[Scorp10]

Anyone else here feel underwhelmed by thier ceramic coating? I recently had a 2 year ceramic applied to my Black Sapphire Metallic 340i along with a one-step paint correction back in March. The car looked stunning after the process but that was short lived. I wash my car every 5-7 days (two bucket method) depending on the weather and use Adam's products. I purchased the ceramic graphine shampoo and detail spray for upkeep and after every wash the car looks like a mirror.

But recently, I've noticed any type of rain/dew that forms on the car beads up and creates etch marks in the coating. I can wash the car and while drying can see these etch marks everywhere on the top surfaces of the car where water beaded before the wash. I have to use a drying aid or a detail spray to conceal/blend these etch marks. I've never had this happen, even from a light morning dew. Is ceramic really this delicate? Thinking I should have just went with a wax. Even fresh bird droppings create etch marks immediately on the coating.

[chowser51]

My black sapphire metallic f39 had a ceramic coating done on it a few weeks ago. It looks great now. Once this endless rain stops I will see if I see any etch marks. I just hit it with a foam cannon once a week and rinse lately because of all the rain.

[Billfitz]

I've never tried a ceramic coating, because the engineer in me can't comprehend how a few ounces of the stuff can do what it's claimed to do, and I haven't seen any independent third party lab test results to back it up. Until then I'm sticking with Jescar Power Lock.

[chowser51]

I think it’s just the same as any other coating. The expensive part was the 15 hrs of paint correction labor. No more swirls or scratches. My g/f paid for the correction and coating so I’ve got no skin in the game. I’m still using Rejex. My bottle isn’t empty yet and it’s been great on my cars. My foam soap is Meguirs hyperwash.

[ECTO1]

Hmmm did you wait week before your first washed OP also who makes your ceramic coat is it Adams as well. Finally is your car garaged or left out to the elements.

[Scorp10]

Originally Posted by ECTO1

Hmmm did you wait week before your first washed OP also who makes your ceramic coat is it Adams as well. Finally is your car garaged or left out to the elements.

I waited a little over a week for my first wash. The ceramic is by IGL I believe. My car is not garaged, and only driven 1-3 times per week. I've had my 340i for a year and a Black Sapphire Metallic 435i before this car and never, ever had issues with etching from rain water/dew. I may try H20 Guard by Adam's, but it has traces of wax in it so I am not sure if it will make matters worse. I hear mixed reviews of using wax products on ceramic coatings.

[Desertnate]

Not all coatings are the same. Sadly, there is a wide variance in performance.

I recently applied a coating which is blended by the same company that owns Adams. So far I'm really underwhelmed by it's performance, but I'm going to give it a good wash to make sure it isn't the ton of pollen on my car which is making the coating behave like a low budget sealant.

I have had fantastic results using both Gyeon CanCoat, CarPro CQuartz UK 2.0 and 3.0, and CarPro TiO2 (no longer made, replaced by SIC).

[ECTO1]

Originally Posted by Scorp10

I waited a little over a week for my first wash. The ceramic is by IGL I believe. My car is not garaged, and only driven 1-3 times per week. I've had my 340i for a year and a Black Sapphire Metallic 435i before this car and never, ever had issues with etching from rain water/dew. I may try H20 Guard by Adam's, but it has traces of wax in it so I am not sure if it will make matters worse. I hear mixed reviews of using wax products on ceramic coatings.

never used IGL not saying they are not legit just never heard or have used them. Im wondering if its acid rain etching or just mineral deposits baked in. after the water has evaporated. As for going with wax on top I would advise not to todd over at esoteric or eli with the rag company talk about not mixing wax or sealants. My gut says if you have been doing a sealants stay with it don't jump to a wax. poking around IGL website they have ecoshine enhancer which sounds like a topper made by them might be worth grabbing a bottle after your next wash seeing if it clears some of the issues up.

[perezr10]

I am so over ceramic coating. I used the Avalon Armor Shield IX on my Sapphire Black 335i. Like others found, it looked great when it was done.

The problem has been hard water spots on the ceramic coating. The whole reason I got a ceramic coating in the first place was to make cleaning hard water spots easier. Turns out, ceramic coatings do nothing for hard water. Hard water will still leave marks just as easy and it's just as difficult to remove.


Actually, the hard water spots are now more difficult to remove because any abrasive polish will remove the ceramic coating. If I had done a good old fashioned wax job, I could just buff out the water spots in the problem area and re-coat with a new layer of wax.

If you live in an area that doesn't have hard water, you may be ok. But for me, I'll never do another ceramic coating.

[Desertnate]

Is the hard water spotting coming from the wash process or is the car getting sprayed by sprinklers?

From my experiences using coatings from well established manufacturers like CarPro or Gyeon, I've never had any spotting issues from washing, rain or other natural sources. Again, not all coatings are created equal and with the explosion of them on the market there are a lot of shady products on the market.

Hard water etching from sprinklers is just bad news all around. I strategically watch where I park our vehicles no matter what is protecting them because I don't want to have to polish them out constantly.

