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Im a DIYer, and thought I’d put a professional grade ceramic coating on my wheels to, hopefully, help with brake dust. My car is nearly new, so prep work wasn’t too bad. I have been using Griots Garage stuff for decades, so I started with speed shine and a few rags to get the dust off, then followed with clay to get things really clean, then rags with isopropyl alcohol to try to get the best adhesion of the coating. This was followed by Nasiol ZR53 ceramic coating inside and out.
I was a little nervous about messing up the application, so I did the hood on my daily beater first (same steps, but light polish after clay). That went well, so I committed to wheels. My wheels are GT Silver and look good and shiny with the coating, but they looked good before, so I didn’t notice much change in appearance. They were definitely slippery to reinstall.
I didn’t use all of my coating on the wheels, so I did the same process on the headlights. Going from alcohol cleaned to after the ceramic, they looked noticeably more clear, I’m hopeful that they will stay cleaner and might resist scratching from glancing blows a tiny bit better. Since that worked, I did the tail lights, too.
Finally, I noticed the brake calipers, and thought, what the heck, the right side wheels are still off! I don’t know if these coatings do well with heat, but I tried it out.
After all these little things, I still have some left, and the Nasiol stuff doesn’t have a long shelf life after the bottle is open. Does anyone have some creative uses? Interior trim to avoid fingerprints? Something around the house?
Heyya GarrettGTS, let us know what you think after about 3-6 months of use!
I don’t have my GTS yet, but did a bunch of research and bought kamikaze stance rim coat. I got a set of 19” winter rims I need to get refinished and thought I’d try it out.
As for other uses, I wouldn’t put it on the interior trim (or anything on the inside for that matter) but like you would coat exterior lights. Idk if it’s going to help much against scratching, but ymmv. Also, have you thought about maybe using 2 coats for the interior barrels?
I use Ceramic Pro on all of the cheep plastic trim. Front splitter, around the window and mirror trim, windscreen wipers, the plastic below them and the rear diffuser. It should look good for around two years; no sun fade, water repellent and easy to clean.
I am not sure about doing the headlights, I think they already have a protective cover from the factory.
I use Ceramic Pro on all of the cheep plastic trim. Front splitter, around the window and mirror trim, windscreen wipers, the plastic below them and the rear diffuser. It should look good for around two years; no sun fade, water repellent and easy to clean.
I am not sure about doing the headlights, I think they already have a protective cover from the factory.
My detailer ceramic coated the headlights and all lights actually - no problem doing so.
Thanks everyone! I’ll do the black exterior trim bits next. I don’t suppose I can clay those pieces, so just alcohol prep? I did think about doing two coats on the wheels, but wanted to wait until the first coat was cured (48 hrs) We’ll see if I’m energetic enough to pull the wheels again next weekend and clean and redcoat, because I’m NOT going to let the car sit in the garage all week just to keep the wheels clean.
Regarding scratches, I’ve seen videos online that seem too good to be true…maybe you have, too. Some engineer friends of mine replicated the test, and the ceramic coating completely eliminated scratches from light glancing blows with a piece of stiff plastic. The uncoated surface scratched easily. It won’t help with direct hits, but I’ll take a small benefit, if I can get it.
Interestingly, I got the idea to do the wheels from my daily beater, a 2012 Focus. That car came with some sort of magic non-wettable coating on the wheels from the factory. It is, shockingly, undiminished 10 years later, although I do use winter tires on that car. I wish I knew what that magic coating was!
Well, I guess I have new-car-itis because I went and coated the black stuff already. I was a little apprehensive because I did not want glossy surfaces, but I needn’t have worried. The trim still looks matte, like original. I even did the sea of black plastic around the frunk.
It would be great if I could use something like this on side/rear glass (or shower doors, LOL) but I’m skeptical. I work with professionals that design high-performance adhesives, and chemistries designed to stick to organics (paint, raw plastic, PPF, powder coat) often have difficulty sticking to inorganics (bare metal, glass) so my guess is that the coating might not last. The instructions, in fact, recommend against application on glass and metal.
I still have a little left, so I’m looking for plastic stuff. Maybe door sills, and I’m even eyeing the plastic top of my home air conditioner.
Wheel coating doesn't last too long because of the heat involved. It's awesome at first, but short-lived. I use Gyeon Wet Coat on wheels as needed. It gives the hydrophobic behavior and takes .0001 of the time. I also use CarPro DLux on all black trim and the panels in the frunk and door sills.
I have coated wheels in the past and found that it seems to burn off with heat after not that long. Both Opti Coat Pro+ and Owners Pride (both high end products). None of the wheels passed the bead test after one track day, or a few weeks on the road. I had the same experience coating my glass, helped for a short time then no benefit.
Well, here is my first report back. I’ve done about 500 miles since I coated the wheels and other bits. This includes some spirited pace up and down a 5000 ft mountain pass, but nothing like the brake use after a track day. I’m staying under 4k rpm, after all. All four wheels had noticeable brake dust, which did not simply hose off with water. Brake dust came off easily using soapy water and a sponge, and beading after washing is looking good inside and out. Way too soon to call this a victory, but the coating did not simply disappear after a little driving.
I have coated wheels in the past and found that it seems to burn off with heat after not that long. Both Opti Coat Pro+ and Owners Pride (both high end products). None of the wheels passed the bead test after one track day, or a few weeks on the road. I had the same experience coating my glass, helped for a short time then no benefit.
CQuartz offers a product called Reload that you can apply between major applications of their product to keep it working. It seems to work well but I have not tracked the car.
i've ceramic coated 3 sets of wheels. love how easy they clean up. helps with maintenance and storage as well.
i used Nanolex - https://www.detailersdomain.com/
Wheel coating doesn't last too long because of the heat involved. It's awesome at first, but short-lived. I use Gyeon Wet Coat on wheels as needed. It gives the hydrophobic behavior and takes .0001 of the time. I also use CarPro DLux on all black trim and the panels in the frunk and door sills.
So is your opinion the Gyeon lasts longer or just that it's an easier process that's equally effective?
CQuartz offers a product called Reload that you can apply between major applications of their product to keep it working. It seems to work well but I have not tracked the car.
This is a good idea. I should try Reload for my wheels. I got the whole car/wheels CQuartz coated back in Jan but the wheels have seemed to be harder to clean recently.
08-01-2021, 05:12 PM
Ceramic coating on things besides bodywork
