Ceramic coating after two years?

[yurmix]

Hi,

I’m tired of washing the car at the shop and paying $50. (I don’t have a garage, plus the Y is huge!).
was thinking of getting ceramic coating to make it easy to self-wash at a coin wash.
However, I’m not sure if it’s reasonable labor-wise to apply coating, as the car is two years old and has tons of small scratches by now.

 

[Ozdw]

Hi,

I’m tired of washing the car at the shop and paying $50. (I don’t have a garage, plus the Y is huge!).
was thinking of getting ceramic coating to make it easy to self-wash at a coin wash.
However, I’m not sure if it’s reasonable labor-wise to apply coating, as the car is two years old and has tons of small scratches by now.

I'm not an expert, but I'm unsure why small scratches would affect the effectiveness of ceramic coating. Having just had my new white Y PPF'd all over and ceramic coated on the rear view mirrors and front "bug catcher" damn, I am thrilled with how easily the bug waste is removed. Unbelievably better than pre-ceramic.

Perhaps buy a small amount of DIY ceramic coating and trial it on a small area to see how it goes.

 

[E90alex]

A ceramic coating will not make your car dirt resistant so that you can just pressure spray the car and it’s clean if that’s what you were thinking. Light dust/pollen will roll off with water but road grime and bugs will still stick and need a contact wash, especially lower portions.

If you’re using the brush at the coin wash then that will be a complete waste of the ceramic coating. The brush will still scratch and swirl the paint and abrade the coating.

A ceramic coated car should be hand washed properly to maintain the longevity of the coating.

Coin washes typically don’t allow people to bring their own bucket and wash mitts (though some people do).

 

[Eric5273]

I keep wondering about this. I‘m physically unable to wash the car myself. I have a very bad back and it’s just not possible.

That said, my current 2019 Model 3 is often times very dirty. I’m reluctant to go through regular car washes because I hear it can damage the paint. Instead, I try to get the vehicle hand washed at least once every month, but any more than that just gets too expensive. I also get it detailed twice per year.

I’ll be getting a new Model Y in a couple of weeks and I’ve been toying with the idea of getting it ceramic coated, with the idea that the vehicle will stay cleaner in between washes.

Here is my question…. If I’m not hand washing it myself weekly as they recommend, will a ceramic coating still be helpful enough to make it a good investment even if I’m only going to have the car hand washed once every few weeks? Or will the ceramic coating just wear off after 6 months or a year since I’m not doing the upkeep to the same level that they recommend?

Any advise would be welcome.

 

[jcanoe]

While the Tesla Model Y is overall 10% larger than the Tesla Model 3 (and taller by ~5 inches) cleaning the Model Y does not take much more time and effort than cleaning the exterior of the Tesla Model 3. There is whole lot of glass on the Model Y. The glass can be cleaned with pump spray bottle and a squeegee. The roof is glass too. Reaching the entire windshield and the glass roof can be difficult unless you use a cleaning wand for extra reach. After you clean the glass the remaining exterior parts are not much different from the Model 3. In fact there is no rear trunk just a hatch (more glass).

The best way to keep the Tesla Model Y looking good between full exterior washing or detailing is to use a rinseless product such as Optimum No Rinse at least every two weeks. The rinseless wash should be compatible with any good ceramic coating. There are many videos that demonstrate how to clean the vehicle using a rinseless wash.

I would not expect a ceramic coating to last more than 12 months especially if the vehicle is stored outdoors or frequently washed at a car wash.

 

[BitJam]

I wash and wax my car every few weeks in my driveway with a garden hose foam wash gun and Meguiar's (rinse off) hybrid wax. Works well and is very easy. I don't know if having a ceramic coating would make much of a difference but the glass roof and ppf on the front are big wins energy-wise because they are large areas I don't have to wax.

It's almost less work than driving to a car wash. Two other things that help are a True Temper 52" snow-brush/foam-squeegee for the roof and windshield and a large 36" x 28" drying towel I can fling over the rear-window, roof, windshield, and hood. I also use another smaller drying towel.

IMO this strategy is well suited for a coin-op wash. I put all the stuff in a large caddy that sits on a small folding table near the car.

 

[Vicj]

I've had great results with the Griot's ceramic coatings. But you DO have to do it yourself. Personally, I had my last car professionally ceramic coated, and all I can say is that it's quite the rip off. 3K for the initial coating, then a yearly $200 maintenance coating, and you need to use their specialized car washes manually . I would never do it again. I like the Griot's Garage ceramic stuff.

 

[karkrazy]

The MY is not large at all - I also use a small stool to reach the roof areas. I used to hand wash a X7. Now that beast was big… needed a step ladder. Stopped using auto car washes after a couple of incidents (scraped rims, broken turn indicator, broken side mirror).

 

[robchan]

I have a 5 year old Model S which I have always hand washed myself. We were getting a new MYLR and was curious about getting it coated since this stuff is more prevalent these days than 5 years ago. I did decide to test a local shop and have my S coated. I don’t have much swirl marks but I opted to add paint correction so you essentially can almost start with a clean slate if your place does paint correction.

In regard to maintenance, I don’t think ceramic makes it easier to maintain since you need to do hand wash and never take it to a machine wash. For me this was never an issue since I like washing it myself. There are brushless washes I hear that may work with ceramic, I personally have never tried.