Ceramic Coatings - Recommendations

I would like to remove the swirl marks on my hood and ceramic coat the entire car. I was quoted $1500 from a 'specialist' but think that's a little high. Has anyone done this themself? How hard of a process was it? Can you recommend a product? TIA

$1,500 is pretty much the going rate (In NYC), despite how much/what brand the actual ceramic coating is. There are tons of man-hours that go into prepping the paint properly so that your ceramic coating install goes smoothly (no pun intended). The application of the ceramic coating is also a bit time consuming. If you lay it down wrong and there's high spots you dont catch you need to re-prep the panel again.

There are a lot of good ceramic coatings. Gyeon Mohs EVO is very easy. There are others that are close, but for first timer this is my go to. I use Gyeon and Armour detail coatings in my car. Coating itself takes less than an hour. All the polishing and surface prep you do before is what costs. polishing is its own thread in terms of technique and products. You�ll need a good machine and pads + polish. Then surface prep to remove any oils before the coating goes on. might as well do a clay and iron decon of paint before polishing too.

Hey Mike, to determine the best direction to enhance your paint, I would encourage you to first determine how particular you are about your 911, and what you're willing to do/spend to have it looking presentable (good enough/improved), or have it looking perfect (preserved, protected and restored). Consider whether you plan to keep the car long term, the level of enjoyment the car brings to you and what other expenses you have planned in it's refresh/upkeep (it will continue to need sums of money over time to be road worthy). Once you've done that, know $1500 is a reasonable quote, and I would probably expect to spend a bit more if you really want it looking new. If you go this route, make sure your chosen Proffessional is experienced with soft, older paint. It is not the same as working with hardened newer paint that can be more forgiving. Like a lot of things, polishing + ceramic coating can be 'done' in a weekend by someone that wants to watch a few YouTube videos and get to it. You'll get the results you pay for here and they will reveal themselves under the right lighting conditions. That might be more than acceptable for the time/value outlay and have your car presenting better than it did before (assuming you don't mar the paint or burn any edges). I'll refer to the first post in my ownership thread to give you some idea of what the professional correction/protection process looks like. The bottom of the post has two videos you can watch on your computer/phone. Mine took dozens of hours, and was performed by one of my closest friends with years of restorative detailing experience. There's a wealth of knowledge online on this, as well as post-care washing techniques to keep your enhanced paint looked on point. Bradley

I paid $1,500 three years ago for paint correction and ceramic coating so your quote sounds about right.

$1500 seems about right for a pro to do it, it's a lot of labor. I have DiY'd 4 of my cars with Avalonking and was super happy with the product till my last one, it just didn't cure even after like 5 days it was tacky, their support was unhelpful. I won't do my 911 till the front bumper gets repainted and I throw a different wing on it. If you're handy with a buffer it's not bad, just budget a full day. Foam cannon + rinse Foam cannon + contact wash + rinse Foam cannon + claybar + rinse wipe down with alcohol/distilled water mix Buff/polish/fix your paint wipe down with alcohol/distilled water mix 2 coats of ceramic follow curing directions

As others said, you're paying mostly for labor as this is time consuming, especially if you want to do a good job. If you have the time and the space, it's very much something you can DIY. Coatings have become much more consumer focused and forgiving in terms of application. I did a full 2 step correction about 3-4 years ago and my car still looks amazing, of course with proper care. If interested, hop on youtube and check out AMMO NYC. Larry is an amazing detailer and has a boatload of educational videos which I found incredibly helpful. I also used Avalon King on my first go and it worked very well and was easy to apply. I had some paint work done so will redo the coating and do a quick 1 step polish as the paint is still great. I'm planning on using Geyon as I've seen and heard great things about their consumer level coatings.

I DIY all my paint correction work but I have all the items needed; I think I have more detailing supplies than most detailing shops. I am saying this because of the following: - If you don't have the equipment (polisher, polishes, pads, etc.) and don't plan to regularly paint correct your car I'd say just spend the $1500 and get it done. You'd be spending $300-400 in materials and about 10+ hours of your time if you DIY. - If you want to learn how to correct the paint on your car and plan on doing it going forward on your 996 or other cars in your household I'd say get yourself a good polisher, some polishes, pads and have at it.

Purchase of a hood from a breaker/auto wrecker makes fo ra good practice piece,, just find one thats tweaked so its not usable for replacement.. THe Porsche paint depending on year and model is "different" than regular Dupont or Sikkens..

