[razor488]

I started to go down the rabbit hole of cleaning my new iX and the thought of waxing it every three months is very unappealing. Is it worth to spend the money to get the XPEL Fusion Plus ceramic coating? My understanding is that it will make washing the car much easier and it will stay clean longer from each wash. The coating lasts about 4 years?

Is it most common to do paint and wheels?

Thanks in advance

[BeeBop]

I did my 6 series. I kidded myself it made the difference that you describe- mostly it helped avoid swirl marks from rain a little. Maybe the one I did wasn't a v good one, and that's why I was underwhelmed.

[Paladin1]

Ceramic coating is a great option for the reasons you mention: a good wax job lasts weeks or months, a good CC lasts years - with caveats following. CC does however require detailing and paint correction before application - it's not a "wash and apply" product to see the best results, mainly because it's semi-permanent and you don't want to lock in orange-peel and paint defects after it's applied. That also accounts for much of the cost of a good ceramic detail. And it does require some maintenance - it's not ideally "set and forget." Some finishes need an annual inspection and refresh (Ceramic Pro), and some can stretch the interval between refinishing (XPEL). And it's usually necessary to apply a refresh or detail spray to the coating as well after washing to stretch the recommended reapplication intervals (and individual products have their own formulas). A detailer can also protect the interior and wheels with ceramic, and reduce maintenance there too, especially for leather seats. CC is ideal if you want a nice looking finish without spending weekend hours waxing and polishing, but some like the therapy and "hands-on" of waxing their car - you lose that with CC, because waxing is out once you apply ceramic. No finish is perfect, and each have their uses for a particular application. I've come to favor ceramic because I don't want to spend my free hours washing and waxing, and I have XPEL on my current garage queens, but different strokes. A mini-primer on finishes:

[jcolinzheng]

Ceramic coat doesn't last very long under uv, so if you park mostly under the sun, it may only last one year which isn't worth it, unless you can get it done very cheap say in Mexico.

[Paladin1]

Ceramic formulations are essentially unaffected by UV radiation (A or B), but will offer pretty good protection to the underlying paint and clear coat from UV related oxidation and subsequent fading. CC does very little to filter UV radiation but is very resistant to oxidation, so it protects the clear coat - which does provide UV protection to the base coat underneath - from the (most damaging) oxidizing effects of UV.

[ricerboi]

Originally Posted by Paladin1

Ceramic coating is a great option for the reasons you mention: a good wax job lasts weeks or months, a good CC lasts years - with caveats following. CC does however require detailing and paint correction before application - it's not a "wash and apply" product to see the best results, mainly because it's semi-permanent and you don't want to lock in orange-peel and paint defects after it's applied. That also accounts for much of the cost of a good ceramic detail. And it does require some maintenance - it's not ideally "set and forget." Some finishes need an annual inspection and refresh (Ceramic Pro), and some can stretch the interval between refinishing (XPEL). And it's usually necessary to apply a refresh or detail spray to the coating as well after washing to stretch the recommended reapplication intervals (and individual products have their own formulas). A detailer can also protect the interior and wheels with ceramic, and reduce maintenance there too, especially for leather seats. CC is ideal if you want a nice looking finish without spending weekend hours waxing and polishing, but some like the therapy and "hands-on" of waxing their car - you lose that with CC, because waxing is out once you apply ceramic. No finish is perfect, and each have their uses for a particular application. I've come to favor ceramic because I don't want to spend my free hours washing and waxing, and I have XPEL on my current garage queens, but different strokes. A mini-primer on finishes:

What does CC do for leather seats?

[07e92]

no

[bqvalen]

It's good. If you don't want to wash your car after every rain its good. I am pretty particular and end up washing my car about 1/2 as much since after a rain it's still looking 90%.

[razor488]

Originally Posted by bqvalen

It's good. If you don't want to wash your car after every rain its good. I am pretty particular and end up washing my car about 1/2 as much since after a rain it's still looking 90%.

My primary motivation is not having to worry about waxing it or doing anything other than washing it.

[deutsch100]

I am very torn over Ceramic Coating!

We buy/sell/trade cars a lot, so never bothered to ceramic coat them. But this year we ceramic coated our i4 M50, 228i and Porsche Taycan.

