Contaminants on Ceramic Coating

[Magnified]

There's a reason this is built into their 'warranty' !!

Note: To uphold your Gtechniq guarantee you must visit the Gtechniq Accredited Detailer who applied your original coatings every 12 months during the period of you guarantee – unless you have changed address, if this is the case please email technicalNA@gtechniq.com. This is so that they can inspect your vehicle’s finish and give you advice on the maintenance of your car. This inspection is free of charge and can be arranged at a time convenient to you.

I got to know an installer pretty well and he said you can expect the 'annual recommendation' be they 'refresh' the detail & coating for $300+.
If you refuse the service or skip the annual check-in, good luck getting them to honor the warranty.

One of the reasons I never bothered with any of this stuff on my cars !

Others do not require that.

And as an attorney I would take a run at them. Having to purchase additional services to preserve the warranty.means the warranty is a sham.

My 5 year warranty had no such requirements. Tends to indicate an inferior product that they would require that? If they cant hold up, but want to compete w the other 5 years, this would be a way to avoid claims they know would be coming.

 

[Speedy!]

There's a reason this is built into their 'warranty' !!

Note: To uphold your Gtechniq guarantee you must visit the Gtechniq Accredited Detailer who applied your original coatings every 12 months during the period of you guarantee – unless you have changed address, if this is the case please email technicalNA@gtechniq.com. This is so that they can inspect your vehicle’s finish and give you advice on the maintenance of your car. This inspection is free of charge and can be arranged at a time convenient to you.

I got to know an installer pretty well and he said you can expect the 'annual recommendation' be they 'refresh' the detail & coating for $300+.
If you refuse the service or skip the annual check-in, good luck getting them to honor the warranty.

One of the reasons I never bothered with any of this stuff on my cars !

Well, the warranty says it's only to cover "stains and discoloration of the product" so that's not likely either. It was well worth it for me regardless, I've spent 90% less time washing the car than my old one. I'd do it again in a heart beat, although having done two other cars myself with the consumer version for about $100 I'd just go that route.

We put Crystal Serum Light (consumer version of what I have on the Hellcat) on Mrs. Speedy's car 2 years ago and I think we've hand washed it once and it looks amazing.

 

[MikeD1]

Others do not require that.

And as an attorney I would take a run at them. Having to purchase additional services to preserve the warranty.means the warranty is a sham.

My 5 year warranty had no such requirements. Tends to indicate an inferior product that they would require that? If they cant hold up, but want to compete w the other 5 years, this would be a way to avoid claims they know would be coming.

My thoughts exactly & why I decided to stick with the DIY stuff. Besides the HC is a weekend, fair weather cruiser & even the 'daily' only sees daylight 2 or 3x a week.

 

[Speedy!]

Well, I always start with least aggressive first so I had some Gtechniq Panel Wipe which is mostly isopropyl alcohol so I wiped a section of the hood with that and a micro fiber and boom, back to being slick. So it's definitely something like tree sap but you can't see it.

Whatever it is didn't come off with my standard wash though. I think I'm gonna order some IronX and do a decontaminate on it. Probably due after 5 years.

 

[MikeD1]

If the stuff is even 1/10th as resiliant as they state, I don't see how clay bar & lube could possible damage it ?? They claim you need to wet sand to get it off/correct application errors. Should be impervious to clay bar unless you plan to roll it around in sand 1st & skip the lube

 

[Speedy!]

If the stuff is even 1/10th as resiliant as they state, I don't see how clay bar & lube could possible damage it ?? They claim you need to wet sand to get it off/correct application errors. Should be impervious to clay bar unless you plan to roll it around in sand 1st & skip the lube

Exactly. I found a spot the detail guy got a drip and I did have to sand it. Info on this stuff is all over the place and the detailing forums are like a non stop debate on which oil is best I ain't got no time for that.

 

[Paladin06]

You guys must be missing the part where I stated the sides of the car are no problem and that the slick feel came back with claying a test area. C'mon guys reading comprehension is a thing

The guy who installed the ceramic is the one who suggested I use the touchless. He's been in the Dupont Registry so I think he knows his stuff. I was waiting to her from Gtechniq first just to see what they say, but I plan to ping him as well. Real good dude.

Considering this is how I've mainly washed all the cars for 5-6 years I think my experiences are proven compared to what someone told you.

The surface of any car, ceramic or not will become slick after CB. That's the purpose of the CB. Comprehension.......

I do not doubt your guys expertise but, car wash and all that goes with it contains water, which is not a metal cars best friend.

Your technique is not flawed but, again water, under pressure, with any car wash product will degrade any protective coating and paint. I know you've seen cars with just the roof faded. Ever wonder why? The roof is the surface most directly exposed to harsh elements from above, sun, acid rain, bird poop, pollen, etc. I'm sure you will agree with that.

