[Boardmember]

…for my Ceramic Pro applied. I have to say, it looks good, even on my Manhattan Green.

From what I can tell in my immediate circle of buddies, having ceramic applied is pretty much the thing to do. I already use a foam canon, so I’m all set. Might have to post a pic later today.

What’s the general consensus?

[Lionel Hutz]

General consensus on ceramic? It's good but not as big of a deal as most people make it out to be. It's a huge, huge profit center for detailers so they push it.

It's not invulnerable and most companies require you to do regular upkeep visits to be eligible for warranty. If you're capable with detailing it's not very hard to apply yourself and IMHO not worth the cost of paying a pro to do it.

[rainmn60]

I had mine done within two days of ownership. It came out beautifully. My previous X5 was ceramic coated and I felt the benefit was well worth the cost. The cost was somewhat inexpensive, compared to what a dealer charges, as long as they don’t have to paint correct or get swirl marks out. Pic is hard to tell that it was done but it was taken right after I got it home. It was a cloudy day. The detailer used a Gyeon product.

[couchgate]

I had it done while I was getting the fronts tinted and am very pleased with how it turned out. Had the wheels and calipers done as well. Was only out of commission for about 3 working days, not too bad!

[Boardmember]

I get what you’re saying. But the convenience of scheduling within the dealership service department, the loaner ‘23 X5 Msport w a severely cracked windshield) and the before/after videos texted to me clearly indicates there is a lot of margin for the dealer. I did it. It looks nice. I’ll pay the $250-300 annually to keep it maintained. My package was the “silver” (5-year), not “gold” (lifetime.). $1850

[Boardmember]

Now, of course, my wife is hinting how nice it would look on her GX460! Yep

[0_steve]

I had plans to get it done but taking a different route instead. This is my work car and it will inevitably go to an auto car wash which cancels out the ceramic.

Hoping an every 6 month ceramic polish will keep it similarly slippery. We shall see…

[LDT]

Originally Posted by couchgate

I had it done while I was getting the fronts tinted and am very pleased with how it turned out. Had the wheels and calipers done as well. Was only out of commission for about 3 working days, not too bad!

Looks great. Is that Dravit or Skyscraper?

[couchgate]

Originally Posted by LDT

Looks great. Is that Dravit or Skyscraper?

It's Dravit. I was on the fence between the two but happy I went this way - but no bad options!

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Lionel Hutz

General consensus on ceramic? It's good but not as big of a deal as most people make it out to be. It's a huge, huge profit center for detailers so they push it.

How do you qualify that answer. To the OP kudos as although I go with Gtechniq's Chrystal Serum Ultra (other top player in the market) Ceramic Pro is also top notch. Big deal? Yes, as it protects the paint like nothing else can including swirl marks from an inept detailer wash or the local drive through spinning fabric brushes, etc. (still would keep that to a minimum though).

Originally Posted by Lionel Hutz

It's not invulnerable and most companies require you to do regular upkeep visits to be eligible for warranty. If you're capable with detailing it's not very hard to apply yourself and IMHO not worth the cost of paying a pro to do it.

Well sort of as consumer ceramic is not the equivalent to a certified installers products. Case-in-point is for Gtechniq's Chrystal Serum Ultra it's not available to a consumer but you can buy their consumer grade light version, Exo, etc. As for regular updates, that's annually for Gtechniq Chrystal Serum Ultra with a simple "booster" and warranty is intact.

Ask me how well it's worked on my custom ordered 2020 M850i in Tanzanite Blue? Flawless including a couple of desperate cloth spinning brush washes as couldn't get an appointment with my detailers mobile service. Zero swirl marks and Tanzanite is literally equivalent to a black paint from that perspective.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Boardmember

…for my Ceramic Pro applied. I have to say, it looks good, even on my Manhattan Green.

From what I can tell in my immediate circle of buddies, having ceramic applied is pretty much the thing to do. I already use a foam canon, so I’m all set. Might have to post a pic later today.

Kudos but the $M question is whether you had at least the front-end PPF'd before the Ceramic Pro was applied. The key being is Ceramic will not protect against rock chips whatsoever. Had my wife's new 2024 40i fully PPF' (zero seams as my detailer cuts custom vs using patterns) plus Gtechniq Chrystal Serum Ultra applied. Manhattan Green as well and love it and thankfully the wife was on-board as all her prior vehicles were white (2017 X5 in mineral white).

[avi8tir]

Ceramic is 1000000% worth it if you do your own wash/detailing. Happens to be one of my stress relievers over the weekend

I did ceramic on mine myself this time around. Took about 16 hours total over a saturday and sunday but was a fun little project.

[Giggler]

Originally Posted by Boardmember

…for my Ceramic Pro applied. I have to say, it looks good, even on my Manhattan Green.

From what I can tell in my immediate circle of buddies, having ceramic applied is pretty much the thing to do. I already use a foam canon, so I’m all set. Might have to post a pic later today.

What’s the general consensus?

I have ceramic pro on my black metallic M340i. I got one of the lifetime applications where they do like 5 coats.

