DIY Ceramic coating vs professional

[SoCalGuy]

I’ve seen many DIY ceramic coating products on YouTube/Amazon for $70-150 with the better ones having detailed guides and videos. The professional quotes I’ve gotten here in SoCal range from $1100 to $1900 for an 8-hour job, with some having separate charges for paint correction.

Why are the professional installations 10-20X more expensive? Are the products they use more expensive than these DIY kits?

 

[r0xx0r]

1. Their products are much higher quality and last longer. Consumer products only last from 1-3 years while professional products can last up to 10 years.

2. Preparation time is matter. So the labor cost is expensive. If you DIY, you spend your time to do it.

3. Because they are detailing shop, they have all equipment to do the job & their experience would prevent some newbie mistakes (such as: leveling the coat better, don’t miss some part of the panel)

 

[Abstrakt1]

It is mostly the labor costs. The prep work alone is an all day job. The products are a bit more expensive but not much, it is just a lot of labor to do it right.

 

[mcbarnet007]

I've done two ceramic coat with MD INTENSITY-7 which is a dual layer professional product and I can tell you the application take a LONG time and takes a bit of elbow grease. That's assuming your paint does not need to be corrected. Also, if you're not careful you can leave uneven coating and then you'll have to compound it away with a DA polisher and repeat the process.

 

[Canikony]

1. Their products are much higher quality and last longer. Consumer products only last from 1-3 years while professional products can last up to 10 years.

2. Preparation time is matter. So the labor cost is expensive. If you DIY, you spend your time to do it.

3. Because they are detailing shop, they have all equipment to do the job & their experience would prevent some newbie mistakes (such as: leveling the coat better, don’t miss some part of the panel)

I call BS on professional coatings lasting 10 years. Even if it did, in 10 years the paint will probably have other issues.

 

[mdelvin]

For a DIY, you must have the right detailing tools and lots of patience because prep is the key for the best result and protection.

 

[Chak]

You are not factoring in additional supplies cost, which could bring the total cost to $250-$300. My friend and I are planning to apply c quartz UK 3.0 on his car and mine this weekend. We are sharing supplies and tools and the total cost comes to $400, so $200 per car.

 

[Quinndo]

In addition to what's been said already, I've seen some shops use IR lights to cure the coating. I have no idea how critical this is, but certainly would add some additional cost over DIY.

 

[nipsip]

I’ve seen many DIY ceramic coating products on YouTube/Amazon for $70-150 with the better ones having detailed guides and videos. The professional quotes I’ve gotten here in SoCal range from $1100 to $1900 for an 8-hour job, with some having separate charges for paint correction.

Why are the professional installations 10-20X more expensive? Are the products they use more expensive than these DIY kits?

Despite what you hear, you can buy professional ceramic coating and do it yourself very easily. Go to Youtube and search for Sweet Project Cars and in their page search for ceramic coatings. Great videos of how to apply and the product is listed in the show more.

 

[dimsumx]

You can always practice with not-so-permanent seals like Opti-seal if you want to do some DIY.

 

[SeanM]

I call BS on professional coatings lasting 10 years. Even if it did, in 10 years the paint will probably have other issues.

I agree. What people don't understand is the ceramic coat isn't going to prevent the paint from chipping if it's hit by road debris.

 

[Pied]

The cost is mainly labor. Doing a 2 step paint correction + coating can easily take between 8-12hrs. I use opticoat because it's easy to use. I think the Model 3 shouldnt take as long because you don't have to do the roof.

I plan to do a 1 step + coating. I estimate it will take me 4-6 hrs.

 

[MXWing]

The compromise solution is to find pricing on the lower end for ceramic coating.

Maybe not as “good” as the top names but better expected outcome than DIY.

Possible installer grade C might not be discernible to grade A for most people?

 

[lanpam3]

You are not factoring in additional supplies cost, which could bring the total cost to $250-$300. My friend and I are planning to apply c quartz UK 3.0 on his car and mine this weekend. We are sharing supplies and tools and the total cost comes to $400, so $200 per car.

Hey, could you let us know how it came out after applying C qartz yourself? I am waiting on the delivery of M3 in a few weeks and am trying to figure out a cost effective solution for pain protection. Thanks.

 

[sperkin]

Pros can use IR to cure it so they can put 7 layers in the time you can only do 2 or 3. If you have the time to do 7 layers it'll probably last 10 years too. With that said, I did mine with 2 layers of Cquartz 3.0 and 2 layers of Gliss on both of my cars. It's actually pretty easy but time consuming. Took me 3 days per car, but I'm happy I did it myself.

Dirt on my Silver Model 3 looks like magnetic dust. It seems to float on the surface. I just washed it with a power washer. Sprayed some waterless car wash solutions on wet car and rinsed it off with power washer. The car seems to cleaned itself off. I was surprised it took like 5 min to wash my car. Took longer to clean up my supplies than washing and drying the car.

 

[Chak]

Hey, could you let us know how it came out after applying C qartz yourself? I am waiting on the delivery of M3 in a few weeks and am trying to figure out a cost effective solution for pain protection. Thanks.

It came out really nice. We ended up spending around 12 hours for doing it on 2 cars simultaneously. Just followed the instructional videos that are available in this forum and youtube.

Plan ahead, order all supplies and just dedicate about a day, that's it!!!

 

[paulvinh]

CarPro Cquartz UK 2.0_50 Milliliter Kit w/ Reload

I bought for $79. Willing to let it go for $45.

 

[BryanJ.Greene]

Good to hear someone did DIY with good result. I plan to do the same when I get my soon on Jan.

 

[Travism56]

what are the other best recommendations on DIY, Cquartz, i keep getting spammed left and right about a product called R1? any others that you all recommend highly or ones you did not like for ease of application.

 

[mcbarnet007]

Checkout https://www.microdetailer.com

They have consumer and pro kits