Well folks, I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on getting my SVR ceramic coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light, the SVR is my weekend ride and occasionally I'll commute in the city with it, and it will never see snow or roads with salt. So I'm just looking at all thoughts positive and negative on ceramic before I pull the trigger.

Thanks

 

I just had mine done with 1-step paint correction and Crystal Serum Light + EXO v4. Initial impression is 100% satisfaction with the coating but I guess the real test is how it's performing a couple years down the road.
What I would NOT recommend is following it up with Bead Maker like Obsessed Garage does, I did...

I waited the one week cure time and applied Bead Maker out of the sun and with a heavy first coat just like OG does in his video where he recommends it on top of Crystal Serum Light & EXO v4.
What I have ended up with is a hazy smeary finish that even the cleanest hands with the lightest touch leave finger prints anywhere.
I called Gtechniq and told them what happened and while they didn't say Bead Maker was a bad product they did agree with what I've learned online that it negates the ceramic effect and replaces it with the Bead Maker effect at best and at worst you get what happened in my case, way too much Bead Maker on the paint and a very tough time getting it off.

If anyone finds themselves in my situation it's starting to clean up by washing it with Gtechniq W5 Citrus Cleaner diluted in my foam cannon, I've done it twice now (a week apart) and I have less Bead Maker haze and smearing but it's still very obvious in certain lighting. Next wash I'm going to spray W5 undiluted and wash panel by panel which was also an option given to me buy Gtechniq, it shouldn't remove the Exo if I follow directions, out of sun, right temp, only on paint 3-5mins.

Down the road I may try C2 occasionally or Gtechniq Quick Detailer but I'm going to be very careful about applying too much.

 

Check out JagFan Hilton on Youtube. He has some videos about ceramic coating.
search for in Youtube jagfan hilton ceramic

 

Sound like I'm going the same route you did sans the Bead Maker, and thank you for the heads up on that product!
I'm with you on the real test being down the road, the Crystal Serum Light is supposed to be good for 3 years, with the way I use the car and store it I'm thinking I should be able to extend that, I'm looking at Chicago Auto Pros to do the job and to have them do follow up hand washes twice a month, and of course I'll do any washes myself that are needed between the pro washes.

This is everything I'm having done:

The Exterior Enhancement Detail is recommended to restore the beauty
of your vehicle. We start with our in-depth hand wash and thorough
decontamination of the vehicle. With this detail, the goal is to remove
about 85% of the defects from your paint and leave a dramatically
improved finish. We use a compound to remove swirls, scratches, and
randomized defects and then polish to remove any remaining light
swirls or scratches to add optical clarity and depth to the paint. Includes
complimentary interior cleaning.

Miscellaneous: Glass polishing

Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light - When it comes to adding gloss, resisting
contaminant and dirt repellency, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light is the
pinnacle in paint protection. Crystal Serum Light forms an ultra-durable,
high-gloss, slick to the touch, chemically bonding inorganic layer of 9h
optically clear ceramic.

Full exterior Package: Includes Exterior painted surfaces, door jambs,
exterior glass, rim faces, BARRELS and exterior trim coatings.

FULL WHEEL COATING

GTechniq EXO - Ceramic coating topper applied over an existing ceramic coating to add incredible gloss and slickness.

 

It just saved me multiple times on a 2700 mile road trip from rock chips, a flying broken glass bottle, crap flying out of poorly secured loads.... I am astonished. Also, valet parked my car in some odd spots and it's dirty as heck and I just wipe it off. I even had what looked like leaked sprinkler pipe water on it that would have calcium or harsh stains that just wiped right off.

I am having a hard time imaginging what negatives there are, other than cost (but you have an F-Type), and workmanship / skill in application. Also, make sure it's the detail shop "only" application for warranty reasons. My guy has me coming back for a free touch up as part of last year's purchase price.

 

I had my spouses beige appliance on four wheels ceramic coated, my detailer used Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra. It does make keeping the car clean much much easier.

The detailer likes my F-type and wants to do paint correction and similar coating but I am keeping it to yearly wax and clay. I don't think I would ceramic coat it for the following reasons: a) it is garaged and I have a choice of other cars to drive in bad weather b) a friend of mine had ceramic coat lift clear coat in a visible spot - while it happens rarely, ceramic coating isn't zero-risk process c) I don't know how it will age, what is it going to look like at year 10? would it yellow? peel? flake? The process too new to really know.

