Car Detailing - Ceramic Coatings

naefeart

naefeart

naefeart

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I was going to post this in the Audi thread, but this post is more about detailing cars than the actual type of car.

I've always liked keeping my cars clean and I've always washed and polished them religiously. When I was young I used to enjoy cleaning my Dad's cars until I was old enough to drive and get my first (a gold Renault Fuego). Dad used to say I washed it so much the paint would start coming off. Wouldn't have been a bad thing considering the colour.

These days I don't seem to have the same amount of time or inclination to be on my hands and knees, cleaning and polishing. However I found a local chap who can do all this and better than me.

After seeing the amazing results achieved by correcting the paint on my previous year old Alpina D3, I've gone a little further this time and had my new daily - the little a3 - detailed and a ceramic coating applied. I thought this stuff was similar to SupaGuard so dismissed it entirely, but hearing positive opinions I thought I'd give it a go. Should protect my paint from salt over winter (should be good for up to 2yrs apparently) and make it much much easier to wash. I'm very happy with the result, the car looks amazing, probably how it should have done when I picked it up at the dealership. Time will ultimately tell if the coating makes a massive difference.

I know there are some detailing freaks on this forum, has anyone else tried or thought about trying a similar coating?

The blurb:

GYEON Q2 MOHS+ lays down a structurally denser layer of inorganic and organic components that cross-links very strongly with painted surfaces, forming a semi-permanent protective coating that is impervious to cleaning chemicals and natural solvents. Indeed, this coating is actually hard enough (and thick enough) to significantly improve the scratch resistance of treated finishes, with each application typically adding four grades of hardness to the finish on the Mohs scale.

In addition to the chemical- and scratch-resistant properties outlined above, GYEON Q2 MOHS+ also provides excellent levels of protection against bird droppings, bug splatter, road salt and harmful UV radiation for upwards of two years at a time, even on cars used as daily drivers. Furthermore, it also causes treated surfaces to become both water hating (hydrophobic) and oil-repellent (lipophobic), which gives rise to a strong self-cleaning effect. This means that your car will stay cleaner for longer in between washes, and will acquire fewer bonded contaminants (e.g. tar spots) over time.


https://flic.kr/p/NfgaB7

https://flic.kr/p/NfgaRf

https://flic.kr/p/NWnsBJ

https://flic.kr/p/NWnsqG
 
Well, the point is that a quick hose down should remove the majority of the salt and grime without a full wash ;)

Oh yeah, perhaps a kind mod would move this into that area. Best keep 'us' sort in one place :D
 
Very happy with the lasting results of gtechniq crystal serum + the hydrophobic exo protection. Water just beads off, even after a year of basic washing.

If you are keeping a car for a couple of years well worth it, especially from new or after a proper correction
 
Gyeon is a pretty good coating and the car looks great!

I'll probably be applying crystal serum light & exo in spring, finally have a garage to do it in.
 
I second the price question?

The paintwork looks amazing. It's a similar shade to my new 5 series which I'll be getting some form of protection put on.
 
That numberplate is a lie :mad: :p

I had mine done this week too, back at the start of the year it had Glasscoat Cosmic applied, but that had to be removed when I had the bumpers repainted, so this time I had the same detailer (Envy Car Care) who did the car when I got it apply his ceramic stuff after a full detail.

He uses the products from SiRamik, on my car he used:

Base coat SiRamik SC-HR
2nd coat SiRamik Ultima
SiRamik SC Mist

He said this application is good for 3 years, and needs no on top maintenance, so no waxing required for that period, just wash and dry as I normally do. The depth to the gleam is quite striking, like you can almost dive into it.

Sadly, the weather has been going to pot all week, so I won't be able to get any nice photos until the weekend, by which point the car will be filthy, and I'm not supposed to wash it for a week anyway... So a bit of a wait I guess :p

Here are a few gifs I posted in my thread earlier:

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Autofinesse Triple + Collinite 915 by hand is a great combo for around a full year's worth of protection. I found the result to be excellent and pleasing to look at. But it doesn't get the same results as a machine polish + ceramic job in the hands of someone skilled! It's mostly the ultra deep gloss that traditional hand methods just can't replicate.
 
SiRamik is the stuff I've been sitting on a quote for to have done on my car - I think I'd prefer it to all of the above coatings and CQUK etc

Tripple (;)) is nowhere near as good as a proper abrasive and finishing polish, though it is great.
 
Why don't cars just come out of the factory with better lacquer?

Always wondered that. The marginal cost of doing it then is far lower. Especially on some of the more expensive paint options.
 
A new place has opened just down the road from me which offer paint protection with Supaguard products. Very tempted to get them to do a machine polish etc as the one thing I'm not happy with is the shine on the paint.

If they're doing that I may as well get it paint protected too but how is the Supaguard stuff? They claim it wont need waxing/polishing for up to 3 years as above.
 
muon said:
Why don't cars just come out of the factory with better lacquer?

Always wondered that. The marginal cost of doing it then is far lower. Especially on some of the more expensive paint options.
Click to expand...

99.8% of purchasers don't care and wouldn't want the extra cost added.
 
alx said:
Quite a lot as it looks like it was done at Polished Bliss in Aberdeen (they do have a good reputation though).
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You can get a similar treatment done at most detailers for all sorts of prices. The main cost is the prep. Mine didn't have much due to new paint, but if your car had old worn bodywork there isn't much point getting this done without having each panel corrected first. That can cost quite a bit depending where you get it done and how much work is needed. PB recently did a new Range Rover where the owner had used a scouring pad to remove bug splat. What a mess, completely ruined the paint across most of the panels. That would have taken a lot of correction but it looked like a new car afterwards. You can see it on their instagram.

edit - here you go, no amount of polish would have fixed this:



Price-wise the Gyeon coating can be around: £360+vat. I had the full exterior done including wheels. I've never had a finish quite like this and I've never gotten as close despite trying all sorts of products. There is definitely some skill involved.

Mrk, 3 years is a long time, will be interesting to see how you get on with it. My old M5 was carbon black and I'd have loved to had it treated like this. Yours looks stunning.
 
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Aye I used to be wary of longevity claims on waxes and things, but ever since I started using Collinite 476s year ago my view changed as that lasts a full year easily, and that's an at home application. The curing stages and hardness of ceramic based protection should in theory offer much longer life!
 
Skillmister said:
A new place has opened just down the road from me which offer paint protection with Supaguard products. Very tempted to get them to do a machine polish etc as the one thing I'm not happy with is the shine on the paint.

If they're doing that I may as well get it paint protected too but how is the Supaguard stuff? They claim it wont need waxing/polishing for up to 3 years as above.
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This is from quite a few years ago, I used to work at a car dealership and supaguard was one of the most common sales add-on. The kits cost the dealer £40 and they were sold at £300. The products didn't appear to be anything special and the application process was exactly the same as any other polish.

I would save the money and find a specialist valeter that offers a winter protection service with better quality product.
 
[TW]Fox;30239185 said:
That shine is awesome. You've polished it yourself before - how does the shine compare to traditional polish/waxing by hand?
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From my experience there isn't much difference. Put a car finished with a ceramic sealant and one finished with a decent wax next to each other and you wouldn't notice a difference.

The main benefit is the hydrophobic properties of the ceramic compared to wax. Even on a freshly waxed car, the water doesn't fall off the car the same as it does with ceramic, even a year down the line its still the same as the day you put it on.

The scratch resistance is second to none as well, the only way you will get better is by applying PPF.
 
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