Five Things To Know Before You Get A Ceramic Car Coating Near Visalia

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Car Detailing Service Visalia
Ceramic Car Coatings Vs Wax

1. Ceramic Paint Protection

Ceramic Coatings why are they so popular in 2018? Unlike wax, a ceramic coating brings you the following benefits and protection.

  • Scratch resistant
  • Chip Resistant
  • Uv Protection
  • Stops etching from acid in bug and bird droppings

It also withstands temperatures up to 1200 degrees it can even be applied to exhaust pipes. Coating your car with ceramic car coatings also gives the paint a 9H hardness (which means it makes the finish 9 X the hardness of factory paint). Best of all the Ceramic Coating increases the gloss of the paint 5 to 10 times more than wax and the gloss is so clear that it shows the depth of the paint. The average lifespan and warranty of one application vary by manufacturer. We use flight shield sapphire V1 and offer 5 years with a written warranty. See our ceramic coatings page for more information.

2. Wait! What About Traditional Car Wax?

Believe it or not, car wax melts at 180 degrees, this means zero protection for your cars clear coat. With the engine temperature reaching 210 in the winter time and the inside temperatures of the car exceeding 180 degrees. Car wax does not stand a chance in this heat. It will slowly start melting off the car in 30 days or less

Let’s not forget car wax offers no protection against UV rays; environmental fall out, bugs, bird droppings. Why is this important? Have you ever wondered where those mystery small etch marks that magically show up on your paint come from? They show up because wax is not enough to protect against the acid contained in bugs and bird droppings. It becomes a real issue because some of those etchings are so deep in the clear coat that they can’t be buffed out.

Wax takes about an hour to apply and cost anywhere from $100 -$200 per application. So knowing the facts about wax that would mean you need to spend $100.00 a month to keep your car waxed with little protection until you sell your car OR you can get a ceramic car coating and never wax again EVER!

3. What Is Paint Correction? Should I Get It Before I Coat My Vehicle

Paint correction involves either a 1 step or a multi-step polishing to remove any swirls or webbing. The detailer will be leveling the paint to the depth of the scratch or swirl before applying a ceramic coating. Paint correction must be done prior to coating any vehicle to get the best results. If you decide to skip this step any defect in the paint will be magnified tenfold by the ceramic coating.

Generally speaking the average cost for a 1 step polish (paint correction) done by a professional certified installer will be around $250. A Multistep polish done by a skilled professional usually starts at $375+ and can go up to $600.00 for neglected cars. In severe cases hand sanding the paint and then doing a multi-step polish to remove sanding marks and bring the paint back to better than factory condition by removing factory orange peel can add anywhere from $1,300 to $1,800. No matter who you choose please make sure they are a trained professional especially if you own a black car or truck. See our paint correction page for more information.

4. How Do I Choose The Best Car Detailing Service Company

When looking to get a coating applied to your vehicle the first thing you want to do is put on your digital detective hat on. Search for the company reviews to see if they have a constant 5-star rating or is it a mixed bag of reviews some good and some bad. We recommend that you avoid any company that does not have reviews. Best way to find out is to google their “company name reviews” Click or tap here to see our latest review.

Don’t take off your detective hat off just yet your work is not done. Next step is to look for pictures or videos of the work they have done and how many of those pictures are ones taken of black cars that went through the paint correction process before putting on a ceramic coating. A black car is one of the toughest colors to work with when doing a ceramic car coating and paint correction and shows the full skill of the company that did the correction and the auto ceramic coating.

Finally, we recommend that you call the companies and ask questions to determine if they have the knowledge and experience in paint correction and ceramic coatings you are comfortable with. Here is a list of questions that we prepared for you.

  1. What is the name of the manufacturer?
  2. Are they off the shelf coatings found online (like Amazon)?
  3. Is it a cheap knockoff brand?
  4. Do they offer a written warranty by the manufacturer?
  5. If they say yes to number 4. Ask how many years.

The reason you want to ask is that some of these products may be knockoffs from China or off the shelf that were bought online from eBay or Amazon. This means they will more than likely not offer you a warranty since they do not have a relationship with the manufacturer.

