Verifying Car has been Ceramic Coated

[metomwhou]

Hi guys,
I just had my car ceramic coated with G-Tecniq Crystal Serum by an authorized detailer. However, even though he told me he would do paint correction, this doesnt appear to have been done. In fact, there are swirl marks on the car that weren't there before and from what I can tell, bug residue still on the front. I let the car sit for a few days after getting it back and washed it yesterday with only a high pressure hose. It's rained a few times and I can't say that the water is beading any better than before. Yesterday I also clay barred my windows and did the plastic bag test and the windows feel smoother than the paint. Is there any definitive way to tell that the car was actually ceramic coated?

Thanks,
Tom

[smithf80]

If you wash that car and its not beading like crazy, its not coated.

Whole deal sounds shitty, especially if there are still (or new) swirl marks.

[Eric S]

take it back. There should be a pretty solid difference, even on a brand new car. shouldn't be any bugs either

[AIRHEIR]

This is where a lot of the confusion on ceramic coating prices comes into play. You have people promising to do a coating for $500 including everything and then another place is quoting you $1200.

From what I saw on my buddies car who had it recently coated with gtechniq the biggest portion of the job is prepping the paint for said coating (paint correction etc). These shady installers will promise to do the coating but are essentially ignoring the main part of the job and that is why they can sell for so cheap.

If I was you I would demand your money back and go elsewhere.

[metomwhou]

Originally Posted by smithf80

If you wash that car and its not beading like crazy, its not coated.

Whole deal sounds shitty, especially if there are still (or new) swirl marks.

Well, its not beading like crazy on the hood or roof, the sides seem to be though...weird.

Originally Posted by Eric S

take it back. There should be a pretty solid difference, even on a brand new car. shouldn't be any bugs either

Yeah the bug thing is what gets me. I'm gonna actually wash the car by hand once the weather clears up and see if its just there because the pressure washer couldnt remove it or its needs polishing off.

Originally Posted by AIRHEIR

This is where a lot of the confusion on ceramic coating prices comes into play. You have people promising to do a coating for $500 including everything and then another place is quoting you $1200.

From what I saw on my buddies car who had it recently coated with gtechniq the biggest portion of the job is prepping the paint for said coating (paint correction etc). These shady installers will promise to do the coating but are essentially ignoring the main part of the job and that is why they can sell for so cheap.

If I was you I would demand your money back and go elsewhere.

I wanna have my ducks in row and make sure I'm not being too anal about this. But in the end, the whole reason I took the car to someone "professional" is because I didnt want to spend the weekend doing it myself. I've thought about reaching out to the actual company and asking them what they think as well and whether or not there is a test i can do that will tell if its been coated.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

[corbs09]

What did you pay for the service? I know when I ceramic coat cars it is a minimum of 6-8 hours worth of paint correction. Then you have to apply the coating.

[AIRHEIR]

Originally Posted by metomwhou

Well, its not beading like crazy on the hood or roof, the sides seem to be though...weird.




Yeah the bug thing is what gets me. I'm gonna actually wash the car by hand once the weather clears up and see if its just there because the pressure washer couldnt remove it or its needs polishing off.



I wanna have my ducks in row and make sure I'm not being too anal about this. But in the end, the whole reason I took the car to someone "professional" is because I didnt want to spend the weekend doing it myself. I've thought about reaching out to the actual company and asking them what they think as well and whether or not there is a test i can do that will tell if its been coated.

Thanks for all the feedback guys.

Gtechniq offers a warranty card with their products that needs to be registered with the company. If the guy is a legit installer he should have given you a warranty card which you can then use to start case with Gtechniq. Good luck.

[metomwhou]

Originally Posted by AIRHEIR

Gtechniq offers a warranty card with their products that needs to be registered with the company. If the guy is a legit installer he should have given you a warranty card which you can then use to start case with Gtechniq. Good luck.

And I'm supposed to get the card this week. I didnt know about that until monday. Thanks and i'll let you know how it goes!!

Tom

[Clark_Kent]

There are several videos on YouTube demonstrating water behavior on a ceramic coated painted surface. Watch the videos and ask yourself, "Does water behave similarly on the surface of my car?"

[Bruce_SC]

Originally Posted by AIRHEIR

This is where a lot of the confusion on ceramic coating prices comes into play. You have people promising to do a coating for $500 including everything and then another place is quoting you $1200.

From what I saw on my buddies car who had it recently coated with gtechniq the biggest portion of the job is prepping the paint for said coating (paint correction etc). These shady installers will promise to do the coating but are essentially ignoring the main part of the job and that is why they can sell for so cheap.

If I was you I would demand your money back and go elsewhere.

AMEN!!!

[Darth One]

I'm not one of the pros chiming on here, but my installer tells me the same thing. The surface has to be PERFECT before he puts on the coating, and that labor/skill/expertise is most of what you're paying for.

Because of that i certainly would be disappointed if i saw any bugs, swirl marks, marring, etc. he might have installed the ceramic coating but he still didn't do the job

[BzsBimmer]

Could the bug thing happened during drive home?

