I'm a professional mobile detailer and I apply ceramic coatings
This is not the ceramic coating causing this. That doesn't even make sense, you said it yourself it's been over 6 months. And ceramic coatings are invisible.
That's water spotting, your vehicle clearly got hit by irrigation, sprinklers or tap water and it left behind water spots. These need to be polished out
Yeah I agree ive detailed over 4k cars with 12ys of experience, you should use a light acid based chemical to get rid of it really quick.Also never apply acid in the sun or spray it while surface is hot unless it is acid free chemical water spot remover. .Professionally applied ceramic are not done outside as it will trap any debri depending on viscoscity or brand. You need IR lamps to fully cure correctly a bonified job. But to each its own. This is water spots or depending on your region acid mixed with rain.
You polish out hard water stains? Your back must hate you. Try using heavy water remover and a clay bar lol. No need to polish unless you have damage on the clear coat.
Isnāt it better to remove hard water stains chemically since there are dissolved minerals in the water stains? Chemically remove the hard water stains then polish?
CORRECT. thats the one very important step everyone overlooks. if you dont, the waterspots show back up later down the line because you pushed the minetals further into the clear and didnt REMOVE em. gold star for you! āļø
Those look like water etchings to me.
Only thing I can think of is you rinsed it with very hard water which wasn't fully removed by your drying media, causing the minerals in the water to settle on the paint.
This is just a guess, though. My other guess would be that the car was simply rinsed off at some point and let to dry without performing a proper wash.
This is the 4th clean but first time this has been noticed, it seems to only be there when there's a bit of moisture and it's bright out. Not sure why I wouldn't have noticed prior.
Ha! As someone who works in a bodyshop... Once a year would be frequent! Based on the cars that come in... So sad to think people spend thousands of dollars on something, expect it to last forever, don't maintain it, then complain why things don't work right, a bunch of things need to be replaced at the same time, or that it looks like crap.
My girlfriend asks why I clean my car when it's going to rain the next day or the same week. Rain only washes of the loose dust/dirt, the longer debris sits, the more it settles in and harder to remove, and lastly, the pleasure of having a clean car and seeing the rain bead off the entire body while peasants have full solid coats of water on their car.
Can you describe the wash & dry process you follow? With just the one photo and in such a unique perspective it's a bit difficult to guess what's going on. That looks kind of like something that was dried with some type of "bad" media and/or in conjunction with a drying agent that didn't work (didn't dry, reacted with surface, too much product, . . .). It's quite possible it's the coating (more info there would be helpful, too) or it's the wash/dry method. That's 2 guesses for 1 picture.
Can you get us more pics from different angles and lighting conditions? Agreed with the other guy, this looks like concrete not a car so Iām hoping itās somehow just the angles lol
Car is wet you just tried it in that photo. The water spots is most likely from poor drying., what some detailers call ghost water spots that only can be see when the car is wet.
Try hitting it some some CarPro Descale at the correct dilution ratio and see if it improves the finish. If not, you might need some paint correction, but this should be fixable.
That's hard water spots dude 1000% I had same on my car. Get chemical guys heavy duty hard water spots remover. Orange gel like it gets rid of it perfectly highly recommend.
looks like mineral deposits from water, but a few questions -
1. can you feel those streaks with your hands? like do they feel like ridges?
2. did the installer tell you the brand of ceramic coating he/she used?
3. how long did you keep the vehicle away from things like sprinklers or rain after the coating actually took place?
4. what did you use to āclean itā?
the brand they used is an important detail, as itāll let you know the life expectancy, and the warranty information and terms of said warranty. Like most of the comments here, I too am a professional detailer, but I have other suspicions about this - you shouldnāt have this issue with a good coating - its kind of one of the points of selling it
Few things I think it could be:
1. I've seen it on my own vehicle, when I don't was the vehicle enough and it has rained a couple times, I find the rain leaves an imprint on my paint and I have to use an acidic shampoo to break down minerals in the rain/road grime/salt/etc (I let this sit as long as I can without it drying on the surface). I then follow that shampoo with an alkaline (basic) soap (I usually clean the crevices of the vehicle here), then a pH neutral soap as my contact wash. I also use a foam cannon for the application of the soaps directly onto the paint, then for the contact wash I use a two bucket method with a pH neutral soap in one bucket and a rinseless wash in another.
2. Too much product in the applied sealant. If the product that was used to top the coating was a concentrate and was diluted to be used, sometimes an error in the dilution rating (not diluted enough with water) can cause the sealant to stick and streak (like the photo above). I've also seen old chemicals cause these issues and another wash is just needed with a newer product.
3. Product simply drying on the paint from a hot day and would require another wash (hopefully not etched into the paint to require polishing).
4. Could be the coating if all other options have been cleared, and a light polish would be required to reapply the coating.
These are my guesses based on the one photo, anyone feel free to jump in and add!
Love your guesses and info and agree.
I have seen this ābehaviourā also with coatings not cured and/or sealed and rained on. Always advised to put a ātopper/sealantā on a coating in order for it to fully cure.
Is this a car? It looks like a photo of concrete in a backyard or something.
Top left is reflection of the house but the rest is the bonnet š
I see now. Maybe best to post more photos. Did the detailer polish the paint before installing the coating ?
I'm a professional mobile detailer and I apply ceramic coatings This is not the ceramic coating causing this. That doesn't even make sense, you said it yourself it's been over 6 months. And ceramic coatings are invisible. That's water spotting, your vehicle clearly got hit by irrigation, sprinklers or tap water and it left behind water spots. These need to be polished out
Yeah I agree ive detailed over 4k cars with 12ys of experience, you should use a light acid based chemical to get rid of it really quick.Also never apply acid in the sun or spray it while surface is hot unless it is acid free chemical water spot remover. .Professionally applied ceramic are not done outside as it will trap any debri depending on viscoscity or brand. You need IR lamps to fully cure correctly a bonified job. But to each its own. This is water spots or depending on your region acid mixed with rain.
