Drip detail in richmond, got the showroom package with steam cleaning for the BMW and Civic, and the cars are brand new again. These guys also do pick up and drop off service, give them a shout.

Yeah, no. You're not getting a professional ceramic treatment.

Is the $300 a one time budget or an annual budget? If one time then pay $150 for someone to do a single stage polish and buy a spray on ceramic coating like: https://www.autoobsessed.com/product...d918a1a0&_ss=r

That no name guy is going to tell you that you're going to need a paint correction or he's going to end up locking in the swirls for you. You can do it BUT that's pretty stupid.

I got my car done at Unique Detailing a year ago for $1700. At that time my car was a year old and already had lots of micro scratches on it. They had my car for 4 days and they did 2 stage paint correction and they even wet sanded most of the car to get rid of some of the orange peel. I originally just went for a quote for paint correction on 1 side of the car but because I’m OCD, I decide to get the ceramic coating since it included the paint correction on the whole car.

After a year the ceramic features seems to be wearing off and I know I’m supposed to get a maintenance coating after a year but it’s my daily driver that’s parked outside and it already has a bunch of micro scratches and rock chips. I didn’t want to spend another $1k or so on paint correction and a maintenance coat. It seems like it’s going to be an ongoing yearly expense. I just have a normal peasant car so I didn’t think it was really worth it. If you have a high end car or a classic, then it maybe worth it since the cost would be relative. Next car I get I rather do XPEL ppf instead.

Ceramic coatings don't protect against rock chips and don't promise not to get scratches on them. What they offer is a much harder layer of protection than your normal clear coat so they are much more resistant to scratches (swirls etc) so it's not like you can just take it through automated car washes with no damage and you wouldn't want to the dealer to wash it for you.

The hydrophobic qualities of your ceramic are likely hidden right now because of contamination on your ceramic - an application of IronX (or similar), a pass with a clay bar, and a wipe with whatever reload product you're supposed to use should restore the performance (about 2 hours of pretty easy work). This is maintenance work you should do on your paint whether you have ceramic or not if you want to get the best out of your paint. If you got something other than GTechniq you can do this yourself and maintain the warranty.

My brother had Opticoat put on his CX-5 5 years ago and has sometimes griped that he didn't see the point of it but he never once took care of it and if you parked it next to another unprotected CX-5 the difference would be stark - his still shines close to new.

Ceramic coatings still require work to get value out of them, just not the day long paint correction work anymore. People who get it should plan on continuing to have some regimen of maintenance (DIY or paid) - it's not a free pass to not take care the car anymore.

wetsanded a 1 year old peasant car? that's hardcore

orange peel to a certain extent is pretty much guaranteed these days even if the dealer/transport didn't touch it...trying to defeat it is going down a rabbit hole if it's like you said not an exotic or something that's already getting fully repainted

i have a shop nearby that works on all my dealership cars, its around the $300 mark, they do a great job removing the scratches and making the paint pop but it probably wont compare to one of the 1k-2k ceramic coat jobs

he has done 100s of cars for us, no complains here

Shinex auto in surrey

Talk to Alex 778-918-7783

i dug up a couple of pics after he did my car, but pictures dont really do it justice

https://i.imgur.com/iDwWnWK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/MvRv989.jpg

I had my trucks front end done in Xpel PPF and coated at Autowerkes 5 years ago. The prices have definitely jumped up since then but his clientele is high end brand new cars so I can see why.

If I buy another brand new vehicle I'll probably still get the PPF but skip the coating.

I am new to this.

PPF is like a clear bar wrap to protect rock chip, but PPF needs to wax, claybar, ceramic coating too?

Do people PPF the whole car or just the front?

PPF is the clear film - can be just front or whole car.

Ceramic coating is basically like a semi-permanent wax job. Zero protection for rock chips but does provide a slick surface that beads water and maintains shine.

High end cars typically ceramic coat over top of the PPF to maintain ease of cleaning and shine.

To me, maybe I'm old and cheapo now. Don't see the value in keeping a Kia mint condition, it's a daily beater. Just wash it, apply some wax, call it a day. If car is dirty, just rinse down with water.

This is false.
Your paint picks up a ton of shit during transportation. Dirty dealer mitts. etc.

Unless it came directly off the factory floor or paint booth, and sat in a dust free and hermetically sealed room to cure, claybar your paint before applying any coating. Detailers will say this just to get your business by making it "cheaper" They probably won't polish, but they will claybar. It's a no brainer.

If you guys want to ceramic coat your car for cheap, just DIY. The coatings they have now are easy as fuck to use, and you're really only paying for labour. I use GTechnic CSL/ EXO

Paint has lasted 3 seasons of track abuse, daily driving, and 2 winters. I have minor chips here and there, but that's unavoidable with just a coating.

if you're REALLY lazy, just get some Si02 coating spray. Meguairs and Mothers have one. Waxed Shine is local and has had it for a while. Wet, Spray, Wipe, Rinse. Easyyyyy. I use it before trackday, and rubber literally does NOT stick to my paint. At all. It sticks to the coating and wipes off. I also use it as a "booster" spray. it's a sacrificial spray on coating that isn't annoying to use like wax, lasts longer, and is completely optically clear.

If you're going to DIY:
Clean Garage.
Iron X spray.
Wash with a wax free pH neutral wash. Wash. Fucking. Everything.
Claybar
Iron X
Wash with NEW CLEAN water/bucket
Dry. Fucking. Everything. All nooks and corners. Inside your side mirrors. Door jambs. I use a Motorcycle dryer. It's like $40 from Amazon.

Let it chill out in the garage and look for drips. you probably missed something. I did say dry. fucking. everything.

Coat.
Let that shit marinate for 24hrs. ZERO WATER CONTACT THROUGHOUT PROCESS.

After 24+ hrs. Roll ya girl out, and bask in your hardwork. Hose off any dust. Si02 Spray. DONE.

I usually start this process on a Friday Night. Coat Saturday morning. si02 coat with a hangover on Sunday. Flex on the coworkers on Monday.

it helps requesting the dealer not to remove the plastic protector from factory and lot boys need not apply with a wash/'detail'

it's not 100% perfect (still some swirls from factory/transport/dealer installed options), but good enough for a relatively ocd guy like me for diy coating/shop ppf

I should have disclosed the fact that I took delivery of my car with all the plastic still covers and shit still attached so car was never washed when I picked it up. It was dusty but no one washed the car until I brought it to Autowerkes. Now that I actually remember it a bit more, he polished it a little bit beforehand but still much less work than the OP's car.