monthly diy wax vs ceramic coating
 

just want to know what the pros and cons are to using regular wax every 2-3 months as opposed to paying $1100 CAD for a ceramic coating with 5 years of warrenty. my first brand new car and i want to know what everyones opinions are.

Alternative: Sealant every 6 months to a year. My go-to is Klasse.

I prefer sealant because I can put it on myself, it's not that expensive, and it keeps the car looking good for a while.

Alternative with a twist: Klasse "All in one" and then multiple coats of their "high gloss sealant" every 6 months and then a light Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax in between as a sacrificial coating.

Not sure what 5 years of warranty covers. If you let a brand new paint go for 5 years, it won't fail no matter what's done/not done to it unless you're talking about scratches which ceramic won't keep off. You still have to wash it. If you were going ceramic, why not just spend the $50-100 and do it yourself though? Unless that $1100 is also for paint correction too that seems excessive.

I do the Klasse/wax routine and really only have to wash when the car gets a little dusty maybe every 3 or 4 weeks since I tend not to drive in the rain. Using a pressure washer with a foam cannon, I'm not even touching the car because the dirt comes off so easy. Scratching is very minimal since washing with a bucket and mitt is where most of the paint damage comes from.

Even with a coating you will be waxing anyway. It’s really a personal decision if you want to shell out the cash to begin with.

I applied when I bought my BRZ the Sonax CC36 ceramic coating easily (but it needed wash, preparation, base coat and final coat) and after 4 months I am quite happy with the results.
The only problem on this coating is that is very sensitive to alkaline cleaners, once I used my saliva (very alkaline) to dissolve a birds chuckles and immediately in this area I created a spot with no coating.
So I ordered their Sonax Polymer Net Shield that you just apply it every 4-6 months above the base coat and the coating lasts more than year!

Which do you have more of - time or money? - ;)

Personally, I wash my car about twice a year and wax it about once a year.

I don't have the money, but, I have the time - but I'm lazy - :iono:


humfrz

Just wax the car. The ceramic coatings are over-rated. Use good wax.

Ceramic coating also makes washing your car extremely easier since most dust/dirt just won't stick to your car much. They kind of just sit there. In my California weather I can literally bring my car to a self car wash after about 3 to 4 weeks since I previously cleaned it and just power wash it with soap/water and the car would be completely clean.

I would assume that without a ceramic coating dirt/grime would stick harder to the paint therefore you cannot just power wash it off. If you have snow or harsher weather then I don't know how well the coating will work.

I use the brand called ceramic pro.

I've had my BRZ for almost 5 years now. The paint still looks brand new. It uses the first Opticoat formulation. It still collects some scratches, that is inevitable. However, I've noticed that if you clay bar and then polish it lightly, the beading effect comes back and lasts for a while again.

Wash weekly, hand wax monthly, clay bar & hand wax every 3 months. Been doing that with my FRS since 2013 and the paint looks and feels great.

I think a good hand wax every 4-6 months and clay bar once per year would be more than enough.

The cost would also be much lower than ceramic coating.
@humfrz I'll wash your car for free if you ever come to Texas [emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Rockwall, Texas - hmmmm.

Interesting how that city got its name.

If I ever get back to Texas, I'll take you up on that. By that time I may be more crippled up and have another vehicle, but I'll take you up on your generous offer to wax it - :w00t:



humfrz

just bought cquartz 3.0 ceramic coating, will let you know how it goes within 7-10 days, gotta find a nice stretch of weather to apply it.

I use Meguiars Synthetic Ultimate Wax and it lasts almost half a year on a car that sits outside 24/7 and sometimes under trees with crap falling on it. Easiest wax i've ever used and you can find it at any parts store for like 12 bucks.

Even the "quick" spray version lasts months. Dont bother with these boutique waxes that take forever to apply and take off imo.

Personal Opinion,

If you go with Ceramic Coating, go with a brand that uses 9h ceramic coat. 9h is the corresponding value companies use to determine hardness and scratch resistance.

Its literally used with a pencil as pencil lead has a hardness from I think 6B-9H. (9h being the hardest pencil lead) and that determines what it can resist.

Ceramic Pro uses 9h in their formula, which forms a hard surface that can resist scratches from Graphite up to a 9H hardness. That includes dust and some small rocks. A key will still scratch the surface of the car.

The benefit to this is that if you go with their "gold package" they layer on 4 layers, which is good for the lifetime of the vehicle. Which means, that for the rest of the vehicles life, it will have an extra coating of super hard 9h which will prevent a lot of scratches.

Any other Ceramic Coat is mostly temporary and requires it to be re-added every few months to every few years. I've had my coating on for 2 years and my entire car (minus the lower front bumper) still looks like I just got it from the dealership. And I dont wax the car every 6 months and its just as hydrophobic.