01 / Ceramic coating
2 coatings · 3-9 years · from $1,395
That sentence is the whole reason we correct paint before we coat it. A coating is two to three microns of chemistry bonded to your clear coat. It is not a repair, it is a seal — and it will preserve swirl marks for nine years just as faithfully as it preserves gloss.
2-3 µm Coating thickness
02 / What it actually is
2-3 µm · Gtechniq Crystal Serum
Crystal Serum is a semi-permanent layer that bonds to the clear coat rather than sitting on it like a wax. It changes three things measurably: water sheets off instead of clinging, so the panel dries without spotting; UV and acid contamination land on the coating rather than the paint; and washing gets easier, which is the part owners notice first and value most a year later.
It does not change the paint underneath. What is there when we seal it is what you live with.
Tiers2
Warranty3-9 years
Bay time2-4 days
Price from$1,395
03 / What it will not do
4 things it will not do
Two to three microns cannot absorb a stone at 40mph. That is paint protection film, and film is two hundred microns of urethane — a hundred times thicker. Anyone selling a coating as chip protection is selling you the wrong product.
If it is deep enough to catch a fingernail it is through the clear coat, and a coating over it is a sealed scratch.
Annual inspection is a warranty condition, not an upsell. The killer in Central Texas is not time, it is automatic car washes and hard water left to bake in August.
Tesla and some Japanese clears mar easily. A coating is harder than the paint under it, which helps, but wash technique still decides the outcome.
04 / Tiers
2 coatings · 3 sizes · $1,395–$3,445
IIIIII
I$1,395
II$1,605
III$1,815
I$2,650
II$3,050
III$3,445
Realistically in this climate: Serum Light runs three to four years here, Ultra seven to nine.
Warranty
Three-yearAgainst loss of gloss and hydrophobics, annual inspection required.
Nine-yearIDA-accredited, transferable once, annual inspection required.
Correction workNot warranted — paint is a consumable and we say so before you book.
05 / Measurement
5 panels logged · 96–150 µm
We measure paint depth per panel and tell you which defects stay.
Because the coating is two hours and the correction is three days. The coating locks in whatever is underneath it. Coating over swirls preserves the swirls for nine years.
These readings are illustrative. They demonstrate the measurement the shop performs; they are not a reading taken from a real vehicle.
06 / Process
−4.2 µm correction · +3 µm coating
The car goes under inspection lighting, every panel gets read, and you get told what is coming off and what is staying.
Two-bucket contact wash, chemical and mechanical decon, tar and iron off before anything touches the paint.
−4.2 µm
Compound + refine, 70-85% defect removal, paint depth logged per panel. Multi-stage where the reading allows it.
+3 µm
Coating or film goes on last. The coating locks in whatever is underneath it, which is why it goes on after the correction and never instead of it.
We give you the list and the products at handover, and the first maintenance wash is included.
Coating and PPF work runs about two weeks out.
Book an inspection07 / Related jobs
5 frames · 3 jobs · 4.2 µm max removed
We photograph the work, not the car. Customer vehicles and plates stay off this site. The frames show the operation; the record beside them carries the vehicle, the paint and the reading.
Scroll the rail
Two-step correction + Crystal Serum Ultra + EXO topper, IDA-warranted.
Duration3-4 days
Guards Red
Dealer-installed swirls plus a 300mm buffer trail across the deck lid. Multi-stage correction, 4.2 microns removed at the worst panel, Crystal Serum Ultra.
Duration4 days
Pearl White
Soft factory paint, wash marring across every horizontal panel, two rock chips on the hood. Two-step correction, full-front PPF, 3-year coating.
Duration3 days
Amplify Orange
New from the dealer with delivery marring. One-step, full-front PPF, 9-year coating.
Duration3 days
Coming to this rail
Frames are labelled During or Finished for what they actually show. A comparison slider needs the same frame twice, shot under the same lighting — until those pairs exist this is a gallery, not a before and after, and it says so.
08 / FAQ
4 questions · 2-week lead
No. Coating is roughly 2-3 microns thick and stops chemical etching, UV and staining. Rock chips need paint protection film, which is 200 microns of urethane. Anyone telling you a coating stops chips is selling you the wrong product.
Crystal Serum Light realistically runs 3-4 years here, Ultra 7-9, provided the car is washed properly and inspected annually. The killer in Central Texas is not time, it is automatic car washes and hard water left to bake.
No, and any shop that says yes is planning to bury the scratch, not remove it. If a defect is deeper than the clear coat, removing it means removing more clear than is safe. We measure paint depth per panel and tell you which defects stay.
Two buckets, pH-neutral soap, one clean microfiber per section, blow dry. No automatic washes, ever — the brushes will put swirls straight through the coating. We give you the list and the products at handover, and the first maintenance wash is included.
Appointment only, 2-week typical lead time on coating work.
Book an inspection09 / Appointment only
2-week lead · $95 depth report
Coating and PPF work runs about two weeks out. Interior and maintenance work is usually within the week.