Yes, and here is what usually goes wrong
- Sealed-in swirls. The coating is a clear layer over whatever is there. Without machine polishing under inspection lights, every swirl and water spot is now permanent until the coating is polished off.
- High spots. Coating that was not leveled before it flashed leaves dark, oily-looking streaks that are very hard to remove once cured.
- Contamination. Coating over iron particles or tar makes them part of the surface.
- Environment. A garage with dust and humidity, or a driveway in the sun, is where most DIY coatings fail. Cure needs a controlled bay.
- No warranty. Consumer coatings carry none. Ceramic Pro professional coatings do, from 7 years to lifetime.
What the pro job is actually buying
Not the bottle. The two days of decontamination and paint correction before it, the lights that show what a driveway hides, the bay, and the warranty. On a new car with minimal defects, a consumer coating applied carefully will bead water for a year. On anything with swirls, it locks the swirls in.
If you are going to DIY anyway
- Wash, iron remover, clay, then at least a light polish.
- Work in shade, one panel at a time, and level within the flash window on the bottle.
- Keep it out of rain and sprinklers for 24 hours.
- No wash for a week.
The middle path
Have the paint corrected professionally, then keep it up yourself. Or have us coat it once with a multi-year Ceramic Pro package and do the maintenance washes at home. Either way the correction is where the money is best spent.
