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General => Detailing => Topic started by: martin998877 on 15 October 2019, 12:09

Title: Local places that do good ceramic or wax
Post by: martin998877 on 15 October 2019, 12:09
Hi

In a thread on another forum, a detailing shop in Kent was mentioned that did ceramic coating of a Golf for £50.  This would be great as I don't have the knowledge to do any more than a weekly wash of the car (lamb's wool mitten used) etc.

Does anyone know of a good place that does ceramic coating in either Wolverhampton or Stoke?  It might be useful to list other cities for forum members too if they have a good place there, with prices.

Also, I used to go to the local roadside wash, where some lads wash the car and wheels and dry it.  However I've read negative things about these, including that the wash they use removes wax.  What is the general opinion of these and why?  I can get my car washed and dried for £5, you know the sort of place!
Title: Re: Local places that do good ceramic or wax
Post by: SRGTD on 15 October 2019, 16:57
IMO, if someone is charging £50 to apply a ceramic coating to a Golf-sized car, I’d say avoid it. Sorry, I don’t know of anyone in your area, but for a good quality job done well, expect to pay much more than £50.

To do the job properly, a professional detailer would probably need your car for a couple of days. The car would need to be fully decontaminated and the paintwork corrected by machine polishing to ensure the paint surface is fully clean and free of contaminants and any imperfections such as swirl marks before it’s ready for a ceramic coating to be applied. Most ceramic coatings also need to be left (overnight) to cure in a dry, dust free environment. For £50 you won’t be getting a couple of days effort from a professional detailer; you’re probably just getting someone applying a product to the paintwork with no preparation at all (outside exposed to the elements, rather than working in a proper detailing workshop), and IMO the preparation stages are absolutely key to the longevity and durability of the product.

Have a look on some of the professional detailers websites to see what they would charge to decontaminate and correct the paintwork and apply a ceramic coating - that’ll give you a good idea of what you can expect to pay, and it’ll be quite a bit more than £50.

As for the £5 hand wash car wash set ups, each to their own but I personally wouldn’t use them. Most of these places work on the basis of getting as many cars washed in the shortest possible time, as time is money to them. So most will use quite harsh / high strength products that makes it easy to remove the dirt quickly, and these harsh products carry a high risk of also stripping any wax / sealant off after a few washes.

There’s also a risk that whatever they use to wash your car (mitt or sponge) will have been used on the previous vehicle, and if that vehicle was caked in dirt, then a grit laden mitt or sponge won’t be good for your car’s paintwork. I’ve also seen these guys rubbing hard on customers’ cars on areas of stubborn dirt or baked on insects, inflicting swirls in the process.
Title: Re: Local places that do good ceramic or wax
Post by: hog_hedge on 15 October 2019, 22:07
As above, £50 is barely an hours labour nowadays so you won't be getting much for your cash. If you want a ceramic coating done properly I would be expecting to pay no less than £400 due to the time involved and the cost of the actual coating and products used.

In the Stoke/Midlands area I would recommend one of the following.

Reflections Detailing - https://reflections-detailing.co.uk/ - Cradley Heath - Prices start at £359 for a Golf sized car.

Midlands Car Care - http://www.midlandscarcare.co.uk/ - Walsall

There is Autobrite Direct in Stoke but they use their own products and not the well known ceramics on the market and after personally using some of their home brewed sealants their longevity claims leave a lot to be desired. So I would give them a miss if you want a long lasting ceramic.
Title: Re: Local places that do good ceramic or wax
Post by: Jim_mk7.5 on 25 October 2019, 10:13
It's not the time it takes to apply the ceramic coating (this could be done in under 2hrs) but the prep time before you can apply it. Wash, Decontamination, polishing etc. Anyone offering this for £50 is cutting some rather large corners so i'd stay away.

With anything in life, you get what you pay for. A £5 car wash is exactly that. It's someone washing using the cheapest and quickest products and methods available.