I’ve used ceramic coatings on my R32 before, and honestly, for the cost I didn’t find it worth it personally.
Oddly enough, I actually enjoy the whole process of prepping the car and waxing it. It’s therapeutic in a way. The issue I see a lot is that people don’t prep the paint properly or maintain the wax layers, and then they complain that it’s not working. In most cases, it’s user error lack of proper decon, no clay bar, skipping polish, or not topping up the wax at the right intervals.
Here’s a video of my car after a proper full prep:
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https://streamable.com/mu5w6qProcess included decontamination, clay bar, machine polish, you know the drill. On top of that, I used two products: Fusso Coat 12 Month as a base layer/sealant, and Soft99 Kiwami Wax as a topper.
The idea is:
Fusso Coat acts as the long-term sealant
Kiwami adds that deep gloss and hydrophobic top-up
Some people think Fusso is enough on its own and I’d agree if you’ve got a weekend car that sees less than 10 washes a year. But for a daily like mine, you really want to top it up. I reapply a coat of Kiwami every 3–4 months, and the car stays looking like this (see video) until I strip everything and redo it the following year.
Important note: not just any wax can top up Fusso. Some products can actually strip or damage the Fusso layer. Kiwami is designed to work alongside it and it applies smoothly, bonds well, and helps maintain that high level of beading. You could reapply Fusso itself, but anyone who’s used it knows it’s not the easiest to work with. You have to apply it in small sections, and it can be a pain to buff off.
Kiwami, by contrast, lets you do 1–2 full panels at a time, buffs off easily, and if you've ever used something like Autoglym HD Wax, the experience is very similar. That makes it ideal for regular top-ups without the faff.
As for Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour, I also used this on my R32 wheels and got about 4 years of durability before reapplying. Again, prep is key. I had just had the wheels professionally refurbished, so I brought them inside, applied the coating at room temperature, and let them cure indoors for over 12 hours before putting them back on the car.
The instructions even say:
"Allow the coating to cure indoors for at least 12 hours before exposing it to the elements."
And I followed that to the letter. End result? Fantastic durability and protection.
So yeah, while ceramics have their place, I’ve had excellent results (and more enjoyment) sticking with a solid sealant + wax combo and focusing on proper prep and consistent maintenance.
