[991.2]

Last year I had a ceramic coating with a paint correction done on my weekend ride. My 2021 540x in bernina grey will be delivered in early December. My question is does anyone have experience with not doing a paint correction done on new paint before I have the ceramic coating applied. I dont want to cut corners on the finish but Its about $800 cheaper.

[Jas387]

Yes - I just had a single stage paint correction and ceramic coating done on my new 540i.

Our detailer went over the car with me when I dropped it off and we were able to find quite a few imperfections in the paint from the factory. Nothing huge, but you could see it in the right light. Our car is a dark colour (Tanzanite Blue) so it would show marks fairly easily and I wanted it to look perfect.

The biggest marks we found were on the sills on both sides where the transport wax had been scrubbed off at the port - there were a lot of surface scratches visible. If I hadn’t been getting the car corrected I probably would have complained to our dealer.

Our detailer asked us to request the car not be washed by the dealer during the PDI, in order to minimise any further swirls/damage. The dealer had heard this before and were happy to do it. I peeled the stickers off myself before I drove home!

On a lighter colour the paint correction might not be necessary, especially if you are luckier than we were with the finish. Do you have do decide now or can you have your detailer inspect it once you’ve got it?

Edit: sorry, I’ve just seen you asked for people who had the ceramic but NOT the paint correction. Apologies, but hopefully this may still help.

[Jas387]

This was the detailer we used, and here he is doing a new car prep on a BMW i8 - you can see the sorts of things that you might see in the paint from the factory in the first few minutes of the video:

[Bob in IL]

I've seen other White Details videos and they are always good. How were the final results on your car? Satisfied?

[Jas387]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

I've seen other White Details videos and they are always good. How were the final results on your car? Satisfied?

I’m really pleased. The finish was flawless. Jim is great at what he does, and is a pleasure to deal with too.

I’ve already posted these elsewhere, but since you asked :

[Bob in IL]

Very nice! What brand of coating did he use?

[Jas387]

Originally Posted by Bob in IL

Very nice! What brand of coating did he use?

Modesta BC-04. It’s too early to say what I think of it, but it looks good so far and I’ve read a lot of good things about it.

Sorry for hijacking your post a bit, OP!

[991.2]

I think you answered my question. I guess I need a paint correction. By the way that is a beautiful car. I love that color. Good luck and enjoy that beauty.

[Jas387]

I would make the same choice again, but it’s not cheap, so I’m sure some might choose to go ahead without it..

Thanks very much, I’m really happy with it. Yours sounds great too - I love Bernina Grey. Make sure you post some photos when you get it!

[MauiSteve]

I obtained quotes back in February when my 2020 had just arrived from a local pro detailer who also used the Modesta products. It was around $2000 which I just could not justify for a leased car.

I ended up skipping any single stage paint correction, and just washing and surface prepping myself (isopropyl alcohol wipe). I had no visible scratches, but did have some adhesive residue from the shipping protection plastic. I used a high quality ceramic spray coating product called The Last Coat which lasts about 6 months.

If I were doing it all over again now I would get the Armor Shield IX product from AvalonKing which is presently the best consumer applied concentrated ceramic coating.

https://avalonking.com

High end detailers are very skilled and a good job takes several hours. But at $2000 I could buy top of the line 5 inch, 3 inch and nano dual action polishers, plus all the pads, polish, and microfiber towels and still have plenty change left over.

[GTFISH]

Originally Posted by Jas387

Modesta BC-04. It’s too early to say what I think of it, but it looks good so far and I’ve read a lot of good things about it.

Sorry for hijacking your post a bit, OP!

I have Modesta on my Cayman and I think it is great and has held up well over the 4 years since being coated. The coating on the wheels is a must and makes detailing so much easier.

[Jas387]

Originally Posted by GTFISH

I have Modesta on my Cayman and I think it is great and has held up well over the 4 years since being coated. The coating on the wheels is a must and makes detailing so much easier.

Thanks, that’s really good to hear. I have just given mine it’s first wash since it was coated (was told to leave it a couple of weeks for the coating to settle), and the water beading etc looks great.

My wheels and calipers have been done too, so hopefully they’ll be easy to look after.

[Sxs1687]

Bringing back an older thread.

Curious to know how ceramic coated cars handle winter months, salt, snow, etc? Basically I know ceramic protects the paint and hardens it...it's hydrophobic, but does it do anything for winter salt and snow? I'm so tired of my alpine white car looking yellowish in this winter months. It gets dirty again within a day of washing. Can't wait for Spring!

[NGT2]

I'll get in on this old thread resurrection. I bought a 2018 540 recently. It's dark graphite metallic. To me, a novice, the paint looks great. It's a great looking car.

