished my test hood. It must be over 100. It only got one heavy cut to knock down some of the junkyard scratches where possible. Since then it has been cut lightly. Same as I do with a car I buy, first polish is the most dangerous, after that you’re just massaging it to maintain the look. I also very rarely see autobody guys that deliver a good final polish. On that note, hand painted body parts have VERY thick clear coats, humans cant paint like robots. Also paint depth gauges are a good tool that pros should be using.
Another good example is the video I did at SEMA with the Vonixx team, they showed sanding and polishing a panel to showcase their new polishing product. They ran that demo probably 8 times a day and on the last day I saw it there was still clear left. I even got a turn at messing it up and polishing it. The point is you have to also know what you’re doing.
I respect autobody guys massively. I can’t paint like them for the life of me. That being said they are related, but different fields. It’s not really fair to take an autobody guy’s take on detailing as gospel just like it would be a mistake to take my advice on fixing a wrecked car as gospel.
@@DmitrysGarage you make an excellent point on how far polishing has come. I didn’t realize newer finishing polishes remove such a thin amount of clear coat. I agree if you’re using a high end coating that costs hundreds of dollars for just 1 bottle, it would only make sense to do a polish to maximize your investment and get the best looks to.
Would using only a finishing polish be good enough for maximizing a ceramic coatings lifespan and protective abilities? And would you still recommend doing a polish on an old 20+ year old car with hundreds of thousands of miles on it? It seems whenever I watch a video of someone applying a ceramic coating, it’s always on a nearly new vehicle.
And I guess I was also trying to point out if the paint already looks good to begin with, a polish shouldn’t be necessary. I suppose it all depends on each individuals goals and how much money they’re willing to spend, and I respect everyone’s decision! I just disagree with the misleading money grabbing advice people give.
Thanks for responding and I’ll be sure to check out your SEMA video
The level of polishing needed would definitely depend on current paint condition and expectations. If you're just trying to give a smooth substrate then a decontamination and a light finishing polish will generally accomplish that and work well to just apply the coating. Many detailers even sell a quickie 1-step light polish + coating for hundreds not thousands of dollars. Past that it's more for optimizing looks, seeing how much you can polish out scratches, wet sanding as needed, etc... The big part of the skill here is knowing what you can and can't safely fix. I have polished older cars as well, typically they have thicker paint assuming it was multi-stage paint with clear coat, new car paint is getting thinner and thinner. For example I had some great results with the '96 240sx I had. bit.ly/dg240sx I think ceramic coatings are also more popular with newer cars, because older folks tend to be interested in classic/older cars and younger folks tend to be more interested in newer technologies like ceramics. You can certainly ceramic coat an older car's clear coat. Polishing overall is definitely a personal choice, you can skip it, spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars doing it. I think a good detailer should understand their customer's end goals or help guide the customer to figuring out what they want to do rather than insisting everyone has to get a thousand dollar paint correction first.
"Rigjt tool for the right job".
Perfect.
Nice channel. But don't say nobody keep their car ten years. I have a 1998 Honda coupe V-6 original paint very good to excellent used car condition . Same with my 1994 GMC Serria 5.7. 2014 E350 and 2011 Ram 1500. Wish i could post pictures of all to provide content proof. But nice videos and contents.😊😊😊
Thanks! Of course i was exaggerating, but most Americans just don’t keep their cars very long. Even older cars swap hands all the time. You are absolutely an anomaly (in a good way) if you had those cars since they were new
What about the ppf coatings coming on new cars like the Toyota Guard?
Sure makes real world sense!
Thanks!
Thing is, Clear coat was invented in the 70's to protect the paint. And the clear coat has UV blockers.
If you take care of it with simply washing with a soft cloth and a light wax you'll be fine.
I clay bar and wax my own vehicle twice a year. looks like new.
Ceramic Products Are Hard To Install: I thought that professional installers use coatings that require more professional application including different cure times, UV light curing and temperature. I never thought that the DIY coatings were hard to install but I thought the professional ones were, the ones that work better and are not easily DIY.
You Don't Have To Wash Your Car Anymore: I thought the myth was that your paint will be more durable and less likely to degrade over time due to lack of washing, not that the car wouldn't get dirty with a coating. From my understanding ceramic coatings protect the paint better which means unlike a traditional wax they don't have to be reapplied as frequently to get the same benefits over the long run. In turn neglecting your car due to not washing will be less harmful on it over time than if you didn't coat it.
