Ceramic coating - Applying ourselves Vs. Professionally??

[CapnOMatic]

Cool... if possible, please share your experience (prep-work, application process followed, final results) when you are done. All the best.

Okay so in general I began at around 10am and was able to finish the first coat of Gyeon Mohs at around 8pm (more or less). I began with the second coat of Gyeon Mohs the following morning followed by the Gyeon Skin four hours later then of course had to wait until the next day to drive.

Here are the steps I took:
1. Washed the car thoroughly.
2. Used Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar system to remove contaminants.
3. Polished the car using Meguiar's M205 Mirror Glaze ultra Finishing Polish, using Griot's Garage 6 inch dual action random orbital polisher.
4. Cleaned entire surface with Gyeon Prep.
5. Applied coating using Gyeon Quartz Q-squared Syncro 9h Professional Ceramic Coating Kit

All items purchased on Amazon including additional microfiber cleaning cloths (24 pack).
Total cost $410.14
Hours of effort: I worked almost 9-10 hours straight the first day.
Second day: Around 2 hours of additional effort. One hour for the second layer of Gyeon Mohs and appx. One additional hour for the Gyeon Skin application.

After all was said and done and I have never done this type of thing before including polishing a car. At the end of the first day I was so sore I couldn't get up from the couch. You definitely need the proper sitting stools in order to make this go a little less painful. I completely understand now why I would rather pay someone else to do this. Not to discourage anyone, however, I probably won't be doing this again of my own free will. If you are contemplating doing this on your own, just be aware of the level of effort and yes it can be done. There is a reason why it's good to have more than one person working on a job like this, especially because as time goes on you have to fight the urge to just "get it over with".

So now on to the results. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and didn't realize that until I began polishing so there is no before and after. Secondly, when I took the pictures, of course it happened to be a cloudy day, however, I think it came out fairly well from my perspective. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to come around so I can see a bigger difference.

 

[CapnOMatic]

Here are some additional photos of the results:

 

[cddirks]

I was close to doing this myself but by the time I buy a rotary polisher and a few other items I'm missing the cost savings won't make sense. If my quote was 1300 bucks maybe, but I'm seeing around 800 or so in my area.

care to share what shops in KC you are using/considering?

 

[FloridaGary]

Hitting the car twice with paint correction polish ..with a clay bar in between

Claying twice is not recommended. Paint correction is only done once and make sure you have the proper lighting to confirm swirls, blemishes etc are addressed.

 

[FloridaGary]

I’ve never clayed between steps, clay removes surface contamination before you start the two step process.

Wash
Clay
Step 1: Compound (more abrasive/aggressive)
Step 2: Polish
Insert finishing choice: seal, wax, ceramic, etc.

For my 3 I’ll be skipping step 1 for this year to avoid going super abrasive on the fresh paint and using chemical guys jetseal and wax.

Using the proper cutting pads on your DA is determined by how bad your finish is from Tesla.

 

[FloridaGary]

Yep I agree!

IDK Im on the fence about PPF and Ceramic coating.

The paint is really that bad?? Maybe Ill just PPF the bumper mirrors and quarter panels.

Whats a decent price to pay for that? I see theres xcel and 3m thoughts on whats better and approx cost?

Someone local quoted me 1900 plus tax. Seems REALLY high

I was quoted for Front End, Hood and Front Fenders only - $1600-$1800. Or, I can get the front end, hood and side mirrors for $1100 using Expel.

 

[woodguyatl]

Okay so in general I began at around 10am and was able to finish the first coat of Gyeon Mohs at around 8pm (more or less). I began with the second coat of Gyeon Mohs the following morning followed by the Gyeon Skin four hours later then of course had to wait until the next day to drive.

Here are the steps I took:
1. Washed the car thoroughly.
2. Used Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar system to remove contaminants.
3. Polished the car using Meguiar's M205 Mirror Glaze ultra Finishing Polish, using Griot's Garage 6 inch dual action random orbital polisher.
4. Cleaned entire surface with Gyeon Prep.
5. Applied coating using Gyeon Quartz Q-squared Syncro 9h Professional Ceramic Coating Kit

All items purchased on Amazon including additional microfiber cleaning cloths (24 pack).
Total cost $410.14
Hours of effort: I worked almost 9-10 hours straight the first day.
Second day: Around 2 hours of additional effort. One hour for the second layer of Gyeon Mohs and appx. One additional hour for the Gyeon Skin application.

