How much money should you spend on a ceramic coating, and how much do ceramic coatings cost? To keep things simple, here are our average ceramic (3 year) coating prices.
Sedan $900-$1200
Suv $1300-$1400
Large Suv $1500+
It's essential to keep in mind that These are AVERAGE ceramic coating prices, and as we said, one of our favorite parts is discussing with customers one on one to find out what fits their needs.
Ceramic coatings what do they cost?
Why are ceramic coatings so expensive?
To better understand ceramic coating prices, it's important to understand what is required to apply a ceramic coating properly.
Step 1: Ceramic coating preparation
Before installing a ceramic coating, and before doing anything for that matter, we have to ensure that the paint is clean and completely stripped bare! This requires a little more than simple car washing. During the paint stripping and decon phase, we walk through five major ceramic coating prep stages.
Step 2: Paint correction
Now that the car paint has been thoroughly cleaned and stripped in preparation for the ceramic coating application, it's time to level out the clear coat and remove some scratches! Because ceramic coatings are the most durable form of long-term paint protection in the detailing world, any minor imperfection in the paint is there to stay as soon as the coating is applied. Here in Thornton, Colorado we get rain, snow, ice, hail, bugs, and anything else that would damage car paint! For that reason, we must go through a paint correction stage prior to the ceramic coating application to remove paint imperfections and create a smooth surface with which the ceramic coating can bond. There are two significant types of paint correction: Paint Enhancement & Paint Correction.
What is paint enhancement?
Here's the simple answer: Paint enhancement is a less extreme form of paint correction.
When we perform paint enhancement, we tell the customer what paint imperfections WILL be fixed, and what imperfections WILL NOT be fixed. Paint enhancement is the most common type of correction we do! Why is that? Well, most customers don't care about the tiny imperfections they can't see anyway, and they are concerned most with getting that ceramic coating on!
What is Paint Correction?
Paint correction is nothing more than more aggressive paint enhancement. Can you see the pattern here? When dealing with a vehicle whose paint is REALLY DAMAGED, or a customer who has a detailed eye, we will perform paint correction to remove the maximum amount of scratches, swirls, etchings, and paint imperfections as possible. Once again, this is necessary for visual appeal and to create a smooth surface with which the ceramic coating can bond to the paint.
Do I Have To Get Paint Correction To Get A Ceramic Coating?
The simple answer is: Yes & No. Ok, it's not so simple. We have many customers who understand what paint correction is and realize that with it, the ceramic coating will have a longer life span, but they choose not to get any correction done because they want a lower price. While there are situations when paint correction is necessary, there are also situations where it can be optional, and we love talking with our customers about the difference.
Step 3: Ceramic Coating Application
After all of that work... It's now time to install the ceramic coating. You know how a surgeon goes to school for 8-12 years before they ever cut into an actual person? Most of the work is in the PREP! That is a great way to understand ceramic coatings. While there is a lot of technical skill included in the ceramic coating application... most of the time and labor is done in the preparation! Ceramic coating installations take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours depending on the size of the vehicle, but the preparation takes ALL of the other hours. Depending on the amount of paint correction done, a ceramic coating installation can take somewhere between a single day, and 2 to 3 days to finish.
We hope this sheds more light on why ceramic coatings come with this price tag... in addition to having lifetime protection on your vehicle!
“I brought my 2022 Dodge Ram to Striker Auto Detailing and got a professional grade ceramic coating installed. Couldn’t be happier with their work. Worth every penny!”
- Michael (Thornton, CO Ceramic Coating Customer)