228i and Taycan came out amazing....silky, glossy and perfect. When the i4 was in the garage (or shade), the paint looked amazing. When the i4 got hot, or parked in the sun...you could see light swirls, drips, marks and blemishes. Even after the detailer (20+ years experience) came back out 2x....he could not fix it, although he did get it much better. Thankfully when the paint was cool, the paint was gorgeous.

He thinks there might have been some residual "moisture" in the i4 paint (it was so new) and it got sealed under the ceramic coating.

Either way, I will NOT be doing ceramic coating again.

I used Chemical Guys Carnauba Butter Wax on my iX, and it looks and feels as good, if not better than ceramic coating! For $1000+, ceramic coating did not look or feel better than using a high quality wax every 3-4 months.

Waxing a car is not fun, but not hard. I just tell myself...it's exercise, calories burned and pride of ownership.

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by ricerboi

What does CC do for leather seats?

Protects them from oxidation/staining, just like paint. My X5 leather (Merino) required much less attention with CC, and it's a soft, natural finish leather.

[razor488]

Originally Posted by deutsch100

I am very torn over Ceramic Coating!

We buy/sell/trade cars a lot, so never bothered to ceramic coat them. But this year we ceramic coated our i4 M50, 228i and Porsche Taycan.

228i and Taycan came out amazing....silky, glossy and perfect. When the i4 was in the garage (or shade), the paint looked amazing. When the i4 got hot, or parked in the sun...you could see light swirls, drips, marks and blemishes. Even after the detailer (20+ years experience) came back out 2x....he could not fix it, although he did get it much better. Thankfully when the paint was cool, the paint was gorgeous.

He thinks there might have been some residual "moisture" in the i4 paint (it was so new) and it got sealed under the ceramic coating.

Either way, I will NOT be doing ceramic coating again.

I used Chemical Guys Carnauba Butter Wax on my iX, and it looks and feels as good, if not better than ceramic coating! For $1000+, ceramic coating did not look or feel better than using a high quality wax every 3-4 months.

Waxing a car is not fun, but not hard. I just tell myself...it's exercise, calories burned and pride of ownership.

How long does it take you to wax the iX with their butter wax? Their video below claims you can do it in 5 minutes... Are you able to do it in the sun?

[Paladin1]

It takes me about 15 minutes to spray on apply and buff off XPEL's Detail spray on a dry car after washing. It takes me about an hour (or more) to apply and buff off wax - any wax - properly, on a dry car. Longer for hard paste wax. There are also a variety of polymer sealants that take slightly less time. Regardless of what the manufacturer claims.

[razor488]

I decided to go for it. Not a lot of money for what the car costs I guess.

[JonoNZ]

I've ceramic coated my last few cars and it's definitely worth it -- but just be aware of what you get from it. Ignore the discussion about its hardness and it gives zero reduction of stone chips, swirling or anything like that. Thought swirls are easily polished out. What it does do is make cleaning your car significantly easier -- and that is a big benefit it my opinion. The car also stays looking cleaner a little bit longer. For example if you get some dust on it, and then it rains steadily it all just beads off nicely.

My RS 3 had a ceramic coat put on it day 1, and it's now 6 years old and the paintwork looks like new, it attracts many comments on how good it looks.

On the new M60 we did XPEL Stealth PPF + XPEL Ceramic Coat and I'm not sure if it's the PPF or the ceramic coat, but this is the easiest car I've ever cleaned. Just amazingly easy, all the dust and dirt just falls off the car. PPF provides the stone chip protection.

[thorws]

Originally Posted by JonoNZ

I've ceramic coated my last few cars and it's definitely worth it -- but just be aware of what you get from it. Ignore the discussion about its hardness and it gives zero reduction of stone chips, swirling or anything like that. Thought swirls are easily polished out. What it does do is make cleaning your car significantly easier -- and that is a big benefit it my opinion. The car also stays looking cleaner a little bit longer. For example if you get some dust on it, and then it rains steadily it all just beads off nicely.

My RS 3 had a ceramic coat put on it day 1, and it's now 6 years old and the paintwork looks like new, it attracts many comments on how good it looks.

On the new M60 we did XPEL Stealth PPF + XPEL Ceramic Coat and I'm not sure if it's the PPF or the ceramic coat, but this is the easiest car I've ever cleaned. Just amazingly easy, all the dust and dirt just falls off the car. PPF provides the stone chip protection.

