DIY Armor Shield Ceramic Coating

[Monochrome]

This stuff was getting spammed to me all over various social media so I did some reading up on it. The product is fairly new but getting great reviews. At $75 for a bottle (you get discounts for buying multiple bottles) it seemed worth a shot.

Got 3 bottles for all 3 of my cars but only used 2.



First tried it on the Ford as I had purchased it the day before the coating arrived. Almost didn't have to do any prep!

Took the better part of half a day to apply it following the instructions that came with and the various YouTube vids. Very easy to apply. Even easier than wax.



Really like how it brought out that mirror clean look to the black paint.



It even gave some gloss to the flat black plastic trimming along the car too.



Applied it to everything including the glass, headlights and rims.





Immediately after application and curing, you can feel how much smoother the paint is. I didn't get any fogginess to the coat even with the fresh paint.

This was applied about 3-4 months ago and I've put about 9000 miles on the car driving on the interstate.

All kinds of various rocks and debris have hit my car. Even chipped my windshield. Maybe Ford uses decent paint but it seem there's not too many rock chips on the front given how often the car is hit with crap. The Miata has half the miles yet has 3x as many chips.

I'm also impressed with how easily the car cleans (yes you still have to clean it). Bugs require minimal if any effort to remove. I purchased a cheap pressure washer from Ebay to clean the car and it seems to remove 95% of the bug guts. The car is white too so if there's any scratching, I'm not seeing it.

Also applying it to the glass has helped a lot with rain/condensation clearing. It seems I don't need to use the wipers as much.

[Monochrome]

The Golf and the Miata both had a Teflon based coating put on them when I purchased the cars a year ago. This had to get removed before applying the ceramic coating but that wasn't difficult.





Neither of these cars are driven much since the Ford joined the fleet but got the same results with both the cars. Basically the cars only need a wipe down to clean off the bugs but there are times I'm lazy and the cars will sit a week or two before getting cleaned. Seems no more or less effort is needed.

I'm concerned about the Miata's thin paint though. It has several chips. Might have to clear vinyl wrap this car to protect it better.

The Golf hit a raccoon at 45mph last April and I'm amazed that the paint wasn't damaged. This may or may not have something to do with the coating or the germans using quality paint but it saved me a lot of $$!

This car is also stored outdoors 24/7 too so dust is an issue. The car still needs to get cleaned every week because morning dew leaving water spots.

The darker color shows no scratching but I'm not often cleaning it with any abrasives beyond a microfiber cloth. Our outdoor cat loves to sit on it though... Thankfully no scratching.

[Jeff V.]

Those always seem like snake oil when I see them on various YouTube channels. It's interesting that you're seeing positive results.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]Those always seem like snake oil when I see them on various YouTube channels. It's interesting that you're seeing positive results.[/quote]

The true test will come this winter for the Ford. See how well it protects from salt rock chips and muck water.

[Jeff V.]

I can understand it making a slick surface that debris can't stick to, but I don't see how something thinner than a piece of paper can make any meaningful protection against chipping.

[DCIV]

My neighbor has made a nice buisness out of doing ceramic coating. He says anyone can buy the stuff and your really paying him to do all the paint and scratch correction before he applies the ceramic coating. With that said, the stuff really does seem to shine.


Coop

[Duck Vader]

Engineering Explained did a good video on this stuff:



Take away I got was do the protective film first then put the ceramic coating on top.

11 min video. Worth a watch if you have the time.

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]I can understand it making a slick surface that debris can't stick to, but I don't see how something thinner than a piece of paper can make any meaningful protection against chipping.[/quote]

Truth. I can see it working like a RainEx product allowing the water and grime to easily bead off, but thats about it.

I am a fan of clear bras. Put one on the Ram and its done quite well so far.

[Jeff V.]

The previous owner of my car shelled out big bucks for bumper to bumper paint film. But I still get certain things that stick to it. I might try this stuff eventually.

[Monochrome]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]I can understand it making a slick surface that debris can't stick to, but I don't see how something thinner than a piece of paper can make any meaningful protection against chipping.[/quote]

That's like expecting wax to protect the car from chipping. Obviously it doesn't.... All it does it protect from sun fade, corrosion (salt and acid rain) and make it a bit easier to clean.

I'm convince Mazda just really really cheaped out on paint....

[Monochrome]

[quote=""ChargerX3""]Truth. I can see it working like a RainEx product allowing the water and grime to easily bead off, but thats about it.

