Washing with ceramic coating/PPF

Lots of guys wax their trucks several time a year, thats great. But its a ton of work.

I got mine ceramic coated and now I am done for 5 years. I hardly ever wash it. It just shines, the bugs slide off when I drive through the rain. it is the most maintenance free product. All of my vehicles are coated. and I love it. The finish is more resistant to scratches and chips. you get what you pay for and I would do it over and over. I can take my truck over to any fresh waxed truck and it will have a deeper shine even if I don't wash it.
After 5 years do they just reapply the ceramic coating?
 
I had mine paint corrected and ceramic coated by Xpel after two weeks. My truck has never been anything other than hand washed. The Xpel rinseless car wash makes it easy to keep up with.
 
After 5 years do they just reapply the ceramic coating?
depends, They must see how it's holding up and test the finish, if its good they can refresh, if not it could use a new color correction. However if you wax your ceramic coating you will "F" it up. No need to ever wax. Remember its not a fancy wax job its a coating that is much harder than the clear coat. Beware of cheap imitation "wax" kits. A properly coated vehicle will have several stages of preparation before the coating is applied. It can take many hours to properly prep the surface prior to applying the coating. That is why the cost is more. Anyone can apply and prep their own vehicle but for what the product costs and the value of a new Tremor I would recommend you have it done professionally. They have dust controlled areas with special lighting. Not to mention the experience to make your vehicle look special. We coated my Jeep Rubicon in my home shop. They had troubles with the lighting and during the curing phase it turned into a dust magnet. They spent hours getting the dust out of the clear coat.
Added bonus with the coating is off roading. Since the finish is now "9x" harder than then clear coating it is much harder to scratch the finish, mud slides off easy and its more resistant to chips and nicks.

It seems argumentative comments about a cheap wax job and the benefits of ceramic coating are like talking politics or religion. I just try to give you the facts. Some people love their trucks and want to spend time on them, the wax treatment every month or so is like a therapy to them so great, I am happy for them. I have a busy life and want my vehicles to look good and hold up. I can't spend that much time with the buffer. In fact I hate to wash them all the time. So the coating works for me. I plan to refresh mine every three with hopefully no corrections needed.
 
You
depends, They must see how it's holding up and test the finish, if its good they can refresh, if not it could use a new color correction. However if you wax your ceramic coating you will "F" it up. No need to ever wax. Remember its not a fancy wax job its a coating that is much harder than the clear coat. Beware of cheap imitation "wax" kits. A properly coated vehicle will have several stages of preparation before the coating is applied. It can take many hours to properly prep the surface prior to applying the coating. That is why the cost is more. Anyone can apply and prep their own vehicle but for what the product costs and the value of a new Tremor I would recommend you have it done professionally. They have dust controlled areas with special lighting. Not to mention the experience to make your vehicle look special. We coated my Jeep Rubicon in my home shop. They had troubles with the lighting and during the curing phase it turned into a dust magnet. They spent hours getting the dust out of the clear coat.
Added bonus with the coating is off roading. Since the finish is now "9x" harder than then clear coating it is much harder to scratch the finish, mud slides off easy and its more resistant to chips and nicks.

It seems argumentative comments about a cheap wax job and the benefits of ceramic coating are like talking politics or religion. I just try to give you the facts. Some people love their trucks and want to spend time on them, the wax treatment every month or so is like a therapy to them so great, I am happy for them. I have a busy life and want my vehicles to look good and hold up. I can't spend that much time with the buffer. In fact I hate to wash them all the time. So the coating works for me. I plan to refresh mine every three with hopefully no corrections needed.
I agree that besides the cost "Profesionally" done Ceramic is the way to go........How much did it cost to have your Tremor done? And my second question is did they do a correction of your new paint? With a clay bar for instance??
 
Although I may have sounded a little argumentative against Ceramic...I am not. My point was: If you wash and wax your truck (even using crappy car washes), it will still look really good after five or six years. I also agree that it is VERY labor intensive.
 
You

I agree that besides the cost "Profesionally" done Ceramic is the way to go........How much did it cost to have your Tremor done? And my second question is did they do a correction of your new paint? With a clay bar for instance??
My kids have a side business for ceramic coating so I get a special price and the full treatment. The correction was still needed. Ford paint and clear seems much better than our two FCA cars. FCA had lots of issues. Ford does a nice job of paint and clear compared to FCA and GM.

