It’s a waste of money; pure and simple. The first heavy rain or trip through the car wash and that 1300 dollars will be running down the street or the drain with the water.
I’ve mentioned it before, but when I worked for Nissan the dealer was running behind and asked a few of us mechanics if we would like to stay late one Friday and pick up some extra money by applying some “paint protectant”. Why not.
We got paid 1 hour per car. I did 4 cars in an hour so I quadrupled my flat rate pay easily.
That stuff wiped on like water, hazed in seconds, and most of it wiped right back off with the rag used to remove the haze.
Really think 15 minutes per car of easy on/easy off is going to protect anything?
As mentioned, there are high quality waxes out there that will work much better and for a ton less money.
Thanks. I suppose if you have a questionable product asking even more for it can make people think it has to be special lol. What about using one of these acrylic finish products rather than a wax ? I have some messy trees on my property.
I hate to again burst your bubble again but any similar type (paste, liquid, spray) of name brand wax will produce about the same result.
This year it’s Ceramic, last year is was Nano Tech, the year before Polymer and of course there’s always the Celebrity Endorsements and Special Sauce. (Made in a secret lab in the back of Jay Leno’s garage from extra virgin carnaruba nuts )
Wash regularly, wax twice a year and your car will look good for 15-20 years. My personal wax preferences are the Turtle Wax and 3M spray waxes simply because they’re easy to apply
From my brief research, a true ceramic coating may last years longer than a traditional wax but it’s a time consuming and expensive process which has to be done by a Pro because it bonds to the paint so any flaws would have to be wet sanded out. For myself, even the possibility of wet sanding the clearcoat makes it a non-starter.
As far as the DIY products available, I suspect that the formulation is significantly different from the Pro stuff, which is why the DIY Ceramic only lasts a couple of months longer than the traditional wax products. i.e. The “Ceramic” on the lable is more of a marketing tool that any significant durability improvement.
But generally, my view of waxes is that they’re primarily a “sacrificial coating”,
something you apply to protect the paint from chemicals, UV and dust scratches. When the wax wears out in 6-12 months you just remove it with a wash of dishwashing liquid, apply a new clean coat of wax and those modern spray waxes do the job so well and make it so easy.
And as I stated there are other alternatives. Turtle Was Ceramic Hybrid is one. It’s a DIY and it’s coating lasts significantly longer then any other wax. It was YOU who made the statement about Ceramic waxes. Changing your position now?
Well actually no. The Turtle Wax Ceramic Hybrid you mentioned is actually a traditional polymer wax with “Ceramic” added (me thinks for marketing reasons), instead of the true ceramics that have to be applied by a Pro and wet sanded if you made a goof.
That being said, I’ve had good luck with the Turtle line, would have no hesitation using it and it may actually last a few months longer than their other spray ons.
Ceramic wax IS A POLIMER. The hybrid wax just makes it easier to apply the ceramic coating. As I said the Ceramic hybrid lasts several times longer then any other wax I’ve used in the past 50+ years. The Hybrid is NOT just another wax. It’s far superior.
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