Finished up my DIY Ceramic Coating

[SK360]

When I picked my car up 9/27/19 I drove it immediately to get partial PPF'd (XPEL), car had 13 miles on it when I got to the shop. They did the Front bumper, lights, hood, fenders, mirrors, rockers, bottoms of doors and right behind the rear tires. I have been wanting to ceramic coat everything for ease of washing but haven't found the time until now (for obvious reasons). I also decontaminated and one step polished the exposed paint.

I used the following products
NanoSkin AutoScrub with NanoSkin Glide for lube
TorqX random orbital dual action polisher with Rupes Yellow foam pads and Sonax Perfect Finish polish
Adams UV Ceramic Paint Coating
Adams Ceramic Boost

I washed via my normal 2 bucket method and immediately pulled the car in the garage for decontamination via the AutoScrub.

I ended my night there and Saturday morning got back at it with the polisher after taping up trim and the edges of the PPF.

I wasn't going for a 100% perfect correction as I probably needed a little bit more aggressive of a pad to get there, this was my first time picking up a polisher, I am quite happy with where I ended up.

After I was done polishing I wiped the car down with IPA (alcohol, not beer) and admired what it looked like.

 

[SK360]

Still admiring....

Anyways, didn't take too many pictures during the coating process. I will say the UV light helped tremendously for a newbie like myself to see where I had already applied coating, missed a spot, had a high spot etc. Really user friendly.

I finished about 9:30pm Saturday night. The ceramic coating calls for a 24 hour cure time inside to prevent water from touching the coating while curing. The next afternoon I pulled it out of the garage for 5 minutes to look it over in the sun

Another couple of days later I applied the Ceramic Boost topper which helps boost the gloss and hydrophobic properties of the coating.

Now she's all tucked away back in the 3rd bay with nowhere to go for the foreseeable future.

Lessons learned:
Lighting. Lighting. Lighting. Lighting is so important through all steps of the process. I was way underprepared in that regard and I have found a few high spots (areas I didn't wipe the coating off properly, missed seeing them with UV and regular lighting) outside in the sun and shade.

Also, it's not hard (if I can do it, anyone can) it's just labor and time intensive. The wheelie stool I grabbed from harbor freight was literally a life saver.

 

[JayAreOhhh]

Man that adds such a color rich shine. Great job!

 

[Stars_Fan]

Great job. I have been using Adams products for years.

Check out the tire armor. It gives the tires a nice deep black but not wet look.

 

[Wnuk]

Very nicely done, looks fantastic.

 

[12ed5ive]

Looks amazing!
You’ve inspired me to do it myself. Unsure if I want to buy a DA polisher though so may do it all by hand.
Thanks again!

 

[JasontheBeaver]

Tons of work! Looks like you took your time and didn't get too aggressive, I like that for a DIYer.
You're spot-on regarding the roll-around stool. I see these guys on their knees polishing cars and I just have to slap my forehead.

 

[clockwrkz]

Looks amazing!

Did you ceramic coat the PPF as well?

I've had Xpel ultimate covering the whole front since October and wondering if it needs (can be?) polished and coated. I'm assuming you don't normally polish the PPF as its self healing but haven't started the research yet.

 

[SK360]

Looks amazing!
You’ve inspired me to do it myself. Unsure if I want to buy a DA polisher though so may do it all by hand.
Thanks again!

Awesome! Good luck! I know people have good success with the DA polisher from harbor freight if you replace the backing plate.

Tons of work! Looks like you took your time and didn't get too aggressive, I like that for a DIYer.
You're spot-on regarding the roll-around stool. I see these guys on their knees polishing cars and I just have to slap my forehead.

Thank you! I laid on the couch for 3 days afterwards lol.
Still times I had to lay on the ground but the stool saved 80% of it for sure.

Looks amazing!

Did you ceramic coat the PPF as well?

I've had Xpel ultimate covering the whole front since October and wondering if it needs (can be?) polished and coated. I'm assuming you don't normally polish the PPF as its self healing but haven't started the research yet.

Yes PPF got coated, to prep the PPF all I did was wipe it down with IPA and the Adams surface prep.

 

[PNWLeccy]

Looks amazing!
You’ve inspired me to do it myself. Unsure if I want to buy a DA polisher though so may do it all by hand.
Thanks again!

I'm with you. Have been wanting to do diy ceramic coating but need to polish out all of these swirls first and dont own a DA polisher. What products would you use to do this by hand?

 

[Rottenapplr]

I wasn’t as thorough as you when I did my DIY ceramic coating back in May 2019, month after I got the car. But the DIY solution is still holding up well. Water is still beading. Car is still fabulous. Wonder how long the DIY ceramic coating will last.