 

[jroyk]

My thoughts exactly & why I decided to stick with the DIY stuff. Besides the HC is a weekend, fair weather cruiser & even the 'daily' only sees daylight 2 or 3x a week.

Same here. My Cat only sees a California Duster and quick detailer. Not even a hose.

 

[Blown7]

Pressure wash is almost as good as grit blast. Heck at a jet engine place I worked at we had a water cut thru high alloy rig that would cut thru 6 inches of solid steel.. Nothing lasts forever that's why a process called repaint is sometimes needed.

 

[Speedy!]

All our cars always get pressure washed when we wash them and have for years. If you're damaging the car with that you're doing something wrong.

My question was if anyone had experience with a contaminate getting on a ceramic coated vehicle. Doesn't sound like anyone has.

 

[GBLWRMR]

My question was if anyone had experience with a contaminate getting on a ceramic coated vehicle. Doesn't sound like anyone has.

Thinking back, I took my 18' on a trip down to the Jersey shore last year. No choice but to park under a tree. Woke up to thousands of tiny "drops" of what appeared to be sap. Hit a local Autozone and they best they had was Griot's Speed Shine. Soaked down a micro fiber and went to work. Took little effort and the sap was gone. I now keep the small bottle in the trunk. Good for removing the random bird shit and smashed bugs while out.

Glad yours also cleared up easily.

 

[Speedy!]

I have 2 gallons of Speed Shine in the shop. It also makes a great clay bar lubricant.

 

[Blown7]

Well I can tell you this..even epoxy paint which is the absolute bedt hands down can be contaminated and completely stripped off the leading edges of aircraft just flying thru rain. My point was Ceramic coating means nothing by itself ..it the underlying paint is garbage.

 

[Speedy!]

I have no idea what that has to do with this thread haha.

Well I heard back from Gtechniq so at least they do respond to questions. They basically stated what I already suspected, that a decontamination wash is needed and they recommend doing that annually. Mine's been 5 years, whoops.

Of course they recommended several of their products, but I'm gonna snag some Car Pro Iron X and start doing that a couple times a year. Some of these say they're not safe on PPF so keep that in mind. Iron X is PPF safe which is why I chose it.

 

[vortecd]

I think ceramic is just the latest wax out there at a much higher price. I had my Daytona done and it looked good for a few months then had what looked like lots of water spots on it. Had to use another product to get them off but they came back. Did the $100 follow up to reapply it the next year and it did the same thing. If it wasn't black you may not have been able to see it. For the money to me it isn't worth it. We all have waxed cars for many years and they always looked good and shiny when done without spending big money to do it

 

[Speedy!]

I'm never going back to waxing cars. No time for all that anymore. The ones I've used (mostly Griot's Garage) were good but nothing like the Gtechniq Crystal Serum I've used on 3 cars now.

 

[MikeD1]

I think ceramic is just the latest wax out there at a much higher price. I had my Daytona done and it looked good for a few months then had what looked like lots of water spots on it. Had to use another product to get them off but they came back. Did the $100 follow up to reapply it the next year and it did the same thing. If it wasn't black you may not have been able to see it. For the money to me it isn't worth it. We all have waxed cars for many years and they always looked good and shiny when done without spending big money to do it

My wife's Infiniti had CarPro applied (according to the papers in the glovebox) & I was not very impressed. it's a dark blue iridescent color & the water spots soon appeared. Their magic stuff to take them off seemed to work for a month or so & they'd be back. Way worse than my tried & true Klasse + P&S Beadmaker combo. Since water spotting is my biggest bug-a-boo I've stayed away from any of these ceramic products.

Besides, Graphene products are now all the rage & ceramic is passe`

 

[Speedy!]

Are you using a filter when you wash your car? That was key for me. I dont recall ceramic or anything else preventing water spots. Our water here is awful with lime and minerals.

 

[vortecd]

I'm never going back to waxing cars. No time for all that anymore. The ones I've used (mostly Griot's Garage) were good but nothing like the Gtechniq Crystal Serum I've used on 3 cars now.

If you like it and it is worth the money to you then stay with what works. The place that did mine was $600 back in 2018. They told my they use different products now and it was like $1500, HELL NO!

Cost for me is maybe $25 a year if that. I wax my car once a year and hand wash it 2-3 times a month and I like it. Detailer and wax normally last a couple of years or more so even if everything cost me $50 a year it would be a huge savings

Also a silver car isn't going to show stuff like a darker car

 

[Blown7]

I have no idea what that has to do with this thread haha.

Well it's this.

Whatever crap they are selling today is all about bonding either chemically or physically to the original surface.

Whether it be wax or some ceramic miracle finish...

If the molecular structure isn't correct... it won't work and nothing will protect nothing from bleeding thru and attacking the base coat though down to the metal at some point.

Its all chemistry and no one to date has been able to define to the molecular level that ceramic is better than an old car wax.