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The quote is reasonable. There is a lot of prep time finishing with a clay bar to smooth it out and remove impurities that gather in the 'pores' so to speak on the paint such as brake dusk residue and other environmental issues that cause it. The problem with doing yourself is the prep time. The car has to be washed with care and dried. You don't want to leave any water spots (Personally I use a small blower off of Temu to blow dry it) along with any grime or residue that washing doesn't remove, then the clay bar (time consuming because your are basically using it side to side in small sections. Rinse often when you finish each 4 in horizontal section. You can use a soap and water mix to lubricate the clay bar, you don't need any special lubricating spray. Once the entire car is done, you have to apply the coating. This too is something of a complex project because you have to lay down the coating evenly. Without prior experience you will run into problems by applying too much, creating high spots and other anomalies. If you have a Chevy, do it yourself. But for a luxury performance car (such is how the car is categorized) it's best to have a qualified professional. not a hack claiming they can do the job. Stable detail shops have been in business long enough to garner a reputation (a Google search for satisfaction ratings and viewing the comments for each shop to create a starter list, then visit each shop to look for cleanliness, and neat organization. Then determine which one you want to do the job. You want the best you can find, and honestly the cost is irrelevant if you want the best to do the work. It will run anywhere from $1,500 up to $3,000 with the low end just a basic coating, not super detailed, but passable, whereas the high end has a more stringent attention to detail and will use the highest quality coating available that will last the longest. Bottom line, calculate the time involved (A pro shop can take as long as week or more). Then calculate how much your make a week, and If your total is close or exceeds the cost of the shop, you may change your mind on the DIY. When you consider the qualify of the job you will get compared to Professionals doing this for a living week after week, it's really a no brainier. Your time is money. I don't have the time to mow the lawn or clean the house, so I pay for the services so I have time to spend with family or take a vacation instead of doing manual work. I don't like mowing the lawn, especially mine. It's not much, but it's terraced so I have a sharp hill on one side, then the other two sides have steep slopes. I've slipped a number of times and almost slid under the mower a couple of those times. It's not worth the risk or my time. Life is too short and you have to use it wisely. (Especially since I'm retired. All I have is time and I'd rather do what I enjoy than work someone else can do better) Note: I've never done it myself, I've watched dozens of YouTube videos to get an idea what is involved for do it yourself jobs. But you will not have the best environment to do the work in your garage and be prone to dust, etc, even flies that will totally ruin a section and require removing it and doing it again. After several do overs, you will realize just how big a job you've tackled.

@CigarMike Here's some inspiration on a 4S to do right by your red 996 with a spa day. 💅 This is a seven part series (no affiliation) that shows how far a restorative detail can go- but you don't need to go to these lengths to see an awesome improvement in your 911s presentation. Just be warned, your heart will sing every time you see it in the sun, and the complements will be endless. 😁 You Tube Final results You Tube

I have watched those as one of the factors involved in not doing the job on my own. My wife would sh*t a brick if she had to part her car outside for several days. She's spoiled :-)

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1500 is a really good deal with paint correction. I would make sure it has good scratch resistant characteristics. There�s a lot of coatings out there that have great water beading or sheeting however after several months of washing the paint gets scratched up. All that money invested in paint correction for what? I been working with coatings since 2015 and it gave me time to experiment with different brands and what I can tell you is that water beading is nice but how durable and scratch resistant is the coating that you�re getting done on your car, that�s the question that you should be asking yourself. Price will be more for these coatings however it�s worth it in the long run.

I think expecting significant scratch resistance out of a coating is just a pipe dream. "After several months of washing the paint gets scratched up" sounds like pure marketing fluff to me. If you have that problem so quickly after installing a coating, your wash technique is poor. Let me guess, you guys sell Modesta.

I did my dark PTS gray/blue C4S myself. I have previously done VW-bug (old) complete repaints, trailers, 4Runner and things like that, so I have DA sanders & polishers and so on. I did PCA concours with 3 different 911s so I know ways for attention to detail and the long hours of doing that sort of thing. (BTW, BF was 4th in 911s ...912 was a 3rd place.) I am extremely careful to watch not burning-through or removing paint from edges. The "edge problem" is probably one that many miss and remove paint from hood edge or door edge or somewhere. "Burning" the suface of rubber windhield seal is is real bummer, just make certain you do not do it. Anyway, as others have said, it takes a LOT of time. My C4S was up on QJ waiting for suspension parts anyway, so why not? I had just bought it (1.5 years ago) and most of its life has been up in the air doing all the repairs, re-news, fixing every P-wart & failure mode. It wasn't going anywhere. I did as much YT and Reviews research as I could and just bought some of the "stuff" Folks like TheChunkNorris IIRC suggested various products and others, some wheel reccos from folks with those sort of flat looking GM V8 "sports cars" and so on. I like the result, it looks a heck of a lot better. Folks give unsolicited compliments in gas stations, Wallyworld, wherever, and wonder if it is "new". No it isn't but it looks good. I can definitely see a line reflection of a long LED light instead of a fuzzy sort of reflection. Some parts were harder to do, mirrors, spoiler tail, and bumpers for example. Taping all the edges around rubber glass trim, removing lights as needed, and all of that is attention to detail. I also think a re-do of the whole process again in a year or so is OK, less to correct. I am retired and I agree on forget the grass. I don't want to be married to a riding lawnmower and never ending chores like that. I like doing whatever on the C4S, my forever car. Cost is semi-relevant, so doing it myself is one of my enjoyment things. Others may differ, OK, your choice. It is up to each owner to decide what they like. While I like clean & shiny, i am not a Cars & Coffee-Park-Look-At-It kind of group. I'd rather drive it, maybe get it dirty or do Auto-X event 200 miles away, and then wash and pamper car again at home. Just my opinion. YMMV