After all was said and done and I have never done this type of thing before including polishing a car. At the end of the first day I was so sore I couldn't get up from the couch. You definitely need the proper sitting stools in order to make this go a little less painful. I completely understand now why I would rather pay someone else to do this. Not to discourage anyone, however, I probably won't be doing this again of my own free will. If you are contemplating doing this on your own, just be aware of the level of effort and yes it can be done. There is a reason why it's good to have more than one person working on a job like this, especially because as time goes on you have to fight the urge to just "get it over with".

So now on to the results. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and didn't realize that until I began polishing so there is no before and after. Secondly, when I took the pictures, of course it happened to be a cloudy day, however, I think it came out fairly well from my perspective. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to come around so I can see a bigger difference. View attachment 347473 View attachment 347474

View attachment 347469 View attachment 347470 View attachment 347469 View attachment 347470 View attachment 347471 View attachment 347472

Looks great! Did you do the wheels as well?

 

[JPUConn]

Using the proper cutting pads on your DA is determined by how bad your finish is from Tesla.

Yes, I pair the pads with the polish/compound. For chemical guys v36 or lower (more aggressive) I use the orange cutting pad. For V38 I use the white polishing pad. For jet seal and wax I use the black applicator pad.

 

[SeanM]

Okay so in general I began at around 10am and was able to finish the first coat of Gyeon Mohs at around 8pm (more or less). I began with the second coat of Gyeon Mohs the following morning followed by the Gyeon Skin four hours later then of course had to wait until the next day to drive.

Here are the steps I took:
1. Washed the car thoroughly.
2. Used Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar system to remove contaminants.
3. Polished the car using Meguiar's M205 Mirror Glaze ultra Finishing Polish, using Griot's Garage 6 inch dual action random orbital polisher.
4. Cleaned entire surface with Gyeon Prep.
5. Applied coating using Gyeon Quartz Q-squared Syncro 9h Professional Ceramic Coating Kit

All items purchased on Amazon including additional microfiber cleaning cloths (24 pack).
Total cost $410.14
Hours of effort: I worked almost 9-10 hours straight the first day.
Second day: Around 2 hours of additional effort. One hour for the second layer of Gyeon Mohs and appx. One additional hour for the Gyeon Skin application.

After all was said and done and I have never done this type of thing before including polishing a car. At the end of the first day I was so sore I couldn't get up from the couch. You definitely need the proper sitting stools in order to make this go a little less painful. I completely understand now why I would rather pay someone else to do this. Not to discourage anyone, however, I probably won't be doing this again of my own free will. If you are contemplating doing this on your own, just be aware of the level of effort and yes it can be done. There is a reason why it's good to have more than one person working on a job like this, especially because as time goes on you have to fight the urge to just "get it over with".

So now on to the results. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and didn't realize that until I began polishing so there is no before and after. Secondly, when I took the pictures, of course it happened to be a cloudy day, however, I think it came out fairly well from my perspective. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to come around so I can see a bigger difference.

Wow!! Looks awesome. I have the same color Model-3, so helps me to guess how mine will look after I follow the same process, thanks a lot!!

 

[SeanM]

Okay so in general I began at around 10am and was able to finish the first coat of Gyeon Mohs at around 8pm (more or less). I began with the second coat of Gyeon Mohs the following morning followed by the Gyeon Skin four hours later then of course had to wait until the next day to drive.

Here are the steps I took:
1. Washed the car thoroughly.
2. Used Mothers 07240 California Gold Clay Bar system to remove contaminants.
3. Polished the car using Meguiar's M205 Mirror Glaze ultra Finishing Polish, using Griot's Garage 6 inch dual action random orbital polisher.
4. Cleaned entire surface with Gyeon Prep.
5. Applied coating using Gyeon Quartz Q-squared Syncro 9h Professional Ceramic Coating Kit

All items purchased on Amazon including additional microfiber cleaning cloths (24 pack).
Total cost $410.14
Hours of effort: I worked almost 9-10 hours straight the first day.
Second day: Around 2 hours of additional effort. One hour for the second layer of Gyeon Mohs and appx. One additional hour for the Gyeon Skin application.

