I've recently started looking into having my 991's paint corrected and sealed with a ceramic coating. There are some fine swirls in the paint that are bothersome to me so seems like the right time to have it addressed and to seal in the protection with ceramic.

My understanding is that a majority of the fare is for the labor as it can take several hours from start to finish. However, I've received 3 different estimates in the last couple weeks and the vary wildly from company to company. I'm normally the person that avoids the cheapest and the most expensive when soliciting bids for home improvement type projects and will probably follow a similar route here, but was just curious if others had been down this path before and seen pricing all over the map.

Here is a sample of what I'm seeing:

• Shop #1 - Mobile service in my driveway; 2 step paint correction, clay bar, ceramic coating on paint, glass and wheels (2yr) - $350 (current promotion) or $550 for 5yr
• Shop #2 - Offsite facility; 2 step paint correction, clay bar, ceramic coating on paint only (2yr) - $1,150 or $1,550 for 5yr
• Shop #3 - Offsite facility; 1 step paint correction; clay bar, ceramic coating (2yr) on paint and glass (no wheels) - $800 or $1,200 for 5yr

 

Definitely don’t do this in your driveway. It needs a clean, controlled environment with good lighting and time to cure well.

 

Ah, I hadn't thought about that, but makes sense and good to know. Probably the biggest driver of the mobile shop being so much less expensive than the others

 

Definitely agree, not in the driveway. If you have a garage to park in, that’s a better option for the mobile shop.

The other 2 are not that far off from each other, price wise. May just come down to what product they use, experience in applying ceramic, and local reviews of each shop.

Once you complete the ceramic, you’ll need to have it away from elements about 1 day or 2 for proper curing.

 

With ceramic coating, I would think about this a bit differently.

Which detailer can do the best job on the car forgetting about the wax/sealant/ceramic you put on top?

Depending on the condition of the car, as you said, its all labor. The paint needs to look great before whatever you put on top. The cost of the coating itself is small relative to the labor for the detailing. And the labor to install the coating itself is small.

Detail shops try to break things down into terms that they think people digest easier. Clay, one step correction, eight step correction, one coat, 5 coats, etc. Its all honestly marketing BS. End of the day you want a detailer that will make the car look good and fix whatever issue you have to the best possible outcome without damaging the car, burning the clear, etc. Their price should be based on the condition of the car.

In my experience the ceramic coating really does not help that much with swirl prevention. Its all how the car is washed and handled. With a daily driver I can't say I notice any real coating benefit after about 2 years. Then it needs to be polished and top coated again.

Ceramic coating warranties are again mostly BS.

I like ceramic coating. Its a long lasting hard paint sealant but its far from magic. Where I actually have had best luck with it is on older cars with single stage paint but thats another story.

 

It's all about the paint correction and the prep. I would not have it done outside. A proper shop will have the appropriate lighting and curing setup.

 

You don’t mention what brand of ceramic coating they are quoting. There is a wide range in the quality of coatings. As others have said this should be done in a shop and a high quality professional grade coating with a 5 year life should be around $1,500 to $2,500 depending on the prep that needs to be done.

I see you are looking at 2yr coatings this tells me they are probably not using the “pro” grade products that are usually only available to professional shops. They are most likely using the products that can be bought off the shelf. My recommendation would be go to a higher quality coating. I have used both and there is a big difference. Not at first but I have noticed the 2 year coatings start to fade after 6-9 mo

 

Has any of the shops actually seen the condition of your vehicle?

paint correction, systematic elimination of swirls, water spots, etching, scratches, etc., when done properly and systematically, requires:

1. ample prep after wash/decontamination process -

2. evaluation - what imperfections does the paint need addressed ? this requires excellent lighting and in a controlled setting

3. paint should be measured with ultrasonic paint meter to asses overall health and make sure there’s enough material to achieve desired results of step 2

4. Strategic taping of the trim, plastics, ppf, etc. in preparation to paint correction

5. Only now can the actual paint correction begin. This process alone can take 1/2 day to several days to achieve desired results

6. then a proper wash is necessary to clean the entire vehicle from all the polish dust and residue that’s accumulated in all the seams, door jams, vents, window trim, lettering, etc.

only now is vehicle ready for ceramic application which also requires similar scope and attention

so, hopefully that helps you a little to further prequalify the vendors you’re considering

our industry has become extremely saturated in the last 5 years and the line between the genuine product and “good enough” has been blurred more than ever…buyer beware

hope this helps and let us know how it turns out

 

Has anyone seen any independent, technical analysis of various "ceramic" coatings? Or, independent analysis, in general?

