• Sign Up! To view all forums and unlock additional cool features

    Welcome to the #1 Explorer ST Forum and Explorer ST community dedicated to Explorer ST owners and enthusiasts. Register for an account, it's free and it's easy, so don't hesitate to join the Explorer ST Forum today!


Back from ceramic coating

JohnE

Active Member
Messages
513
Reactions
280
Points
82
Location
Vancouver, WA, USA
#2
Looks great. Wheels too?
 

Blue Beast

1000 Post Club
U.S. Army Veteran
Law Enforcement
Messages
1,568
Reactions
618
Points
262
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Vehicle
2020 ST
#4
Looks great. Who did your ceramic coating and what did they use?
 

Gymrat

New Member
Messages
20
Reactions
15
Points
2
Location
Harvey, LA, USA
#5
Looks great.
 

Symetry

Active Member
U.S. Army Veteran
Messages
642
Reactions
875
Points
232
Location
West KY
#6
If you don't mind me asking, what did it cost you?

Jim
 

Blackssr

Active Member
Messages
646
Reactions
346
Points
182
Location
Florida
#8
20 minutes later it was filthy... Never again will I ever own a black car... I owned a Chevy SSR in Black and waxing the tailgate cover was like waxing the sheet of plywood. Ceramic coating is such a gimmick and a waste of money. I live in South Florida and I detail my cars every Sunday. I clay bar them four times a year and wash and wax twice a week. They look better than showroom. I have a 2018 Hellcat , 2018 Trackhawk, 2021 Explorer ST, and a 2018 ZO6 convertible. All of them are white...it is the easiest color to keep and always looks showroom.
 

Last edited:

zdubyadubya

Active Member
Messages
813
Reactions
636
Points
232
Location
Utah
Vehicle
2020 ST
#9
I detail my cars every Sunday.
I wash and wax twice a week.
Ceramic coating is such a gimmick and a waste of money.
First of all... you what???

Second of all. REALLY??? you what???

Thirdly... for those of us who are unable to achieve both a) and b) (seriously... i'm still confused), #3 is a lifesaver and is most certainly NOT a gimmick. My truck looks clean and stays clean for MONTHS. And when it does get dusty/dirty, a blast with a garden hose has it looking minty fresh. Amazon ceramic coating sure, you probably have a point--but the stuff from places like XPEL that needs to cure for 24hrs... that is legit as the day is long.
 

zdubyadubya

Active Member
Messages
813
Reactions
636
Points
232
Location
Utah
Vehicle
2020 ST
#10
If you don't mind me asking, what did it cost you?

Jim
For a truck our size, 2-year warranty is about $500 and a 5-year warranty about $1000 including labor.
 

Blackssr

Active Member
Messages
646
Reactions
346
Points
182
Location
Florida
#11
First of all... you what???

Second of all. REALLY??? you what???

Thirdly... for those of us who are unable to achieve both a) and b) (seriously... i'm still confused), #3 is a lifesaver and is most certainly NOT a gimmick. My truck looks clean and stays clean for MONTHS. And when it does get dusty/dirty, a blast with a garden hose has it looking minty fresh. Amazon ceramic coating sure, you probably have a point--but the stuff from places like XPEL that needs to cure for 24hrs... that is legit as the day is long.
Their marketing worked... If you are happy, I am happy.

Why is my post confusing to you? I live in South Florida, I am 51 years old, retired from Military Defense Contracting and enjoy cleaning and detailing my cars. Ceramic coating is a NOTHING but a placebo and BS. Like I said, if you believe it then kudos to the marketing wizards who make this crap up. You are their intended victim.
 

Last edited:

GearHead_1

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,555
Reactions
1,297
Points
262
Location
Utah
Vehicle
Exploder
#12
Their marketing worked... If you are happy, I am happy.

