[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Born 2 Be Wild

Now who can explain to people that any decent 30 ml ceramic coat application bottle from any decent brand is approx 8-15k Inr. On top of that branded products used to prep the paint aren't exactly cheap either. someone who is passionate about cars and loves his rides will definitely understand the tedious process involved in coating a car and the costs involved when you use good products.

Cheers

It’s not just the product cost, that’s in fact not the main component of the total cost of providing the service, it’s a minor component.

High end detail shops with 1500-2000 sq.ft. of area with 6-7 employees will run roughly ₹1500-2000/hour or 12-18k per day in running costs. This is before accounting for raw materials, marketing and repair expenses and after adding all these you will reach the break even cost, before any profit. Not an easy business to survive in, as is evident by all the dozens of closures I’m seeing all over Gurgaon

[Born 2 Be Wild]

Originally Posted by AJ56

It’s not just the product cost, that’s in fact not the main component of the total cost of providing the service, it’s a minor component.

High end detail shops with 1500-2000 sq.ft. of area with 6-7 employees will run roughly ₹1500-2000/hour or 12-18k per day in running costs. This is before accounting for raw materials, marketing and repair expenses and after adding all these you will reach the break even cost, before any profit. Not an easy business to survive in, as is evident by all the dozens of closures I’m seeing all over Gurgaon

Absolutely agreed and am aware of this as well,only reason i left this bit out of my post was because this part of the business is somewhat same for all the parties in the field,and this component of rentals,salaries,electricity etc can not be skimped on.The only place penny pinching can be done by detailers is in the products shown vs products used,services promised vs services delivered,and most people i have seen do not even check the roof of their cars post delivery, and there have been multiple instances where nothing has been applied to the roof. In some cases 2 coats promised just 1 applied! ethical detailers will use a 30 ml bottle for 2-3 cars tops and in some cases 1 guy is doing 8 cars with the same product!

Its always best if one can spare a few hours from their schedule and see the coatings being applied themselves and the kits being opened in front of them. Also the reason a lot of people are shutting shop is it takes time to create a reputation and most people cannot hold out that long. This market is also reference driven if good work is done on someones car he will for sure recommend to his friends or family if asked. All in all an informed and alert customer stands to always gain, hence one should do their research on what exactly they want for their car,and reputation of the detailer should always be checked before proceeding.

[finneyp]

Has anyone tried/applied Super Ceramic Coating (http://superceramiccoating.com/)?
It is widely marketed in Facebook/Instagram as a DIY Ceramic coating.

[thanixravindran]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Yes a good detailer is fundamental to a proper coating install

I was at 3M outlet over the weekend to enquire about wrap and ceramic coating. 3M uses their own coating I guess and I was shown a refrigerated 40ml bottle. They told coating is not applied to wrapped area (roof). I can understand that. But they told coating is also not applied on the plastic trims in the car. Is this correct? I know the plastic trim will start fading soon. If I want every area to be covered, PPF is the only option as I was told that it is applied everywhere - over paint, plastic trims and over wrap too.

Finally on the pricing, they have 3 year package which has touch ups in 6 and 12 months (nothing more than a wash I guess) and at 15 months, they told they will redo the full coating of 2 coats right from preparatory work. Obviously it was double the cost of 1 year package. It is essentially paying upfront for just another coating from scratch. I don't know why will anyone opt for it except may be for protection from price inflation

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

I was at 3M outlet over the weekend to enquire about wrap and ceramic coating. 3M uses their own coating I guess and I was shown a refrigerated 40ml bottle. They told coating is not applied to wrapped area (roof). I can understand that. But they told coating is also not applied on the plastic trims in the car. Is this correct? I know the plastic trim will start fading soon. If I want every area to be covered, PPF is the only option as I was told that it is applied everywhere - over paint, plastic trims and over wrap too.

Finally on the pricing, they have 3 year package which has touch ups in 6 and 12 months (nothing more than a wash I guess) and at 15 months, they told they will redo the full coating of 2 coats right from preparatory work. Obviously it was double the cost of 1 year package. It is essentially paying upfront for just another coating from scratch. I don't know why will anyone opt for it except may be for protection from price inflation

First coating I’ve heard of that needs temperature control during storage. Plastic trim can very much be ceramic coated just like every other surface inside and out on a car (including fabric).

Putting PPF over a wrap when both are roughly the same cost is beyond me, I have never seen or heard it done. Neither is PPF ever applied over textured matte plastic trim, just wrong info through and through.

Plastic trim doesn’t really fade, it gets contaminated with mineral deposits from hard water and turns grey/chalky white over time, a deep clean with brushes and plastic cleaner will restore it to original in most cases. After which you apply protection.