The dealership does a nice detail job. The trucks get pretty dirty in the shipping process. However when you really go over it in special lighting you can see swirl marks and some hard water stains from rain or what ever from sitting out in the shipping yards. I just give it a simple hand wash once and a while and it looks like just waxed. So I am sold on the products. No doubt there are salesman out there that over sell ceramic or related products.
 
I am very concerned about handing my new truck over to someone who then ruins my paint. I imagine that finding a reliable shop is similar to finding someone to renovate your kitchen.....and that makes me really nervous. We all know what these trucks cost....
 
I am very concerned about handing my new truck over to someone who then ruins my paint. I imagine that finding a reliable shop is similar to finding someone to renovate your kitchen.....and that makes me really nervous. We all know what these trucks cost....
@davidb1841 Many of us have used Gtechniq products: https://usa.gtechniq.com/
You can find their certified detailers/applicators here: https://usa.gtechniq.com/detailing-service/
There are different levels of coating, some used CS Ultra (9year, sanded off) others CS Lite (5 year? can be buffed off)
I am very happy with the services I received, but not cheap.
For exterior detail, correction, HALO on the front PPF, CSU on the rest of the paint, and wheel face treatment (three different products) ~1500
PPF is extra.
 
My shop uses CQuartz, I am very happy with it so far, have no former experience to compare it to, I do a lot of business with them on the family fleet, and they did the Tremor for $950 out the door - glass, wheels, exhaust tip, etc. Got a foam cannon and ceramic safe soap, will try to give it a first wash this weekend and let you know how It turns out. like PapaRaptor stated cleans up nice after a hard rain, its really not necessary yet only after a month.
 
My shop uses CQuartz, I am very happy with it so far, have no former experience to compare it to, I do a lot of business with them on the family fleet, and they did the Tremor for $950 out the door - glass, wheels, exhaust tip, etc. Got a foam cannon and ceramic safe soap, will try to give it a first wash this weekend and let you know how It turns out. like PapaRaptor stated cleans up nice after a hard rain, its really not necessary yet only after a month.
Definitely checking it out....I just spent 500 for Summos and a 1000 for a tool box/tonneau cover....I dont think 1-2K is alot to protect my paint and lose the manual labor to keep it shiny!
 
Another bonus on the ceramic coat for me is camping in the north woods. Lots of pine sap. no way around it. Much easier to clean it off.
Plus smashing all the bugs on the way to and from the woods.

We had a 4 inch rain fall and the bugs are off my front end. Crazy I did not even do anything.
 
Another bonus on the ceramic coat for me is camping in the north woods. Lots of pine sap. no way around it. Much easier to clean it off.
Plus smashing all the bugs on the way to and from the woods.

We had a 4 inch rain fall and the bugs are off my front end. Crazy I did not even do anything.
Spent many years in both Barron County and driving back and forth to the central UP....and the Fox Valley. Skied 4 Birky's. Favorite town: Dallas WI...Love to drink beer at "Clicker's"...foods good to. Forgot about the bugs......we got the pines in NC too....But driving around I hardley ever get any significant bugs on the front of my truck....just the big ones, like bees
 
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Have been following this guy for a while, knows his s#:t.

 
Have been following this guy for a while, knows his s#:t.

great video !!! I agree with him.

I did not coat my Tremor wheels. All my other cars and trucks we did the wheels. I may do them or just swap them out for custom wheels and tires. After coating the Tremor we needed a break, was a lot of area to coat.
 
PPF will not stick to a properly ceramic coated area. so think about it before you do anything and have a plan.
 
Have been following this guy for a while, knows his s#:t.

For sure... He also has a retail sales site. I bought most of my Gtechniq products through him based on detailer recommendation. There were a few items that I bought elsewhere. it was great that my detailer gave me essentially a shopping list to maintain the coating he installed.
 
Just watched the "Chicago Auto Pros" and got schooled on car care.....I think with a few more tools (foam Cannon) and some better mitts and buckets,,,,I won't destroy my own paint washing my car. At least I knew enough to rinse off my car as a first step. Very informative. Anyone know a good brand of wash mitts and drying towels as suggested by these guys??
 
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