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YOUR RESEARCHCeramic coating before and after
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Fill with distilled water
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Solution: I got a backpack sprayer filled with distilled water.
Leading evidence: 'Fill with distilled water' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean after it rains' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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When I do rinseless I use a drying towel misted with ONR.
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Suggestion
Cars always look clean after it rains when wet but not so much once it dries.
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Suggestion
Pro who did my ceramic coating told me a great way to clean the car is to just leave it outside when it rains.
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Suggestion
I detail cars for a living and the 911 is usually blocked in by one or two of my other projects so sometimes its hard to get the motivation to clean my own cars.
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Yeah, I love how water just rolls off my car now with the ceramic coating. My paint had swirls and needed some correction, and now the ceramic locks-in those corrections.
Huge difference�
Before
After
Honestly, I won't do it again, I was not happy with how it held up and it never seemed as easy to clean as suggested. Probably doesn't help that I have hard water....bought a deionizer eventually, but the first few years took their toll. Think I will go with film next time I have to make a choice.
First thing I did when I got my new wheels. 2 coats on face and inside barrel of the wheel, where much of the dust sits and bakes. Now with a power washer about 85% is gone after the initial spray.
Coatings are great, I just washed my 911 for the first time in a year. It was my test mule for Opti-Coat Pro+ and inching close to 3 years later its still holding up like the day it was applied. I coated my wheels after powder coating and they clean up like a dream, brake dust sat on them for over a year and a little car soap and agitation and they look like new again. I think sometimes detailers oversell coatings and most of the enthusiast owners I have coated cars for love it.
Only thing that ceramic coated rims couldn�t handle was leaking front differential fluid. Need to have one rim refinished, powder coated, and ceramic coated again�.when i get around to it.
Yes, there are definitely some substances that no coating is going to be able to handle. Unfortunately many detailers sell them as impenetrable shields. I've found across several coatings that salt water is pretty nasty stuff and will leave spots but better on a coating than your clear coat.
Wowza! My car gets washed almost every week and rarely I let it go more than 2 weeks typically. I find it almost therapeutic! But you're definitely right and you can remove much of the dirt with just the pressure of water. Makes the process much faster and safer for the paint.
Premier protective films in Fremont is excellent but expensive (~4K for full front wrap). Many years ago they did a pre-cut on my BMW quite reasonably, but they only do custom these days. Worth a trip just to see the amazing cars they have in there-mine has always been the crappiest car in the facility. They were
doing a Chiron last time I was there.
I wash mine every week and a half and vacuum every other day. It�s just so damn easy on the 996 because it�s small and foam canons/pressure washer attachments makes things so much easier. The VW gets the same treatment but gets washed every couple weeks.
There are only 2 ways I wash my car now that it�s been ceramic coated:
1.) Pressure washer only, no touching. Leaf blower to dry
2.) The full-on hand wash, 2 bucket method with foam cannon. I still use a leaf blower to dry it, as 99% of the water just rolls right off.
I detail cars for a living and the 911 is usually blocked in by one or two of my other projects so sometimes its hard to get the motivation to clean my own cars. The only car I really keep up with is my wife's car because its the first new car either of us bought and I want it to remain nice until the wheels fall off.
That is how the pros that did my ceramic coating wash your car for 40 bucks, indoor, two guys, foam canon, blow dryers, no micro scratches added. Local car was charges 50 for a hand wash and it's a joke, 3 minutes rubbing with a sponge then through stationary dryer machine.
Hard water etched my ceramic coating quite a bit. Couldn't get the car blown dry quick enough to stop the spots....have since bought a deionizer which has helped tremendously.
Pro who did my ceramic coating told me a great way to clean the car is to just leave it outside when it rains. Rain droplets will bond with dust and other light debris on the surface and be carried away due to the hydrophobic properties as the coating repels the water. He said I would be surprised how good the car will look after a rainstorm.
If my car is relatively clean I use rinseless, no worries about anything drying on it.
Interestingly enough I had water spots after I left my car out last time lol. Could be cause it hadn't been washed in a year and had a layer of dust on it.
Yeah, the water spots are from either the sun or from the non-purified rainwater drying in place, having the solids appear after evaporation.
I don�t wash my car in the hot sun because of this
We have hard water, and spots were a real problem. I was always rushing to dry the car after a wash, and couldn�t use a blower too much as it would form spots.
Solution: I got a backpack sprayer filled with distilled water. After rinsing the car with the hose, I do a quick blow to reduce big areas of beaded water, then spray down with the distilled water. This allows me to take my time doing the wheels, and then almost thoroughly dry with the blower. With this technique I get almost no spots on a black car. I use maybe 1.5 gal of distilled water per wash @ $0.80 from Walmart. Adding a dash of Optimum No Rinse to your wash water also helps.