I fail to see why constant reapplication is needed on a quality coating, a pro level coating will go 2+ years easily and some will go 3-4 years without any ‘top ups’ or reapplication. Apart from chemical decon every couple of months nothing else is needed. So in effect they’ve said the coating will not last beyond 15 months. Even diy consumer spray coatings easily last 12 months for reference.

I’d suggest looking at better brands like Gyeon, Carpro, Feynlab, Optimum, etc.

[sudhirjaipur]

I would recommend this video before spending a fortune

https://youtu.be/tC-YpSGawRU

[contentedbloke]

Guys, i have given my 5 year old Innova crysta for ceramic coating (Ceramic Version 2) with Fenylab, Museum Road, Bangalore. The process is underway and i am told that a final coat has to be applied after which it will undergo curing under UV light.

Quick question: when I keep my hand on the body, immediately the oil / grease from my palm is sticking on the body and it becomes a fingerprint magnet. I am quite concerned about this, as it will end up requiring high maintenance if i have to keep scrubbing / wiping the grease everyday. I thought ceramic coating would repel grase / oil / fingerprints? I didn't have / notice this before the coating. The extra gloss due to the coating is probably bring it out now? Needless to mention, my car is dark brown colour.

The owner says this will reduce when final coat is done but it won't completely go away. Any thoughts / experience about this from fellow members??

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by contentedbloke

The owner says this will reduce when final coat is done but it won't completely go away. Any thoughts / experience about this from fellow members??

It’s a non issue, here’s why:

1) Any high gloss surface, be it paint (coated or not), glass, plastic will immediately show any oil deposit left by your fingers/skin contact, polish your car paint to perfection and touch it and you’ll have the exact same effect even without a coating.

2) Certain ceramic coatings are oleophobic, in that they repel oil somewhat. This doesn’t mean they won’t show finger prints or smudges, just like your phone screen (which is also oil repellant).

3) You are not supposed to touch paint without lubrication and never by hand directly, coated or not. As this increases the risk of swirling/micro marring soft paints and it’s visible on darker colours.

Lastly, follow safe washing methods to clean any smudges/dust to maintain the coating long term.

https://youtu.be/jHZuYmUJlL4

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by AJ56

3) You are not supposed to touch paint without lubrication and never by hand directly, coated or not. As this increases the risk of swirling/micro marring soft paints and it’s visible on darker colours.

Tangential, but I despair when I hear stuff like this, albeit true. Car paint, which is supposedly meant for cars, and all the every-day things to which they are exposed, is not fit to protect even itself from those things. And, in a hundred years, it has got worse! More delicate!

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Tangential, but I despair when I hear stuff like this, albeit true. Car paint, which is supposedly meant for cars, and all the every-day things to which they are exposed, is not fit to protect even itself from those things. And, in a hundred years, it has got worse! More delicate!

No it hasn’t, car paint today lasts decades and can resist chemicals and UV exposure exponentially stronger than car paint 100 years ago which didn’t last even 5 years.

The reason we say not to touch it is to avoid fine swirls which in turn reduce gloss, you can thank water based clearcoat in part for this which has been introduced in the last few years since it’s more environmentally friendly (lower VOC emissions during painting) than older solvent based paints, which were harder to scratch.

Touching however, doesn’t reduce the overall lifespan or durability of your cars paint. Just won’t look as glossy if you do it repeatedly that’s all.

[Thad E Ginathom]

In my childhood, it wasn't the paint, it was the steel that rusted under it. I'm not 100 years old... but nor does it seem long before I will be!

[KrishKallapur]

How is CarzSpa https://www.carzspa.com. Anybody tried? They have Aegis PPF, ceramic and graphene coating options.

[c@rwate]

I am also looking for reviews of CarzSpa! Can anyone mention their experience with them, specially the Baner, Pune dealer?

[c@rwate]

Originally Posted by c@rwate

I am also looking for reviews of CarzSpa! Can anyone mention their experience with them, specially the Baner, Pune dealer?

Update - I got my Honda City 2020 ceramic coated with "Trinity-9h" offered by CrystalCoat, the brand that all Carzspa detailers use. They charged me 24k and the service offered by Baner, Pune detailer is good. The staff is well trained and the owner is a courteous person.
I would recommend getting the coating done from here if you plan to.

[Saurabh09]

Originally Posted by PaneristiHobbes

Paid 90k for getting ceramic coating done for the entire car with Xpel fusion plus ceramic coating. took the 5 year package with six monthly top ups thrown in. car looked great, water beading was excellent and it was a cinch to clean.

Hi - quick question - where did you get the Ceramic done from? Is it HOP? Also wondering how the experience of using Xpel Fusion Plus was.

Thanks in advance.