Why is my post confusing to you? I live in South Florida, I am 51 years old, retired from Military Defense Contracting and enjoy cleaning and detailing my cars. Ceramic coating is a NOTHING but a placebo and BS. Like I said, if you believe it then kudos to the marketing wizards who make this crap up. You are their intended victim.
I personally believe that the term “ceramic” is used with reckless abandon these days, add the term ceramic and it’s instantly a coating. They seem to use this term with a variety of what were once called spray on wipe off sealants and people are under the impression that they are getting a coating of a few years ago.

Which ceramic coatings have you tried?
 

F=MA

Active Member
Messages
946
Reactions
618
Points
232
Location
Wichita, KS, USA
#13
20 minutes later it was filthy... Never again will I ever own a black car... I owned a Chevy SSR in Black and waxing the tailgate cover was like waxing the sheet of plywood. Ceramic coating is such a gimmick and a waste of money. I live in South Florida and I detail my cars every Sunday. I clay bar them four times a year and wash and wax twice a week. They look better than showroom. I have a 2018 Hellcat , 2018 Trackhawk, 2021 Explorer ST, and a 2018 ZO6 convertible. All of them are white...it is the easiest color to keep and always looks showroom.

I hear you ! Here is my color progression to this point. Bought the black because thats all they had in stock. White one came in the next week so I was allowed to switch. The white is nice but you don't get to see the firemist in the paint all the time and when I would go back to the dealer the red one always was calling my name. I would have bought the Atlas Blue first but they sold it before I had a chance and over time I could have gotten an Atlas blue one but the red won out. IMG_8302.JPG IMG_9309.JPG IMG_0193.JPG
 

Last edited:

Blackssr

Active Member
Messages
646
Reactions
346
Points
182
Location
Florida
#14
I personally believe that the term “ceramic” is used with reckless abandon these days, add the term ceramic and it’s instantly a coating. They seem to use this term with a variety of what were once called spray on wipe off sealants and people are under the impression that they are getting a coating of a few years ago.

Which ceramic coatings have you tried?
Not a single one... But I will go on record with this. I have owned over 50 of the coolest cars to ever come out of Detroit. I don't buy foreign, especially (Removed) cars. I come from a military family. I buy American only. From my very first car, which was a 69 Buick Riviera, to my Syclone and Typhoon, to my Grand national GNX, to my c4 c5 c6 c7 Corvette, to my black SSR, to my Hellcat Challenger, to my Trackhawk , Ex St and about 40 others that I can't even remember. Every single one of them was absolutely immaculate, detailed to perfection and looked better than showroom. None of them were garage Queens and "I drove em like I stole em" I even have the "dent wizard" on speed dial if I get a door ding by some piece of garbage that didn't respect my cars..
I detail all my gems with wax that I bought at Walmart. Ceramic is nothing but BS. It's for the guy that doesn't want to put the time in to detail his cars and I can respect that. Not every guy on here is retired at 51 and has the time and resources to do what I do with cars. But don't believe the marketing fools. 5 years from now they'll have something else that will say ceramic wasn't any good and this is the next best thing. All it takes is time and effort by the owner and any car can look pristine. I don't take shortcuts.

Please excuse any typos I'm not at home I'm actually at a bar having a drink with a friend and using my phone instead of my PC.. Windows PC.. no Apple products allowed in my house.lol
 

Last edited by a moderator:

Blackssr

Active Member
Messages
646
Reactions
346
Points
182
Location
Florida
#15
I hear you ! Here is my color progression to this point. Bought the black because thats all they had in stock. White one came in the next week so I was allowed to switch. The white is nice but you don't get to see the firemist in the paint all the time and when I would go back to the dealer the red one always was calling my name. I would have bought the Atlas Blue first but they sold it before I had a chance and over time I could have gotten and Atlas blue but the red won out. View attachment 3283 View attachment 3284 View attachment 3286
Should have kept all three.... I did like that new blue that came out also... For a moment I almost purchased that one but then came to my senses.. I like my car's white.
 