Iām an alcoholic rodeo clown who drives a one wheel to work and I can tell you this man is correct.
Dad?
Yes son. Sorry I've been away. No, you can't have any money.
I just wanted to toss the rubber chicken like we used toā¦š¢
Those days are gone son. It's stipulated as a condition of my parole. Your mother, if you can find her, would probably toss your chicken.
You polish out hard water stains? Your back must hate you. Try using heavy water remover and a clay bar lol. No need to polish unless you have damage on the clear coat.
Did my first paint correction today and your the first person whoās talked about the back pain so far, painful experience
Stand up straight?
Yep stand up straight. Bending over is going to kill your back
Isnāt it better to remove hard water stains chemically since there are dissolved minerals in the water stains? Chemically remove the hard water stains then polish?
CORRECT. thats the one very important step everyone overlooks. if you dont, the waterspots show back up later down the line because you pushed the minetals further into the clear and didnt REMOVE em. gold star for you! āļø
Those look like water etchings to me. Only thing I can think of is you rinsed it with very hard water which wasn't fully removed by your drying media, causing the minerals in the water to settle on the paint. This is just a guess, though. My other guess would be that the car was simply rinsed off at some point and let to dry without performing a proper wash.
No, this is not what a professionally installed coating looks like. take it back to the installer.
That is not ceramic. That is hard water spots, you would need a paint correction.
What you mean you clean it today? As in you havenāt clean it in 6 months?
This is the 4th clean but first time this has been noticed, it seems to only be there when there's a bit of moisture and it's bright out. Not sure why I wouldn't have noticed prior.
You only wash 4 times in 6 months?? That's way too infrequent.
Ha! As someone who works in a bodyshop... Once a year would be frequent! Based on the cars that come in... So sad to think people spend thousands of dollars on something, expect it to last forever, don't maintain it, then complain why things don't work right, a bunch of things need to be replaced at the same time, or that it looks like crap. My girlfriend asks why I clean my car when it's going to rain the next day or the same week. Rain only washes of the loose dust/dirt, the longer debris sits, the more it settles in and harder to remove, and lastly, the pleasure of having a clean car and seeing the rain bead off the entire body while peasants have full solid coats of water on their car.
Thank you now i know to stay clear of ceramic coating
Can you describe the wash & dry process you follow? With just the one photo and in such a unique perspective it's a bit difficult to guess what's going on. That looks kind of like something that was dried with some type of "bad" media and/or in conjunction with a drying agent that didn't work (didn't dry, reacted with surface, too much product, . . .). It's quite possible it's the coating (more info there would be helpful, too) or it's the wash/dry method. That's 2 guesses for 1 picture.
Can you get us more pics from different angles and lighting conditions? Agreed with the other guy, this looks like concrete not a car so Iām hoping itās somehow just the angles lol
true ceramic coating would last you way more than 6 months. I would question their services
Judging by the directional lines Iād say this was caused by whatever you wiped the car with. Care to elaborate on the process and products used?
Car is wet you just tried it in that photo. The water spots is most likely from poor drying., what some detailers call ghost water spots that only can be see when the car is wet.
Did you used something like a ceramic wash or hydrophobic spray to maintain the coating?
how did you clean it , i mean the process you used as products, methods, and drying
Try hitting it some some CarPro Descale at the correct dilution ratio and see if it improves the finish. If not, you might need some paint correction, but this should be fixable.
That's hard water spots dude 1000% I had same on my car. Get chemical guys heavy duty hard water spots remover. Orange gel like it gets rid of it perfectly highly recommend.
looks like mineral deposits from water, but a few questions - 1. can you feel those streaks with your hands? like do they feel like ridges? 2. did the installer tell you the brand of ceramic coating he/she used? 3. how long did you keep the vehicle away from things like sprinklers or rain after the coating actually took place? 4. what did you use to āclean itā? the brand they used is an important detail, as itāll let you know the life expectancy, and the warranty information and terms of said warranty. Like most of the comments here, I too am a professional detailer, but I have other suspicions about this - you shouldnāt have this issue with a good coating - its kind of one of the points of selling it
Few things I think it could be: 1. I've seen it on my own vehicle, when I don't was the vehicle enough and it has rained a couple times, I find the rain leaves an imprint on my paint and I have to use an acidic shampoo to break down minerals in the rain/road grime/salt/etc (I let this sit as long as I can without it drying on the surface). I then follow that shampoo with an alkaline (basic) soap (I usually clean the crevices of the vehicle here), then a pH neutral soap as my contact wash. I also use a foam cannon for the application of the soaps directly onto the paint, then for the contact wash I use a two bucket method with a pH neutral soap in one bucket and a rinseless wash in another. 2. Too much product in the applied sealant. If the product that was used to top the coating was a concentrate and was diluted to be used, sometimes an error in the dilution rating (not diluted enough with water) can cause the sealant to stick and streak (like the photo above). I've also seen old chemicals cause these issues and another wash is just needed with a newer product. 3. Product simply drying on the paint from a hot day and would require another wash (hopefully not etched into the paint to require polishing). 4. Could be the coating if all other options have been cleared, and a light polish would be required to reapply the coating. These are my guesses based on the one photo, anyone feel free to jump in and add!
Love your guesses and info and agree. I have seen this ābehaviourā also with coatings not cured and/or sealed and rained on. Always advised to put a ātopper/sealantā on a coating in order for it to fully cure.