I've got a friend with a body/detailing shop. He said he could probably do ceramic for around $500, depending on how the paint looks upon further inspection.

My question - is it worth it? In you guys' experience, will it make washing it easier to keep up without scratching or swirls? Any opinions or comments on doing the ceramic on a lightly used car would be appreciated. I drive it daily and plan to keep it as nice as I possibly can. And any questions I should be asking my friend or any other retailers would be great to know.

[jsf721]

Paint correction removes imperfections so the surface shines. This is the hard part. Sometimes involving multiple steps. The ceramic coating just protects preserves that shine. The coating is easy to apply.

I have the IGL kenzo on my car. I’ve used GTechmique and Gyeon and all have been pretty good. Nothing is perfect. Sticking with IGL for now. Lasts 2’years so far.


Did my paint, glass and wheels.

As far as worth it? To me yes in time savings !

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

Bringing back an older thread.

Curious to know how ceramic coated cars handle winter months, salt, snow, etc? Basically I know ceramic protects the paint and hardens it...it's hydrophobic, but does it do anything for winter salt and snow? I'm so tired of my alpine white car looking yellowish in this winter months. It gets dirty again within a day of washing. Can't wait for Spring!

First to answer the original OP's question, the paint correction is more important than the ceramic coating in terms of results, without it, you just lock in swirls and spiders. Even a brand new car off the boat needs a paint correction before ceramic.

Now in terms of ceramic benefits, let me put to bed the common misconception that it is so hard it will deter scratches, rock chips and swirls. It will not. You go through an automatic touch car wash with a ceramic coating and you just threw $1500-$2000 away. It will swirl and scratch.

The benefits are that a multi-step coating (multi is important) will enable your paint, wheels and calipers to wash off like butter. It's also long lasting (3-5 years). Dirt is less likely to stick as much, but it will. The benefits is that you can use a pressure washer or car wash guns to wash off dirt, salt, brake dust with ease where as a non-coated car with a build up of winter dirt and salt will definitely need some elbow grease, which increase the chances of a sandpaper effect and will leave swirls. A Ceramic-Pro (actual product) job is worth every penny if done right, which means a multi-step paint correction and 5 layers of CP cured with IR lights.

[Sxs1687]

I think the quote I got was around $3k. Ugh! I really don't want to spend that much, but I hear wonderful things about these coatings. I'd want to do the wheels too. From what I understand, brake dust does not stick so much to coated wheels...or at least it comes off easier with just a hose.

[G30 B58]

Allow me to add a few comments on the longevity of ceramic coatings.

My detailer advised me on HOW to wash the car to preserve the work he had done. I was gonna purchase a foam gun and pressure washer anyway so I did that. The foam dwells longer and lifts dirt with less scrubbing or sponging the surface. Use a foam / soap designed for your ceramic coating. Use good sponges / mitts when washing. Use deionized water when washing and especially when rinsing. And last, blow the car dry, don't use towels.

If you're gonna spend the money on ceramic coating then take the time and more money to wash the car properly too while using the right products.

It's slippery slope.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by Sxs1687

I think the quote I got was around $3k. Ugh! I really don't want to spend that much, but I hear wonderful things about these coatings. I'd want to do the wheels too. From what I understand, brake dust does not stick so much to coated wheels...or at least it comes off easier with just a hose.

$1,500 should get you a quality multi-step paint correction and multi-layer ceramic coating, including wheels off and calipers. $3,000 is insane. There is plenty of quality competition out there. Get a few more quotes and recommendations in your area. I paid $1,500 each for these two.

[jsf721]

My car after a 1step polish and a ceramic coat.

[BrewsterGreenM550]

It's probably the biggest initial cost involved in this process, but imo doing a full body PPF after paint correction and then applying ceramic on top of that is the way to go.

If you live somewhere with weather, daily drive the car, or find it impractical to avoid automatic car washes, PPF is going to save you a ton of time and headache. It's much better in terms of ongoing maintenance, can easily rewrap and ceramic coat one panel if you need to. Plus it looks great with that extra deep layer of gloss, like the car is wrapped in glass (it is)!

Shamelessly showing off Brewster Green again lol:

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by str8face

It's probably the biggest initial cost involved in this process, but imo doing a full body PPF after paint correction and then applying ceramic on top of that is the way to go.

If you live somewhere with weather, daily drive the car, or find it impractical to avoid automatic car washes, PPF is going to save you a ton of time and headache. It's much better in terms of ongoing maintenance, can easily rewrap and ceramic coat one panel if you need to. Plus it looks great with that extra deep layer of gloss, like the car is wrapped in glass (it is)!

Shamelessly showing off Brewster Green again lol:

Oh yeah! PPF is the end game or the beginning game. I don't have one single rock chip or sand blasting effect on my full PPF'd front end.