My car is straight gloss black with no metallic. The car is absolutely beautiful and I keep it very clean. But even with regular wash and waxes as well as polishing it is so hard to keep it looking perfect all the time.

I'm looking into Ceramic coating and installers in the Daytona/Orlando FL area. Anyone have any experience in a particular brand and any leads on a good installer in the area?

Any help on a really good detail shop around this area is appreciated also.

 

Hi HIX,

Ceramic Coatings are very popular and there are multiple brands such as Ceramic Pro, Opti-Coat, and CQuartz. Each of their websites has a locator to find a certified installer.

You may also want to consider paint protection film in conjunction with a ceramic coating. 3M Company just introduced a new film that should work nicely with whatever ceramic coating you choose. You can locate an installer near you by visiting http://www.3m.com/ppf-findadealer. If you'd like to research more on the product, please visit www.ppffilm.com and feel free to ask me any questions.

Good luck!


-Manny

 

I have had it done professionally, and then done it myself.


I strongly suggest PPF on all the splat areas. 3M, Xpel and Suntek are the top dogs in PPF right now in my opinion.


I also suggest a ceramic coating on all surfaces, Paint, Wheels and glass. Some coatings can do paint and wheels and a special one for glass. Some are special for wheels.


Oh,and treat PPF like paint. It can be lightly polished, and coated. (or waxed or sealed)


For coatings I have used and been happy with Opti-Coat Gloss coat, Gyeon Mhos, Gyeon can coat, Polish Angel Cosmic v2, and most recently IGL Quartz, and IGL Premier.


Polishing is the most important step, if you cannot perfect paint, don't apply a ceramic coating. It will lock in the swirls and defects.



In Orlando check out Todd Helme, Bella Maccinna. If he is still operating, he is Awesome.

 

I just had Suntek clear bra on the whole front end. The shop I use installs both 3M Pro and Suntek. Very happy with the results. On top of that I had 4 coats of Ceramic Pro professionally installed. No need to wax anymore.

 

We can certainly understand the desire to have nice looking paint 24/7. Dark colored paint as you know is the hardest to maintain so you're on the right track wanting to protect it. As someone else mentioned in the thread, paint protection film would be a good option for your paint in addition to the ceramic coating. Our XPEL ULTIMATE film which has been around since 2011 is the world's very first self-healing film. What this means is fine scratches and swirl marks will self-heal from the heat of the sun giving you a beautiful smooth finish. . XPEL ULTIMATE is also warrantied for 10 Years against yellowing, hazing, cracking, peeling, lifting, and more. So it will hold up no problem in the South Florida sun. That said, not all films are created equal so be sure to ask for XPEL by name.

The hardest part of an installation is finding a reputable installer so be sure to ask for examples of their work in person. This will let you gauge their workmanship and their customer service quality. A list of XPEL installers in the Orlando area can be found here - XPEL In Orlando.

Ceramic coatings are a great idea and can absolutely be installed on top of XPEL. Just be sure to only install the ceramic coating on top of the film and never underneath it.

Hope this info helps, let us know if we can answer any other questions.

 

I just did my new HRE wheels with cquartz...it's awesome.
My turbo is Black also and I plan on doing it soon as swirls just jump on without touching it....preparation is the key....if you are handy and like to clean your car, (it's cathartic to me)need to do the paint correction starting with wash, ironX, clay bar, Polish, denatured alcohol rinse, then apply the coating. Lots of steps but time taken is rewarded by result. I'll post when I do it

 

Has my basalt black Metallic 997.2 turbo S coated in Modesta BC-05 (nano glass ceramic coating) over expel PPF (hood, fenders, bumper and rear view mirrors). Best decision I made regarding keeping a black car clean. Repelled water (beads), and dirt, bugs and track rubber came off easily. Can't help you with a shop recommendation in FL but PPF & coating is awesome!

 

What does an Xpel (or 3M) + ceramic install (let's say front end and mirrors?) typically cost on these cars?

 

Just to chime in but if a clear bra installers is needed in Central Florida, may I suggest contacting:
Paint Protection Pro located in Merritt Island
Ultrashield of Orlando
Daytona Auto Tint in Daytona


Regards,
Manny

 

My PPF ran about 2K (front clip, hood, fenders, mirrors, lights, replace factory shark fin, and the areas behind tires) and the ceramic will range from 800 to 1300 depending on the number of polish steps you need and which ceramic you choose.


Modeata will be much more.

 

My full front including mirror using Suntek ppf was about $1500 and another $850 for the ceramic pro 4 coats.