Has anybody tried any of the DIY ceramic coatings? Are any of them any good?
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I haven’t done the really fancy coatings but I have used Griot’s ceramic coat with good results on my DD. It lasts quite a while and water (and with it dirt) just rolls off. Easy to apply.
I've been using TORQUE Detail Mirror Shine and I'm REALLY pleased. 
It's easy on (spray) and just as easy off (using a clean...no, make that a really clean Microfiber Towel).
I just used this on my newly finished master bathroom remodel. I put it on the glass shower doors and all of the fixtures. So far it’s working great. https://adamspolishes.com/prod...hene-ceramic-coating™
I have Chemical Guys C9 on my Speedster.
Reasonable price, easy to work with and provides what I expected out of it.
It's not on a Speedster, but I did a DIY ceramic coating on my 996 in November '19.
There are several kits out there, and I spent some time in a few detailing groups before I pulled the trigger on the process, and the product. I ended up going with the CQuartz UK kit (available on Amazon), and I've been really happy with it. It beads as well now as it did when I first applied it (and I've kept up with the maintenance top-up applications, super easy to do, the same time/effort you'd spend on spraying and wiping down with a quick detailer).
Your success or failure with a ceramic coating will come down to prep. Seriously. 95% of the time I spent on the car was not on the coating application itself, but it was on the paint correction leading up to it. I had a bit of oxidation on the roof of the car, some decent swirls on the clear surface, and a handful of surface scratches, but all of those came out with patience and time. Here was my process:
1. Two-bucket wash of the entire car.
2. Clay bar over all of the paint surfaces.
3. Two-part compound and polish with a dual action 6" polisher. I used the Meguiar's M105/205 combination, with an orange pad with the M105 compound, black polish pad with the M205 polish.
4. Quick detailer spray wipe-down to remove any polish residue.
5. Alcohol wipe of the paint surfaces.
6. Two coat application of the ceramic coating (and then the top-off application).
I'd say the most time I spent for the whole process was step #3, to make sure I addressed all of the oxidation, swirling, and surface scratches. With a car that had very good paint to begin with, I might skip the compound step, but would still do the clay bar and polish step.
Anyway, it came out really, really well. I've been using the top-off spray every other wash of the car, and the coating has been very consistent in beading and finish. And, even though the paint seemed perfect after the polish, the luster of the color (Porsche Guard's Red) was noticeably better after the coating application.
This video really helped me with the process (and regardless of the coating you choose, the process should be roughly the same):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byKcYsEyWGk
Good luck!
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Chris:
The Carrera looks great. Sure shows the work you put into the finish!
I've been using the Torque Detail like Paul on my Mini. It's lasted well for a spray on finish and looks great for a 97,000 car.
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My Macan is also coated with C9 over top the Xpel Film
I planned to use Armor Shield IX on my speedster when Alan Merklin finishes the build in June. Fun video below comparing using this DIY versus a professional 9H ceramic job. There is also a coupon code (NGS25) to get $25 off. A little pricier than some other options, but this one seems to get really good reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-d22b3idog
I'm also thinking about doing some DIY Xpel on the hood and front bumper to protect the new paint.
I plan to shoot pictures and video of things like this on my new speedster to share... June seems so far away btw!
The paint protection films (PPF) like Xpel are great, but putting them on a car with as many compound curves as a Speedster is not for the faint of heart. I'd recommend a professional for that and plan to do so myself when I get my Beck Coupe.
My son used a ceramic coat on his 996 and he loves it, although it did not go un-noticed that he never offered it to me for Pearl. It seems to do everything that all y'all are talking about, too.
Of course, my reputation of maybe talking myself into detailing Pearl once every three or four years might have preceded me, too. I'm not the most conscientious in that regard, but Geez! How much stuff could it take for a Speedstah?
@Panhandle Bob posted:Chris:
The Carrera looks great. Sure shows the work you put into the finish!
I'll second that - really beautiful!
Bill
I'd be willing to trailer my Spyder to Chris's house so he can do his magic. His 996 looks great.
I am a big fan of Adams products personally but Chris' write up is the only way to go if you do it yourself.
I have similar stuff and did the start of a paint correction on the Cayman but not ceramic, just wax. I still had to do many if the same steps. I have a Porter Cable, guaranteed not to burn your paint during the correction part. That and the prep to that take forever.
If you aren't going to do all the steps Chris did, just pay someone and make sure they do those steps. If not, you really won't be happy with the results. If you are happy, you haven't seen it done right.
Even the less work I did is night and day.
@DannyP, as long as you promise to drink some of my beer and hang out for a while, we can probably work something out.
@slowshoes posted:I'll second that - really beautiful!
Bill
Thank you, Bill (and you too, Bob!). It was a lot of work, but worth it in the end.
As for Pearl, I'd certainly be willing to detail it, but at this point with all of the whiz-bang heat control electronics I'd be worried about vibrating a body panel and kicking the heater on by accident. ;-)
BTW Chris. Looks really good. Red is a hard color to keep.
Once you learn about the proper paint care, you start cursing the previous owner who probably took it to a car wash or used dirty rags to dry the car.
I'll add a second, that the before and after of Chris' 996 was striking. I realize that oxidation dulls things, but after he finished everything the paint looked three feet deep. Even his Mom, who knows a car's make and model by, "It was Red", thought it was really sharp. That says a lot.
We should get Danny over here for "Porsche-Fest" in Boston sometime. And Prarit's Suby-Seduction Spyder, too. Those two, at the same show, would blow the purist's sox off!
Now, all we both need is..... Warm weather and no road salt!
It'll be pushing upper 50's today!
Thank you for all of the compliments!
But, I'll add one more comment to get back to helping Bob out as the person who started this thread.
Before I did the 996, I had never used a dual action polisher before. If you pick the right compounds and pads, you have to really try to screw the paint up. Start the least aggressive as possible and just BE PATIENT. Like Chris, I also have a Porter Cable DA polisher with a 6" and 3" backing plate, and griot's orange and black pads for each. None of those is super aggressive, especially matched with the compound/polish I used. The Adams stuff Chris mentioned is also highly regarded, but the Meg's stuff is available everywhere and I wanted to get started that night.
Watched a lot of youtube videos. If you haven't, check out Dallas Paint Correction. He has some excellent beginner videos, as does AMMO NYC.
That said, I absolutely practiced on my wife's SUV that has a door with a ding on it that a paintless dent removal guy can't do anything with, so if I screwed it up, I was most definitely going to blame it on the fact that it's always been there along with the ding.
Found out that polishing is actually a lot easier and much more enjoyable and soothing than I thought it would be.
It's also a massive rabbit hole, because that SUV door was definitely the reason I then had to finish the rest of the Explorer because I couldn't deal with one door that beaded amazingly well and the rest of the car grimy.
(Sigh.)
Thanks Chris!!
As it happens, Hemmings just published their updated article on Detailing your car's interior, too.
They don't cover exterior ceramic coating as Chris has, but it's good info, especially for me, as I'm prob'ly way overdue to detail Pearl (and don't nobody faint or sumthin' over that....) and it gives me an excuse to use my Griot's Detailing Kit that I got at the Carlisle Raffle (Thanks, Lane!) I actually use it during the season, but have replaced some of the chemicals/waxes/etc with others that I like better but it's a handy kit.
Here's the stuff from Hemmings:
https://www.hemmings.com/stori...l-your-cars-interior