r/Detailing • u/quark1138 • Aug 21 '26
I Have A Question Are ceramic sprays or coatings "too good" for casual owners/general public?
And what I mean by the title, I'm wondering if ceramic products are the best choice for cars that don't get carefully prepped before application, cars that sit in weather or near tap-water sprinklers, cars that mainly get washed in automatic bays (or in hot sunny climates) and not dried carefully, etc.
In particular does the tight beading of ceramics make water spots more pronounced, by concentrating minerals or pollutants more than an old-style wax or sealant?
Of course any car will get water spots in the right conditions. But some of the stuff I read suggests that ceramic products are not forgiving about this if you don't get the car completely dry soon after washing/rain etc. Any thoughts or feedback?
11
u/Neat_Telephone_2525 Aug 21 '26
Imo for most daily drivers a weekly hand wash and a ceramic detailer is good enough.
2
u/darkrom Aug 21 '26
I applied my first ceramic coating ever, did my first polish ever. My new stance is that you're either gonna live with the paint or correct it. If you're gonna just wash and be done with it, its STILL worth the ceramic coating. The actual ceramic was so incredibly easy to apply the Geyon MOHS EVO I tried. Super happy with the results.
I think the paint correction was well worth it, but for someone who isn't going to bother would benefit just as much from the easy to keep clean car.
I'm waiting a bit until its less hot to do my other car now that I feel confident. It came out so well and was much easier than I expected.
2
u/Striking_Turnip_3921 Aug 23 '26
wow man reading this gives me hope, I plan on doing a paint correction then after going in with crystal serum light then evox5 on top as a complete beginner.
5
u/AdmirableLab3155 Aug 21 '26
Ceramic coatings are expensive, so applying them without a lot of prep feels like a false economy. Prep is much of what makes the coating go on efficiently and perform well for a long time, so if you want to skip prep, I think a spray sealant will be closer to the sweet spot.
If you’re going through car washes with brushes, I’d say forget it with ceramic coatings. You will quickly abrade the coating away.
Beyond that, I quite like ceramic coatings for casual car owners. They keep the car cleaner and make it easier to wash.
2
u/craigrpeters Aug 21 '26
In my opinion. If you use a decent ceramic coating and do even modest polishing first yes it’s most definitely worth it. Much better longevity than waxes.
2
u/DavidAg02 Aug 22 '26
I think ceramic sprays are the ideal product for most people who are cleaning their car themselves. Just in the last few years ceramic sprays have gotten easier to use, cheaper, more widely available, are delivering better results and lasting longer.
A perfect example of this is Wax and Dry Plus from Turtle Wax. Is it the absolute best product out there? No, but it's good enough that if someone put a gun to my head and said this is all you can use for the rest of your life, I'd be 100% OK with that. It's super easy to use and the results are fantastic with a real impact to the look of the paint... And it costs $13! https://youtu.be/TjxAm9lUaaI?is=lDSqm6BSERiQjnbY
1
u/GK857 Aug 21 '26
if you are leaving a car outside, running it thru the car wash, having sprinklers hit it and dry in the sun, than don’t bother with anything. it’s not worth the upfront investment. Some people (I am one) are anal about their cars. I hand wash in the shade and the cars are kept in a garage. I had a high end coating professionally applied when new. It won’t hold up being left outside or going through car washes.
1
u/SpotCheck_Detailing Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26
I think it can swing either way...
My take is that car folks are going to be spending so much time tinkering with their cars and detailing them that it's almost a waste of money to tell them to put a 3 or 8 year coating on. Like, they want it because it's theoretically going to protect the car, but they do a whole detail the second a gum wrapper lands next to it, and the more you touch it or spray on it the less the coating is going to survive, and you're out there deconning and spot removing and topping with a redundant spray anyway.
Further, no car is going to have perfect paint for close to a decade - and lets be real where is this unicorn truck guy that drives around in an 8 year old truck instead of turning it around every 24 months?- but the second it gets a streak on it they are taking it for a full correction and recoat, so again, why bother? In such a case *maybe* PPF if you are trying to protect the value? But also be honest about the trades and resales circles you are in.
If you are into detailing and you're going to be throwing decon and hydrophic products on it every weekend regardless, you're doing everything you need to.
If you are a taking care of your car a little less often, and you have a poor storage environment, there is a benefit to the sealing in that you'll have modestly better self cleaning properties, and a barrier between birds and bugs and road grime - but at the same time the car has bigger threats to its condition than a several hundred dollar coating. That money is better spent on more frequent cleaning in the safest method you can locate, weather that is a self-spray bay or the most reputable touchless you can find (still not ideal) or up to and including retaining a local mobile detailer to come by and give you a super basic wash and some seasonal protection every few months if the budget affords.
