which ceramic coating?

[NastyGT500]

It's going to depend on how 'heavy handed' you are with the application. As far as the second coat, in my experience, yes, it will give you some more depth/gloss. As well as it should also provide some additional longevity.
Just make sure the first application is cured and then hit it with the second if you desire.

Good luck and pics when finished!

 

[Grabber]

I used the McKee's coating on my wheels, but honestly wasn't / am not impressed.

It seemed to last a few weeks and then it was gone. The wheels were brand new and I did a wipe-down with their surface prep so no possibility for adhesion problems.

I don't know. I've seen so many claims about so many products that just simply haven't been the case in my experience.

For me, if the surface is no longer slick, and no longer beads, then the product has faded and needs to be re-applied.

I can only suspect that a lot of reviews/reviewers use a different methodology to determine longevity.

Currently I use Aquawax 105 on my daily driver and that has definitely proven to be the longest lasting product I've ever used or tried.

Prep would be my guess.

I applied the coating several months ago to my Durango (McKee's 37 paint, glass and wheel coatings to be exact) and have had great results. I washed/clayed/washed and completely prepped the paint with the paint prep polish and used a 70% isopropyl wipe down right after so there was nothing in between the clear and the coating.

The truck sat in salt for 3 months (Chicago's harsh environment) and I had it washed two weeks ago. Strong beading, slick finish to this day and great shine.

Two coats of the coating would be pointless because the clear/paint can only absorb so much of it before it becomes a physical waste of product. If you wanted to add shine, a wax/glaze on top of the coating after it cured for a day or two would be the best bet.

 

[Imatk]

Prep would be my guess.

I applied the coating several months ago to my Durango (McKee's 37 paint, glass and wheel coatings to be exact) and have had great results. I washed/clayed/washed and completely prepped the paint with the paint prep polish and used a 70% isopropyl wipe down right after so there was nothing in between the clear and the coating.

The truck sat in salt for 3 months (Chicago's harsh environment) and I had it washed two weeks ago. Strong beading, slick finish to this day and great shine.

Two coats of the coating would be pointless because the clear/paint can only absorb so much of it before it becomes a physical waste of product. If you wanted to add shine, a wax/glaze on top of the coating after it cured for a day or two would be the best bet.

All I can tell you is they were brand new wheels and I wiped them with the surface prep as well... so for me I wasn't impressed.

It did seem to last about a month but then it was gone... at least any sign of it (beading, slickness, etc.)

 

[02silver2v]

Are the Ceramic Coatings pretty user friendly? I really would like to apply this myself as a weekend detailing enthusiast, far from a professional, but it is something I would take great joy in doing on my own.

 

[Imatk]

Yeah it's not hard at all.

The "professional" versions are more difficult to put on, but the rest are actually easier than wax.

Tons of youtube vids on them... I always see them talk about knocking down the "high spots" but the go on so clear I'm not certain how they are even seeing high spots.

I suspect the pro version of the ceramic coating really does last as long as they claim, well maybe not that long but much longer than the consumer versions.

 

[c6zhombre]

Ok....I applied the WG uber last week...weather has been really bad here, no good pictures yet...maybe I'll make a thread once I get some good shots.

My impressions are the stuff is fantastic, much easier to work with than I had envisioned, I had zero issues with "high spots", the working time is quite long, no reason to panic. The shine is great.....is it "better" than say a couple coats of WG 3.0 sealant and orange crush topper? No. But it's damn comparable.

I took the car to a car show Saturday....and it rained....drove home in the rain around noon, parked the car in the garage pretty disgusted the car got wet so soon after all my work....went back out into the garage about 7 hours later and to my amazement, the paint and glass had practically zero water spots. Wow, that was shocking after what I drove thru. It looked so good, I would have thought it had to have been wiped down with a microfiber and detail spray.....nope. Clean as a whistle and sparkling.

Cool stuff for sure

 

[NastyGT500]

^^^Excellent! Now you have first hand experience on what all the hype about coatings is! They excel in hydrophobic and self cleaning properties!

You were also probably shocked at how the water just blows off the vehicle while driving in the rain!

I'm in for a thread!

 

[dom418]

Yeah it's not hard at all.

The "professional" versions are more difficult to put on, but the rest are actually easier than wax.

Tons of youtube vids on them... I always see them talk about knocking down the "high spots" but the go on so clear I'm not certain how they are even seeing high spots.

I suspect the pro version of the ceramic coating really does last as long as they claim, well maybe not that long but much longer than the consumer versions.

And this is what I don't get. Why do people say it's hard to apply?How hard can it be to apply even in the professional formulations? If the paint is flawless you wipe the product and and then off. What am I missing?

 

[NastyGT500]

^^^Some of the pro versions flash a lot faster/longer depending on which one and can be a PIA to work with...they don't wipe off as easily as others/etc. Also, once they 'set' they need to be polished off if you get high spots or miss an area and need to level it out.

 

[Imatk]

What he said

 

[RRMBrembo]

McKees just introduced a new coating that sprays on wet panels and washes off. I'm very interested to see the longevity of this. It would be a good option as an introductory coating for clients. And the price is incredibly reasonable. I would think you could get 3 to 4 cars out of one bottle.

http://www.mckees37.com/hydro-blue-coating.html

 

[NastyGT500]

^^^Looks interesting RRM. I wouldn't classify this as a coating though as the durability isn't up there with them. I would (and they should have IMO) advertised this as a sealant. It's very similar to CarPro Hydro2 and a few others out there.

I love these products due to their ease of use, and will tend to use them on wheels as it's a super easy way to seal your wheels!

 

[Monkeygrits]

I'm gonna try optimum gloss coat on my daily drivers when the weather breaks. Looks really easy to apply. Just wondering on the longevity here in the PA Salt. I'd be happy with 2 years.