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      02-08-2022, 08:28 PM   #1
Donatello.
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Do it yourself caeramic coating?

My PITA to maintain black Hellcat is going to need another round of my buffer after winter is over. I'm wondering if any of these do-it-yourself ceramic coatings are 1) worth using and 2) a big PITA to do properly.


Anyone have any insight for me please?
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      02-08-2022, 10:00 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Donatello. View Post
My PITA to maintain black Hellcat is going to need another round of my buffer after winter is over. I'm wondering if any of these do-it-yourself ceramic coatings are 1) worth using and 2) a big PITA to do properly.


Anyone have any insight for me please?
Did you ever use Zaino? Give your background, I have to assume so. I've used a few iterations of the Optimum coatings and they're stupid easy if you're familiar with Zaino style applications.
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      02-09-2022, 07:12 AM   #3
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Zaino has worked well for me for the past 10 or so years, i am still using it on the Z4M, but it takes a lot of time and patience to do it right.

Klasse I have used, it is fairly picky on application though, too much and it will streak pretty badly, but it seems to last even better than Zaino.

My beater now is using McKee's 37 SIO2, and for a car sitting outside all the time I would say it works well for about 6 months, but i only do it once a year on the beater.
Application is dead easy and I can do it in one evening for one coat, which is already sufficient for 6 months.
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      02-09-2022, 07:49 AM   #4
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Zaino makes great products
The only killer is time
One you need to take your time
And two, you need to have a weekend to do it right
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      02-09-2022, 08:11 AM   #5
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Klasse is pretty good but as mentioned above, you can't use too much or it streaks.
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      02-09-2022, 08:16 AM   #6
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Normally I diy everything but I had a shop do coatings on two of my vehicles. It took them 3 days on the one it needed so much correction and 1 day on a brand new car. The one it took 3 days on looked like a different car.
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      02-09-2022, 08:23 AM   #7
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The consumer versions of ceramic coatings are definitely worth it however for a first timer you should read up on the steps involved as it's fairly intensive. The best results are dependant on properly preparing your paint as you will need to do a proper 2 or 3 bucket wash, iron X (or equivalent) to remove fallout, clay bar the paint, polish, IPA wipedown. After all that is done then you can apply the coating and some coatings are easier to apply than others but in the past I've used even the old Opticoat Professional and it's not that difficult as it's always a matter of applying and waiting for the coating to flash and gently wiping down the high spots. It's important to have proper lighting so you can see the high spots and wipe them down before it cures as the only way to remove them after is to polish down the section and re-coat. Plan on at least a full intimate weekend with your car to do this from beginning to end.

I would recommend a coating like Gyeon Q2 MOHS for a first timer as it's very easy to apply and remove and the results are as good as you will find for consumer coatings.

Last edited by heavyD^2; 02-09-2022 at 08:33 AM..
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      02-09-2022, 08:43 AM   #8
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DIY coatings are worth it if you can do it properly.

Do at least a one step polish if you have even light swirls.

The polish/prep is the time consuming part, the actual coating is the easy part.

I used CSL + Exo v4.
Great combo.

Search youtube to get an idea of what you need to do.
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      02-09-2022, 10:00 AM   #9
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I only mentioned Zaino as a comparable application. It is not anywhere near as good as modern ceramics. Klasse is ancient and never worked all that well, the wipe on wipe off method for the silver bottle was the only thing I ever found any value in.
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      02-09-2022, 01:44 PM   #10
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My concern with ceramic coatings was never the prep before application or the actual ceramic application. It was the fact that if you got a scratch, needed body work or needed to reapply... to correct a scratch, you'd have to compound the ceramic coating off in that area before working on the scratch or doing body work. How long does the ceramic last? Did it last longer on certain parts of the car than others. How do you know where it's still working, where it isn't still working and how do you re-apply with certain parts of the car still having ceramic protection and others that don't. It'd obviously make it easier to keep your car clean but I returned the ceramic coating I bought after thinking about long-term maintenance. A high quality carnauba Wax + sealant seemed like a much easier solution for me.
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      02-09-2022, 04:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grocerylist View Post
My concern with ceramic coatings was never the prep before application or the actual ceramic application. It was the fact that if you got a scratch, needed body work or needed to reapply... to correct a scratch, you'd have to compound the ceramic coating off in that area before working on the scratch or doing body work. How long does the ceramic last? Did it last longer on certain parts of the car than others. How do you know where it's still working, where it isn't still working and how do you re-apply with certain parts of the car still having ceramic protection and others that don't. It'd obviously make it easier to keep your car clean but I returned the ceramic coating I bought after thinking about long-term maintenance. A high quality carnauba Wax + sealant seemed like a much easier solution for me.
If you can swing the cost, get it wrapped. Both my cars are wrapped and it's the best thing ever. My lil brother has a black GTR and it still looks brand new. 2012. It's costly, but it's the BEST way to keep it looking perfect
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      02-09-2022, 05:06 PM   #12
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I’ve ceramic coated several cars, I don’t think it’s hard at all. Use a Orbital polish to polish the car, then wipe on the ceramic coating, followed by a topper. Only problem with ceramic coatings is they can water spot pretty badly. CquartzUK is a great ceramic coating used by the DIY crowd.

That being said, I’ve changed to the spray on silicone ceramics, , they don’t last as long but they’re easier to put on much like a spray wax. I’m currently using 303 graphene, and get about a year out of it.
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