DIY care recommendations

[TankoftheNorth]

I've gone back and forth on what extra steps to take on caring for the paint of my Model 3 and I think I might end up on doing a DIY ceramic coating or at a minimum an application of a good wax for the winter.

The problem is I'm in MN and the weather is getting colder and I wonder if doing anything on my own in my garage is realistic given the cold. But I have a plan. And if the plan stinks please let me know.

I'd like to go the route of buying a ceramic kit and doing it on my own since it sounds like it's easy to do but time consuming. I'd love for someone to give me some recommended products to do this. Amazon links are awesome, otherwise other sites are great too.

1. Hand wash car. Dry with microfiber towels from Costco (Kirkland's best)
2. Clay bar car. (Any recommendations on a kit or products I would need?)
3. Repeat step 1
4. Repeat step 2
5. Apply ceramic coating (Recommendations please!) or a good wax (recommendations please!)
6. Allow to harden (if ceramic)
7. Show off new shine to neighborhood

I gotten some quotes from local places to do the ceramic coating, but they were typically around $1700 which is too much for me to justify paying for. Please let me know if the steps will be sufficient for a decent DIY job and also please recommend anything you've used in the past and liked. Thanks all!

 

[vletnguyen]

You can do the "sport" ceramic coating. Should last 6months - 1 year.. its under $300. I did this and ppf, tint etc .. I want to see how well the ceramic coating holds up to MN winters and decide if I want to do the ceramic gold package or continue with sport/DIY

 

[TankoftheNorth]

You can do the "sport" ceramic coating. Should last 6months - 1 year.. its under $300. I did this and ppf, tint etc .. I want to see how well the ceramic coating holds up to MN winters and decide if I want to do the ceramic gold package or continue with sport/DIY

I'm also in MN. Do you mind linking me to the product you used? Or did you have it done by a professional? Thanks for the response.

 

[WattsHappening]

Spend some time on autogeek.com. There is a wealth of information there on DIY auto paint maintenance. The steps you take will depend on the quality of the paint. I don't see a need to clay the car twice. But you might add steps for iron remover, tar remover, and/or light polish.

For DIY ceramic coating, there are lots of products out there. I used CarPro Cquartz UK 3.0. Linked here. This includes the CarPro Reload product. You may choose to skip that step. But spend some time reading some of Mike Phillip's tutorials.

Cquartz UK Edition

And also watch this youtube video.

Good luck. You'll love it once you're done!

 

[vletnguyen]

I'm also in MN. Do you mind linking me to the product you used? Or did you have it done by a professional? Thanks for the response.

CERAMIC PRO They work on a lot of tesla and other high end cars.. Tell them James sent ya.