[TRYM3]

you would def notice if your car was really ceramic coated. 1 the shine is like none other but the hydrophobic properties is a dead give away. I own a BSM f80 m3 and I get complimented daily on how clean my car is and how immaculate the paint is. And I usually only wash it once a week

[Takumi587]

I was skeptical of the whole ceramic coating but this forum got me curious so I got the job done. It was not cheap but the shop that did the job also added a note to the Carfax of the vehicle saying it was ceramic coated. I believe it is a partnership with Ceramic Pro. Car has no swirls and stays clean for weeks. Easy to wash and hardly any dirt, grime, bugs or bird poop. They all splat and come off easily. Mine came with a 5-year warranty as well. Car stayed with the Detailer for 5 days and they told me to not drive it for another week so the coat would finish curing.

I would take your car back to the person who did the work and have it fixed. Otherwise take it to a true professional and get it re-done the right way.

Good luck.

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by Darth One

I'm not one of the pros chiming on here, but my installer tells me the same thing. The surface has to be PERFECT before he puts on the coating, and that labor/skill/expertise is most of what you're paying for.

Because of that i certainly would be disappointed if i saw any bugs, swirl marks, marring, etc. he might have installed the ceramic coating but he still didn't do the job

To this note...

the paint doesnt HAVE to be PERFECT. Would you like the car paint to be perfect, of course, but that carries a larger budget. Some people just want the great looks a coating offers along with the easy maintenance, but don't care about swirl marks. I have had many people come for a one step and coating with a $1000 budget. To some, its worth having some swirls showing but the paint looks amazing and is easy to clean.

On the other hand, some want the paint perfected as much as possible and the best coating possible applied...those people have a bigger budget and know its not going to be $1000

To each his own...

[Doc B]

I have G Techniq ceramic coating on my car done about a month ago and it definitely beads a lot when I wash it. But I also have exo v3 on top of the crystal serum. It took about 7 hours to prep and apply the coating. I checked the car under T5 lighting and it looked flawless. I'd take it to a reputable shop and have it looked at.

[Darth One]

Originally Posted by Eric S

To some, its worth having some swirls showing but the paint looks amazing and is easy to clean.

The horror...

[metomwhou]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

There are several videos on YouTube demonstrating water behavior on a ceramic coated painted surface. Watch the videos and ask yourself, "Does water behave similarly on the surface of my car?"

And that was why I was asking, it didn't appear to be. I have since had another installer take a look at a quick video after a rain storm and it looks to be "beading" like a coated car. Although, I did clay the windows myself and they feel smoother using the baggie test and shed water much better than the paint...

Originally Posted by Darth One

I'm not one of the pros chiming on here, but my installer tells me the same thing. The surface has to be PERFECT before he puts on the coating, and that labor/skill/expertise is most of what you're paying for.

Because of that i certainly would be disappointed if i saw any bugs, swirl marks, marring, etc. he might have installed the ceramic coating but he still didn't do the job

That's my fear. I'm waiting to get the certificate from him and when I do I will point out these defects.

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

Could the bug thing happened during drive home?

Not likely, he's 3 miles from where I live and its 25mph(ish) through town. the car sat for most of the week after I picked it up.
Normally, bug residue can be wiped away with some elbow grease and bug remover but this one just will not go away. Another reason why i think that if he did do paint correction, it was only in certain areas and not in this one in particular.

Originally Posted by TRYM3

you would def notice if your car was really ceramic coated. 1 the shine is like none other but the hydrophobic properties is a dead give away. I own a BSM f80 m3 and I get complimented daily on how clean my car is and how immaculate the paint is. And I usually only wash it once a week

Originally Posted by Takumi587

I was skeptical of the whole ceramic coating but this forum got me curious so I got the job done. It was not cheap but the shop that did the job also added a note to the Carfax of the vehicle saying it was ceramic coated. I believe it is a partnership with Ceramic Pro. Car has no swirls and stays clean for weeks. Easy to wash and hardly any dirt, grime, bugs or bird poop. They all splat and come off easily. Mine came with a 5-year warranty as well. Car stayed with the Detailer for 5 days and they told me to not drive it for another week so the coat would finish curing.

I would take your car back to the person who did the work and have it fixed. Otherwise take it to a true professional and get it re-done the right way.

Good luck.

Thanks, as I mentioned above, I'm still waiting for the certificate to arrive. I have the feeling that if I start a ruckus before getting that, he'll back his way out of it. The whole reason I went with him was because he did say he would do a full paint correction and several members of our local car page vouched for his work.

Originally Posted by Doc B

I have G Techniq ceramic coating on my car done about a month ago and it definitely beads a lot when I wash it. But I also have exo v3 on top of the crystal serum. It took about 7 hours to prep and apply the coating. I checked the car under T5 lighting and it looked flawless. I'd take it to a reputable shop and have it looked at.

I just picked up some ExoV3 as well. does it make as big of a difference as the reviews say?
I'm no professional and didn't want to spend 7hrs prepping and coating with a consumer grade product when i could get professional services for what sounded like a fair price. Besides, the car had good paint before as it had been very well taken care of by the previous owner and only had 7500 miles when i bought it.

[Doc B]

I should clarify that I had it professionally done and the 7 hours they took to work on my car was for the rear half of the car as I have a suntek full front clear bra. I only washed the car with both layers applied so I can't say if the exo v3 will make a difference but according to their website it's supposed to make the car more hydrophobic.

[Eric S]

Originally Posted by Darth One

The horror...

hahaha

but a near perfected paint finish does look better

[Eric S]

LCv3 will make the surface more slick and hydrophobic

[rmm19]

May I ask where you had the ceramic coating done? I am currently looking for a place in Stuttgart.