After all was said and done and I have never done this type of thing before including polishing a car. At the end of the first day I was so sore I couldn't get up from the couch. You definitely need the proper sitting stools in order to make this go a little less painful. I completely understand now why I would rather pay someone else to do this. Not to discourage anyone, however, I probably won't be doing this again of my own free will. If you are contemplating doing this on your own, just be aware of the level of effort and yes it can be done. There is a reason why it's good to have more than one person working on a job like this, especially because as time goes on you have to fight the urge to just "get it over with".

So now on to the results. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and didn't realize that until I began polishing so there is no before and after. Secondly, when I took the pictures, of course it happened to be a cloudy day, however, I think it came out fairly well from my perspective. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to come around so I can see a bigger difference.

Btw, can you please share the tire shine product (and website you purchased it from), those tires look fabulous.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Your car looks fantastic.

When considering a DIY job always ask yourself how you would feel turning your project over to a guy that has never done a job like this before, is the first day on the job, with no prior experience, is using new tools and supplies that he has no prior experience with and has to do it all his self, with no supervision

 

[SeanM]

Your car looks fantastic.

When considering a DIY job always ask yourself how you would feel turning your project over to a guy that has never done a job like this before, is the first day on the job, with no prior experience, is using new tools and supplies that he has no prior experience with and has to do it all his self, with no supervision

I believe most of us in here has prior experience on cleaning and waxing a car from past.

 

[dsvick]

So now on to the results. Unfortunately I forgot to take a before picture and didn't realize that until I began polishing so there is no before and after. Secondly, when I took the pictures, of course it happened to be a cloudy day, however, I think it came out fairly well from my perspective. I'm still waiting for that sunny day to come around so I can see a bigger difference.

I think it looks great. I've got the same color and get mine back from the detailer tomorrow - I wasn't brave enough to do it myself, I'm horrible at that sort of stuff (I get bored and rush it). I'm getting my windows tinted as well so I can't to see what it looks like!

 

[JPUConn]

Jet seal still doing well. 2 weeks since last wash and the water continues to bead when it rains.

 

[Glamisduner]

I'm going to do it myself, I polished a 3500 that had 13 years worth of crap on the paint in a day, waxed it the next. The tesla should be significantly easier although I have never done ceramic. If my results are not absolutely perfect I'm ok with that, I really just want paint to be protected so any polishing is a bonus. I don't care if I leave a paint nib or fisheye as long as the paint looks better than factory I will be happy.

The 3 is a small car so it shouldn't be too bad.

A real paint correction will remove the fisheyes and nibs and you will end up with a nicer professional looking cleanup. However a quick polish wont take all that long after claying the car. I'll probably just do a couple passes with some meguiars finishing polish and be done with it.

Total cost will be under $100 but I expect a full day of playing with my beautiful car for the full process. I won't be doing the whole thing in a day though, I'm planning to polish then have front and rear PPF installed. Then when I get it back I will wash and ceramic the following weekend.

It's not a show car, it's my daily driver

 

[CapnOMatic]

Jet seal still doing well. 2 weeks since last wash and the water continues to bead when it rains.

View attachment 349013

The tint looks really nice what percent is that?

 

[CapnOMatic]

Looks great! Did you do the wheels as well?

No for the wheels I just used Tire wet. There's a Meguiars brand and another that I have. I haven't noticed much of a difference between the two. Either works nice on the tires.

 

[CapnOMatic]

Your car looks fantastic.

When considering a DIY job always ask yourself how you would feel turning your project over to a guy that has never done a job like this before, is the first day on the job, with no prior experience, is using new tools and supplies that he has no prior experience with and has to do it all his self, with no supervision

Yes that would have been a good question to ask myself. Lol...I'm fairly handy and meticulous though. I always make sure I know exactly what I'm doing before I do it.

 

[JPUConn]

The tint looks really nice what percent is that?

18% full piece rear glass and 25% sides

 

[voip-ninja]

@CapnOMatic i have a question.

Did you tape any areas off so they wouldn’t get coated? I’m thinking about things like door handles, door trim and Tesla emblems.

That and possibly needing to do this in cooler temps are my primary concerns right now.