April 2020 -- Gary uses lockdown time to apply Matrix Black to his own VW Golf, one month after buying it. First application, first wash, and the hydrophobic result. Updated with a two-and-a-half-year review.
April 2020. The country is in lockdown and Gary has some time, so he uses it to put Matrix Black on his own car -- a VW Golf he has owned for about a month. It had not been polished to a high standard yet; it had a few dents and scratches still in it. This was a genuine first test, not a showroom showcase.
The Application
After machine polishing, Gary wipes each panel down with an alcohol panel wipe to remove every trace of polishing residue before the coating goes on. This step is not optional -- ceramic coatings bond to the paintwork directly, and anything between the coating and the paint will compromise that bond. Two coats of Matrix Black applied and left to cure.
The First Wash
Gary jet-washes the car for the first time after curing and films the water behaviour. The hydrophobic effect on Matrix Black is, in his words, almost unreal. The water comes off as fast as the jet wash puts it on -- it is hard to actually make the car wet. Once the jet wash stops, there is almost nothing left to dry. For anyone who has spent time chamois-drying a car after washing it, that difference is immediately obvious.
The finish is one of the glossiest Gary had seen at the time of application -- like the car had been completely relacquered. It brings the colour out regardless of what colour the car is. The claimed durability is eight years, and as Gary puts it: it had delivered on everything else it promised, so he had no reason to doubt that either.
Not Just for Supercars
Most of the ceramic coating photos you see online are Porsches, Ferraris and Aston Martins. They make for good pictures. But the case for coating any car is the same: stay cleaner for longer, easier to wash, more resistant to the fine scratches that build up over years of cleaning, harder than the paint underneath. If Matrix Black does not suit the budget, Matrix Blue is aimed at cars being kept for around three years.
Update May 2021: After just over a year applying Matrix, both Blue and Black have proved consistently popular.
Update Sept 2022: Two and a half years on, Gary's Golf still looks remarkable. See the two-and-a-half-year review, and how it responds to a top-up with Matrix Recharge.
See the full Matrix Black ceramic coating service.
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