Help with Ceramic spray choice

[mmir]

I am new to the ceramic spray solution to polishing my S. I have searched the internet regard the various formulations of different products. So many claims..not a lot of evidence based research. I have checked out Nexgen, which claims to have the highest concentration of SiO2 at 13%. This is not correct as Lithium Ceramic Slam has a SiO2 of 35%. The Last Coat is another product mentioned in advertisements. There are a myriad of products with various claims as to durability, extra polymers..etc.
Can anyone help me forage through this issue. Thanks.

 

[trm2]

I don’t have exp with the ones you mentioned, but I do with the spray from Adam’s Polishes and am very happy with it.

 

[Wol747]

I've used Mothers CMX and find it's easy to put on and repels dirt and water well. If you're fanatical about appearance have a pro job done but I'm not!

 

[mmir]

I've used Mothers CMX and find it's easy to put on and repels dirt and water well. If you're fanatical about appearance have a pro job done but I'm not!

Thank you. I am definitely not fanatical ..just want a nice shiny car..protected from the elements.

 

[dabbler]

Torque Detail has a ceramic spray / kit that I have great success.

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[BioSci]

I've used Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic spray. It costs about $16 for a bottle which should be good for at least 10 applications. I gave it two coats the first time and then one refresher coat every 6 - 8 weeks.

 

[J.J.]

I like IGL Ecocoat Premier. You can find it at Autogeek.net
IGL Ecocoat Premier 100 mL.

 

[Huachipato]

Good friend of mine said he tried the all out and said his "go to" is: 303 Graphene. It's hard to find but he said the price performance is unbeatable.

On his recommendation I got a bottle for myself but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

 

[2101Guy]

For me/my needs, I dont need the longevity aspect. Ive found that no matter what the product, nothing gets the max shine/max gloss/freshly waxed look like a freshly waxed (or sealed, whatever you want to call it) car. The polishing/buffing effect with a proper cloth always gets the best gloss/shine. And if Im re-applying my product once per month (on average), I constantly have strong water beading/high level of hydrophobicity. Oh, and I also noticed that the term "ceramic" is highly over used these days. (IE wheel cleaners with "ceramic" on the label. What? Cleaners are designed to remove dirt/grime, not apply a protective coating) So super expensive products arent a necessity for me to have high gloss/shine/protection. (my car is also garaged about 22 hrs a day on average these days).

What works for me? Handwash and once a month (or maybe even once every two weeks)applying a spray on sealant (if it says it contains "ceramic", thats fine, but I dont rely on that) that wipes off/buffs off by hand, easily. For me, Turtle Wax Ice Spray wax goes on easily, wipes off easily, gives me a great gloss, and beads the rain extremely well for at least 4weeks. (Probably longer, but at that point, I usually take 10 minutes to reapply it.)

 

[krsgio]

I am new to the ceramic spray solution to polishing my S. I have searched the internet regard the various formulations of different products. So many claims..not a lot of evidence based research. I have checked out Nexgen, which claims to have the highest concentration of SiO2 at 13%. This is not correct as Lithium Ceramic Slam has a SiO2 of 35%. The Last Coat is another product mentioned in advertisements. There are a myriad of products with various claims as to durability, extra polymers..etc.
Can anyone help me forage through this issue. Thanks.

Honestly I've tried several ceramic sprays and I can't say that I've seen a significant difference in most of them. I've used carpro reload, the last coat v2, hydrosilex. I recently tried TLCv2 because of claims of the durability and chemical resistance. I chose to try it due to Colorado winters and using mag chloride on the roads but from what I've seen it doesn't do any better or worse than reload which I still also have/use. I've heard good things about 303 Graphene but heard that its grabby and not a slick smooth feel which kinda turns me off from trying it. Youtubers who do testing on products seem to say that turtle wax and meguiars have stepped up their game so for the price if its on par with the other products I've used at a fraction of the price I'll happily give that a shot.

 

[David29]

Are all you folks using these sprays on the native paint, or do you already have some sort of paint protection? I have never done anything to my car's paint except to wash it, and now after 6 years it needs something. I have no garage so the car is out in the weather 365 days/year.

 

[krsgio]

Are all you folks using these sprays on the native paint, or do you already have some sort of paint protection? I have never done anything to my car's paint except to wash it, and now after 6 years it needs something. I have no garage so the car is out in the weather 365 days/year.

for best results you want to decontaminate your paint and put something like a true ceramic coating. these ceramic sprays are mostly designed to be toppers to a coating to boost the performance but I suppose the vast majority of people use them as a 'spray wax' option when cleaning regularly rather than going full paint correction and true ceramic coating. if you've done nothing in the past years beside wash it then i'm sure you fall into the just spray wax it category of ceramic sprays.

