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Ceramic Coating

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Have had my white SR+ M3 since Nov 19. As per my “pranged your tesla” thread car is in workshop for min 2 weeks for repairs . While I’m gonna pay to have touch ups / stone dents fixed at my expense. Once they have done all that , thinking about ceramic coating while they have it. What sort of price have people in Uk/Ireland paid ?
 
Am also checking out possibilities.

Interested in what you guys are getting done for 1100 presume inc VAT?

Am based near Gatwick so let me know if you going anywhere near me.

Presume you ruled out PPF intentionally?
 
Am also checking out possibilities.

Interested in what you guys are getting done for 1100 presume inc VAT?

Am based near Gatwick so let me know if you going anywhere near me.

Presume you ruled out PPF intentionally?
I’m also based in the Gatwick area. I’m taking mine to Vehicle valeting and car detailing Redhill | SMC Detailing which is based just behind Vines BMW Redhill. For a car the size of an M3 the outside only ceramic coating is £950. The extra cost over the ~£500 jobs is because the car is fully detailed first, ensuring the paintwork is “perfect” before the ceramic coat is applied. Wheels will be taken off, and the car will remain in a temperature and humidity controlled unit while it dries/cures. The ceramic coat itself is also one of the fancier and longer lasting ones. The process takes 3 to 4 days. The people who charge £400-£500 frequently only give the car a good clean, rather than carrying out full paint correction and will often apply the ceramic coat in one day outside, possibly at your house. As with everything, you get what you pay for.

The difference between the £950 and £1100 is getting the wheels ceramic coated too and the inside being treated with stuff, which should make cleaning easier.
 
he people who charge £400-£500 frequently only give the car a good clean, rather than carrying out full paint correction and will often apply the ceramic coat in one day outside, possibly at your house. As with everything, you get what you pay for.
I must have gotten lucky then, or maybe part of the ceramic cost was rolled into the PPF cost. £1100 does seem high though, as I paid £1880 for the PPF and Ceramic including wheels, perhaps that's London rates though?

Anyway, had the ceramic on my car for over a year, still looks great and was installed by certified installers in a temperature controlled environment, following a paint correction.

My write up is here if anyone is interested:

 
All the shine comes from the paint correction. Really important that this is done well. I've done it myself a couple of times and its not technically difficult to do, but does take a lot of time to get the paint looking good if you're not used to doing it. Here's my last attempt. prior to ceramic coating.
 

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Done the ceramic coat myself, on my driveway, in the shade, on two new cars. Provided you take care and have all the right gear, it's simple enough and saves a fortune in labour. Only takes a day.
Yup, I'm totally with you on that one. It was much easier than I thought and the only difficulty I had was predicting when it was going to rain! It certainly would have been ideal to have applied it inside of a garage though, not necessary with the coating I applied (which is very forgiving). The car was brand new and didn't need correction (to my untrained eyes) but I decided to give it a once over with the clay bar anyway. Gave it a good clean, applied, and I couldn't have been happier at the results.

I wish I had ppf'd to soak up the stone chips beforehand though.
 
I hope this isn't going too off-topic, but have those of you who had a Ceramic-only coating (i.e. no PPF) declared this to your insurers and if so, what was the impact to your premium?

I've never declared a ceramic coat for insurance. I think that would be like telling them you've added a coat of wax, or applied rain-x to the windows.

I did make a claim once (someone reversed into the door), I showed the insurance company the invoice for the ceramic coating and they agreed to reapply it. Never any issue.
 
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Yup, I'm totally with you on that one. It was much easier than I thought and the only difficulty I had was predicting when it was going to rain! It certainly would have been ideal to have applied it inside of a garage though, not necessary with the coating I applied (which is very forgiving). The car was brand new and didn't need correction (to my untrained eyes) but I decided to give it a once over with the clay bar anyway. Gave it a good clean, applied, and I couldn't have been happier at the results.

I wish I had ppf'd to soak up the stone chips beforehand though.
The modern ceramic coatings are dead easy... I recall a few years ago doing a car with an older type and it was a lot more difficult.

Took me a day - clay bar, panel wipe, 2 bucket wash, rinse with soft water, dry.. Then apply and buff off. Did a second coat on the next day but wasn't necessary.

Last one I did was my Audi.. Black, the finish was so good it was like a mirror up close.

All in I'd say it cost me about £200 - that was for materials which I can use again like the microfibre clothes etc.
 
I've never declared a ceramic coat for insurance. I think that would be like telling them you've added a coat of wax, or applied rain-x to the windows.

I did make a claim once (someone reversed into the door), I showed the insurance company the invoice for the ceramic coating and they agreed to reapply it. Never any issue.
Thanks for that, it's a little comforting!

I had a ceramic coating (GTechniq) professionally applied to my current A Class (Still waiting for my Tesla). I was very happy with the results and it still looks good today 4 years later. I did however have an incident with a low-level boulder lining a driveway early on which left some irritating deep scratches low on the passenger door. The scratches are still there today as I was unsure how to go about the repair and a little scared of what it might cost!

Out of interest, when you got your repair done was it a case of getting a whole new replacement door ceramic coated, or was it a repair of the existing door? If the existing was repaired, was it all done by the same body shop, or did you need to get the dent/paint fixed by the body shop and then take the car to a detailer to reapply the ceramic?
 
Out of interest, when you got your repair done was it a case of getting a whole new replacement door ceramic coated, or was it a repair of the existing door? If the existing was repaired, was it all done by the same body shop, or did you need to get the dent/paint fixed by the body shop and then take the car to a detailer to reapply the ceramic?

It needed a whole new door, but other panels were also resprayed. The body shop organised the coating to be done there, so I didn't need to do anything.

I didn't actually think to ask who did the coating, they probably paid someone to come and do it there.

I tested this when I got the car back, looking for gloss levels, hydrophobic properties/beading etc on those panels. All were perfect. They listed everything done, including the coating.

My request was basically, the car needed to be restored to how it was just before the accident, they agreed and I supplied proof.
 
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