You Must Boost Coatings Regularly: I thought the myth was that boosters extend the life of the ceramic coating beyond the life claimed by the manufacturer. Makes the coating last even longer or makes it more likely to last the claimed time in harsh conditions.
Hey Dmitri I really love your channel and appreciate this video! I wanted to provide some perspective from the average consumer end and see what you think. Are the myths I listed above actually myths or truths? I think these are the marketing claims impression on me I just don't know if they are true.
Hey, thanks for the thoughtful reply. I think there are so many angles to these products due to the complexity, expectations, marketing, and individual use cases. The stuff you listed I think can be both myths and truths. Marketing is so strong in the detailing world that it's really tough to not have it affect you.
Difficulty: Some ceramic products do have complicated curing times, are more tacky and difficult to flash/remove correctly, and those can be hard to use. Most indeed are dealer/installer only products and not sold to consumers over usual distribution channels. However, in general I do not find ceramics hard to use, including pro products I've gotten my hands on. The higher the solids concentration the more difficult the products can be to use, but again it's not the application itself that tends to be hard for the vast majority of products I've played with, it's the prep work. I suspect most of the super complicated pro coatings are not significantly better than the simpler products or even consumer DIY ones. Furthermore coatings were heavily marketed as a dealer/installer only technologies, because it was a terrific way to get the general public interested in paint correction. Hardcore enthusiasts have known about polishing paint for a long time, but paint correction as a coating "requirement" was a brand new way to sell the service to the average enthusiast. So there is an advantage in having lines of mystery dealer-only products that consumers can't get on amazon. Otherwise the customer is more likely to just buy the same bottle on amazon and go for it without any prep.
Car Washing: You are correct in your understanding of how coatings work to improve car washing. They are very hydrophobic, they help make the wash easier, they do keep the paint a bit less dirty by being so hydrophobic over the same exposure compared to a normal wax. The fact that you don't have to keep re-waxing also helps too. There are a lot of different myths, but the one I focused on was specifically that the car just needs a rinse or that the rain will wash it. I hear this a lot from people that are just getting interested in nice cars. I've had multiple personal friends float this theory just over the last few months and I see it online constantly. It usually goes like this: "I got my new car coated at XYZ Detail Shop, so now I'm thinking I can just hose it off once a week and then drive really fast down the road to dry it right?" ... "What did XYZ tell you to do?" ... "Get it hand washed, but I thought..." ... "No sorry, you can't just rinse the car off with a hose and then drive to to dry it....."
Boosting: As with washing above, boosting has various myths around it. In my case I was focused more on the lie/misconception angle than myth. Boosters absolutely will extend the life of your coating by acting as yet another layer that must wear off. You're literally just adding protection on top of protection. However, if your coating is supposed to last for 3 years and it won't last 6 months without being boosted, I call shenanigans. There are coatings that perform very well without any boosters/toppers and I expect a quality coating to do that. Installers or products that won't back their warranty without the use of a booster are in my opinion lying about the quality of their products. I also wonder why not just use a silica spray sealant full time then? If you're ok with taking the time to re-seal your car every few months (boosters are nearly all just silica/polymer sealants) why spend the money on the coating? You could have the car paint corrected then just use your favorite sealant. That's what people did for ages before coatings and many still do. As I mentioned in the difficulty section above, paint correction only became synonymous with coatings recently. One of the greatest purported benefits of coatings is the durability and lower overall maintenance compared to having to re-seal all the time.
Love having these kind of discussions, and appreciate you watching the videos :).
@@DmitrysGarage this really helps me and everything you said makes total sense. Maybe I'll start doing PPF>ceramic>booster>carnauba 😂 now to figure out what to protect the carnauba with! Marketing is so strong in detailing I think because it's so hard to prove the claims and easy to believe them.
Exactly. The marketing for detailing products is out of control. There are so many brands and products. Anyone can white label products and start a new brand tomorrow. So there is a lot of fluff, FUD, and sometimes straight up lies.
Wayyyyyy better than Pan the shill!
