already have to get her polished after 1 year of ownership...

[AZ_Ryan]

i was shopping around and looking for reputable detailing shops and one that was recommended a lot in my city quoted me $1600 on the spot for paint correction and ceramic coating, and on their website they only go as far as the front end for ppf which is $2k. there are other shops around me that i want to also get quotes from but i haven't gone to them yet.

if you're wondering about these prices yourself here is the website, and with this knowledge you can also see other places near me, if you even care to look.
AutoSpa360

Those prices are a pretty high. You should be able to find a reputable independent detailer that will do paint correction and ceramic for $1200-$1500.

Front end PPF should be in the $600-$800 range. But I would not recommend front end only PPF if your car is outside a lot. The rest of the paint will fade and when you go to replace the front end PPF years later you will have a line across the front of you car and two different paint tones.

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[dusman59]

If if you can get osmosis treated water with TDS 5 or less for final rinse you can walk away and it will dry with no spots. Check around as some water stores have it. I get it in 5gal jugs and pump it to a pressure washer.
Guys in Florida can wash a black car in the sun and rinse with no spots and no paint touching.

 

[eldnov]

Just PPF and ceramic coat it. Two weeks after buying the car, i decided to ceramic coat it because my garage is an open one and right on top of the car is a nice perch for birds to land on. Everyday i woke up to bird poop that etches into the same spot on the car, I was able to polish out the stain but I don't wanna thin the paint as time goes by and its a hassle to bring out the tools, etc.

The ceramic coating is really good but a month after that, a modded 4x4 decided to change lane right in front of me, put a good rock chip on my bumper. I was really annoyed with having to drive and avoid idiots so off it goes back to the detailing shop for full PPF. Was gonna do just front and windshield but decided the car needed full PPF when the wheels get changed and the rear quarter panel will get sand and rock blasted.

i already have my fair share of rock chips unfortunately. going into a right hander on the highway and a big semi throws up the biggest rock ive seen and it lands just above my windshield hitting the top of my car. i would honestly have much rather have it hit the windshield and get it fixed with warranty rather than it hit my car but now theres a slight dent that's gray on the top of my car that you can see even from 10ft away.

 

[eldnov]

Those prices are a pretty high. You should be able to find a reputable independent detailer that will do paint correction and ceramic for $1200-$1500.

Front end PPF should be in the $600-$800 range. But I would not recommend front end only PPF if your car is outside a lot. The rest of the paint will fade and when you go to replace the front end PPF years later you will have a line across the front of you car and two different paint tones.

i see then, i guess i have to do more shopping around then

 

[eldnov]

If if you can get osmosis treated water with TDS 5 or less for final rinse you can walk away and it will dry with no spots. Check around as some water stores have it. I get it in 5gal jugs and pump it to a pressure washer.
Guys in Florida can wash a black car in the sun and rinse with no spots and no paint touching.

would distilled water not be the exact same? i'm not sure if you can get distilled water in 5 gallon jugs, but isn't the only difference just the process of the minerals, unless somehow distilled water leaves water spots?

if the pressure washer i have isn't too strong for my car i'll probably use it for the final rinse rather then spend $30 on a filter or $10-20 every 2 weeks at the self service car wash near me. how many washes can you do before you run out of water?

 

[tastetickles]

On my other car, I use citrus based cleaner spray as a prewash. They are very acidic so I only left it on for like 20 seconds each panel and they strip wax like crazy too but they are also very good at removing bird poop or tree sap. Then I follow that with a proper wash with RainX Spot Free Carwash then a rinse. I leave it to dry by itself on painted surface so I’m only wiping glasses, headlights. They usually leave me no streak and I only need detailing spray on few spots that water drains off like bottom of doors. Note however the RainX shampoo doesn’t work if you have ceramic coating on the car.

 

[DFB5.0]

A clay bar is useless for removing mineral deposits, especially once they have etched the clearcoat. If you don't neutralize those minerals, they will keep etching deeper and deeper into the paint and will continue to resurface on hot days.

In this case, you need to use a water-spot remover as a first step. Even if you don't see a visual improvement after using a water-spot remover, you have at least chemically arrested the process. You then need to polish the etchings from the paint. You have to do both, not one or the other, otherwise the spots will continue to resurface.

Here's the thing, water-spots and etchings can happen with even the most stout ceramic coating or PPF. It helps, but it won't stop them from happening. Prevention is your only cure here.

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