Pros & Cons of Ceramic Coating

If the question was directed at my issue, I contacted the installer and was told to use the Gtechniq detail spray, which did make it appear nicer and hid the spots pretty well with a fair amount of elbow grease, but every time the car gets wet / washed the spots are right back to being as visible. I don't trust that installer to give me any more advice about my coating.

 

I think i will just keep doing it the old way , wax every (3) or (4) months. thanks for the info.

 

I don't blame you, I wish I had gone the old school way myself.

 

Thanks, Baccaruda, I did it myself. It's good exercise! And I have a garage, so that makes for a nice shaded area to do the clay bar, alcohol, and coating. It's a workout, but, hey, at this age ya gots ta keep active. Plus, it lets me believe I earned those beers afterwards... Not sure what a pro would charge.

I hafta say, I'm pleased with the result. And like I said, it lasted 2 years from the first time I did it and that's with the Florida sun beating the shit out of everything. I also did my wife's car, an '09 Jag, and it looks really good too.

 

Just curious about your installer that didn't know what he was doing. As you stated you spoke to Gtechniq which makes the product and their top guru actually told you your installer didn't know what he was doing, they should make sure he can't install their product and tell lies to other customers or if he made a mistake on your car during installation and knows he did, if he was a reputable business owner he should had offered you a complete do over at zero cost!

 

Have you taken the car to a body shop and see if it can be buffed out and just wax it from here on out? i know nothing about this procedure..

 

thanks for the info..

 

The initial install was fine and I believe the issue was with the "courtesy wash" that he provided. I believe the he let the soap dry on it, and based on the photos the Gtechniq technician agreed, but he is unable to verify that obviously. So not really a problem with their product. I don't know if he was the certified installer that he claimed to be, but in the end it truly is just not worth my time to pursue anything else with the installer. My problem is to figure out what my next steps will be. I am hoping that the products that the Gtechniq tech recommended will take care of it or significantly improve it. The car normally looks great when it's cleaned up and I use the detail spray on it, it just takes a lot more work than a ceramic coated car should take. The installer came highly recommended by several friends and co-workers as well (smallish community area) and it's just not worth it to be "that guy".

Short answer is no, I haven't. From what I have read online about Gtechniq products, the one available only to professionals, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra, generally has to be wet sanded to be removed and then buffed (what I know as a "cut and buff") and I'm not sure that I have that in me to pay for that to be done and then try to have someone else reapply a coating. I had a "cut and buff" done on another vehicle I owned many years ago and the surface was corrected, but was never the same after that. It had a shine that was just never the same as the factory, but the surface smoothness was much better than the factory finish.

Sorry if this thread has turned into a whining saga, my main goal was to share my experience and just let people know to please do as much research as possible about your coating and installer prior to having it done. It is a costly procedure and even more so if it ends up getting screwed up. Again, I will say that I don't believe that it is an issue with Gtechniq product, it was an issue with the installer and whatever happened to cause the soap to dry on the vehicle. I do find it hard to believe that a professional detailer would intentionally allow soap to dry on a vehicle unless he truly thought the coating would not be damaged by it.

I appreciate the assistance that Gtechniq has provided and if the products they recommended end up working I will certainly post that it worked (or didn't), but the tech did tell me that he felt that it most likely would not solve the issue of the spotting.

 

Not a problem , i am in the dark on all of this . i am sorry how it turned out, i would be upset also. good luck and keep us posted.

 

Speaking of real-world performance, here is a VERY long-term test of 38 different ceramic etc. coatings in an excellent real-world-type set of testing protocols: