Ceramic coating new truck

[Rainier10]

Getting a new truck and wondering if the ceramic coating will hold up to brush scratches or does it just keep the shine longer and repel dirt?

[huntnphool]

 Just purchase the one you want and get it “wrapped”. Wrap goes bad or you want to change the look it’s simple and way cheaper than paint.

[morgan]

I had my truck ceramic coated about 9 months ago. No it will not protect against scratches. I got the 7 year ceramic. EXPENSIVE. Looks real nice thou and repels water great. I took my truck through some road’s with branches very slow. I could see light scratches that didn’t wash off. They do have a plastic coating that you can wrap the whole truck in, but it’s about 4 grand

[Boss .300 winmag]

After spraying Raptor Liner on my truck the brushy roads don’t leave scratches on my truck anymore.😉

[morgan]

Superior auto shine is where I had my truck ceramic coated. Check out there website for the protective wrap and ceramic prices

[Stein]

Yeah, ceramic coating will keep it looking good and easy to wash.  Mud pretty much just melts off and water beads, for the windshield I usually don't even use my wipers as it just flies off.

I did it myself, probably wouldn't pay someone as you can get about 80% of the effect with the spray on bottles and DIY.  They will work nearly as well, but you will have to reapply several times a year vs once every year or two for quality ceramic.

If you want protection, go for Paint Protection Film.

[Rainier10]

Good to know. My original thought was a clear wrap but that is going to scratch up. Sounds like ceramic will as well.

Wrap is more expensive than ceramic but the wrap you just remove and scratches are gone.

Can you buff the scratches out of ceramic and reapply?

[Stein]

Good to know. My original thought was a clear wrap but that is going to scratch up. Sounds like ceramic will as well.

Wrap is more expensive than ceramic but the wrap you just remove and scratches are gone.

Can you buff the scratches out of ceramic and reapply?

Yeah.  It might offer a bit of protection but not much.  You really can't tell it's there, kind of like a wax but different technology.  If you have a shop do it, they usually want to paint correct before they coat and then you would have to go back in and get any scratches worked out and ceramic reapplied in that area.

I do it all myself so I just remove scratches whenever I get them and reapply.  With ceramic it's a bit tricky as the commercial product is only good for a short period once you open the bottle, so it might be tough to get only a small area coated.  I've never been to a shop, but that would be my thoughts.

You can buy similar stuff on Amazon and DIY or go with a spray bottle.  If you DIY, you probably want to strip wash, decontaminate, clay bar, polish, wash, then apply if you are going full ceramic. 

With the spray bottle stuff, just treat it like a wax, wash then apply or do more steps if you want a better outcome.

[Rainier10]

Truck is white. All of my trucks have been white so the scratches don’t show up as much.

[MADMAX]

I use the spray and wash by turtle wax
Works great and my truck always looks clean
I dont bushwhack with it, but I do use it
White truck also

[Pnwrider]

Wish I could go back and do ppf on just the front of my truck. With the paint matched bumpers that are popular today, rock chips show a lot more even on a white truck.

[b23]

Had my wife's car, white tri coat metallic, professionally done this past spring and I've done my truck and daughters car multiple times with Turtle Wax hybrid ceramic and Meguiar's hybrid ceramic spray.  I'll have to look because I don't remember the name of the product the detail shop used but there is no comparison between having it done professionally and the stuff you spray on yourself.  My wife's car has had countless washes since last spring and it's still as good as it was when the shop applied it.  The two spray on products work pretty decent, if they are applied properly, but don't last and have to be reapplied frequently to get anywhere close to the professionally applied stuff.  For the DIY sprays, like the Turtle Wax and Meguiar's, one of the application methods is you just spray it on and wash it off or you spray it on when the vehicle is still wet and wipe it off.  Those are the easiest to apply methods and are great for the company that sells it because they can sell you a lot more product that way but as you can imagine, they are the least effective.  The DIY sprays will last the longest if you apply them with a microfiber clothe and wipe it off with a microfiber clothe.  The DIY sprays provide a decent slick finish but again, it's no wear near the slick finish of the stuff professional detail shops use and you have to continue to reapply them or they loose that slick finish, unlike the finish you get from a Pro ceramic job at a good detail shop.

Having a Pro detail shop do a ceramic finish on your vehicle isn't cheap, I think my wife's car was right around $700 but that was a full detail inside and out and ceramic coating, but her car is still as slick as it was when they first did it last spring.  It's pretty impressive stuff because even when it's really dirty, everything washes right off and it seems like it stays cleaner forever between washings.

One thing you'll want to be mindful of if you have a vehicle ceramic coated is water spots because the water pretty much instantly beads, if the water beads dry they'll cause water spots. 

[Angry Perch]

Truck is white. All of my trucks have been white so the scratches don’t show up as much.

Exactly! I have a 2012 F-150 that's seen more than its share of brush, and it really hides it well.

[M_ray]

A truck is like a tool in a tool chest meant to be used, I wear my scratches like a badge of honor!   