[shiftdnb]

That's an issue with ceramic coatings. When they bead up all the rain water combined with dust, pollen and stuff from the road just sits there and is left when the water evaporates. There are some Ceramic Coatings that market that they bead better allowing the water to run off better.

[Desertnate]

I found waxes and sealants to be far worse when it came to capturing polutants in the air compared to coatings.

Things like Klasse Sealant, Collinite 845, and one old coating I used, fat water drops after a good rain, but they never left. After they would dry while my cars sat at work I'd find massive spots all over them. In the heavy pollen seasons the car would be a real mess after each rain.

With the good coatings like Gyeon CanCoat or CarPro CQuartz UK, most of the rain rolls right off and only leaves tiny spots behind because most of the water will sheet off or the droplets will roll away. If the rain is hard enough, it will rinse off most of the dust and pollen and actually leave the car cleaner than when it started.

If the air is full of dust or lots of pollen, any vehicle will have spots left behind. It's unavoidable. How much is left behind and what it looks like depends on how much is in the air and how dirty the vehicle was prior to the rain

[Polo08816]

I don't even bother with detailing anymore - it's a waste of time. The car is garaged and I just wash with a wash + wax mix every other or third week. I don't even dry the car - why bother if you're planning on driving the car in the rain.

Having a protective paint film from the beginning is the way to go.

[chowser51]

Quick bath on a ceramic coating

https://youtube.com/shorts/3bVLaYZHHXo?feature=share

[perezr10]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Is the hard water spotting coming from the wash process or is the car getting sprayed by sprinklers?

From my experiences using coatings from well established manufacturers like CarPro or Gyeon, I've never had any spotting issues from washing, rain or other natural sources. Again, not all coatings are created equal and with the explosion of them on the market there are a lot of shady products on the market.

Hard water etching from sprinklers is just bad news all around. I strategically watch where I park our vehicles no matter what is protecting them because I don't want to have to polish them out constantly.

The water spots come from the city water tap.

[perezr10]

Originally Posted by shiftdnb

That's an issue with ceramic coatings. When they bead up all the rain water combined with dust, pollen and stuff from the road just sits there and is left when the water evaporates. There are some Ceramic Coatings that market that they bead better allowing the water to run off better.

Agreed. I've also used Gyeon. The beading of the water leaves behind mineral circles. They all do this.

I'm done with Ceramic coatings. They suck.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by shiftdnb

That's an issue with ceramic coatings. When they bead up all the rain water combined with dust, pollen and stuff from the road just sits there and is left when the water evaporates.

Every finish does that to some extent, be it ceramic, polymer, wax or bare paint. The only sure cure is to wipe the car dry after a washing.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Every finish does that to some extent, be it ceramic, polymer, wax or bare paint. The only sure cure is to wipe the car dry after a washing.

Agree. Any wet surface will collect stuff like pollen or dust if it's in the air or on the surface already.

I've found the issue to be far less with coatings than sealants or waxes. Most coatings not only have the cool water beads, but they also tend to sheet water better. On my car with a sealant, it would be a smeary yellow mess at the height of the spring pollen blizzard following a rain. With a coating, after the same rain most of the pollen is rinsed away and I only have some tiny yellow polka-dots all over the car.

[rubyTuesday]

after reading this thread i think i'm going to save my money and skip the ceramic application. Just doesn't seem practical for a daily driver.

[eleven11]

Just my anecdote. I've used Opti-Coat Pro+ on a few vehicles. It was installed professionally. A few weeks after installation, my installer originally spent 2 hours teaching my how to properly wash the vehicle. The process is relative simple and quick. My car generally looks great for weeks after a wash. The Opti-coat system (wash) involves doing individual sections with a low-water soap (e.g. ONR), followed by a drying aid (Hyper Seal). Unless you wait too long in direct sunlight, the system minimizes any hard water spots. I'm approaching 3 years on my current vehicle, and it still looks great.

[Scorp10]

I'm glad I was not the only individual having issues with ceramic coatings. After reading through everyone's feedback, some had the same issue where the ceramic makes the water bead on the car after it rains and it leaves mineral deposit circles everywhere.

I wanted to update everyone on what I did to remedy the issue. I did a one-step to remove most of the coating, applied wax and have been using the H20 Gloss & Guard by Adam's. My car never looked better. The H20 guard has wax compounds but really prevents water beading and sitting on the car surface. Will stick to waxing and spray wax/detail spray after every wash. Before I was washing 1-2 times per week with ceramic, now I can even stretch washes to every two weeks with no isse.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by eleven11

The Opti-coat system (wash) involves doing individual sections with a low-water soap (e.g. ONR), followed by a drying aid (Hyper Seal). Unless you wait too long in direct sunlight, the system minimizes any hard water spots.

Using ONR and sufficient micro-fiber towels I don't need a drying aid, the towels do that all by themselves. I usually use four towels. I start with one to wash and one to dry. When the wash towel gets too dirty I use the dry towel, now not so dry as it was when I started, as the wash towel and a fresh towel to dry. Repeat that cycle as required.