Not sure about your comment on UV protection from ceramic coatings as there was little evidence given one way or the other. Not sure gow much it matters as the topcoat provides UV protection itself. More important on use over plastics. Good discussion.
The clear coat does provide the vast majority of the UV protection. What I was referring to is past testing I've done in other videos where I used equipment to show that damaging UV light is not being blocked by coatings and waxes. I did however demonstrate that clear coat absolutely does block damaging UV light.
Detailing since 2003.
First in my country to use Matrix Micro Coatings (USA) back in 2006 when coatings started to appear.
On my own cars washed 3 times weekly (due to tropical rainy dusty climate), they are only treated with spray-type GRIOTS 3-in-1 (green liquid) once every month.
Absolutely no staining, cars always look great and saves me lots of money. Most fantastic part is, such un-coated surfaces remain perfectly polishable and if i do need to use a machine to remove any residual marks from tree sap etc, Im not damaging/degrading a layer of real coating. I just polish, IPA and then. respray my Griots and allow 24hr curing.
Cheap, practical, sensible.
Great video.
Found your video trying to educate myself on coatings. Wondering if you'd care to venture a guess on whether a coating is a good choice for me. I am buying a new Pilot Trailsport in the sky blue pearl color. Not really an enthusiest car but a sharp looking rig. It will be our family hauler but only see ~8k miles/yr. Hopefully keep it ~10 yrs. Live in new england. We want to have a garage built soon but at the moment it will be in the driveway (nothing above). I absolutely do appreciate a good looking car and would love to have the kind of shine that makes one wonder how it looks so good, but heres the rub: I do not have the time or interest to keep applying products of any sort to a vehicle at this point in my life. A few hand washes per year is about all it will get in warm months, and some touchless car washes to remove salt as needed in the cold ones. So i'm looking for a lazy mans way of making washing easier and generally keeping it looking above average over the years. Reality is by the time we plan to sell it, it will be worth so little i have no expectation ill get the $1500-$2k back that i'm being quoted for coatings, but i could see myself extracting that sort of value out of its appearance... If its actually going to make a meaningful difference for my situation. If washing is as easy as some report it to be i could see myself upping the frequency if the results are rewarding... But this car will not see a clay bar from my hand anyway- been there and done that as a much younger person with more time on my hands. Zero patience or time for such things now. Does it sound like coating is a good choice for me or would i be better off keeping the $$ in my pocket and using it for a professional wash+ wax after the mud dries up each spring instead?
The issue I see is that touch-less washes typically use very alkaline detergents to remove contaminants during the wash. This will impact the life span of most coatings depending on how harsh the detergent is. So I would personally look towards a nice spray product you can apply easily. Wolfgang Uber SiO2 is nice, just watch for high spots on wipe off. Turtle Wax Seal N Shine is really good too if you want something super easy to use. Renegade Graphene Spray was quite nice as well in a recent test. Otherwise you could go for a coating, but I wouldn't spend thousands on it. I would do a 1 step paint correction and a commercial coating like Adams or similar, or a dealer only coating if you can get a reasonable price on it. There are detailers around here that offer packages like this in the sub $1000 range, some as low as $500. This won't be a full multi-stage correction obviously, but you also won't be spending a ton of money on something you can't reasonably maintain.
Thanks for your time!
I have a new vehicle that is red. Sadly there is no garage for the car and just hoping to add some additional protection - say against bird droppings, tar etc. Ceramic coating seems to perhaps be an option to prolong the life of the paint. Thoughts?
Just got my 24 Honda Ridgeline ceramic Pro Ion on it😍. Park outside also, no garge.
A funny question,i must apply the ceramic coat in a place with some shade, under a roof, i think i have to avoid the sunlight,because it would dry fast and make the process kind of complicated, am i right?
It's seems that these detailing shops are turning to talking the customer out of ceramic coating and more to ppf, more money in ppf then coatings I guess.
I'm not surprised, because PPF is the latest craze and it has a potential to be highly lucrative for installers. The issue in detailing cars for a living is racking up high paying jobs so that your hours spent working are very profitable. The average customer used to want essentially a hand car wash. Some wanted a decon, paint correction, high end wax/sealant, etc... but those were the higher end customers/enthusiasts. Then coatings came along and became really hot where every owner of a sports/luxury car and fledgling car enthusiasts suddenly wanted high end detailing work done. Coatings became synonymous with paint correction and paint correction is big money. That's a lot of work you can bill for, you can spend hours, days or hell even a week cleaning up a car if the owner has the pockets for it. When you think about it, PPF is even better. You can do all the same prep work and then even more hours for the PPF install. The coating install itself was the fast part of the job, PPF isn't that fast. You now are pushing customers to spend as much as $2-5K or even more vs. $500-1000.
