Gtechiq Crystal Serum - a Detailers perspective

[Extreme Detailing]

Ceramic Coatings
I Don't like them.

Lets put things in to perspective, my job is to make cars look sweet, this can take me a few hours or even a few days. Thing is if they stay looking sweet for a long time, I’m shooting myself in the foot! I want my customers to come back on a regular basis, I do my magic and therefore I become indispensable. Perfect!
Then there is the ceramic coating, the problem I have with it is that any decent coating will keep a car clean for much longer, make it easy to clean and keep it looking shiny…. For years! That puts me out of a job!! Now I know this from experience because I have a number of irregular customers. Now when I say irregular, I only get to see them when they have changed their car or and had a knock. When they get a new car I coat it with Gtechniq Crystal Serum, they say ‘Wow, looks amazing’ and then bugger off (after paying of course). If they get another car then I get to play again because, well it stayed looking amazing and did not need a detailer to keep it like that. So thats my problem with ceramic coatings, Im redundant.
On the plus side for me, I am looking at at least three days worth of work, a specialist and reassuringly expensive product that only an authorised detailer can apply. So I get a tidy sum for a customer who is about to become irregular and is over the moon about how easy their car is to keep clean.

Signed
The Grumpy Detailer

 

[Nineexcellence]

We use that as well but as you know it does take longer to prep the car otherwise i think the coating highlights imperfections.

It is good stuff - most of my customers go for the 18mths one instead of the 5 years

but I get your point.

 

[Johnfm]

Not sure what you're complaining about.

A few years ago there was no such thing as 'detailing' and nobody would pay a few grand to get a brand new car cleaned and then another few grand to get it wrapped in plastic.

No there is a growing industry that pays people with OCD a decent living!

Make hay while the sun shines!

 

[Nineexcellence]

I feel sorry for t-cut 🤣

 

[Extreme Detailing]

yup, bloody wraps mean all I can do is sand back the bug splat. 😁

 

[Nineexcellence]

Maybe do wraps - topaz must be making a mint - not exactly difficult ( although I have just seen a. appalling one ) and cost wise only expensive for the templates

 

[footsoldier]

Given you dislike them both, you might give a straight answer...

Do coatings protect the car from stone chips in any way, or do you need PPF for that?
I'm anti-PPF as I like to clean my cars and I like them to be truly shiny. still don't think PPF shine matches 'naked'

 

[Extreme Detailing]

Actually I do not dislike either. It’s tongue in cheek.
Officially coatings will not protect from stone chips and PPF will reduce the potential damage.
Coatings in my experience make the paintwork more slippery so they reduce the damage but do not stop
It. PPF takes the hammering but can look fugly after a time. My biggest problem with PPF is their coatings, this is improving but up
Until now I end up putting a coating on both them and naked paintwork.


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[Extreme Detailing]

Maybe do wraps - topaz must be making a mint - not exactly difficult ( although I have just seen a. appalling one ) and cost wise only expensive for the templates

The thought has crossed my mind as I have seen plenty of bad wraps and plenty of good. There is one chap I would go to and they are on this forum [emoji846]


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[Extreme Detailing]

I feel sorry for t-cut 🤣

T cut is the new vinyl, all the hipsters are raving about it.


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[Nineexcellence]

The thought has crossed my mind as I have seen plenty of bad wraps [emoji846]


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yep me too - customer had one done and sent the car to us for some work afterwards - he rang me to ask how the wrap was - maybe it was the pause in my answering as he said I’ll be down at lunchtime 😂 company told him that the bubbles would settle after a couple of days 🤣

 

[Extreme Detailing]

It’s an art, same as detailing.

 

[Nineexcellence]

It’s an art, same as detailing.

and you do the first part already for ppf so maybe look to that as expansion

 

[Extreme Detailing]

No desire there. Tim Phelps is my go to.

 

[16-18]

.
Coatings in my experience make the paintwork more slippery so they reduce the damage but do not stop
It. PPF takes the hammering but can look fugly after a time. My biggest problem with PPF is their coatings, this is improving but up
Until now I end up putting a coating on both them and naked paintwork.

