How much should a ceramic coating cost?

Typically, somewhere between £400 on a small new car, and £2000 on an older large vehicle. There are several questions that need to be answered before nailing this down.

But what do you get for the price? Is it 'supplied & fitted'?

The first thing you need to establish is, is the price just for the coating, or is all the preparation included in the price?

As the car has to be prepared to a high standard before application, many companies include Polishing, Preparation and Ceramic Coating in the price. Others will quote for them separately, so when you add it all up, it turns out much the same.

When considering cost, ensure the coating is to be fitted in a suitable environment. A clean, dry workshop with good lighting.

A large part of the cost is in the polishing

There is the condition of the car to consider. Less paint prep needs to be done on brand-new cars, although it has to be said that it still needs to be done and often, there is quite a lot of work to do. You can see from our videos that even when cars arrive to us from the showroom they sometimes have scratches, wash marks and fallout that need to be addressed.

Additional Ceramic Coating Costs

There may be some things which are sold separately, for example ceramic coatings for wheels. You can coat a wheel with the normal ceramic coating, or there may be special wheel coatings. You can do the face of the wheel, or the face and back of the wheel. All these options mean that this may be listed separately on the menu. Typically, the price of ceramic coating the face of a set of wheel is £80-£120, depending on the type of coating.

Likewise, glass (windows) may be listed separately with their own price list.

Not all ceramic coatings are made equal

You should also consider how long the coating lasts when figuring out an average price. They usually range anywhere from 3 to 10 years and may come with additional coatings for metal, wheels and upholstery, and there may be aftercare packages. This can make it very hard to compare like-with-like. 

Finally, the size of the vehicle matters. A large off-road vehicle can be more than twice the size of a small town-car.  Expect to pay less for small cars, and more for large vehicles.

So if you see ceramic coatings advertised cheaply, ask what you are actually paying for. There may be adjustments to the price based on the size of the vehicle, and additional costs, added on for preparation.

“The large print giveth and the small print taketh away”

Most of the reputable ceramic coating companies approve application centres. The guy doing the application may have had to have been away on a training course, and they will have ensured that his skill level was adequate to prepare the car, and that he was fully trained in the application of the actual coating.

They will also ensure he has appropriate equipment and a place to do the work -- indoors with good lighting. The result is that whichever reputable brand name of coating you go for, things have been standardized, so it's all pretty much the same. There won't be much variation in price either.

So what if you are offered a really good deal? You may have got lucky and got a superb deal. We certainly have special offers, sometimes give a discount if we are in a slow period. But you should also ask yourself if the deal is too good to be true. 

Not every product is what it appears to be. That doesn't mean they aren't good products, but just because something has ceramic in it, it doesn't mean it's actually a ceramic coating of the type you are looking for. Many manufacturers are now advertising that their products contain ceramic, but does it actually do anything?

We were recently approached by a manufacturer who sent us samples of a product with "graphene" in the name. When we asked them about it, they said that there wasn't actually any graphene in the product, but that 'graphene' was the latest marketing buzzword. 

Caveat Emptor: ensure you are paying for a quality ceramic coating, professional service from a reputable company, and not just paying for marketing buzzwords. 

What is the right ceramic coating for you?

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by Danny Argent
technical writer, training and education.