Last edited:

GearHead_1

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,555
Reactions
1,297
Points
262
Location
Utah
Vehicle
Exploder
#16
I personally believe that the term “ceramic” is used with reckless abandon these days, add the term ceramic and it’s instantly a coating. They seem to use this term with a variety of what were once called spray on wipe off sealants and people are under the impression that they are getting a coating of a few years ago.

Which ceramic coatings have you tried?
Not a single one...
That speaks volumes. I mean no offense in this comment. The rest of post telling of your military background and ownership history has nothing to do with whether or not a coating works or is BS.

I too spend an inordinate amount of time detailing my vehicles and would stack my finished product up against all but a very few Detailers that I know (I’ve moderated on a detailing forum for the past 18 years, I know a few of them). I would never suggest that someone succumb to the marketing fools. I’d tell people to find out for themselves.

The fact that you enjoy detailing your vehicles and doing it as often as you do, I think it would be a let down if you didn’t get to apply a coat of wax while detailing. That said, discounting coatings in their entirety is at the very least uniformed given the fact you’ve never tried one. That doesn’t throw any challenge out to the results you get with your products. Your results are no doubt excellent. Just so my comment comes across clearly, I wouldn’t even suggest you try a coating given the results you seem to enjoy. I myself usually end up putting one of a couple different sealants on mine.

Some of you may have heard the name Mike Phillips of AutoGeek an Mequiars background. He said this and I believe it. “Find something you like and use it often”. I think if he’d restate that today he’d probably say “find something you like and use it as often as is needed.”
 

Last edited:

Blackssr

Active Member
Messages
646
Reactions
346
Points
182
Location
Florida
#17
That speaks volumes. I mean no offense in this comment. The rest of post telling of your military background and ownership history has nothing to do with whether or not a coating works or is BS.

I too spend an inordinate amount of time detailing my vehicles and would stack my finished product up against all but a very few Detailers that I know (I’ve moderated on a detailing forum for the past 18 years, I know a few of them). I would never suggest that someone succumb to the marketing fools. I’d tell people to find out for themselves.

The fact that you enjoy detailing your vehicles and doing it as often as you do, I think it would be a let down if you didn’t get to apply a coat of wax while detailing. That said, discounting coatings in their entirety is at the very least uniformed given the fact you’ve never tried one. That doesn’t throw any challenge out to the results you get with your products. Your results are no doubt excellent. Just so my comment comes across clearly, I wouldn’t even suggest you try a coating given the results you seem to enjoy. I myself usually end up putting one of a couple different sealants on mine.
I will gracefully bow out and not respond to any of your posts again. I am Retired and I'm not going to get aggravated debating with someone who's opinion differs so greatly from my own. . Enjoy your ceramic coating and be well.
 

GearHead_1

1000 Post Club
Messages
1,555
Reactions
1,297
Points
262
Location
Utah
Vehicle
Exploder
#18
I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to run you off. I too am retired, did so at 48 because I could but what does that have to do with waxes and coatings? I didn’t consider this a debate simply a discussion but oh well... I don’t think you understand what my opinion is, in fact I think I supported doing what you’re doing, it obviously works. Life is too short to argue about car wax.
 

Last edited:

Symetry

Active Member
U.S. Army Veteran
Messages
642
Reactions
875
Points
232
Location
West KY
#19
Shame, could a been a really good conversation.

I always enjoy learning from everyone.

I'm not an expert or professional detailer, but I've gone thru many, many products in last 55 years , you know being a gearhead, and will more than like test many more.
Technology has sure changed over the years and I just gotta try them .

The last one I used , and it sure gives an awesome shine (black Corvette and truck) and seems to roll water good is a product called Nexgen. I may try something different this year just to learn.

Keep this thread going..
Inquiring minds want to know.

Jim
 

zdubyadubya

Active Member
Messages
813
Reactions
636
Points
232
Location
Utah
Vehicle
2020 ST
#20
I don't buy foreign, especially (Removed) cars.
Nothing like some casual racism to cement my opinion of you as a dumbass. Did you figure after a day of storming the capitol building the thing to do was come on here and post?
 

Last edited by a moderator:


Top