 

[2101Guy]

Are all you folks using these sprays on the native paint, or do you already have some sort of paint protection? I have never done anything to my car's paint except to wash it, and now after 6 years it needs something. I have no garage so the car is out in the weather 365 days/year.

For your needs? My suggestion
- Basic hand wash or wand wash at a self serve type place/bay. If hand washing, I'd suggest using dawn dishwashing liquid as it strips wax/removes wax/degreases. Gets you a good starting point on your paint in the easiest way.
- Claying process (Very easy and takes maybe 10 mins. Gets off contaminants that are surely on the paint that washing wont remove). I use this while the car still has car wash soap on it. Just wipe back and forth with this using the suds as lubrication

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- Lastly, so many things to go with at this point, but with the paint now stripped of all wax/sealant residue and of contaminants, you could use almost anything. For me, I'd go old school and go with a all one one Cleaner/wax product at this point. Has a tendency to hide some of the microscratches in your clearcoat that you most likely have, a bit better than the spray on "ceramic" products.


Above is easiest and will get you a nice gloss/shine with tight beading of rain and some protection. There are MANY other options that are more extensive.

 

[J.J.]

Are all you folks using these sprays on the native paint, or do you already have some sort of paint protection? I have never done anything to my car's paint except to wash it, and now after 6 years it needs something. I have no garage so the car is out in the weather 365 days/year.

If you've done nothing to your paint in years, I would suggest you take it to a professional who will wash, clay, polish and apply a ceramic. It will cost anywhere from $750-1250 depending on location but will make your car appear like new. You won't be disappointed, especially on a nice red.

 

[dark cloud]

Are all you folks using these sprays on the native paint, or do you already have some sort of paint protection? I have never done anything to my car's paint except to wash it, and now after 6 years it needs something. I have no garage so the car is out in the weather 365 days/year.

The responses below your comment are good. Just to correct your question a bit: the “native” paint already has a layer of protection over the base colour: clear coat, (or lacquer in the UK I believe they call it) which is typically polyurethane. You want to protect the clear coat with the ceramic coating (or a wax)so it doesn’t yellow or in severe neglected circumstances it actually begins to flake off. But yes, correct the paint (clear coat) first, or you lock in all those swirl marks under the ceramic coating.
watch some YouTube videos on ceramic coating.

 

[orion2001]

You should check this out:

Looks like Griot 3 in 1, and Gloss It are the best performing spray-on ceramic coatings. I would highly recommend the ScottHD YT channel. He has a lot of great ongoing tests across a huge swath of products and doesn't take any sponsorship money from any of the companies as far as I know. It is an excellent resource to cut through all the noise, hype and marketing in the detailing business.

 

[dark cloud]

You should check this out:


Looks like Griot 3 in 1, and Gloss It are the best performing spray-on ceramic coatings. I would highly recommend the ScottHD YT channel. He has a lot of great ongoing tests across a huge swath of products and doesn't take any sponsorship money from any of the companies as far as I know. It is an excellent resource to cut through all the noise, hype and marketing in the detailing business.

I love videos like this, but the problem I have with that test is he is testing temporary spray on ceramic coatings, and then testing how long they last? If you want it to last then do it properly and use the actual ceramic coating. Carpro is an excellent car product line, and I used CQuartz UK Pro 3.0 on my car. The reload product is what is supposed to be used overtop of the actual ceramic coating to freshen up or maintain their ceramic coating every 1-3 months for more enhanced gloss, not as a stand alone product without the base ceramic coat.

Honestly if I am going to use a spray on every few months I will just use a quality wax instead.

Here is a comparison from an actual professional detailer of actual ceramic coatings: other fantastic how to detailing videos from him as well (some are long, but good info.)

 

[orion2001]

I love videos like this, but the problem I have with that test is he is testing temporary spray on ceramic coatings, and then testing how long they last? If you want it to last then do it properly and use the actual ceramic coating.

I don't see anything wrong with testing the longevity of a spray on ceramic coating personally. That being said, that is just one of several ongoing tests he has running. If you look at his YT channel, he has several tests for actual ceramic coatings too.

You'll be happy to know that the Quartz UK 3.0 is doing very well in his ceramic coating test.

 

[2101Guy]

With all of these "ceramic" monikers, its getting a lot like motor oils to ICE cars. LOTS of marketing hype but in reality? Almost ANY of them will get you nice rain beading and a nice shine/gloss. Even old school Nu Finish paste in a can, when applied according to directions work great.

In a blind test, I can almost guarantee most if not all, will have a hard time telling the difference between any two products applied side by side on a taped off hood...

 

[krsgio]

the latest buzz word is Graphene thats replacing ceramic.