Your choice of coating, sealant, or wax?

[mopar_man]

I’ve been using Sonax ceramic. I use the 3 in 1 sometime, but mostly the ceramic spray and the ultra slick detailed. Super easy to use.

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[Mr. LargeCoffee]

I have both my Integra and my wife’s 2021 RAV4 coated with Ceramic Pro. I didn’t do the job myself, had a local detailer do the work. Very happy with the results, easy to keep the car clean. I take it in once a year for a refresh. Still have to wax the Miata every now and then.

 

[Underdog]

On previous cars I have used Wolfgang brand detailing products, including their “Deep Gloss Sealant.” This would keep the car looking good for 4-6 months, and I could always put a coat of P21S carnauba on top for extra depth. I still have a bunch of the product so I’ll keep using it on the ITS, and evaluate a DIY ceramic down the road.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Since tghis popped back up I'll add that I'm now using the Suma spray ceramic product. Much like the turtle wax spray, it's something you'll need to add every 3-6 months, but you can do the whole car in 15-20 min. Assuming you are regularly washing and such, should be easy to re-apply. I actually clayed the front end of my wife's car prior to application. Came out really great.

Solid product.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I've used a myriad of things. For spray on, nothing is quick and awesome like old school opti seal. One cheapo bottle does like 60 cars, it's incredible. Touch up once per year and you're good to go.

These days I look for more durable so I use Adam's graphene advanced 10h Ceramic. Very temperamental, but amazing durability. I've used ceramic pro, it's great too. I top off yearly with adams spray on ceramic. If I have to polish at all, I reapply two coats to the panel and move on.

 

[Truemyth]

Any recommendations for wheel/rim coating to help with brake dust cleaning? Or the same thing that works on paint works well on rims too?

 

[optronix]

Any recommendations for wheel/rim coating to help with brake dust cleaning? Or the same thing that works on paint works well on rims too?

https://ammonyc.com/products/ammo-gelee-pro-wheel-metal-coat

Outstanding repulsion. I just reapplied on my Apex after 2 years since the first, and it just throws the brake dust off with a solid stream of water. Really easy to apply too.

I just noticed my post a couple years ago was before I tried Reflex Pro II, and I should probably revise my review now that I've actually used it on a couple cars. It's not as easy to apply as I'd hoped. It's very temperature dependent, and on PPF in particular you have about 10 seconds to wipe it after application or it will haze. The crazy part though is it still looks amazing unless you're looking at a light or sun in a reflection, and the hydrophobic properties are stellar even after a year. I noticed the application instructions have been revised and they recommend to apply between 50 and 70 degrees and low humidity, and to not bother waiting for the "rainbow" on PPF, just wipe immediately- and apply to the whole panel at a time because it can leave a noticeable mark if you split a panel i.e., apply/wipe more than once on a given panel. Particularly bad on the hood... I applied in probably 80+ and high humidity and didn't follow any of these instructions and it wasn't the greatest experience. I would still highly recommend it- the shine and water repellant is second to none. But it's finicky to apply vs the old formula. Following the revised instructions should take care of that but I was an early adopter lol. I actually switched to Gyeon PPF-specific ceramic this year, but have yet to apply it.

 

[Truemyth]

Appreciate the detail explanation and recommendation @optronix. How many rims do you get from a bottle in your experience?

 

[optronix]

Appreciate the detail explanation and recommendation @optronix. How many rims do you get from a bottle in your experience?

Quite a few. I just bought a brand new bottle and did my full set of CE28Ns, I could probably do another 3 sets, conservatively (maybe as much as 5-6). I'm not shy about the amount I apply either. I think they recommend to use it within a year but don't quote me on that- but it had been almost 2 years when I used the rest of the bottle I originally bought on the Apex's and it still worked just fine. You are gonna want to make sure the cap is fully tight and it's stored in a decent place though.

 

[bvanlieu]

I have used both Quartz along with DIY Detail's products as consumer friendly ceramics. Anyone who does a good job of detailing themselves (doesn't rush, knows less is more, can use a DA for basic cleaning/prep yada yada) they are easy products to work with. This includes Skin for the front PPF on both cars I used it on. I used DIY on a third car as I had run out of the Quartz and just wanted to try another product.

Of the two, DIY's flashing to me was a bit quicker (I applied in a temp controlled garage, but humidity does vary). DIY's applicator pads were great to use.

Ammo's products sound great as well, just relaying my personal experience DIY ceramic for the first time at home.

 

[Truemyth]

@optronix

I have used both Quartz along with DIY Detail's products as consumer friendly ceramics. Anyone who does a good job of detailing themselves (doesn't rush, knows less is more, can use a DA for basic cleaning/prep yada yada) they are easy products to work with. This includes Skin for the front PPF on both cars I used it on. I used DIY on a third car as I had run out of the Quartz and just wanted to try another product.

Of the two, DIY's flashing to me was a bit quicker (I applied in a temp controlled garage, but humidity does vary). DIY's applicator pads were great to use.

Ammo's products sound great as well, just relaying my personal experience DIY ceramic for the first time at home.

How long does the protection last from your experience. I'm personally a lazy guy and would definately pay more to do less and going by optronics experience, 1 to 2 year protection sounds like a dream product to me lol.

 

[bvanlieu]

@optronix

How long does the protection last from your experience. I'm personally a lazy guy and would definately pay more to do less and going by optronics experience, 1 to 2 year protection sounds like a dream product to me lol.

I expect 3-4 years out of the coats I did but I also have cars that are garage kept. The initial coating is minor correction/chemical de-iron, washing, cleaning, then application. Not hard, just takes time.

I don't over wash, but do wash with recommended soap, and I have used Reload once a year for the Quartz cars. 2 years in on the Integra and Cayman at this point, still beading well.

The DIY I forget if I got the 3 or 5y product, that is only 8 months in on my wifes newer car, have done nothing but washes.

I wash on average I would say once every 3 weeks but if I had no garage, would be weekly methinks

 

[optronix]

Yeah about the same for the Ammo products. I tend to try to reapply annually, and most I'll go is 18 months or so. I've never gotten to a point where the effects are completely gone but they do taper off a bit especially through winter months. Like right now, most people would probably think I just applied it with the way the water floats off the surface. But it was last spring and I plan to do it again as soon as tomorrow, pending weather cooperating.

But the best proof point I could give is my son's car. I think I referenced it above- it's been now over 4 years, maybe 5 since I last applied the original Ammo Reflex formula (after a proper prep including DO machine polish). He has never washed it. It was a 10 year old car when I first applied it, almost 15 now... and it still shines and beads water. HE HAS NEVER WASHED IT lol.

Most of the liquid form products from reputable companies will likely perform much the same. I still think that if you follow the instructions laid out in the latest revision of the Reflex Pro II installation (Larry did a video too I'm pretty sure- should all be on the product page), it's gonna be tough to beat from a shine/bead perspective. But really, all of these "ceramic coatings" are roughly equivalent, and just an evolution of the carnauba wax we all grew up with.

 

[Truemyth]

Sounds like your can't go wrong if you go with quality products and do the prep. With internet these days it sometimes hard to figure what quality products are so it's great to have you guys share actual experiences.

*update I ended up going with the dyi. I initially went to order the ammo but I guess with the tariff or something the shipping rate was 90% of the cost of the product. Couldn't justify that so it's dyi at a Canadian reseller. What a time we're living at...

 

[ElpacoSV]

With this type of sandblasting, I prefer to have some PPF and I use Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax. For my application, this product holds up.

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