Are the ceramic coatings from Halfords any good?
Most of the products from famous brands like Turtle Wax, Autoglym, Auto Finesse and Meguiars are very good. The question is, "how do they compare to professional ceramic coatings?" -- They don't compare at all!
Most of them are up-front about the fact that they are wax, or at least hybrid products. In our experience, they last a bit longer than a normal wax and can be very good at repelling water, but they won't last years. They are also very expensive compared to a normal wax, and normal wax is really all you should compare them to.
All these products are user-friendly, some of them you just spray on and wipe off! In our experience, the last thing you could say about a real professional ceramic coating is that it's user-friendly.
We have used some of them, and they are very good waxes, very shiny and lasting up to twice as long as wax. But nowhere near the shine and longevity of professional ceramic coatings.
There are many features and benefits of a professional ceramic coating, but the reason our customers get sold on them is that they have to do little maintenance. They wash less often and washing the car is easier. Most of our customers not perfectionists, and as long as their car looks nice and shiny from ten feet away, most are satisfied.
The retail products are aimed at the enthusiast market, who may exalt the virtues of a product that lasts 12 months, but in truth can't keep their hands off their car and will be putting something else on it a week later. For most, if not all of them, it's about chasing that perfect shine, and working to get there.
These are two classes of product which are not really comparable, and aimed at customers whose priorities are polar opposite. We'll have to let you judge if they are worth the money, it will probably depend where you fit on the scale between the two.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 16/06/2022 15:35