 

I had my R done in November and the first of probably 50 cars I have owed that I ceramic coated. I had the paint correction done, Xpel installed and ceramic coating including the rims, calipers and windows. My car has been a garage queen and haven't even put 2,000 miles on it since November but it looks amazing and as other said I think the only negative would be to see if it lasts as long as they claim. They told me 5 years. I use a power sprayer and leaf blower to wash mine every few weeks. I also have a ceramic coat detailing spray that I use periodically after a wash. It is suppose to extend the life and enhance the shine. Been amazing so far.

 

I haven't had my F Type done yet, but I'm going to. I have had both F Paces done. For us, there's a local Ceramic Pro shop. We had the '17S for about 3 years and the ceramic coating for 2 of those years. Made washing very easy and no issues. The '20 SVR was done a week after delivery and have had it a little over a year now. Ceramic Pro had a 3, 5, or lifetime warranty, so went with the lifetime. It goes in for a checkup and full detail to Ceramic Pro every year and just had it done. All is well and no issues. Still shines and beads water like the day it was done. We do plan on keeping it for the long haul so was worth the couple hundred extra. Total cost for the lifetime was $1,600. I will say that I was amazed at the difference between a brand new factory paint and the shine after the paint correction and ceramic coating. Night and day and really brought out the BRG's depth of color.

 

I got the dealer to do mine and I am very pleased. This is the 3rd summer and it still looks great. The biggest benefit is bugs just wipe right off.

Highly recommend if you like keeping your car clean

 

My '17 White V6S Vert scheduled for complete paint correction with 10 day cure ...3M CLEAR BRA...R1 NANO PRO Ceramic Coating Application.
The car is pristine w/ 7K mi. on the clock at present but planning very frequent short trips to Vegas make this investment a wise one.
PM me if you wish update because their are so many owners having these procedures done. Don't want to gum up the thread.

 

No worries about gumming up the thread, it's all valuable information so let's get it out for all to see.

 

Thanks for the posts, good info from all! While I do have concerns about the long term I think I'm going to go ahead and get the car coated, I'll post before and after pics.

 

I wouldnt try to change your mind but really I think the fantastic improvement is by the paint correction, not the coating. And then you can get some brilliant finishes by over the counter wax products there days. I crap on about it all of the time, but I have been giving my car an annual clay (actually with a polyshave block) then wax with polish angel canaubia flockencreme (which is about $70 for maybe 3 uses, so not cheap) then spray on wax with polish angel rapidwaxx or high gloss wax (I'm using the red tinted one on my red cars), I do the spray on once every few months, it is a 5 minute job. Everything is pretty much wipe on wipe off, no effort, and even when the car gets dirty a hose or rain cleans it off.

I was going to get my car ceramic coated but it was too fussy to maintain, I wasnt happy with the result on the dealer applied coating on my daughter's car, I hate using no ph car washes as they dont work so well, and I'm getting very happy with the results I'm getting with the polish angel products. The trick is not to use silicone based products which I find attract dust, whereas the carnaubia wax doesnt.
here is the mustang I got this week, the paint was pretty poor for a two year old car, I clayed, waxed it with polish angel famous, and gave it a few coats of rapidwax including one of high gloss. Also replaced the stock wheels with some Koya forged, blacked out the brightwork decals with plastidip. My ADHD kicked in, only had the car since Thursday lol.
before

after

 

Great point on the paint correction!! Good post and more food for thought on which way to go.

Great looking Mustang, and a noticeable improvement in the paint finish after your efforts!

 

If I had one suggestion, it would be to go with a good installer who is knowledgeable about paint correction and coatings.

I see a lot of fly by night places, as well as some “reputable” shops advertising ceramic coatings for $xxx price with 1 day turn-around or something like that. At worst I see shade tree detailers washing a car, rubbing on some ceramic and calling it a day, or shops doing a shotty 1 step correction if that, and then coating over any contaminants or crap in the paint they didn’t get out and sending you on your way. If a car isn’t brand new and needs a fair bit of correction prior to coating I don’t see it physically possible for someone to do a thorough job and apply coating in less than a few days time.