Pros:
1. Looks wet and glossy like it’s been freshly waxed all the time.
2. Takes longer for the car to look like it’s dirty.
3. Maintenance washes are much faster, sometimes you only need to hose it down with pressure washing and maybe some very gentle agitation

Cons:
1. Have to do annual maintenance on it or the protection warranty is void.
2. Doesn’t do well with water spots, in fact, I think water spots might be worse. Because of the beading effect, the beads act like magnifying glasses to the sunlight.

On one particular occasion last summer, there was a random freak rainstorm on a 100 degree day that quickly came and went while I was parked at my office, and when the sun came back out, it baked the water beads into the ceramic. I had to machine polish the roof, hood, trunk. It was very frustrating because the whole reason I has ceramic installed is because I didn’t want to spend all my time detailing a car, and here I am dealing with these water spots all the time.

I also have the green metallic paint on my X5 and have found it to be much more forgiving than black metallic for water spots and dirt, but I don’t plan on doing ceramic. Currently for my X5, I have some XPEL Ceramic Boost applied, which works great but it’s too temporary. My next move is to apply 2 coats of Meguiar's Hybrid Paint Coating, which I have heard is super simple to apply. Then I plan to follow up with a single maintenance coat of Dr. Beasley's Bead Hero. I’m cool with doing this once every 12 to 18 months.

[LDT]

In reality only a fraction of owners, including enthusiasts, do either PPF or Ceramic. I did PPF on my two black 911s and was glad I did. I did ceramic on my 2017 X5 and my 2020 Cayenne and as a result they were easy to wash. I don’t think I’ll do either on my new X5. The grille takes the most punishment. I’ll just drive it, wash, rinse and repeat and turn it over in 36–40 months.

[ScaldedDog]

Originally Posted by Boardmember

Now, of course, my wife is hinting how nice it would look on her GX460! Yep

After having our X5 PPFd and ceramic coated, I hired the PPF done on my GX460, but did the ceramic myself with Gyeon Mohs. It looks as good and has held up every bit as well as the professionally applied coating, over a lot more miles.

Mark

[P1]

It's mind boggling what some of you spend on ceramic coating. The detailers (and dealers) are laughing all the way to bank.

The biggest jokes are the "warranties" and having to have "annual maintenance".

How are people still falling for this in 2023? I just don't get it.

[chicagofan00]

My 2022 M3 was the first car I had ever done partial PPF and ceramic coating on. I don’t think I’ll ever not have a vehicle that isn’t ceramic coated again. It makes such a huge difference in being able to keep it clean. Even allows for easy waterless maintenance touch ups in between washes.

I’m still on the fence about having had the PPF done but I’m going to give it one more try on my incoming X5. Mainly just because I opted for another individual color again so wanting to keep it looking as nice as I can while I own it. Still only going to go with the high impact areas though.

[Boardmember]

Originally Posted by ScaldedDog

After having our X5 PPFd and ceramic coated, I hired the PPF done on my GX460, but did the ceramic myself with Gyeon Mohs. It looks as good and has held up every bit as well as the professionally applied coating, over a lot more miles.

Mark

Her GX has front end PPF from the dealer.

[Lionel Hutz]

Originally Posted by bloozemanAZ

How do you qualify that answer. To the OP kudos as although I go with Gtechniq's Chrystal Serum Ultra (other top player in the market) Ceramic Pro is also top notch. Big deal? Yes, as it protects the paint like nothing else can including swirl marks from an inept detailer wash or the local drive through spinning fabric brushes, etc. (still would keep that to a minimum though).



Well sort of as consumer ceramic is not the equivalent to a certified installers products. Case-in-point is for Gtechniq's Chrystal Serum Ultra it's not available to a consumer but you can buy their consumer grade light version, Exo, etc. As for regular updates, that's annually for Gtechniq Chrystal Serum Ultra with a simple "booster" and warranty is intact.

Ask me how well it's worked on my custom ordered 2020 M850i in Tanzanite Blue? Flawless including a couple of desperate cloth spinning brush washes as couldn't get an appointment with my detailers mobile service. Zero swirl marks and Tanzanite is literally equivalent to a black paint from that perspective.

Ceramic coating is going to do f all to protect against swirls from brushes at a car wash. It's a strong sealant, not armor.

[bloozemanAZ]

Originally Posted by Lionel Hutz

Ceramic coating is going to do f all to protect against swirls from brushes at a car wash. It's a strong sealant, not armor.

Translation please as your post is illegible. Guessing you mean ceramic coating will not protect against swirl marks from brushes at a car wash. My empirical data dictates otherwise at least with Gtechniq Chrystal Serum Ultra. Everyone's else's MMV.

[Dermz93]

I had my 24’ G06 ceramic coated and entire front end and hood ppf. I’d recommend doing the combination of both. I’ll attach a photo that i took, but seeing in person is just amazing.

[avi8tir]

Originally Posted by Lionel Hutz

Ceramic coating is going to do f all to protect against swirls from brushes at a car wash. It's a strong sealant, not armor.

Anyone that gets their car ceramic coated and then takes it to an automated car wash is the same person that orders a big mac with a diet coke.