NCMountie

Obviously, Mercedes Benz is a premium paint coating. I am curious to know other's thoughts on whether Ceramic Coating is needed or not. What are the true benefits and drawbacks?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

ygmn

MB paint is not much different then every other manufacturer...

Color with some clear over top.

Meguiars, griots and others now make home version ceramic coatings that anyone can use...

Benefit... last longer then carnuba and polymers.
beading is bit taller so more likley to blow off..

SEPicks

Had my black GLS ceramic coated professionally a few weeks after delivery. I did my W212 because it was a lot smaller and I actually did a full on detail with claying and polishing with a DA polisher. I didn't do my GLS because it was a much larger car and I wasn't down to do it all by myself. Some people also just coat their cars without polishing, which is probably still okay for a weekend warrior. Darker color cars just show imperfections a lot more so that's why its a lot more work maintaining a black car vs a white car.

I do almost all the washing/detailing for my cars and its a lot easier to wash with a ceramic coated car. Problem is having a coated car doesn't mean there's no maintenance. If you run it through a generic hand/machine-brush car wash for 15 bucks it'll just get scratched up the same as if there's no coating on it. There's also a downside with water spots, if you have hard water and lets say it gets sprinkled or if the cracks drip water after a car wash and you don't clean it up, the water spots are much more noticeable and harder to get off compared to an uncoated car. Also, ceramic coats do not protect against rock chips at all, so if that is your concern you should look into PPF using Xpel or 3M instead (higher costs depending if you want a full coverage or partial front coverage). Some people even do full coverage + ceramic coating on top.

Now the good side is, the water beads off my car very well and I literally just use a leaf blower to blow dry my car and go around with one or two microfiber towel to pick up the rest. Also my black stays looking clean/glossy much longer between washes than if it was uncoated because dust/bugs don't stick as much on the coating. I don't think you'll see as much of a difference on the color pop on a white car than on a black car. Having a coating is pretty much a layer of wax that does not go away in 2 weeks. It'll last for years depending on which coating you get.

I'm sure many, if not most people on this forum do not detail their own cars. If the coated cars are not professionally washed, it just won't last as long and you'll need to get it recoated sooner. But regardless I think it's still worth getting it coated at the end of the day just for the longer lasting looks.

bad habit

Absolutely recommend doing a coat, here is my info: https://mbworld.org/forums/gle-class...fo-inside.html

ron104

Absolutely recommend ceramic coating. My 3 Iridium Silver Mercs are all ceramic coated.
After storms the finish is still shiny and you can't tell the car is dirty. The finish repels water and some dirt.
I do have the finish renewed annually.
Great stuff in my opinion, but you know what is said about opinions!!
Ron

David Lemon

If you want to try one of the newest coatings, graphene is now making it's way to supplant ceramic coatings for even better protection and longevity. Ethos and Adams has a consumer level graphene coating.

https://ethoscarcare.com/blogs/tech-...aphene-coating

https://adamspolishes.com/products/g...ramic-coating™

https://www.artdeshine.co

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDOOfPpUDX0

nc211

I’m going to give “The Last Coat” a try, version 2 and their “Black Ice” ceramic coating. Typically I claybar, two coats of polish and two coats of wax with a random orbital. Lasts about a year at most. I usually do this once every couple of years to be honest, spend a weekend on each car. Claybar is an absolute must!!

But, seeing as things have progressed over the years, think I’ll give this new stuff a try. I’ll claybar, polish, then instead of polishing and waxing again, I’m going to skip it and go from one polish to the Black Ice (three coats) and then try the Last Coat Version two a week later and see how it does.

one product I have loved over that past several years is the “wipe new” on the trim. Has served us extremely well!

David Lemon

Before your mechanical decontamination (Clay), I recommend you also spray a chemical decontamination to remove any "fallout" from the paint. The clay bar will not remove these iron deposits. Its a simple spray that you let dwell for 5 minutes on the paint surface.

Bayern

Can also use IronX to decontaminate

David Lemon

Yes IronX was the original fallout remover I believe and is what I use. I just linked to the first video I could find that explained it. Most of the reputable detailing brands have some form of fallout remover.

nc211

Ah, great advice! Thanks! I’ll do that too!

SEPicks

I recommend IronX too.. just make sure you do it outside your garage and maybe wear a mask, because the smell is unbearable and will last for a long time.

nc211

It won’t mess up asphalt will it? Just had a new driveway installed this year and don’t want to damage it if possible...

SEPicks

No, it will not damage pavement/asphalt. I have not heard of accounts of that happening and the product is pretty widely used.

c4004matic

ceramic coat is fine for any car. You don't have to spend any significant of money. Meguiars ultimate finish is a spray on wipe off ceramic finish that lasts for months and takes 15 minutes tops to apply.

c4004matic

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...57897214005283