I am a fan of clear bras. Put one on the Ram and its done quite well so far.[/quote]

Did you apply it yourself? I just braved doing window tint on the Ford but haven't braved doing exterior film. Haven't had good luck vinyl wrapping cars myself.

[Chris GTO TT]

[quote=""Monochrome""]That's like expecting wax to protect the car from chipping. Obviously it doesn't.... All it does it protect from sun fade, corrosion (salt and acid rain) and make it a bit easier to clean.

I'm convince Mazda just really really cheaped out on paint....[/quote]

Most companies are, it's expensive and they go thin to cut weight.

[Duck Vader]

[quote=""Chris GTO TT""]Most companies are, it's expensive and they go thin to cut weight.[/quote]

Ya... the paint on the wife's Kia Soul is really thin. Rock chips EVERYWHERE and it only has 15k on it.

[ChargerX3]

[quote=""Monochrome""]Did you apply it yourself? I just braved doing window tint on the Ford but haven't braved doing exterior film. Haven't had good luck vinyl wrapping cars myself.[/quote]

I paid a guy to do it. I think he just had is vinyl printer cut out the patterns. It fits remarkably well. Had him do the headlights too because I dont want those to fade.

Speaking of applying window tint. I just did that for the first time 2 weeks ago on the Monti. That stuff is nerve racking to get done right.

[aaronatstate]

Yeah I always understood ceramic coatings to be like super wax. Basically wax that last for 3-5 years, and makes the vehicle easier to clean. All the stuff I've seen is do the paint correction first, including buff/polish (all seem like they always polish regardless), then do the ceramic coating.

Seems like of all the videos I've watched, only higher end cars get the clear PPF due to the cost, and not making sense to do even on $35,000 car. One video I watched was of a 997.2 GT3RS and it was like $8,000 to have the paint correction, PPF, and ceramic coating over the top of the PPF.

Doesn't make sense for any of my cars to get PPF, but I've been thinking about doing a ceramic coat myself, including the paint correction. Ever since I did the 96 spoiler paint correction, I feel confident enough to do the rest of the vehicle. Just need to find the time, since you're supposed to do a deep clean, clay bar, alcohol wipe, then ceramic coating.

[Jeff V.]

The cost to do PPF on my car was somewhere in the 4-6k range. I found posts on the forum from the previous owner. He got a buddy hookup, but it still wasn't cheap. Mine isn't even the really good stuff. It's pre-cut so you can see the edges everywhere. I'm happy I got it as a 'free' add on with the car, but I would never pay to have it done to that extent. The most I'd do is the front of the car and maybe the mirrors.

The film on the rocker panels behind the doors are chewed up with stone pitting. I don't think I need it any more since I added side skirts. But it still looks like crap since it's a white car. I guess it's better than the paint itself being ate up.

[mjannusch]

The ceramic coating on the Stingray is still working very well. Water just rolls off, and it comes out of the touchless carwash looking perfect.

[aaronatstate]

[quote=""Jeff V.""]The cost to do PPF on my car was somewhere in the 4-6k range. I found posts on the forum from the previous owner. He got a buddy hookup, but it still wasn't cheap. Mine isn't even the really good stuff. It's pre-cut so you can see the edges everywhere. I'm happy I got it as a 'free' add on with the car, but I would never pay to have it done to that extent. The most I'd do is the front of the car and maybe the mirrors.

The film on the rocker panels behind the doors are chewed up with stone pitting. I don't think I need it any more since I added side skirts. But it still looks like crap since it's a white car. I guess it's better than the paint itself being ate up.[/quote]

Do you know if it was coated after the PPF was done? Everything I have seen about PPF says it still needs to be coated. I've also heard/seen that the good stuff is sort of self healing, but haven't seen it or experienced in person so I am still kind of skeptical.

[quote=""mjannusch""]The ceramic coating on the Stingray is still working very well. Water just rolls off, and it comes out of the touchless carwash looking perfect.[/quote]

Which ceramic coating did you use?

[Jeff V.]

I've got no idea if it was coated. I'll vouch for the self healing though. There's very little permanent damage in the film. Even on the very front of the car.

Almost all of the damage is located on the rocker panels.

[mjannusch]

[quote=""aaronatstate""]Which ceramic coating did you use?[/quote]
Wolfgang Uber
https://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-uber- ... ating.html