I think a lot of the industry that’s sprung up around ceramic coatings pushing outrageous claims about paint protection as if the coatings some kind of armor, doing a **** poor job at install, and charging some poor sap a bunch of cash for a glorified car wash has put a bit of a poor taste in my mouth. With that being said, I had my F type corrected and coated by a very competent and thorough detailer with over 15 years in high end paint/body and detail work, and I think with proper maintenance it will provide a bit of a better protection for the paint against fading and staining than waxing, and require less applications compared to me waxing the car a few times a year, so that’s why I went that route.

Granted, if you know how to properly care for the cars paint and properly wash a car, I think you could certainly keep your F type looking good for quite some time, but a lot of people even with high end cars seem to wash their cars with complete disregard, and you can tell when the 2-3 year old Mercedes or Audi is swirled to high hell

 

Agreed 100%, save that on my understanding even a brand new car will need a bit of paint correction, save in the case of Porsche which (I have been told) have stellar paint condition straight from the factory. The dealer "ceramic coatings" that are sold by the good looking women at the dealerships are put on in a few hours after a wash. May as well set fire to hundred dollar notes for all of the good that they do.

I was going to have mine done with pomponazzi which would cost about $2K from memory and involve it being off the road for 4 - 5 days. But then you have to maintain it annually with some elixir derived from the semen of unborn unicorns, you have to use ph neutral soap, and if you get a mark (like bat crap, which we get a bit of around here) you have to take it in for another correction. Even with all of that I was still happy enough to give it a go because I was getting knackered giving the cars a detail twice a year, but the installer forgot my early morning booking and left me sitting there for 30 minutes, I lost confidence in the person I was going to leave my pride and joy with and cancelled, thinking I'd rebook elsewhere. Then I found my true love - Polish Angel products - which made the work so much easier, and went off the ceramic coating idea. But I dont knock it, if it is properly done.

 

Picked my 18 up in Florida drove her back to Ohio and right to Detail Pro Shop in Columbus Had paint correction done amazing what a difference it makes i didn't even think it needed it until it was done, then did Ceramic Pro 10 year which included convertible top and windshield and went with the wheel and caliper add on, Boy does that make wheel cleaning easier and looks amazing! I am very happy with my decision 8 months later at this point.

 

yes brand new cars will still need correction prior to ceramic, although generally they won’t require as much as a car that’s been on the road 1-2 years and have a bit more grit and grime and contaminants in the paint.

But yea, anyone who claims to do a proper job and have a one day turn around time is off their rocker, and the **** the dealer sells I don’t even want to know what process or product they use. I do know some higher end ones like Porsche (atleast in my area) do contract out fairly good detailers to do the initial correction and application of ceramic, but I’m sure Honda, Toyota, etc probably have the same 16 year old kid who does the free washes when you drop your car off for an oil change smearing ceramic on cars when you drop your few hundred $$ on some “protection package”

all in all though i think people could certainly do far better at just standard car care to keep their cars looking good. How someone spends north of 50-60-70k on a car and doesn’t know how to halfway clean it properly is beyond me.

 

Oddly enough I was going through the glovebox of the mustang today (remember this is the car that I mentioned had pretty poor quality paint and is only 2 years old) and found its "Permaguard ceramic coating" documents.

"Permaguard" is one of those products sold at dealerships usually by women with substantial busts and lots of lipstick. "You really should get this on your car, it is delivered in a sterile van and is what they use for space shuttle re-entry protection" they say. Which is heard by most men as "If you get this for you car, you big virile man, you can have entry without protection".

In any event, despite the implication of permanence in the name there was no indicia of ceramic coating on the car when I got it. I've seen more water beading on a kitchen sponge.

 

To really get the benefit of Ceramic Coating, the paint correction maintenance needs to be done and of course, be the first thing done before Xpel is put on, then Ceramic Coated. I don't have the tools and the knowledge for a really proper paint correction job, so I've always picked detailing shops that have solid reputations...it truly is one of the most critical parts of taking the path you did and as I have done numerous times with other cars of mine. I have never heard of any Ceramic Coating, or shop that does that work, with a 5 year warranty without any annual "maintenance" being performed. Typically they annually do a complete washing and inspection of the car and check for any areas that need touched up...all of this for a nominal charge. Lately, I've been charged $125 for the whole thing and without following that inspection, I'm clearly under the impression your warranty is voided or in jeopardy. You may want to check on that...and I do agree, a professional job for this service, you just can't beat how gorgeous the car turns out!