So I'm considering washing my bike this year and I've been looking in to ceramic coatings so I only have to wash it every other year . Has anyone had any experience with this.. mixed reviews on the web and alot depends preparation and brand of product. So I'm wondering what your experience is and what products you used. Halfrauds have a discount on ..auto finesse I think. Not sure if it's any good. Any recommendations?
A ceramic coating wont mean you only wash it once a year, it just makes it much easier to wash and clean and protects the paint and finished surfaces from damage caused by incorrect washing technique. if you have not applied a ceramic before I suggest you look for one that is recommended as easy to apply, because they are a bugger to get off if it goes wrong. They are more difficult to apply on a dark colour and can look stripy if done wrong. wheels are easier to do and the best product is Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour, however its not a quick job as ideally you would remove the wheels, and remove the discs. I've done my last 4 bikes and believe its worth it, the brake dust and chain lube just cleans off so easily. Alternatively for main paintwork and plastics you could try a half way product like a polymer sealant , Sonax Polymer Netshield is great easy to apply and cost effective. I used loads of it on cars bikes etc. It lasts for 9 months plus, but then the longevity of any coating is down to how much you use the vehicle the environment and how often and how you clean it
Thanks for the reply. I was joking about the wash. Having said that my bike doesn't get dirty due to lack of use. It gets more of a dusting down. I've read about it being difficult to buff off but thought that could have been down to use error. (Reviews online).
Yes it can be a bugger hence dark colours can look streaky. The Sonax is well worth a try, a can is about £14 but will do 5 cars, if you do go down that route give me a shout i'll explain the best way to apply
I've got Gtechniq C1 and C2 V3 but I only really applied it as I had some left over from doing the car. Its really easy to apply and hard to get wrong, just remember a little goes a long way and needs to be buffed off as soon as it has flashed. Depending on product you need a cure time ie do not get wet so in most cases you will need guarantee of good weather or a garage, in some cases this can be a few days! The coat will not improve the finish ie if you apply over a scratch it will just seal it in!, the surface needs to be polished and decontaminated before application. The paint on Blades is butter soft and super thin so bear this in mind when getting the machine polisher out with MF pads and coarse compound! In my experience a fine cut foam pad and finishing polish was more than adequate on honda paint with only slight defects The coat leaves a glass finish, that as Gaffa said it does make it easier to clean and provides a sacrificial layer to protect the existing paintwork. I have to add it did not protect the paintwork between the tank and my six pack! Its on my wheels too so cleaning is super easy. IMO ceramic coats work well with cars as due to the mass of bodywork you can be pretty heavy handed with a pressure washer so cleaning is much easier, with a bike you can not be as effective without the risk of blasting of greases out of bearings etc My coating has been on for nearly a year and still looks really good, when I do bother to clean I'm one of those with a gazillion step wash, presoak, prefoam , multi bucket grit guard and all, one use wash mitts to ensure no swirls. Would I recommend it , kinda, its a semi permanent coating that resists chemical attack and makes cleaning a bit easier. The funny thing is the coating itself need to be 'maintained' with toppers etc, probably a marketing ploy for you to buy more product but it does defeat the purpose you applied the coating for in the first place.
Once it’s done you can use ceramic infused shampoos and ceramic quick wax(spray) which just tops it up after a normal maintenance wash
A full on ceramic coat when applied chemically bonds to the paintwork to form a semi permanent 'Glass' Skin. Toppers are maintenance products used to boost the characteristics of the coat and act as a sacrificial layer again to improve longevity. This could be a specialist shampoo or spray on product. So essentially you could have 2 layers of protection! With Gtechniq C1 the recommended topper is C2v3 (catchy names I know). The C2v3 gives a massive improvement of slickness and water beading, as I said I know use Turtle wax seal and shine as the topper now, does the same thing but also significantly cheaper.
Nothings ever simple mate, which is why i suggested the Sonax, Detailing can be very in-depth or straight forward it all depends how far you want to go. Slick made some great comments, but if you are new to detailing or just looking to get your bike looking good then there are easy routes. A properly applied ceramic coating with a topper is the rolls royce solution, but it can be expensive and time consuming.
I've not used Sonax but it is highly regarded in the detailing circles, but on our run-around also use TW Seal and Shine as a standalone on the paintwork. Using a prefoam such as Bilt hamber Autofoam just melts off the dirt, sometimes I dont event bother get the buckets and mitts out at all!
LOL yes, detailing is as complex as you make it. Took me 2 solid days to coat the car and probably about the same time again on the Blade. Detailing is a hobby for me to can take it to the extreme, previous to coating the Blade I was just using a show glaze and wax and the results were amazing arguably better than the ceramic! Companies then started to aggressively market ceramics to consumers than were only previously available to pros and I fell right for it! Spent quite a bit of cash on product and equipment, do i regret it, absolutely not! I really enjoy the process and the end result is amazing. But as above a good old wash and wax is much easier and has comparable results.
For you detailing guru's, how does having raised decals alter the detailing process? Is it safe to get polishing wheels anywhere near the decals?
personally i wouldnt put a mechanical polisher over the decal just incase you catch an edge. Stuff like that i would tape over and get as close as possible with a DA polisher then get a tiny wheel on a dremel to finish to the edge. if the decal is shiny i might polish by hand but more than likely residue is left at the edge which looks shit. if matt then l leave alone.
