I love baby truck! Ceramic coating done

[cosmo67]

Personally, I'd never do just parts of the vehicle...lower fenders, hood (bugs and sand) and roof (mostly heat abuse, and hard to reach when washing) can get most of the abuse...especially lower fenders where water/dirt from tires thrown junk (dirty water and mud) up on the paint. Maverick was my 5th vehicle to ceramic coat. Roof is the hardest work on the Maverick since you have to work off a ladder. My Cayman S was done 5 yrs ago and is still beading like a duck's back.

The pros may know better or have a secret but every ceramic coating I've seen and used requires 24 hours of drying time to "set up" without water of any kind...if the CC shops don't have the facilities to store till the Cermaic Coating totally dries I'd look elsewhere. Applied C Coating is sticky for 6 to 10 hours until the chemical reaction makes it hard....at least the five I've used.

Washing - I normally rinse with garden hose just before driving somewhere...driving blows off the standing water....If not driving I use a leaf blower. If there's dirt, mud thrown up on the fenders/paint highly recommend only use "ceramic coating SOAP". This soap helps refresh the ceramic coating, soap like DAWN disk washing soap will quickly degrade the ceramic coating or a wax job.

If truck is stored out doors it's still worth ceramic coating but just will not last as long.

DIY ceramic coatings is not rocket science but is (for the Maverick) 7-8 hours of hard work for one person but anyone can follow the directions.

Personally, I'd never do just parts of the vehicle...lower fenders, hood (bugs and sand) and roof (mostly heat abuse, and hard to reach when washing) can get most of the abuse...especially lower fenders where water/dirt from tires thrown junk (dirty water and mud) up on the paint. Maverick was my 5th vehicle to ceramic coat. Roof is the hardest work on the Maverick since you have to work off a ladder. My Cayman S was done 5 yrs ago and is still beading like a duck's back.

The pros may know better or have a secret but every ceramic coating I've seen and used requires 24 hours of drying time to "set up" without water of any kind...if the CC shops don't have the facilities to store till the Cermaic Coating totally dries I'd look elsewhere. Applied C Coating is sticky for 6 to 10 hours until the chemical reaction makes it hard....at least the five I've used.

Washing - I normally rinse with garden hose just before driving somewhere...driving blows off the standing water....If not driving I use a leaf blower. If there's dirt, mud thrown up on the fenders/paint highly recommend only use "ceramic coating SOAP". This soap helps refresh the ceramic coating, soap like DAWN disk washing soap will quickly degrade the ceramic coating or a wax job.

If truck is stored out doors it's still worth ceramic coating but just will not last as long.

DIY ceramic coatings is not rocket science but is (for the Maverick) 7-8 hours of hard work for one person but anyone can follow the directions.

What about car washes? How do they affect the ceramic coating?

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[Ford Motor Company]

I had nice results on my iconic silver with Next Level Ceramics in Lakeway, TX.
OP looks fantastic.

Your Maverick is looking sharp! Love how it turned out. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Edge Haley]

What about car washes? How do they affect the ceramic coating?

I personally would never use any of the car washes...the brushes, rags, etc just put too much friction a paint job. The self spray car washing stalls just pressure wash off any wax or ceramic coating with pressure. With all 5 vehicles I've ceramic coasted I spray the whole vehicle down with garden a hose that washes off most of the dirt, then I use a very soft rag like mop with a dozen drops of ceramic coating SOAP directly on to the rag like mop...and wash off all the debris with it, then rinse the entire vehicle again to get the soap off... usually 5-10 minutes to wash...with ceramic coating on most of the dirt rinses off with just the hose spray.

 

[cosmo67]

I personally would never use any of the car washes...the brushes, rags, etc just put too much friction a paint job. The self spray car washing stalls just pressure wash off any wax or ceramic coating with pressure. With all 5 vehicles I've ceramic coasted I spray the whole vehicle down with garden a hose that washes off most of the dirt, then I use a very soft rag like mop with a dozen drops of ceramic coating SOAP directly on to the rag like mop...and wash off all the debris with it, then rinse the entire vehicle again to get the soap off... usually 5-10 minutes to wash...with ceramic coating on most of the dirt rinses off with just the hose spray.

Should I still add the protective film to the hood and fenders after ceramic coating installation?

