Sunday, January 17, 2021

Not Snake Oil

Over the past couple of years, ceramic coating has made a splash as a way to protect the finish on vehicles.  This year, I thought I would give it try.  It was a pretty time consuming process, and I spent plenty of time working on all of the cars.  Late into the night, I cranked up some music and methodically spent time in the garage, prepping and applying.



I have to say, the results were visually impressive.  I did the paint, the glass, the wheels, even the exhaust tips:



Of course, in my semi-obsessive way, I also did all of the door jambs:


You can tell how that it's certainly effective from a reflectivity standpoint, check out the reflection of the door latch in this picture:


Overall, it helps the car really look good:

However it's easy to look good on a sunny summer day.  My real question was, how would it hold up over time?  Ceramic coatings purport to last longer than traditional waxes.  I was skeptical, as only time will tell.

Eight months after application, here we are in the middle of winter.  It's been an odd January, sloppy and wet, with a bit of snow.  Currently, it's 30 degrees with gentle flakes floating down.  That said, it's warm enough that it's just accumulating as water on a parked vehicle.

I was out and about, and shot this video.  The engine was pretty cold, so this is moderate acceleration in second and a shift into third:

I have to say, I'm super impressed.  The water simply flies off the windshield and hood.  I haven't washed the car for a while, I've just have been driving it around.  Even more amazing, at least to me, is here's a photo from after that drive, after the car sat in the garage for an hour or so:


The front of the car looks essentially like it was freshly washed, which just blows me away.

Things are a little different in the rear, where spray gets kicked up on the back of the car:


I have to say, of all the car care products I've tried over the years, this ceramic coating provides the longest-lasting protection, by far.  I'll be most interested to see how long it continues to be this effective.

No comments:

Post a Comment