Please share your Ceramic Coating feedback

[VistaM3B]

Hi,

I own a Black 2018 Model 3 and after a year of ownership still debating with myself if I should get the ceramic coating done. For whom who had it for a while, are you satisfied with your decision. Was it worse it? Please share your experience.

Thanks.

 

[VistaM3B]

Hi,

I own a Black 2018 Model 3 and after a year of ownership still debating with myself if I should get the ceramic coating done. For whom who had it for a while, are you satisfied with your decision. Was it worth it? Please share your experience.

Thanks.

Correction: Please read "Worth" instead of "Worse"

 

[TampaRich]

I got Opticoat Pro Plus on all of my Teslas within a month of taking delivery. Its expensive but the results are worth it to me. Keeps the cars scratch-free and very clean looking. My ceramic coating guy remarked last week that black is the hardest to work on and show scratches the most. Doing the paint correction on year old paint is going to be challenging for any pro on black paint. To coat or not to coat is an easy question to answer. Finding an experienced detailer in your area with excellent references is the real work to be done.

 

[fidodido]

I got mine done 3 months after the delivery (due to some paint defects that I wanted Tesla to fix before the coating. I got Opticoat Pro from local authorized dealer (RDI detailing). They did a wonderful job of it. It does keep the car easier to clean. Since I'm planning to keep the car for long periods, I justified to my wife (and myself) that it's worth the initial cost.

 

[Struja]

Hi,

I own a Black 2018 Model 3 and after a year of ownership still debating with myself if I should get the ceramic coating done. For whom who had it for a while, are you satisfied with your decision. Was it worse it? Please share your experience.

Thanks.

So, I went in a bit of a different route than the two fellas above. I am a wannabe detailing pro (on weekends), so I own a DA polisher and all of the necessary weapons to make my paint defect free. I have been pondering doing this for quite some time and I finally pulled the trigger.

First, the coating I chose was about the least expensive on the market: https://www.amazon.ca/Malcam-Cerami...ic+coating&qid=1559570681&s=automotive&sr=1-4

$15.99 plus free shipping (as I am an Amazon Prime member). The instructions are abymsal. Looks like a google translate job.

Having said that, I decided to give it a go this Friday (and got my instructions from watching a bunch of youtube videos). Here was my process...

1. Washed the car with Dawn (dish soap - basically to try to strip down anything I had on the paint and give me a clean surface to work with).

2. I then used a chemical iron remover sprayed over the entire care and let it dwell for about 5-7 minutes. Followed by a good rinse and dry. This also avoided the need to clay the entire car (although my paint was in really good shape to begin with - as a try to be as meticulous as I can when I wash).

3. I did a two step polish with Meguiar's Microfiber system (D300 followed by D301). I went over the entire car with a halogen light and it looked pretty defect free to me. I also gave it a once over in the sunlight and again, car looked pretty good (I won't say "perfect" but pretty close). As I was polishing, I was removing product with an IPA wipedown after each panel (to ensure the surface had no waxes or oils that might effect the coating bonding to the paint).

4. I started applying the coating as described in the abymsal instructions and found I needed to use a lot more product than "just a few drops". I started with the hodd and did the entire car (roof, windows and wheels included). I let each panel sit for between 10-15 minutes.

5. I wiped each panel down with a damp high quality MF towel with very little pressure. That damp in the cloth is suppose to "activate" the coating.

6. Last step was to follow that damp wipedown with a wipedown with a dry MF towel, which I did - again, very little presssure on the wipedown.

Cure time is suppose to be 72 hours, which will be 9pm tonight.

Car looks great (I don't really buy the scratch resistance claim though). I will let you know how it holds up in the long term.

As to value... if this product works (as some on youtube have suggested - up to 2 years)... than it is a no-brainer. For $16 and about 8-9 hours of my time, is totally worth it to protect the paint from bird droppings and other contaminents. If I really was 100% concerned about scratch resistance, I would choose a PPF over a ceramic coating any day of the week. No comparison.

 

[Struja]

As an aside (and what I failed to mention), is that I've read about many products with claims about durability (but those claims are rarely tested on a good Canadian winter). You're in Ottawa, so you know it better than I do.

My "go to" wax is a product called Soft99 Fusso Coat. It advertises itself as a 12 month wax. That *might* be true if I lived in Florida, California, Arizona or Texas, but I have NEVER had the product last for a full Canadian winter (and I love the stuff).

You name it, I've tried it and nothing has made it through a Canadian winters (not Zaino, not Jet Seal, not Blackfire etc... I have probably tried at least 20 different products during winter). Lets see how this holds up.

 

[03DSG]

I had a full frontal PPF done followed by coating with Feynlab Ceramic PPF/Vinyl. The rest of the car paint was done with Feynlab Ceramic Heal Light. Wheels/calipers with Feynlab Wheel and Caliper. The car is amazingly easy to clean with no friction required. I use Feynlab Detailer occasionally on the front end to make cleaning it even easier.

First time I’ve ever used ceramic and absolutely worth it to me. Do not expect any chip protection from it however despite certain claims.

 

[felixculpas]

I also have Feynlab Ceramic coating (Ceramic Plus) but have since come to appreciate that on black paint, you'd be better served by the Heal Light or Self Heal Plus. It really does wonders for black paint. I had some put overtop a section by luck (months after my initial work) and you could tell the difference under good lighting. At some point, I'd like to re-polish to remove any micro scratches and apply heal-lite, presuming I take the course to allow purchasing it.

