[b1st]

I have a 2018 718 Cayman S with Graphite Blue Metallic. It's my weekender and I live in SoCal so it doesn't see much things that could potentially damage the paint. However I still like the idea of the car looking clean as (or cleaner than) the day I got the car and that it can protect from the occasional bird poop, etc. I'm also pretty lazy and live in a high-rise so I don't ever wash my own cars. I professionally detail them every 6 months or so and just bring it to one of those self-washing bays in between. In the self-washing bays, I simply rinse the car off, rinse w the soapy water spray, rinse off again, rinse w "spotless rinse" water, and finally blow dry.

This routine has worked very well for me. The only risk I see with me getting Ceramic Pro is that with it I'm not supposed to use certain car wash soap (I guess the stuff that has wax, etc). That's because those chemicals deteriorate and/or lessen Ceramic Pro properties somehow. Since I just like to go to these self-wash bays, I don't have control over the soap they carry. It may contain chemicals that are not compatible with (or harmful to) Ceramic Pro. I'd imagine it's also very cheap stuff since it's like $5 per wash.

Anyone have experience using these cheap self-wash bays after getting Ceramic Pro?

 

[phroenips]

I haven't heard of soaps damaging ceramic coatings, but if they have "gloss enhancers" (hint: most of them do), it'll result in less hydrophobic properties. Think of it as a thin layer of wax over the ceramic coating. That layer is now what is repelling the water, not the ceramic coating. There are products on the market (such as "Reset" car wash) that will safely strip away those layers and "reset" it back to the base coating.

I will say that I've noticed I tend to get more water spots with my ceramic coated car than my traditionally waxed car. I think it's because the water beads up on the ceramic so intensely, any hard water minerals are more obvious.

Honestly, with your situation and habits, doesn't sound like a ceramic coating is a great fit. But that's just my opinion.

 

[b1st]

I haven't heard of soaps damaging ceramic coatings, but if they have "gloss enhancers" (hint: most of them do), it'll result in less hydrophobic properties. Think of it as a thin layer of wax over the ceramic coating. That layer is now what is repelling the water, not the ceramic coating. There are products on the market (such as "Reset" car wash) that will safely strip away those layers and "reset" it back to the base coating.

I will say that I've noticed I tend to get more water spots with my ceramic coated car than my traditionally waxed car. I think it's because the water beads up on the ceramic so intensely, any hard water minerals are more obvious.

Honestly, with your situation and habits, doesn't sound like a ceramic coating is a great fit. But that's just my opinion.

Ah, yes, that's what I read - that it results in less hydophobic properties.

One crucial factor I forgot to mention in considering ceramic coating is that the parking garage in my apartment building sometimes leaks fluid on cars. It's not common but it's happened to a couple people I know in the past year so I'm thinking my day may come. I already ordered a genuine Porsche car cover that will hopefully protect my car from that. But, idk, if some nasty rusty fluid / hard water got on the cover while I'm away for 2 weeks, not sure that the cover will protect fully.

 

[GregW]

I don't know anything about Ceramic Pro.

Opti-coat Pro+ is what I have. It is proof against most chemicals--even hydrochloric acid. They say don't bother with wax as it won't stick anyway. The previous car spent 5 years in the Australian sun with parrot droppings and next to a concrete factory and the paint was like new when I sold it. This was before the Pro+ was available so it only had the Pro formulation.

Hard water does need to be wiped off before it dries or the marks will show. They can be polished off (or maybe come off with claying, or a weak acid wash). I use rain water for washing/rinsing and don't dry and never have marks.

Is the apartment owner not responsible for damage caused by their leaks? Although I'd prefer the original paint over a re-spray or even a professional polish.

Good luck whatever you try.

 

[Baka1969]

Ppf.

 

[lajoiedp]

I had my car detailed with ceramic pro the day after It was delivered and absolutely love it. Cleaning the car is a breeze. Highly recommend it.

 

[JazzCatGab]

I live in a condo with an under-building garage and had Ceramic Pro applied for probably the same reasons as you, b1st. I've had my car since late December and the only time it has been washed, to date, has been when we had a thrashing rainstorm roll through late February and I took my car out and it got a good soak and, with the winds blowing about, it got a pretty good wash. I brought it back into the garage and, like GregW, was pretty sure the rain wouldn't leave any water marks. Even so, I did take my drying towels to it. We have a place outside the building where we can use a hose to wash our cars, and since I've just learned about the two-bucket method, I'm planning to wash it there on occasion. Using the hose, I will definitely dry it off with the microfiber towels. The guy who applied the Ceramic Pro used it on his own cars and said that dead bugs on the front will self-clean from their own body acids although I don't think I'll let them go that far!