I do not see how any coating/wax can reduce stone chips - that’s just a fanciful marketing story. Easier to clean the car? Yes.

And if you ceramic coat the bodywork, the film will not stick properly. There are rubber membrane coatings that work well on top with film.

Self healing ppf film is pretty good at keeping decent appearance for a long time.

I prefer to ppf the main impact areas but leave the rest of the car as “naked” metal, but can understand why so many are doing the whole car.

 

[Speedfreakdave]

How much is a ceramic coat then Lee?

I find the top end detailing prices just OTT given i can literally collect the car and it pisses down and the car is filthy again. I am more of a fan on nice work that is a sensible price and clean it more often. So for example, Topaz do my PPF but i wont use them to clean my cars on a regular basis as the prices are just silly.

 

[Nineexcellence]

How much is a ceramic coat then Lee?

I find the top end detailing prices just OTT given i can literally collect the car and it pisses down and the car is filthy again. I am more of a fan on nice work that is a sensible price and clean it more often. So for example, Topaz do my PPF but i wont use them to clean my cars on a regular basis as the prices are just silly.

Dave I let Lee answer on the price as it depends on how long it should last. But I can tell you from personal experience now with several cars that have had the coating for the last two years. The benefit is several fold 1) Water does not stay as long on the car so the car will generally be cleaner - clearly if you are off roading then mud is not just going to fly off 2) From a cleaning perspective - any normal wash will bring the car back to its former glory. Frankly I never believed the hype until I saw the proof myself.

Look at the videos on my page - you can see why it works. The key thing is how long it lasts since if it only lasts 6 months it is not worthwhile imo. But I have the 5 year version on one car for two years now and it looks the same after washing.

http://www.nineexcellence.com/service/detailing.html

 

[JBakes]

Ha ha - blatant reverse marketing!!! The old negative sell. wasntme):

I like PPF because I don't have to be as precious about cleaning the car, or who cleans the car. I pay a mobile valeter £30 to come to the office and clean the cars although it's a bit of a thankless task as by the time I get home down muddy dirty country lanes the fucker is dirty again. I think the paintwork shines amazingly with wax on the PPF - can't upload pictures on the site at the moment for some reason.

 

[16-18]

I like PPF because I don't have to be as precious about cleaning the car, or who cleans the car. I think the paintwork shines amazingly with wax on the PPF.

That is one damn good reason for ppf, and wax works well for short term good shine. For long term shine try Max Protect UNC-R

 

[Extreme Detailing]

Right, bear with me on this one, I am going to try and be non bias from a detailers perspective who looks after cars that have both PPF and Ceramic coatings.

Both have their place; PPF will reduce stone chips, Ceramic will aid maintaining the car. If you are a lazy then I’d strongly recommend PPF on the front facing parts that get hammered, ceramic on top including the applied film so you don’t need to wash so often and ease tar removal. Oh and all on a silver car as it shows dirt and scratches less.
Not all films or coatings are the same, there are some horrendous ceramic coatings that will last six months if you are lucky. There are PPF that will suck up the blood and guts of any dead bug it sees and look like a teenagers face within months. Films are catching up with their finish by the manufacturers applying a coating to the film prior, but they still bead poorly compared to top quality ceramic. Ceramic will not protect from stone chips but it will reduce the amount of valets necessary and make maintenance easier, Its a permanent wax. But if its not maintained you will reduce the life span of the product and end up washing the car much more frequently. I personally would give a quality ceramic coating three to four years before it will stop beading if looked after. Crystal Serum on cars I have maintained have given a good four years. Crystal Serum Ultra seems more durable but the longest I have had this on a car is six months and yes it still washes beautifully.

PPF does benefit from having a ceramic coating on top of it but this is against most manufacturers recommendations. If you are to apply a PPF you must NOT coat that area first else it will cause havoc with the film. It is also better not to polish the paintwork prior to installing PPF as this can possibly leave product behind and reduce the adhesion of the PPF.

These are my personal opinions and experiences, I have been shot down before for them by others but it works for me and my customers and I have been detailing for over a decade.