GR86 Ceramic Coating

Will you ceramic coat your car?


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    52

PVGR

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So what's the deal? Is it worth it?

Pros/Cons

Easier to clean, protects from corrosion, looks glossy.

Bugger to remove if you have a scratch, quote expensive.
 
@PVGR , altered the Last choice , some folk may be undecided ๐Ÿ‘ Iโ€™m probably going to have it done as with this car Iโ€™d prefer to drive it more than clean it ๐Ÿ˜Ž
 
Definitely cheaper with a new car. I had my FK8 done with G-Tech products. Just the body & Wheels / Callipers.
If you tick all the boxes for Glass/ Interior etc it gets seriously expensive.
Definitely easier to keep the car clean, the GR will be done straight from the Dealers.
This is the Guy I use in Leeds.

 
Iโ€™d rather not have anything on the glass for what it takes to go over it with something like Autoglym Fast Glass or something else. Iโ€™d not bother with the interior either ๐Ÿ‘
 
Definitely cheaper with a new car. I had my FK8 done with G-Tech products. Just the body & Wheels / Callipers.
If you tick all the boxes for Glass/ Interior etc it gets seriously expensive.
Definitely easier to keep the car clean, the GR will be done straight from the Dealers.
This is the Guy I use in Leeds.

I talked to this guy when I was considering buying a matt finish car gave me good advice , I didnโ€™t buy it ๐Ÿค”

I may consider taking my car to him too , is Toyota Leeds far away? May change delivery dealership ๐Ÿค”
 
I talked to this guy when I was considering buying a matt finish car gave me good advice , I didnโ€™t buy it ๐Ÿ˜‰

I may consider taking my car to him too , is Toyota Leeds far away? May change delivery dealership ๐Ÿค”
About a mile away!
 
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So what's the deal? Is it worth it?
I'd love to know.

People selling it say yes of course.

Anyone on here kept their car long enough to see the benefits?

I certainly wouldnt let a main dealer do it.

I've seen the time/care that a detailer takes, no way that's going to happen in the dealership.
 
Never had it done but seen those who have done and provided it's a good one it lasts ages. guy in the office had his F-Type done, had it about 2 years and was still immaculate when he sold it. The guy I want doing mine is round the corner from the dealer so I'll be collecting with all the protective film still on and driving to him. What will hurt more is not having the car immediately to enjoy but long term it's worth it. What's another day or two.
 
Does anyone have the details of differences in ceramic costings? Someone mentioned different durability depending on cure time. Especially people who have had it done.
I've previously had PPF and it was good but unsure if the price is justified.
 
That may have sealed the deal then. ๐Ÿ‘ @BOOSTFAN Are you having the dealership leave it alone other than mechanical checks and letting the detailer remove all wrapping stickers etc?
I will talk to Jon & see what he wants, when he did my FK8 the Dealership had already prepped it & there wasn't a problem.
I have no idea when the car is due, I have only had a mail confirmation of my order, nothing since!
So no point in contacting him just yet.
 
I'd love to know.

People selling it say yes of course.

Anyone on here kept their car long enough to see the benefits?

I certainly wouldnt let a main dealer do it.

I've seen the time/care that a detailer takes, no way that's going to happen in the dealership.

My BRZ was protected with the G-Techniq line of coating in 2018, consisting of G-Techniq Crystal Serum ceramic coating, which has a life span of upto 9 years and G-Techniq Exo V4 hydrophobic coating which was used as a top coat, Exo has a life span of upto 24months . Initally the paint work felt extremely smooth, like glass. For the first 6 months, washing was very easy, i.e. you could just jet wash the car and it'd be clean again, this lasted for about 6 months.

A couple of days after collection:
1week.jpg

3 Months:
3months.jpg

I normally do a contact wash (pre-wash APC or snow foam, then 2 bucket wash), every couple of weeks.
After the first 6 months a normal contact wash was required, i.e. no getting away with just jet washing it.

After around 18 to 24 months, I could tell the Exo (hydrophobic coating) was starting to fail and the car wasn't beeding water anymore, instead it was mostly sheeting.

What I should have done at the 18month mark was have Exo re-applied, but due to the cost (I spent the money on trackdays instead) I decided against this and left it for the next 12 months.

16 Months:
16months.jpg

26 Months:
26months.jpg

During this 12 month period (Year 3) the car was easy to clean, but dirt didn't just fall off like before. The cars paint work also started to show very minor swirl marks. This is where the long term benefit of the Crystal Serum applies, for example if I was to get the car machine polished again to remove these swirl marks, the polish will be removing the imperfections from the Crystal Serum layer, not the clear coat.

It's also worth mentioning, even though the Exo layer had now fully deteriorated from the car, it remained alot easier to clean the car than a none ceramic protected car, this is the benefit of the Crystal Serum ceramic layer. For example, industrial fallout doesn't really stick to the body work of the car.