I would not be averse to using Heal Light on top of PPF, esp with black paint instead of their PPF specific ceramic product.

I also applied their Ceramic Wheel and Caliper to my wheels. They also have a ceramic product for your tires (sidewalls) but I haven't applied it yet. Hopefully next weekend.

Have also used their Pure Rinseless product and another who's name I forget and isn't on their website which you spray on to your wet paint before the drying stage and adds a little shine, laying down a minute amount of ceramic product in the process.

Despite the high cost, I think I would consider a full PPF/Ceramic next time around.

Feynlab is also about to release a ceramic coating for glass so I've been waiting for that. Hopefully available later this month.

You'll want to use someone who's very good at paint correction to ensure you have your surface fully restored before doing expensive things to it like PPF and Ceramic Coating. With black paint, you WILL appreciate having done this. If you decide to cheap out and do the coating yourself, at least have it paint corrected beforehand.

 

[VistaM3B]

Thanks for sharing. My question was toward the people who got it done last year. My contact is going to charge me $1400 and he needs the car for 3 days. How does the ceramic coating hold up? Does it mean I don’t need to soap wash the car once a week anymore for the next 2 years?
For you who did coating last year, does rinsing the car with a hose still clean the car completely as before?

 

[Funkmobile]

Thanks for sharing. My question was toward the people who got it done last year. My contact is going to charge me $1400 and he needs the car for 3 days. How does the ceramic coating hold up? Does it mean I don’t need to soap wash the car once a week anymore for the next 2 years?
For you who did coating last year, does rinsing the car with a hose still clean the car completely as before?

The longevity is up for debate and is specific for the coating you are applying.

Basics for Ceramic Coatings:
1.) It will not make your car scratch proof, it will still accumulate scratches overtime if you don't polish your car on a regular basis. The only thing that comes close to "scratch proof" is current generation PPF that has self healing properties.
2.) Your car will still get dirty just like before. However, less stuff will stick to your car in general which makes cleaning your car a lot easier than without the coating
3.) You should still clean your car like before. How often you do it depends on how OCD you are.
4.) The amount of shine on your car still still dependent on prep work done on the car before coating the car.

 

[TintWorldSantaClara]

Thanks for sharing. My question was toward the people who got it done last year. My contact is going to charge me $1400 and he needs the car for 3 days. How does the ceramic coating hold up? Does it mean I don’t need to soap wash the car once a week anymore for the next 2 years?
For you who did coating last year, does rinsing the car with a hose still clean the car completely as before?

It depends on how many layers you are putting on the car.

Thanks for sharing. My question was toward the people who got it done last year. My contact is going to charge me $1400 and he needs the car for 3 days. How does the ceramic coating hold up? Does it mean I don’t need to soap wash the car once a week anymore for the next 2 years?
For you who did coating last year, does rinsing the car with a hose still clean the car completely as before?

Longevity depends on brand and layers. We install our Pearl Nano Supreme package for all of our Tesla owners. It comes with 3 layers, and a lifetime warranty. Every 3 months they come into our shop and we service the vehicle with Pearl Nano Purple Perfection Ceramic Waterless Car Wash & Detailer. With this system, you do not need to use soap. You can hose your car off with water, but make sure to dry it completely. Ceramic coating does not stop water spots, so drying completely is imperative. How you dry it is up to you, speeding off into the sunset works, shammy towels work as well.

 

[gabriel_bl]

Hi,

I own a Black 2018 Model 3 and after a year of ownership still debating with myself if I should get the ceramic coating done. For whom who had it for a while, are you satisfied with your decision. Was it worse it? Please share your experience.

Thanks.

I just had my Black Model 3 full frontal PPF-ed and coated at Upper class detailing in Kanata a week ago. The service was excellent, but I have no long term experience the coating yet.

 

[Roadrunner13]

For all (my) Tesla models, since we have 'painted' fronts rather than radiator grills, I prefer to PFF at least the front of the car before spending cash on any nano-coating. So make sure to use your 'after-market' budget wisely!
For salt/sand area like you in Ottawa, you might wish to expand PFF to the lower car door sides too...better be safe than sorry!

 

[perfectg]

3m PPF on the front (full hood, bumper, full fenders, mirrors, headlights, foglights. Then Cermaic pro over the whole car.

 

[AZP85]

Thank you for all sharing you thoughts.

 

[dmd2005]

I applied the ceramic coat myself and used CQuartz UK 3.0 for $84USD on Amazon. I got my paint job redone on my Model 3 a month after delivery due to defects and so I didn’t need any paint correction. I got PPF also shortly after letting the paint cure for a few weeks after repaint and I applied the ceramic coat myself. Since I didn’t need to decontaminate the finish it took me 3 hours to apply 2 coats of CQuartz (1 hour between coatings).

I’ll be tackling my 9 year old Toyota Tundra this weekend and have a couple of different sized Rupes DA polishers, clay pads and towels, detailing spray, iron oxide remover, foam cannon, and more CQuartz UK 3.0 to bring the paint back to life.

If you have the time, it is worth learning to detail your own vehicles or applying your own coatings.