Ceramic Coating requires top clear coat layer to be removed?

[Steve the Dude]

A lot of this has already been said, but...
- Ceramic coating doesn't require any top layer of clear coat to be removed. You just need to correct any defects with a light abrasive, like Griot's BOSS Correcting Cream. This should be minimal on a new finish. I also will clay lightly and wipe down with panel wipe and/or IPA mix (50%)
- I have ceramic coating on two cars and am applying it on my week-old F-150 tomorrow. I am using gTechniq CSL + ExoV4. The cost will be $150-200 to do it myself. On the other cars I have used this same product on, I'm already on 3 years plus and they look great, bead great, and stay cleaner. This is true even for a car that lives outside
- While I'm a big fan of ceramic coatings, I do not recommend them for dark cars. The reason is that dark cars will frequently need correction of small scratches, etc. that you see on the dark color but wouldn't see on a light color. With ceramic already on, if you correct a spot, you have to remove the ceramic from the entire panel by machine buffing it and reapply the ceramic after you correct. You can't just buff a spot with a rag and reapply the ceramic on that spot. Also, the ceramic coatings don't last long once you open the bottles, so you would need to buy a new bottle every time at about $100 a shot. For dark cars, I use a sealer like Zaino or Griots and reapply 2x per year

Do you wax before applying the sealer? If so what wax do you like for going under the sealer?

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[Skier167]

I use gtechniq’s line as well and have been very happy. I used csl and exo on my 16 f150 and c5 for the wheels and g1 for the glass

 

[Jim Bandy]

I follow what chemical guys show on their detailing videos

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