 

[12ed5ive]

I'm with you. Have been wanting to do diy ceramic coating but need to polish out all of these swirls first and dont own a DA polisher. What products would you use to do this by hand?

Unsure how long you've had your car or the condition of the paint, but I'd feel like if I had to do a lot of correction before applying a ceramic coating, I would invest in a DA polisher - looking through Harbor Freight there are many at reasonable prices.
I'm planning on doing my ceramic pretty much the day I take it from delivery, so hoping there's not too much to be done besides a standard wash then clay bar, before the ceramic coating.

 

[PNWLeccy]

Unsure how long you've had your car or the condition of the paint, but I'd feel like if I had to do a lot of correction before applying a ceramic coating, I would invest in a DA polisher - looking through Harbor Freight there are many at reasonable prices.
I'm planning on doing my ceramic pretty much the day I take it from delivery, so hoping there's not too much to be done besides a standard wash then clay bar, before the ceramic coating.

I bought it used so lots of swirl marks from improper cleaning techniques but nothing too deep. I was just trying to avoid a large outlay in gear since it would likely cost close to same amount to get it professionally done. Although, I would be able to do maintenance polishing going forward...

Detailing can become a black hole, which i'm trying to avoid. These damn Youtube detailing videos just suck me in and take my money!

 

[12ed5ive]

I bought it used so lots of swirl marks from improper cleaning techniques but nothing too deep. I was just trying to avoid a large outlay in gear since it would likely cost close to same amount to get it professionally done. Although, I would be able to do maintenance polishing going forward...

Detailing can become a black hole, which i'm trying to avoid. These damn Youtube detailing videos just suck me in and take my money!

Ah, I see. Definitely do invest in a DA polisher; I saw some pretty inexpensive ones with great reviews on Amazon (if you can get it delivered in time).
It can definitely be a black hole haha Pan the Organizer is awesome on Youtube. Looks like Seal and Shine will be my end product unless something else comes up.

 

[PNWLeccy]

Ah, I see. Definitely do invest in a DA polisher; I saw some pretty inexpensive ones with great reviews on Amazon (if you can get it delivered in time).
It can definitely be a black hole haha Pan the Organizer is awesome on Youtube. Looks like Seal and Shine will be my end product unless something else comes up.

Addicted to Pan!! I was thinking of Seal and shine or the turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray if i didn't go the ceramic coating route.

When i watch Pan's guide on polishing i get overwhelmed with how many polishing pads he references. I feel like i'm looking for the 80/20 solution -- it doesn't need to be perfect but i want 80% result from 20% effort. It's too easy for me to get analysis paralysis from knowing every option that can be used haha

 

[SK360]

Addicted to Pan!! I was thinking of Seal and shine or the turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray if i didn't go the ceramic coating route.

When i watch Pan's guide on polishing i get overwhelmed with how many polishing pads he references. I feel like i'm looking for the 80/20 solution -- it doesn't need to be perfect but i want 80% result from 20% effort. It's too easy for me to get analysis paralysis from knowing every option that can be used haha

Sonax Perfect Finish and a few Rupes yellow foam pads is a great one step solution.

 

[Kleenerth3]

Awesome job. Adam Pitale would be quite proud. There's nothing like the satisfaction of doing a great job and stepping back for that Ahhh moment. I've been a big fan of Adam's products and work culture. Every employee I've ever spoken with loves their job and specifically working for him. Also some of the best tutorials to give novices that edge they need to give it a try.
You nailed it and BTW- love that color.

 

[Wnuk]

Addicted to Pan!! I was thinking of Seal and shine or the turtle wax hybrid ceramic spray if i didn't go the ceramic coating route.

Just did two coats of turtle wax ceramic spray on my MSM yesterday and today. Easy product to use and the gloss and shine is awesome. Won’t know how well it holds up for awhile but happy so far.

 

[Stars_Fan]

Can’t wait for some sunshine here. I snapped this pic right after I put on Adams ceramic coating

 

[SK360]

View attachment 526584 View attachment 526586 View attachment 526587 Awesome job. Adam Pitale would be quite proud. There's nothing like the satisfaction of doing a great job and stepping back for that Ahhh moment. I've been a big fan of Adam's products and work culture. Every employee I've ever spoken with loves their job and specifically working for him. Also some of the best tutorials to give novices that edge they need to give it a try.
You nailed it and BTW- love that color.

Thank you. A good friend of mine left his career to work for them and has been the last 6 or 7 years.

Can’t wait for some sunshine here. I snapped this pic right after I put on Adams ceramic coating
View attachment 526636

Awesome. Looks like my old car in your reflection except I didn’t have yellow calipers