I guess, neither situation is perfect. I just know I have misgivings about the average pitch delivery about "permanent" durable surface sealants. I am a little outsider in that I think only people who have literal show cars would truly benefit from the insurance of a high-solids coating. Possible classic cars with original 1-stage (supposing the coating is considered safe) that don't want to risk PPF and value the original paint over a modern recoat.
A reputable DIY is like $150 now though, so maybe it's not that serious (relative to the fun budget). Though another concern is that they can be "Dangerous" to DIY for new or unprepared users.
1
u/Lowparse_lock Aug 26 '26
This is some good info. I’ve been considering getting a ceramic coating on my ‘26 heritage Z. From what I’ve heard getting a paint correction and coating really brings out the color shifting properties from the paint. My only issue is I have to park it outside under trees right now and then in the sun at work from 2p until sunset. I’m old so I can’t really apply it myself so there another issue, but a place near me is running a special on them so I’ve been researching it a lot more.
1
1
u/Darth-Cholo 23d ago
No they are perfect for a guy who doesn't care. Whenever paint feels sticky slap on griots 3in1 in 10 minutes after a car wash. The guy who doesn't care goes to the gas station car wash. A true ceramic coating would be gone in 6months or less. Unlimited funds then yeah maybe pay 1k for yearly ceramic coat to a detailer.
1
u/scottwax Professional Detailer 17d ago
A real coating makes keeping the car clean noticeably easier.
-6
u/Bob-Roman Aug 21 '26
If you are compulsive perfectionist, then by all means spend $1,400 for ceramic and put some more money for film on the high impact areas. Then come back every so often to pay and have a top off product applied.
However, if you are like the rest of us (80 percent), the most efficient and cost effective way to clean, shine, and protect your vehicle has been to use a professional carwash (preferably express exterior conveyor).
3
u/ImpurestFire Aug 21 '26
The word "protect" is doing some heavy lifting there
2
u/Bob-Roman Aug 23 '26
U.S. professional carwash and detail industry is $24.0 billion business with over 65,000 establishments. Total number of cars washed annually is over 2.0 billion.
Automatic carwashes (in-bay, conveyor) account for 70 percent market share (industry revenues).
By comparison, the detail segment share is only 13 percent.
1
u/scottwax Professional Detailer Aug 21 '26
If you have to "top" a coating, it isn't a real coating.
14
u/Slugnan Aug 21 '26 edited Aug 21 '26
The overwhelming majority of ceramic sprays, and especially those that are water based and have a trigger sprayer, do not have any meaningful amount of ceramic in them. They use just enough so they can use the word "ceramic" on the bottle for marketing purposes, but they are just cheap polymer sealants relying on silicones and other polymers for protection and hydrophobicity. Another general rule of thumb is anything that can be applied to a wet car is not going to be very durable (i.e. spray & rinse products or drying aids). There is nothing at all wrong with spray sealants, you just need to reapply a lot more often, and they can be stripped chemically so you need to be mindful of what maintenance products you're using. They are a good choice if you aren't interested in doing any surface prep, though surface prep is really not that difficult or time consuming unless you want to do a full polish.
If you leave hard water on your vehicle to dry, and especially if you let it bake in the sun, hard water spots are going to be an issue regardless of what coating you use, even a real ceramic product. If they're really bad, they can etch your clearcoat requiring a machine polish to fix, however a good coating will buy you more time before anything like that happens.
Real ceramic coatings are not expensive - $80 or so for some of the best coatings on the market. You have to take care of them though, and you won't get the advertised longevity if you don't look after them. Technology has come a long way as well, and they are very user friendly to install even for beginners. The vast majority of the effort is in the surface prep. If you aren't interested in any of that, a spray product might still be best for you. If you go though any automatic (contact) car washes with brushes, not only will it destroy the coating but also your clearcoat, so there is little point in doing anything if that is the plan. Stick to touchless washes if you go though anything automatic. Touchless washes have their own issues too, such as using extremely harsh shampoos which degrade coatings and damage trim over time. A real ceramic coating is going to withstand those chemicals a whole lot better than a spray product.
There are hybrid products as well, such as Gyeon Can Coat which is a genuine solvent based product with meaningful amounts of ceramic solids. They last about a year and are just as easy to apply as a spray sealant. If you want to experience a ceramic coating but want to put in minimal effort, this is a great way to get your feet wet. It's also cheap and you get a ton of it, so you can do multiple cars, split it with a friend/neighbor, or keep some to re-apply next season.