Hi Dmitry! big fan here, would you recommend that I apply sealant every month or two religiously over getting a ceramic coating?
I think it depends on how you wash the car, your goals, and if you are able to diy or not vs the cost of a pro install. I like coatings on daily driven cars, they really save a ton of time spent reapplying sealants. However, im able to do it myself so cost is minimal (i already own the gear) and i hand wash my cars. On the other hand if you tunnel wash (touch or touchless) you will wreck a coating more rapidly and the touch wash will swirl the paint quickly so all that polishing work is down the drain especially if you paid for it. You can also polish and use sealants. Sealants are great for people who dont have time to hand wash or to pay for hand washes, also they’re cheaper and great if you love applying them.
I have a 78 yr coating brah
I sometimes wonder why on your everyday car would you care so much about the shine unless its somwthing special you keep inside
Presta UV crème wax, is it the best by far, any opinions
I'm in a disagreement with a guy say his coating doesn't have to wash his RV for 5 to 7 years he was told. I told him bull crap they pulled his leg. He believes this.
Yea unfortunately those myths really cling on and some people still sell that way. It might look nicer a bit longer with the coating, but it wont remain clean.
Thanks for the informative video. I'm currently looking into coatings for a new car. I was highly recommended borophene by a detailer who's been in the business for decades. It's fairly new and not a lot of info is out there. Any thoughts on borophene? Thanks!
Many require annual inspections
What I wish you folks would stop saying is "installing" these coatings.
It's just long lasting wax in a tiny bottle that makes your car really shiny if you did the prep properly. It's not a stereo or an exhaust or anything that requires tools and fasteners to get on your car. It's really just an "application".
I would argue prep requires tools. The process is more finicky than a wax and requires more experience. With wax you miss wiping up a spot and it’s no big deal, with a good coating you have to polish again because it won’t just wipe up a day later. Historically if a person wanted to find someone with the skills to apply the product for them searching for a “coating installer in city X” sounds more natural than “coating applicator in city X” and not all detailers did coatings, most did not early on. Today you can just search detailer and most do it, many are even good at it.
I kept my last vehicle for twenty-three and a half years. Unfortunately, it got totaled. Otherwise, I would still be driving it.
What’s the best way to block uv then, ppf?
Hey Dimitry, do you have any interest in finding a fix to the drone on these aftermarket exhaust B9 S4s? Would like to see your process
To be honest it's probably a bit outside the scope of what I do. I think it would take me a lot of trial and error I'm not up for. I wish Corsa would consider making us an exhaust, I've never not loved their stuff.
So a question for you….
I’m older, & have waxed more than my share of cars in the past. I have a ‘16 Dodge Challenger dark grey, that’s in pretty good shape. It had a dealer installed treatment that still beads when driven through the car wash. (I know, that’s bad, but I’m over the 4+ hours of work) …. So finally to my question….
If I don’t do all the polishing & clay bar work (ie prepping) & I put on a spray silicone (like Adam’s) will it look good, or horrible……
Signed, tired older lazy golfer… 😂
And to clarify, I’m not looking for a show car kinda finish, just a nice look & protection for my car…. Thanks in advance
Do you believe window tint blocks uv 🤔 curious what you think since I’ve saw you do a bit of testing in this area
I suspect it likely can due to the thickness and need to resist yellowing/fading
💯 truth. Good wax will always look better to me. For a few days.. 😂
I'm simply trying to find a product to apply to my motorcycle windscreen that will provide some enhanced scratch protection. What would you suggest?
Definitely paint protective film. That will actually do what you want. There is no product you can wipe on that will protect from anything more than superficial scratches and swirls.
What is the point of these ceramic coatings if they can’t even prevent swirl marks from auto car washes.
Same as all waxes and sealants, but much longer lasting. Better looks, reduction in marring, less contamination of the paint, reduction in exposure to oxidative agents, easier washing, etc…