[gaddy]

Any one have experience with a repaint after ceramic coating ? I know some of these protective coatings can create problems for body/paint shops 

[NOCK NOCK]

Truck is white. All of my trucks have been white so the scratches don’t show up as much.

Exactly! I have a 2012 F-150 that's seen more than its share of brush, and it really hides it well.

A truck is like a tool in a tool chest meant to be used, I wear my scratches like a badge of honor!   

100% on both of these.     ALL of my vehicles over the years have always been white.

[Rainier10]

Truck is white. All of my trucks have been white so the scratches don’t show up as much.

Exactly! I have a 2012 F-150 that's seen more than its share of brush, and it really hides it well.

A truck is like a tool in a tool chest meant to be used, I wear my scratches like a badge of honor!   

100% on both of these.     ALL of my vehicles over the years have always been white.

For sure.  I remember hunting the umptanum muzzy elk.  Guy said nice truck.  I said thanks just got it last week.  He says how did you get up here?  I drove.  Well don't go down pine, that is so overgrown you will destroy that truck.    Uh....I came up pine.   

Another year and another new truck just before Swakane archery season.  "You're going to ride with someone else this year and not take that up the hill right?"  Why would I wait a year to scratch it up?  Up the hill I went.

With all of that said if there was a product that would protect it from the abuse I would certainly do it.  I have all kinds of aftermarket stuff on order to make the truck better than factory.  If there was something I could do to make the factory paint more durable I would love to.

Sounds like the ceramic coat will help a little but will still scratch the same and may be tougher to repair.  I guess I will wait to hear more on that.

[NOCK NOCK]

I just did the wipe on ceramic for my jeeps black plastic. looked great for a week or 2, then this winter hit.  Curious to see how it holds up.

[thinkingman]

I used the Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic spray late summer and it seems to be holding up to outside storage pretty well. For $18 and an hour of work, I think I'll choose that over the detail shop charging $$.
And no, nothing short of film is going to protect you from backcountry pinstriping.

[fishngamereaper]

I don't like shinny and fancy so raptor liner for the win...
Durable and easy to fix. The more we cover with it the more I like it.

[Stein]

Most of the hunting damage I get to paint are very light scratches from sage and tree branches.  I usually spend an afternoon each spring getting them all out and a bit of touchup paint for rock chips.  It's very easy to do and inexpensive.

I don't hesitate going pretty much anywhere I think I can get without getting stuck but also like my truck to look as good as possible.

It was surprising to me to see what you can get out in a few minutes with a dual action polisher.  My truck looks better than 95% of my neighbors that never get off pavement.

[bearhunter99]

Does anyone here have experience with the wraps?  How durable are the wraps? 

I need to have some work done to my truck to fix a few dents (my wife ran over a poor little defenseless Subaru in a parking lot...), plus I replaced the tailgate with one that has a step but is a different color and the typical Ford paint peel on the front of the hood, but want to get the whole thing painted when its done.  I don't take it in the sticks much anymore but do occasionally brush up against sagebrush.  I apologize if this derails the thread but it seems like this might be a good option to ceramic?

[Crunchy]

Most of the hunting damage I get to paint are very light scratches from sage and tree branches.  I usually spend an afternoon each spring getting them all out and a bit of touchup paint for rock chips.  It's very easy to do and inexpensive.

I don't hesitate going pretty much anywhere I think I can get without getting stuck but also like my truck to look as good as possible.

It was surprising to me to see what you can get out in a few minutes with a dual action polisher.  My truck looks better than 95% of my neighbors that never get off pavement.

what are you using with your DA MACHINE?  I've got one and my truck will need a good buffing to remove some light scratches.

[Rainier10]

@bearhunter99 Im curious about the wrap also. I’m sure it will protect the paint but still show scratches is my guess. The wraps are expensive

[Stein]

Most of the hunting damage I get to paint are very light scratches from sage and tree branches.  I usually spend an afternoon each spring getting them all out and a bit of touchup paint for rock chips.  It's very easy to do and inexpensive.

I don't hesitate going pretty much anywhere I think I can get without getting stuck but also like my truck to look as good as possible.

It was surprising to me to see what you can get out in a few minutes with a dual action polisher.  My truck looks better than 95% of my neighbors that never get off pavement.

what are you using with your DA MACHINE?  I've got one and my truck will need a good buffing to remove some light scratches.

I have 2 go-to's, both from Chemical Guys.  VSS and a yellow pad for light stuff and an orange pad with C4 if I have heavy oxidation on the paint (I did my 2000 Silverado) or if you have some deeper stuff.  The C4 sometimes needs a second polish with something like VSS or sometimes it's fine on it's own depending on the color.

Most stuff the VSS works great as a one-step unless you paint is old and you need to cut the top junky oxidized stuff off.  I use VSS probably 95% of the time.

I'm sure other brands work as good, it's not rocket science, just light abrasive paste.

I also use the same thing on my boat if I get a bit frisky with the Everett launch docks and end up with white bumper rub.