Hi,
I own a Black 2018 Model 3 and after a year of ownership still debating with myself if I should get the ceramic coating done. For whom who had it for a while, are you satisfied with your decision. Was it worse it? Please share your experience.
Thanks.
So, I went in a bit of a different route than the two fellas above. I am a wannabe detailing pro (on weekends), so I own a DA polisher and all of the necessary weapons to make my paint defect free. I have been pondering doing this for quite some time and I finally pulled the trigger.
First, the coating I chose was about the least expensive on the market:
https://www.amazon.ca/Malcam-Cerami...ic+coating&qid=1559570681&s=automotive&sr=1-4
$15.99 plus free shipping (as I am an Amazon Prime member). The instructions are abymsal. Looks like a google translate job.
Having said that, I decided to give it a go this Friday (and got my instructions from watching a bunch of youtube videos). Here was my process...
1. Washed the car with Dawn (dish soap - basically to try to strip down anything I had on the paint and give me a clean surface to work with).
2. I then used a chemical iron remover sprayed over the entire care and let it dwell for about 5-7 minutes. Followed by a good rinse and dry. This also avoided the need to clay the entire car (although my paint was in really good shape to begin with - as a try to be as meticulous as I can when I wash).
3. I did a two step polish with Meguiar's Microfiber system (D300 followed by D301). I went over the entire car with a halogen light and it looked pretty defect free to me. I also gave it a once over in the sunlight and again, car looked pretty good (I won't say "perfect" but pretty close). As I was polishing, I was removing product with an IPA wipedown after each panel (to ensure the surface had no waxes or oils that might effect the coating bonding to the paint).
4. I started applying the coating as described in the abymsal instructions and found I needed to use a lot more product than "just a few drops". I started with the hodd and did the entire car (roof, windows and wheels included). I let each panel sit for between 10-15 minutes.
5. I wiped each panel down with a damp high quality MF towel with very little pressure. That damp in the cloth is suppose to "activate" the coating.
6. Last step was to follow that damp wipedown with a wipedown with a dry MF towel, which I did - again, very little presssure on the wipedown.
Cure time is suppose to be 72 hours, which will be 9pm tonight.
Car looks great (I don't really buy the scratch resistance claim though). I will let you know how it holds up in the long term.
As to value... if this product works (as some on youtube have suggested - up to 2 years)... than it is a no-brainer. For $16 and about 8-9 hours of my time, is totally worth it to protect the paint from bird droppings and other contaminents. If I really was 100% concerned about scratch resistance, I would choose a PPF over a ceramic coating any day of the week. No comparison.