Hand sealant
Included in Full Detail
Every size, no extra charge
- Lasts
- About 3 to 4 months
- Prep
- Wash and clay bar
- Time
- Part of a Full Detail
- Good for
- Daily drivers that live outside and get washed now and then.
Ceramic coating & paint correction
Ceramic coating, explained before you buy it.
A coating is worth the money on some cars and wasted on others. This page covers what it does, what it can’t do, the prep it needs and the upkeep after, so you can decide before we talk price.
The short version
What a coating does, and what it doesn’t.
What it does
- Makes the paint slick, so dirt, bugs and bird droppings come off with less scrubbing.
- Beads and sheets water off while the coating is healthy.
- Buys you time. Sap and droppings take longer to etch into coated paint, though they still need cleaning off soon.
- Helps slow fading from the sun, and paint here gets plenty of sun.
- Adds depth and gloss on top of paint that has been polished first.
What it doesn’t
- Stop rock chips, door dings or key scratches. That is paint protection film, which we don’t install.
- Hide swirl marks. A coating seals in whatever is under it, which is why polishing comes first.
- Mean you stop washing. A coated car still gets dirty. It just cleans up faster.
- Stop water spots on its own. Our tap water is hard, and if it dries on the paint in the sun it can still spot.
- Last forever. The years on each option are the maker’s rating for a car that’s washed right, and nothing we sell is called lifetime.
Prep comes first
Coating day, step by step.
Most of the work happens before any coating goes on. Skip the prep and the coating locks in every swirl and speck that was already there.
- 01
Wash and decontaminate
Hand wash, an iron remover for the brake dust stuck in the paint, then a clay bar on every panel.
- 02
Polish
At least a one-step polish to take out light swirls. Heavier defects need the two-step correction, quoted on its own.
- 03
Panel wipe
A wipe-down that strips the polishing oils, so the coating bonds to clean clear coat.
- 04
Coat
Applied by hand, one panel at a time, leveled, then checked under a light before it sets.
- 05
Cure
The car stays dry for 24 hours and gets no soap for 7 days. We text you on day 7.
After coating day
Keeping a coating healthy.
The coating does its part as long as the washing does too. Here’s the routine we hand every coating customer, printed on the card that comes with the topper.
- Every 1 to 2 weeks
- Hand wash with a pH-neutral car soap, two buckets and a clean mitt.
- After every wash
- Dry with a clean towel or a blower. Don’t let water dry on the paint in the sun.
- Every 2 to 3 months
- A spray topper after the wash. We leave you a bottle of the one we use.
- Skip
- Brush tunnels and dish soap. A touchless wash is fine when you’re short on time.
- Once a year
- A check-up visit: decontamination wash, a look under the light and a fresh topper. $129, and we text you when it’s due.
Want a coating or polish quote?
Send a request and pick ceramic coating or paint correction. We’ll text you for a few daylight photos of the paint, then come back with a number.