Best way to care for a ceramic coated car?

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Elonheater32

New member
I just bought a car that has been ceramic coated and has the front half covered in protective paint film. Initially, I didn’t know that the car had been ceramic coated until one of the detail guys from the shop reached out to me.
He recommended gtechniq c2v3 so I bought it, but when I went back over the email from the detail guy..... I think I might have misread it. I think he was recommending the product in case I noticed the ceramic fading a bit.
I wanted to get some professional suggestions or advices from some experienced peeps that know how to care for a ceramic coated car best.
I was gonna hit the car with a foam cannon first and then wash it with McKee’s sio2 soap. After that what should I do to enhance/protect the finish. Is Gtechniq c2v3 still a good product to use as a spray wipe after wash?
 
Practice good washing technique to avoid scratching and swirling the polished and protected surface. Dry with good towels or with a blower with the option to use a maintenance spray product like c2v3. There are quite a few on the market that do the same thing.

A coating will lose it`s hydrophobics at some some point and thus the maintenance product will add it`s own as a sacrificial layer and preserver your base layer.

What coating do you have on the car?
 
You have many options for a maintenance product. I would look into something else as C2V3 seems prone to spotting.

Fellow members like Kamikaze Overcoat, 22ple VS1. Shine Supply Clutch seems to be another good one.

Or stick with the same manufacturer and get igl premier.
 
Sio2 soap would be good maybe get some CP Reset to wash once a month. Second all the toppers he’s recommended. I like the premiums he’s recommended in the Overcoat. I’ll also throw out polish angel spritz’s. Love Cosmic. IGL premier gets raves too.

Look into rinseless like N-914 from McKee’s or the new griots. The clean well and leave no polymers behind to affect LSP’s. CP Ech20 is also loved as a rinseless (I only use as a waterless) I also love AMMO frothe as a waterless wash.

And about Shine supply Clutch.... underrated. Great option if you don’t want to invest in a premium topper. Shine supply has a awesome line up for sio2. Now that I have a couple premium toppers I mainly use mixed with Ech20 as a drying aid.


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Everyone here has great advice. I would wash with CarPro Reset to keep the pores of the coating clean to continue the dirt rejection and water beading. I like IGL Premier it’s better (much) than C2v3, but you could use the C2v3 as a drying aid. The water on the car should cut down on streaking. IGL Premier will last 4-5 months where C2v3 will last 2 weeks.

Enjoy the new ride and feel free to ask any questions. Remember you need to protect the interior too. Don’t forget the engine bay. And post up some pics!
 
We always recommend staying with the products made by the coating company. You can also use Griot’s Boss foaming system as it was designed to work with coatings and not cause issues.
 
Hey guys... please forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by “drying aid”? By the way I went ahead and returned the Gtechniq and got the igl premier.
 
The Guz said:
You have many options for a maintenance product. I would look into something else as C2V3 seems prone to spotting.

Fellow members like Kamikaze Overcoat, 22ple VS1. Shine Supply Clutch seems to be another good one.

Or stick with the same manufacturer and get igl premier.
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I got SONAX for the Alcantara. As far as the engine goes.... the engine cover is bolted down as they only want the dealer and service techs to get access to that area, but I plan on cleaning it.
 
Gee, there sure seems to be a lot of extra maintenance being applied to coatings these days, perhaps as much as some of us do with conventional LSPs. But anyhow..

Elonheater32 said:
Hey guys... please forgive my ignorance, but what do you mean by “drying aid”?
Click to expand...

A Drying Aid is a product used during the Drying Process, typically something that`s sprayed on. There are varieties: QD, RW, WW, and SprayWax, for use on traditional LSPs, and now "ceramic" or other types that are geared more towards use on coatings.

The idea is that you spritz some of the Drying Aid on prior to Drying (or after getting most of the water off first so that it`s "before the final pass" while drying) to provide protection from marring (in case there`s residual dirt), and/or lubrication, and/or boost the look or provide some other benefit.
 
I would recommend proper washing / drying techniques. Also, I recommend a ceramic specific wash whenever possible. When I have a client come in with a ceramic coated vehicle, I always wash with Micro Detailer Ceramic Wash. I am not sure it makes a huge difference, but for the amount of money someone would spend on a ceramic coating, I wouldn`t want to do anything to cause a breakdown in the durability/integrity of it.
 
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