5. What About Getting It Directly From The Car Dealerships?

Car dealerships will offer what is referred to as a production ceramic car coating. A production coating is when a ceramic coating is improperly applied to your paint on top of all imperfections. That means not polishing all the defects out before applying the coating such as micro-scratches or swirls.

You are probably thinking how much damage can really happen to a car or truck that is sitting at dealerships car lot. Most cars are just sprayed down and if they do get washed it will be with old and reused towels and brushes. Improperly washed vehicles are not so easy to spot at the moment because you might have other things on your mind like how much is this car going to cost me?

Why Should You Choose Excalibur Mobile Detail To Apply Your Next Ceramic Car Coating?

Let’s face it we spend a lot of time washing and waxing our car only to find out it starts losing its shine and swirl marks start appearing over time. What if there was a better way? Well, now there is! Excalibur Mobile Detail has the answer Sapphire V1.

We will do a complete walkthrough with you and go over how much paint correction is needed. We also offer optional items such as Rims; Window; plastic trim. We will only apply coatings if your vehicle paint is properly corrected and free of any imperfections and defects.

2018 Black Murano with a 5-year Ceramic Coating.

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After the Job: Proper Care for your Ceramic Coating

It’s always best that you wash the car yourself whether it is coated or not. But sometimes that is hard to do, so here are some tips of what NOT to do that may void the warranty or come under the clause of neglect and cost you money to have your coating repaired or even replaced.

Improper washing that damages your coating:

Taking your car to the car wash.

The car wash brushes introduce deep linier scratches that over a short time penetrate the ceramic coating and allow the UV rays to attack the finish.

Using a touchless car wash with brushes.

Same potential damage as the car wash.

Using a bath towel to dry the car or not using a microfiber towel with a 500 fiber count.

Costco towels will scratch! A bath towel is almost as bad as the brushes at the car wash.

Not using the correct PH balanced soap or soap with wax in it.

Too low of a PH soap (acidic) or too high of a PH (alkaline) will strip the coating’s water hydrophobic properties, soap with wax will also remove the hydrophobic properties. On uncoated vehicles it will strip the gloss from the paint’s finish.

Using a detailer that is not experienced with washing ceramic coatings OR does not carry their own reverse osmosis water like we do.

At the very least the detailer should have an onboard soft water purifier. Many detailers use other peoples’ water to fill their tank and the detailer’s previous stop may have been at a customer’s house that is on a well system with high mineral content. Water with high mineral content will cause water spots to appear on both coated and non-coated vehicles.

California Duster

Using a California Duster picks up all the dirt off the car and drags it along the finish leaving fine micro scratching.

Water Spots

We live in an area where water contains a high mineral content that will water spot uncoated vehicles; ceramic coated Vehicles and PPF film coated vehicles.

If you are hand washing the vehicle make sure you have a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter that reads minerals in the water in PPM (this can be bought on Amazon for around $20) and if the reading is more than 80 PPM contact Culligan, or similar water treatment provider, about installing a soft water outlet to wash your cars with. ** Please note that 80 ppm is the absolute max and you must dry off your car in the shade before it dries on its own or it will water spot any surface. Our reverse Osmosis water typically reads about 1 – 3 ppm with our TDS meter.

There is no coating or surface that is guaranteed not to water spot.

If you get water spots please contact us to give you a quote on how much it would cost to professionally remove the water spots without damaging the coating.

*Please note all ceramic coating installers including Excalibur Mobile Detail do not warrant any of its coatings against neglect or negligence

To assist our customers in the proper cleaning of their cars, we have put together a custom starter kit for washing ceramic coated vehicles. The wash bucket kit has a removable grate with all the soap and towels you will need to wash your car. This kit sells for $150.00 and is well worth not having the headaches resulting from not using the right products.

More information on paint coatings and paint protection:

Flight Shield Protectant Coatings

Flight Shield Paint Correction & Paint Protection

Excalibur Services & Pricing

EXCALIBUR MOBILE DETAIL Visalia CA offers everything from a weekly car wash to Paint Correction and a 3 to 10-year Ceramic Car coating with written warranty or a full auto detail. Mobile detailing and car wash done by professionals. 16+ years’ experience. Areas of service include: Tulare, CA; Visalia, CA; Hanford, CA; Selma, CA; Clovis, CA; and Fresno, CA.

Phone: (559) 802-4392

Email Excalibur

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