Jaguar F-Type Forum

Nice countryside drive today. But came back with a sctratch the entire length of the nearside.

It is about half a centimeter thick in places but I don't think very deep. Has not been done maliciously as it splits off in places like I had hit some sort of branch or bush.

Normally I would polish this sort of scratch out, but I am almost certain the car has a ceramic coating and I don't know much about them, only that I shouldn't use polish.

Question is..what are my options, can scratches in cermic coatings be sanded out by an expert or otherwise fixed ? , or can you 'top up' the coating in places ?

The ceramic coating will be removed when targeting the scratch with machine polishing or even by hand with a compound. The only solution is to reapply the coating to the affected area after the scratch has been reduced/removed.

Dazarooni wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 7:29 pm The ceramic coating will be removed when targeting the scratch with machine polishing or even by hand with a compound. The only solution is to reapply the coating to the affected area after the scratch has been reduced/removed.

OK so they can just reapply some coating in the bad areas and not need to do the whole panel, or car ?

I would think the whole panel would need to be stripped of the coating and a new one applied. I would probably visit a local detailer to get their opinion.

Duvetday wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 10:45 pm

Dazarooni wrote: ↑Sat Oct 23, 2021 7:29 pm The ceramic coating will be removed when targeting the scratch with machine polishing or even by hand with a compound. The only solution is to reapply the coating to the affected area after the scratch has been reduced/removed.

OK so they can just reapply some coating in the bad areas and not need to do the whole panel, or car ?

I would reapply to the full panel in this instance given the length of the scratch and how much of the panel would need to be machine polished. The scratch will need to be compounded and then refined. I would compound the scratch and refine the entire panel to ensure an even shine and even coverage of the ceramic coating on the panel.

PS - I do this for a living.

Out of interest I am considering a ceramic coating and would welcome views on having this done. I get that it does not offer the protection of PPF and I do not consider it because I want to wash the car less (I keep the car spotless) - I would just like to enhance the appearance of the bodywork that the ceramic coating offers. With so many on the market and all offering various ‘years of life’ what would you recommend for our cars. Any idea what we should be paying for an F Type coating? Happy to pay for quality product that will last more than one summer!

CPBLondon wrote: ↑Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:53 pm Out of interest I am considering a ceramic coating and would welcome views on having this done. I get that it does not offer the protection of PPF and I do not consider it because I want to wash the car less (I keep the car spotless) - I would just like to enhance the appearance of the bodywork that the ceramic coating offers. With so many on the market and all offering various ‘years of life’ what would you recommend for our cars. Any idea what we should be paying for an F Type coating? Happy to pay for quality product that will last more than one summer!

Prices across the country would vary quite wildly. London being the most expensive (surprise surprise). Also, it depends on a few other things like which ceramic coatings the installer uses as some are quite expensive to purchase - especially if the coatings they use are 'accredited installer only'. The amount of machine polishing required would also have a big say on total price. Brand new cars typically get away with a single stage machine polish to remove swirling inflicted by valeters during the new car prep. I get brand new cars driven to me straight from the dealership and some have been in really poor condition. The level of prep at the dealership can be extremely poor.

Used cars typically require a 'paint correction' which is a more intensive process than a single stage. There's a compounding stage which targets the swirling and scratching and then further stages to refine the paint, remove compound hazing and instil a high gloss finish.

A ceramic coating gives a 'glass-like' finish as it contains a high percentage of silica which is the a main component of glass.

Some companies say their coatings will last 2, 3, 4, 5+ years and more often than enough, their claims are incorrect.

Anyway, for a 2 year coating, CarPro CQuartz UK 3.0 is a difficult one to beat. It does last that time and maybe slightly beyond that.

The Kamikaze range of coatings are also good but the negative with their coatings is that they are very expensive.

GTechniq CSL Black (Crystal Serum Light and Exo V4) is a good choice too. The Crystal Serum Light is the base coat which is supposed to last 3-5 years and Exo V4 is the topcoat which is purely for slickness and hydrophobicity and is supposed to last 18 months.

Carbon Collective make some decent coatings.

I've not used ceramic coatings from the likes of Feynlab, Titan, Gyeon etc but they all have a good reputation. A lot of manufacturers will also have 'accredited only' coatings which I referred to earlier - so that means that the coatings can only be installed by someone accredited by that manufacturer. A detailer will typically pay a monthly or yearly fee to access these coatings (But not always the case) and the coatings are more expensive to purchase so the costs are passed on to you.

As for pricing, this will vary wildly! There's quite a few factors which I mentioned earlier like how much work is required on the paintwork first, coating chosen etc. A very rough guide would be £500 to over £1000.

Somebody at work today suggested there are some sort of sprays you can buy that will help with lightly scratched cermic coatings.

Anybody had any success with these ?

Guardx offers a lifetime guarrantee which sounds interesting .

Of the coating steve, not of someone running a branch down the side!

like gTechniq's Crystal Serum Pro, its almost impossible to remove! But you can still damage the car!