+1 to all that. I also PPF the front/exposed areas for protection then ceramic the entire car including over PPF. In 4 years 2 cars, I am AMAZED how the PPF has saved finish from flying rocks AND scuffs from who knows what. I did not start with ceramic initially but started doing that for ease of cleaning as JonoNZ and others have mentioned.

[deutsch100]

Originally Posted by razor488

How long does it take you to wax the iX with their butter wax? Their video below claims you can do it in 5 minutes... Are you able to do it in the sun?

I did not do it in the sun! Even if they say this is ok, it is NOT ok

5 mins for the whole car? Maybe if 12 people helping you, LOL.

I did the entire car in about 45 mins. Doing this every 3-4 months is not a big deal to me, and while not "fun", I also kind of enjoy it. Pride of ownership

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by thorws

+1 to all that. I also PPF the front/exposed areas for protection then ceramic the entire car including over PPF. In 4 years 2 cars, I am AMAZED how the PPF has saved finish from flying rocks AND scuffs from who knows what. I did not start with ceramic initially but started doing that for ease of cleaning as JonoNZ and others have mentioned.

+2 to that. The iX does seem to collect more dust on the rear surface than other cars, possibly because of the airstream over the top and underneath, but the whole car is sort of like a seal, with no nooks and crannies to collect anything - just rinse and dry basically, and CC makes any dust/dirt just sort of run off.

[jsclarke99]

I had OPTICOAT Pro applied to a new 2019 Cayenne e-hybrid. Around $1,300, and it looked great.

But within months, a bicycle hit the back quarter panel creating a 2" scratch. The car went to the body shop, then back to the coatings guy, who said overspray was was present on other parts of the coated quarter panel. So now the whole quarter panel had to be buffed out, and re-coated.

A scratch turned out to be a big hassle requiring re-coating 1/4 of the car. I'm sticking with wax.

[Paladin1]

Originally Posted by jsclarke99

I had OPTICOAT Pro applied to a new 2019 Cayenne e-hybrid. Around $1,300, and it looked great.

But within months, a bicycle hit the back quarter panel creating a 2" scratch. The car went to the body shop, then back to the coatings guy, who said overspray was was present on other parts of the coated quarter panel. So now the whole quarter panel had to be buffed out, and re-coated.

A scratch turned out to be a big hassle requiring re-coating 1/4 of the car. I'm sticking with wax.

So to clarify and summarize, you had an accident and the body shop oversprayed the panel and the paint job had to be corrected again? Requiring another ceramic coat on the newly sprayed panel and the surrounding overspray? And wax would have been cheaper? I think all of the previous could be true, and not change the difference between wax, or graphene or CC or sealant. Most good detailers guarantee their CC, but in the event of an accident I'm not sure I would expect them to re-detail and apply it free. So yes, waxing the repair would be cheaper, although it sounds like to restore the finish it needed correction again, which would have cost the same, unless of course you left it with the overspray.

[Sheva_BMW]

I think proper one is totally worth it. I previously thought it was a gimmick, and actually first time applied it to iX and oh boy, night and day difference. Black color hard to keep clean, but with this thing it is almost clean even after driving in the rain.

[jsclarke99]

Originally Posted by Paladin1

So to clarify and summarize, you had an accident and the body shop oversprayed the panel and the paint job had to be corrected again? Requiring another ceramic coat on the newly sprayed panel and the surrounding overspray? And wax would have been cheaper? I think all of the previous could be true, and not change the difference between wax, or graphene or CC or sealant. Most good detailers guarantee their CC, but in the event of an accident I'm not sure I would expect them to re-detail and apply it free. So yes, waxing the repair would be cheaper, although it sounds like to restore the finish it needed correction again, which would have cost the same, unless of course you left it with the overspray.

ceramic coating to me is yet another layer on top of paint, then clear coat then ceramic coating. if you get a scratch, you will have to restore one layer after the other. Insurance (yours or the other party's) won't pay for it. It will take 2 trades to get you back on the road (a body shop, and coating shop).

Correcting my ceramic coat took as much time and almost as much money as it cost to repair the scratch in the paint. It was hassle.

Even high end auto manufactures don't apply it at the factory. Why not?