When a coating fails early, the coating usually gets the blame. In our experience it's almost always the prep. A ceramic coating bonds to whatever is on the surface when you apply it. If that surface has wax, old sealant, polishing oils, or embedded iron on it, the coating bonds to those instead of the clear coat, and it lets go when they do. Here's what we do on every car in the shop before a coating goes on, in order.
1. Wash
Foam the car with Touchless Prewash Cleaner and rinse, then do a proper two-bucket wash with pH Balanced Maintenance Soap. It cleans completely and leaves nothing behind on the paint, which is exactly what you want before a coating. If the car is heavily soiled, use Color Changing Ceramic Soap for its extra cleaning power; the Prep Spray step will strip anything it leaves. Dry the car completely. Not sure which soap to use? Read Which Veros Car Soap Is Right for You?
2. Decontaminate
Two kinds of contamination, two tools. Iron: mist the whole car with Gel Wheel Cleaner & Iron Remover, let it turn purple as it dissolves the iron, then rinse. Bonded grit: glide a Fine Grade Clay Pad over every panel with plenty of lubricant. Graphene Detail Spray doubles as a clay lube and seals as you go. Run your fingertips over the paint inside a plastic sandwich bag: when it feels like glass, you're done.
3. Correct
This is the step people skip, and it's the one that decides how the car looks for the next five years. The coating locks in the finish; it doesn't fix it. Swirls, holograms, and scratches under a coating are there until the coating is polished off.
- Heavier defects: Rubbing Compound on the Scratch Removing Microfiber Pad.
- Light swirls: the same compound, or Final Polish on the Swirl Removing Foam Pad.
- Final gloss: Final Polish on the Final Finishing Foam Pad.
If you don't own a polisher and the paint is in good shape, you can skip to step 4. If the paint is swirled, don't coat over it. Follow our step-by-step paint correction guide first; it covers pad choice, polisher settings and how to tell when you're done.
4. Strip
Polishing leaves oils. Waxes and sealants leave residue. Wipe every panel with Prep Spray on a clean microfiber. It removes everything the coating shouldn't bond to and leaves bare, dry clear coat. This is the same product we use before paint protection film and vinyl for the same reason.
5. Coat
Now, and only now, open the coating. Work out of direct sun in a garage or shade, one panel at a time, and follow the instructions on the bottle for application and flash time. Keep the car dry and away from washing while it cures; the label will tell you how long.
6. Maintain it
Once the coating is on, keep it performing. At least once every three months, run the 3-step Veros Coating Maintenance Regimen: cleanse, decontaminate with iron remover (not clay, which can mar a coating), and boost. See How to Maintain Your Ceramic Coating, or get everything in the Ceramic Coating Maintenance Kit.
The shortcut
Our Complete Ceramic Protection System packages the prep, the coating, the boost, and the soap together. It's the same set of bottles we'd hand you if you walked into the shop and asked what you need. For the full picture on which coating to choose, read this guide.
