Hey Mike,
I appreciate you getting back to me and no problem on timing.
So, is there really any reason to apply a Ceramic Coating; If you wash your vehicle on a regular basis and use a liquid wax like Meguiars Gold Class Carnauba Plus otherwise an Si02 spray sealant every few months?
Key words above are,
regular basis
Ceramic coatings are semi-permanent, they simply last longer on the surface than conventional waxes and sealants. BUT - if you're carefully washing your car and then maintaining in some way REGULARLY then your car's paint will look as good and for the most part be protected without using a ceramic coating.
The cool thing about ceramic coatings besides lasting so long, is they make regular washing faster and even safer. Water wants to escape the surface better than most waxes and ceramic coatings, so flushing off dirt, washing off dirt, (using a wash mitt), and then rinsing off the loosened dirt and traffic film, (if you live where it rains), will tend to be better.
For daily drivers, ceramic coatings in my opinion are the best option. They're a great option for Garage Queens too as far as gloss and shine go, but because Garage Queens don't see the type of exposure to the world and daily wear-n-tear, the longevity aspect is not as important.
I ceramic coat the majority of cars I detail, both daily drivers and Garage Queens.
Here's another option, using a quality AIO. An AIO or All-in-One, will remove swirls, scratches, oxidation, water spots AND traffic film in a single step. If you LOVE taking care of any particular car you own and it is also a daily driver, then instead of applying a ceramic coating, a wax or synthetic paint sealant, and then crossing your fingers and hoping all is going to be great for extended periods of time - instead, polish your car often using an AIO.
Back when I still had this old 2-door Chevy, if you look at the body panels, they are mostly large and flat and there's no stupid plastic trim, one of the reasons I love classic trucks. Due to the distance off the ground, I could EASILY BUZZ around the outside with any orbital polisher and apply an AIO. This would restore a show car finish in minutes, not hours. The paint always looked great. Instead of using the one-and-done or set-it-and-forget-it, approach, I REGULARLY re-polishing the paint.
For this reason, I'm a HUGE fan of AIO's.
I had previously polished the paint on this car using a multiple-step approach including starting with a wool pad on a rotary polisher and of course, finishing with a foam pad on an orbital and the ceramic coating. A few months ago, the customer brought the car back for me to prep for a car show, over the course of a year it had fine swirls here and there, mostly the hood, around the tops of the doors and the tops of the trunk lid. Because the first time I detailed it I removed all the DEEP defects, I was able to machine polish the paint using a ceramic AIO followed by topping with a spray-on ceramic sealant. The results look as good as if I had applied an actual ceramic coating only the process, I used was much faster and much easier.
The above is a Garage Queen, but it's driven a LOT. So it sees a lot of normal wear-n-tear. This is why I like a good AIO, it works great for REGULARLY maintaining a finish to show car standards quick, fast and easy.
I mean does a quality Ceramic coating offer greater depth of shine versus traditional waxes and sealants or spray waxes/sealants with Si02 in it? Does it offer great UV protection?
Take care,
Ralph
A quality ceramic coating does offer better protection overall due to the substance it is as compared to the substance that make up other products and because it lasts longer on the surface, it protects longer.
The true key to creating greater depth of shine, gloss, richness of color and clarity of finish starts with great abrasive technology and a proper polishing process. The LSP or Last Step Process simply is the icing on the cake.
Do you machine polish the paint on your car?