Cars always look clean after it rains when wet but not so much once it dries. A lot of these coatings that have a multi year claim for protection will actually work as long as the car is washed and maintained properly. It's possible to kill a 5 year coating in a year. For those who deal with water spots and hard water, like myself, you can add a water filter / purifier that screws into the hose and helps a lot in removing the deposits that cause the water spots. It's not as good as distilled water but way easier to deal with and I haven't had much of a water spot issue since. You can pick them up on amazon for not much.
Here is the filter I use with my power washer -
Amazon
Amazon
Rinse less is a fantastic option and helps limit water spotting for sure. I actually add a cap to my soap bucket when doing a contact wash. I enjoy working on my wash process and the following has worked well for me -> after wheels are done... Rinse the car with pressure washer to get rid of most dirt, foam the car, while the foam works I move to the 2 bucket wash with soap in one with a cap of ONR. After contact wash I rinse well and hand dry with a towel and some sort of drying aid. Pick your poison there but I've like Turtle Wax Seal and Shine but sometimes try something new. I tried Bead Maker but it seemed to attract dust more than others. I also always keep a diluted solution in the frunk as a detail spray to get rid of bird crap as needed. It's cool seeing how it encapsulates the dirt as it works.
Looking good. Ceramic coating is like a candy coating for cars, hard to describe it just pops different than regular sealants or waxes.
The best way to dry IMO if you are using a traditional wash method is to take any attachments off the hose and then let the water sheet off the car only using the flow from the hose. Then leaf blower or compressed air the rest of it off and then mop up any leftover water. When I do rinseless I use a drying towel misted with ONR.
I got my 997 turbo ceramic coated paint and wheels. Makes it looked waxed all the time. GT silver pops with ceramic coating. Looks beautiful and is easy to clean. Soon to get my 996 done also.
I own 2 911 4s and I still drool every time I see a turbo. Never ridden in one, let alone driven one, but based on how hard I push my FSI 4.0 I'm 100% sure I would end up in jail. A man has got to know his limitations!!!
^^^ this, is why I don't own a motorcycle. I'd be dead.
So my take away from all these pictures of cars shinier than mine and comments about how easy they are to clean is that I could have a car that is actually as shiny as everyone else's? I'm in. Maybe in August when it's back from THE shop.
With same degree of pedal aggression 110-115 in the 996 4s = 140-145 in the 4.0 4s = 170-75 in the turbo (my guess). I'll stop at 140 and be happy......for now.....
Its definitely a beast. Has upgraded turbos and intercoolers and is reprogramed. Full tubi catless exhaust. Bilstein damptronic coiloiver suspension with a TPC DSC module and some other goodies. It was a dream car for me. I've enjoyed it in all its glory in a place where the speed limit is based on how dangerous you're willing to go. Cops are not the issue. I drive it very hard to say the least. Notice its the european version without the bumperetes. The 996 is also a pleasure to drive, but very different. I enjoy both. The 996 is analog and feels light. Great for backroads and canyon carving. 997 turbo is ridiculous with how fast and loud it is and its fun because its ridiculous.
Am I the only one that doesnt like ceramic coating?
I had mine ceramic coated and ended stripping it out (polishing) again.
IMO, the finish of the ceramic coatings can't compete with a good polish+sealant+wax. I don't drive my car daily and I recognize that I'm a sucker for shine, so I traded protection for look
It�s true that a good wax, to me, feels wonderful. I guess part of the allure of the ceramic is increased impact protection for certain projectiles. It�s possible to scratch the coating and the paint is still ok. It�s not perfect though, and only provides a certain level of protection.
The same applies to PPF. Application of a PPF can help protect the paint, if only to have to replace the cracked/damaged PPF instead of your paint. Many apply ceramic to the PPF. On a new car with perfect paint, this could make sense. On an older car with rock chips or patina, maybe not.
Yes I had ceramic coating applied on top of PPF after paint touch up. Car had 80k unprotected miles before this and now from 5 feet away it looks damn near new.
My car, on the other hand, needs a front bumper and hood respray to look damn near new. The rest of the car is fine, but the hood looks to have been repainted at some point (missing options sticker and brand-new-looking on the other side of the frunk hood). I�ve considered repray and my ceramic guy warranties the whole car for 5 years. Even after I repaint it, he�d apply the ceramic again for free. I�d probably do a PPF on the front bits if I go that route, but I�d be looking at maybe $5k all-in, so I�d rather apply that $5k to a future Raby build, suspension upgrade, etc. We shall wait and see.
Getting another car done in ceramic, but guy showed me new bra technology on a Ferrari, whole car was bra'd, $12,000.00, it's invisible. That's 41% of what I paid for my 99C2. Sure protects though, and supposed to last forever.