The real work, as noted by others, is the paint prep - and usually this is just on the clear coat, right?

 

My 911 targa 4S has been in the shop for a week going through the process. I'm also getting a clear bra. They said it takes 4 to 5 days to do the whole thing. They have to let it cure between coats. I should be getting the car today and dropping off my Taycan turbo S. With the clear bra and everything it's about $4,000 per car.

 

I have had 5 cars professionally corrected then coated in the past 8 years. Some having PPF and coating on top of the PPF. It literary is all labor and a really good shop will have your car for a week even if its brand new and the dealer never washed it. It’s amazing the number of defects you can find on a brand-new car that has only gone through dealer prep and never washed. The cost has ranged from 2.5k for a full correction on a new car and Ceramic Pro Gold package for the car, interior, wheels, and brake calipers all the way to 5k for full correction on a used car with new PPF front on the front clip, and full ceramic coating on the PPF, rest of the car, the wheels, interior brake calipers etc.. The difference in the two cars was the amount of paint prep that had to be done before the coating and PPF goes on. Good paint correction is an art as stated above, you really need to know what you are doing, as paint thickness, hardness, depth of imperfections come into play on how much it can be corrected and how long it will take. One very important detail to remember on the wheels are they coating the face or the entire wheel including the barrel? A good shop will remove the wheels, wash, and prep them then coat the face and the barrels. The calipers should also be thoroughly cleaned and coated. All of this takes a lot of time. While all of this is being completed, minor paint damage is also being fixed, small rock ships filled and wet sanded, plastic trim(removing swirls from black trim (the coating keeps it a nice deep black) being corrected or prepared for coating as well. For example, my shop prepped then coated all the black trim under the frunk, the rear spoiler, rear exhaust valance, etc. That black trim can make a perfect car show its age so its needs to be treated as well.

Once the paint has been corrected to the desired result, you must consider the ceramic coating being used. The retail coatings are easy to apply but also do not give you the results of the pro coatings when it comes to overall depth, gloss, and protection. The pro coatings are hard to apply as they are thick, and some require infrared lighting and a few weeks of no washing to properly to cure. On top of that a good shop will apply a few coats of ceramic coating not just one, and each coat as to cure to a certain point before its considered complete.

On top of all that, the shop performing the work must be clean and very well lighted to see the imperfections. It also takes some talent and good eye. I technically know what needs to be done but no way can I reach the level of what I have received after it’s been completed by a professional.

It’s a lot of work and can be expensive, but the time saved washing, and the overall look of the car is worth it. Anytime I have gone to sell a car that was properly prepped and coated I got more money for the car even for a trade in. You can also go the cheap route but don’t expect it to look the same or last as long.

 

Not technical but you can see the difference in gloss (using gloss meter), hydrophobic properties, and wear over time of 16 pro coatings on a single car.

 

If you dig deeper into the Chicago Auto Pros and their sister site Car Supplies Warehouse on YouTube they have a few long term tests comparing many of the top coatings.

 

unpopular opinion here...paint correction is great and waxing twice a years to maintain it is also a good thing. Ceramic coating is overpriced and has to be maintained once put on a car. the dealer I went to put this stuff on my golf and it took took years to get rid of it. I did a good paint correction and put on PPF which actually protects the paint. I wax both the R and 911 with PPF 2x a year with a plastic wax product that cost under $20 in an hour.

 

The money on ceramic or PPF is wasted unless the paint is corrected properly prior to application. A good detailer should charge closer to $1k or more to do paint correction over the entire car and another $500 at minimum for ceramic application, closer to $750 for a 3 or 5 year treatment (more coats = more labor). I would not use the driveway service, that is likely the same product you can buy at Walmart and do it yourself, it will last just as long too. The pricing is not in line with what your expectations are either if I'm reading the intent behind your post correctly.

If not applied in the proper environment, out of the elements, and allowed to cure properly you can actually make the car look pretty bad with ceramic. It will look smudged permanently among other things and the "warranty" won't cover improperly applied coatings. The product is important, they aren't all the same, so ask what they are each planning to put on your car. Also, depending on the swirl marks you may need more like a 3 or 4 step paint correction with wet sanding and that also takes skill not to damage the paint. You should pay $1500 - $2500 depending. If you don't have PPF on your car that would be a good time to cover the front half while the paint is perfect and then it's protected from rock chips and other stuff that will hit the paint on the road.