 

[thev8man]

My baby just got ceramic coating; the mirror shot says it all! They took tons of photos throughout the process. The Alto Blue color changing properties are so much more obvious. Taylor does awesome work. Thank you Fine Touch Detailing! I'm not sure if it is appropriate to share, but they did such a fantastic job. Professional Auto Detailing Services at Fine Touch Detailing: Clean and Protect Your Vehicle

Booyah

Looking to do mine

 

[Enchalada]

My baby just got ceramic coating; the mirror shot says it all! They took tons of photos throughout the process. The Alto Blue color changing properties are so much more obvious. Taylor does awesome work. Thank you Fine Touch Detailing! I'm not sure if it is appropriate to share, but they did such a fantastic job. Professional Auto Detailing Services at Fine Touch Detailing: Clean and Protect Your Vehicle

what brand of ceramic coating did you get ?

 

[surfstar]

Whats the issue with drying with a microfiber towel?

Might rub off the $$$ coating? Online forums will look down on you?

I love the the outcome OP got and do like to take care of expensive things I own - but without a carport or garage anymore, meh, not worth it. I just plan on minimal washing (like a few times a year) and keeping the windows clean to see out of. I got Cactus Grey to hopefully hide the dirt!

 

[Sonya M]

what brand of ceramic coating did you get ?

Gyeon - has a 10 year warranty as long as I take it in for maintenance once a year - and no car washes.

 

[Scout27]

I just had my Cactus Gray Mav professionally ceramic coated and it's amazing. My guy started with a wash, iron remover, clay bar, and mechanical polishing for paint correction followed by Gtechniq's products Crystal Serum Light, followed by Exo, and C4 for the black textured plastic. It's so slippery that the few bugs and bird droppings that I've received have easily been wiped off with a soft cloth. I will keep the Mav garaged most of the time so my coatings should last for many years. I'm definitely a fan of the Gtechniq products.

 

[zach57x]

Might rub off the $$$ coating? Online forums will look down on you?

I love the the outcome OP got and do like to take care of expensive things I own - but without a carport or garage anymore, meh, not worth it. I just plan on minimal washing (like a few times a year) and keeping the windows clean to see out of. I got Cactus Grey to hopefully hide the dirt!

The instructions I got form my detailer when he did my ceramic coat was to hand wash bi-weekly, 2 bucket method and dry normally. I don’t think drying by hand with an appropriate microfiber will wear down the coating.

 

[TK421]

Did my alto with the chemical guys spray ceramic. A year and a halfish later the shine even when dirty is still pretty great. Which is a good thing since 10 minutes after washing this fantastic color somehow finds a way to look dusty or dirty.

 

[Sonya M]

Did my alto with the chemical guys spray ceramic. A year and a halfish later the shine even when dirty is still pretty great. Which is a good thing since 10 minutes after washing this fantastic color somehow finds a way to look dusty or dirty.

Best color! Looks great! I can't understand why they discontinued this color.

 

[RCollins]

I did mine at home and The color is awesome when coated ( just used cerakote) However I would say that the Alto blue is the hardest color to keep clean It shows all dust and every fingerprint (just like a glass/mirror) .Awesome!!! Pics though!!!

 

[wax87]

How about people like me who have to drive on dirt roads and park in a dirt lot? Worth it?

It will make rinsing the dirt off a lot more effective. This is my experience with my wife's toyota

 

[nickcuban]

I personally would never use any of the car washes...the brushes, rags, etc just put too much friction a paint job. The self spray car washing stalls just pressure wash off any wax or ceramic coating with pressure. With all 5 vehicles I've ceramic coasted I spray the whole vehicle down with garden a hose that washes off most of the dirt, then I use a very soft rag like mop with a dozen drops of ceramic coating SOAP directly on to the rag like mop...and wash off all the debris with it, then rinse the entire vehicle again to get the soap off... usually 5-10 minutes to wash...with ceramic coating on most of the dirt rinses off with just the hose spray.

To ad to this, when you do ceramic coat you'll want to be sure to use the right soap when washing your car.

All soaps 'work', but some will also damage or strip the ceramic coating. I was always told to use PH neutral soap or stuff specifically made for ceramic coated vehicles. Dish soap and some auto-specific soaps will definitely shorten the life of your coating DRAMATICALLY... I'd suspect most car washes use soap not recommended for a ceramic coating.

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