G'day, thinking about coating my black x150. Any suggestions,reccommendions.
So many products out there.Thanks in advance.Bob

 

It's a bit of a can of. worms imo. I used Miyabi and like it fine on my car - black 07 coupe. There's a whole section in the general threads you can read. A lot of info here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/d...g-car-care-20/

This is what I used, primarily because you can work large areas instead of the 18" x 18" that is typical.

https://www.esotericcarcare.com/kami...i-coating-kit/

 

My local Aston dealer uses Meguiar's. They did two sets of wheels and the calipers. So far so good. Does make cleaning easier. Not sure I would use Meguiar's if I did the whole car.

The more I read on coatings, the more difficult the decision becomes. I haven't taken the plunge to do either car yet.

 

My local detailer used Ceramic Pro on my XKR-S. Happy with it so far.

Got some DIY stuff that I'm going to try myself on a panel of the Cayenne to see how it does.

 

GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra.

 

Its all in the prep work. Are you doing it yourself or paying for a professional to coat it? I ceramic coat my wheels and calipers so its easier to clean.

Generally there are 2 lines of ceramic coating, one for the prosumer and the other for the professional installers. Such as Opticoat, Kamikazi for pro only and Cquartz UK for the prosumer market. Most of the cost is for the labour to prep the paint to remove the defects for ceramic coating.

However I don't ceramic coat the paint work as I find the finish paint look to be artificially bright / and plastic looking. I prefer the warmth glow look of waxes / sealants on paints. My Jag is not a daily driver and sits in the garage most of the time. So a spray wax at every wash gives me the slick feel and is plenty of protection for me.

 

I had my XKR and my Infiniti Q50 professionally paint corrected and ceramic coated with CeramicPro. I love it...any other cars I acquire will be ceramic coated.

I've had my XKR for a year now and have not washed it. Once you have it ceramic coated, all you have to do is give it a quick rinse, then I wipe it down with CarPro ECH20 quick detailer. It looks (more) amazing after that.

Below is a pic right after I got it back from being coated.

Pat


My big cat right after ceramic coating.

 

Its all in the prep- loads of quality products out there- the level of paint prep differentiates the quality of the finish.

 

Here is a picture of my non ceramic coated paint, just a spray wax. You may or may not notice the warmth and depth in the colour without looking overly bright. This is pearl grey which is very similar to AM quantum grey. At certain lights and angles the paint looks like it has bronze and purple in it. This is 2 stage paint correction removing 80%-90% of the defects. There are stone chips that I need to touch up on the front bumper and rear wheel arches. I didn't want to remove too much clear coat as the paint is quite soft and I want to preserve as much clear coat as possible for future corrections down the track.

DIY paint correction over 2 weekends, about 30 hours work in total. This is where most of the cost goes to when you get a pro detailer to do paint correction. The paint was in average shape when I first purchase the XKR.

Ceramic coating makes it easier to clean but it's not bullet, scratch, stone chip proof just don't get sucked into the marketing. Some ceramic coating you also need to use their products to wash/clean to maintain the warranty. You also need to mechanically (ie aggressive machine polish) remove the existing ceramic coating if you need to do repairs and touchups in the future. There is no right or wrong answer just what is right for you.

 

I have wanted to pull the ceramic trigger for some time. I also wouldn't mind doing it myself. What has stopped me is the paint prep that needs to be done... I've tried claying other cars with less than stellar results, so now I'm gun shy.

I have tried NuFinish once-a-year-car polish, and I must say it provided an excellent shine. Since my car is stored over the winter, I can't speak to longevity.

 

Ceramic coat will lock in for several years at least the swirl marks, scratches etc if your paint is not defect free!

Clay bar is only the first step of making the paint smooth. Just clay bar your paint alone actually adds more scratches to your existing paint, because you're dragging the dirt that is trap in the clay across the paint / clearcoat.

Next step is to do a test spot and start polishing using the least aggressive polishing compound and pads and see if that removes the defects. If not find another spot and go for a more aggressive pad and or compound until you get the desire results. You can polish by hand which will take a LOT of effort or machine polish. However you need to invest on a DA polisher, several different pads and different polishes. Just note that the act of polishing is to remove paint or clear coat. Once the clear coat is gone, its gone forever until you repaint. Hence going for the least aggressive polish before going all out with the more aggressive compunds/polishes.

In Australia a professional detailer will typically charge any where between $1500 to $3000.00 AUD to install a ceramic coating, so you know roughly where the cost goes. The actual ceramic coating product is no more than $200.00 - $300.00 for the really "high end" product, the rest goes to their labour cost of defect removable and profit to keep the business lights on (nothing wrong with that).

 

I agree with this, NuFinish is exceptionally shiny, and lasts quite awhile. Not a couple years, but you can 'fix' stuff through it.

 

I had my car professionally paint corrected and then ceramic coated 4 years back. The detailer is someone I have used for this service several times over 10 years so I was very comfortable with his work.

Fast forward 4 years and my car looks great, still beads, no special wash chemicals required and I haven't given it any booster wax jobs. I always hand wash and use Meguiars Gold Class soap that can be bought at any store. That was what the detailer recommended. I never would have thought I would still have full paint protection after this long, but the car is garage kept and since the Wife retired early doesn't see extended time in a parking lot like our previous car.

I used to put 5 or 6 layers of Zaino on my Porsche, spent multiple days getting the ultimate show shine. I have no use for such nonsense, as long as my car is clean and shiny that is good with me, the ceramic coating was a way for me not to wax the car, and that has paid me the time saving benefit for 4 years!

 

To throw another spanner in the works, ceramic coating is sooooo old school. The in thing is now graphene coating.

Don't you just love marketing hype!!!

 

As already mentioned, you'll need to polish after doing clay or Nano Mitt. I bought a Rupes polisher and it came with three different pads with matching polishes. Follow their guide and it's very easy to polish the car. I was amazed at how well it came out. Masking is a pain. I started using CarPro Eraser before applying a final coat of sealer or wax. Another product I am really impressed with. Makes the surface totally clean or any residue so the final coat can really stick to the paint. Super easy to apply. Worth every penny! Works well as a glass cleaner, but kind of expensive to use just for that.

 

Hello Wagner.
Oh boy , that is next to asking about which o*l to use. Reason being there are so many products out there good and Bad! , that us consumers become mired down in the the whole of it. Basically what those coatings are is different formulations of silica compounds some being better than others. Generally speaking one gets what one pays for, although there are scammers out there in fancy websites, and packaging selling what could amount basically to water ( using that as example to get idea across ).
Not crazy about McGueirs anymore, but its still a reliable product and it will keep you from purchasing a scam .
I would not bother purchasing anything with claimed 1 yr protection. Heck, turtle wax has a spray which offers that and it works.
Look for a ceramic coating with about a claimed 3yr protection, they are out there . As I recall there were 2 Brit. companies offering that. One companies product was even used on aircraft and certified for such. So let your fingers on the net do the research. Best wishes