This bring us up to last winter, where I decided to get a lite ceramic coating, called Infinity Wax Synergy Lite to protect the car over winter. I chose this coating as it contains additional polymer layers, which mean it can get wet 5 minutes after application. making it ideal to apply during Winter. It's also a very beginner friendly ceramic, as its easy to apply and remove left over residue.

I did a mini detail, i.e. full clean and clay bar, but no polishing as I don't have the equipment. This made the car feel like glass again, I applied the Infinity Wax Synergy Lite ceramic and this lasted about 4 months, before the coating on the high impact areas (sides of the car) started to fail.

Infinity Wax Synergy Lite Ceramic - 1 Day after application (about 40months after G-Techniq Crystal Serum application):
cheap ceramic.jpg

Infinity Wax Synergy Lite Ceramic - 3 Months after application:
cheap ceramic - 3 months.jpg

After another 2 months I noticed a larger area on the car was starting to sheet rather than beed, meaning the coating was deteriorating, so I needed to either re-apply the Synergy Lite coating or apply another coating. I decided to buy some G-Techniq Exo V4, rather than re-apply the Synergy Lite as I wanted the longer life span offered by the Exo coat. I re-cleaned the car fully again and this time re-applied G-Techniq Exo myself, I was the day the day before I was going to apply the coating, that way I could have maxium time to spend applying the coating and giving it chance to cure, without any overnight rain hitting it.

The above mini detail and re-application of Exo V4 was done a couple of weeks ago. Now it's back to beeding like crazy again and feeling like glass.

Exo - Couple of days after application
exo.jpg

Key pointers

Is ceramic worth it - Yes - it makes cleaning extremely easy for the first 12 months.
Do you need to do anything to it - Wash it regularly, apply a lite ceramic top coat (G-Techniq C2V3 - Liquid Crystal) ever couple of months or do a yearly application of a hydrophobic coating (Exo) every 12 months to keep it in the best possible shape.

Here are a couple of documents by G-Techniq, explain their ceramic coatings and the benefits:

G-Techniq Ceramic Coating Range: https://www.gtechniq.co.uk/ceramiccoatings/
Crystal Serum Ultra: https://www.gtechniq.co.uk/crystal-serum-ultra/

Hope that helps.

I don't take enough photo's of the car when it's wet, only when it's been cleaned and dried
 
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My BRZ was ceramic coated with G-Techniq Crystal Serum and Exo in 2018.

Hope that helps.

I don't take enough photo's of the car when it's wet, only when it's been cleaned and dried
Wow, thank you for taking the time to share that with us.
 
Very helpful thanks so much for this write up.

Is the crystal serum supposed to last longer than 6m?
 
Very helpful thanks so much for this write up.

Is the crystal serum supposed to last longer than 6m?

Crystal Serum is rated for upto 9 years. Unfortunately unlike a hydrophobic coating its alot harder to tell how well it is holding up, you might be able to see on a paint depth guage, but I don't have one of those. Even after the third year, once the Exo had worn off, it was easier to clean still compared to a completely uncoated car and contamination doesn't stick as easy, i.e. fallout.
 
My Toyota dealer has offered to apply GEN-3 Glasscoat Paint Protection with 5 year warranty prior delivery. They are doing it in house and have trained people applying the coat. Has anyone got any experience with this product?
 
My Toyota dealer has offered to apply GEN-3 Glasscoat Paint Protection with 5 year warranty prior delivery. They are doing it in house and have trained people applying the coat. Has anyone got any experience with this product?
They say this but is it true? I have a friend who works at a dealership (not Toyota) and the person who applies such coatings is far from properly trained. I would never let a dealer do anything like this as everything they do is with a massive profit in mind, if you really want it done I would take it to a proper detailer.

Personally I think a good quality wax is more than good enough. Having said that, my car is kept in a garage, if it were left outside in the elements I would need to wax it more often which might make me take a ceramic coat a bit more seriously.
 
My Toyota dealer has offered to apply GEN-3 Glasscoat Paint Protection with 5 year warranty prior delivery. They are doing it in house and have trained people applying the coat. Has anyone got any experience with this product?
Personally, I would avoid any dealership paint protection products. I've worked in dealerships before and the valeters that apply the product are not trained to the standard that a detailer would be. They will give the car a quick wash (definitely not with the right wash routine) then just throw it on as fast ad they can.
Dealership valeters are good at what they do but it's quantity over quality as most of them are paid by volume so each car gets as little time as possible so they can maximise their proffits. An actual car detailer will cost far more than the dealership, but also take much more care in what they are doing and will likely have the car for 2-3 days, rather than an hour.
 
Thanks, for the insider info. I was under impression the standard of work at dealership would be good. It is they business to present cars in good light. Also I was thinking ๐Ÿค” it would be very convenient, just pick it up from dealership all done up and ready to go.
But now you changed my mind, I need to get on the tinternet and look for a good local detailer in Dorset/Hants. Downside is, I have to wait even longer for her to come home๐Ÿ˜…
 
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