How Much Does A Ceramic Coating Cost? (Lancaster, PA)
You want to preserve and protect your car’s paint, right? You have probably heard that Ceramic Coating is one of the best ways to do that. This article will help you break down the main things to consider when looking for a ceramic coating so you have a good idea of what it will cost you.
So, How Much Does a Ceramic Coating Cost?
For a high-quality professional ceramic coating at a reputable shop, you can expect to pay anywhere from about $1000 to over $3000. Many factors will determine the price of a ceramic coating, which is why there’s a large price range. These factors include vehicle size, how long you want the ceramic coating to last, which surfaces you want to have coated, and whether or not you want to have any paint correction done before the ceramic coating.
Most of these factors are under your control. This is great because you’ll be able to put together a ceramic coating package based on what you actually want and need for your car, not what some other guy wants. In this article, we’ll use our pricing at Dino’s Detail Co. in Lancaster, PA for examples. If you live somewhere else, these prices will be very similar to what the professional detailers are charging in your area. If someone is priced significantly lower, you should be cautious. High-Quality Ceramic Coating materials cost a lot, and applying a professional-grade coating requires a highly-trained technician. We’ve heard lots of horror stories from people who went with the “Cheap” ceramic coatings. Do your research.
1. What Kind of Car Do You Drive?
If you want to know how much a ceramic coating will cost for your car, first we need to know what kind of vehicle you drive. Ceramic coatings are applied by hand and it’s a very tedious and time-consuming process. You can see why applying a ceramic coating on a tiny Mazda Miata will cost much less than a huge Chevy Suburban. This is simply because there is much more surface area to coat with the larger vehicle.
When figuring out a ceramic coating estimate, we classify vehicles as small, medium, or large.
Small would be coupes or compact sedans.
Medium vehicles are standard-size sedans, large coupes like Dodge Chargers, and some small pickup trucks like Ford Rangers or Toyota Tacomas.
Large vehicles are full-size trucks, suv’s, minivans, etc.
Prices in these 3 categories will still fluctuate a little, but they provide an excellent starting point for the price of each ceramic coating we offer.
2. How Long Do You Want Your Ceramic Coating to Last?
Once we know the size of your vehicle, the next question we ask is how long do you want the ceramic coating to last on your paint. At Dino’s Detail Co. we offer 2 different ceramic coatings:
Modesta BC-08- Lasts about 30,000 miles with proper maintenance
Modesta BC-04 - Lasts a solid 50-60,000 miles with proper maintenance
These coatings will all give your paint a similar level of gloss and slickness, the main difference between these coatings is just how long they last on your paint.
Use this chart to get an idea of how much each ceramic coating will cost for your vehicle.
These prices are typical estimates for preparing your vehicle and applying the ceramic coating to your paint. These numbers do not reflect any paint correction or additional surface coatings - just ceramic coating applied to your paint.
If you are interested in adding a ceramic coating to other surfaces of your vehicle, there are options for that too!
3. Do You Want Your Wheels Ceramic Coated? How About the Windshield?
You have some choices here.
When you’re having your paint coated, you’ll also have the option to add a layer of ceramic protection to other surfaces like plastic trim, door jambs, and wheels. The cost for ceramic coating these additional surfaces will vary from car to car, but here are the starting points.
Wheel face ceramic coating - $100 - $200
Door jamb ceramic coating - $100 - $200
Plastic trim ceramic coating - $100 - $200
Windshield ceramic coating - $75 - $100
The ceramic coatings used for these surfaces are a little different than the ones used on your vehicle’s paint and have slightly different purposes. For example, a wheel ceramic coating is designed to resist high temperatures and make it much easier for you to clean brake dust off the wheels. Windshield coatings are designed to help you see better when it’s raining. They all have a unique purpose and really depend on your goals for the car, so we leave these coatings up for you to choose.
4. Are There Swirl Marks in Your Paint?
The final factor for your ceramic coating cost is whether or not you want to have any paint correction done (notice we said want, not need). Some detail shops will tell you that paint correction is a requirement before applying a ceramic coating. They’ll scare you and say that if you don't have all the swirl marks and light scratches polished out first, then the ceramic coating won’t bond to your paint and it won't work. This isn’t true. Unless your paint has very severe water spots or oxidation, then you don’t need any paint correction prior to ceramic coating. If the surface of the paint is clean, then our ceramic coatings can be applied.
That being said, if your paint has very noticeable swirls and defects when the sun hits it, then a paint correction will definitely help it look better. If you’re picky about how your vehicle looks, then it’s important to think about paint correction. Once the ceramic coating is on, you can’t go back and have the paint corrected. The paint correction process would remove the ceramic coating and then you’d have to pay for another coating after the paint correction.
Paint Correction prices can vary quite a bit, and we always inspect vehicles in person before giving an estimate, but here are some general ranges to get an idea where your car might land:
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Note that these prices are for paint correction services only. They’d be added to your chosen ceramic coating package.
Paint correction isn’t a requirement before your ceramic coating but it definitely has the potential to make your vehicle look a lot better. If you don’t see any swirl marks or defects in your paint, then you probably don’t need to worry about having any paint correction done before your ceramic coating.
To Wrap Things Up…
As you can see, the price to ceramic coat your car can vary quite a bit. To have a professional ceramic coating applied, you can expect to pay anywhere from about $1,000 to over $3,000. When you factor in having additional surfaces coated, and adding paint correction services, that price can climb even higher. A ceramic coating is an excellent way to protect and preserve your vehicle, just make sure you do some research first and make sure that your installer is explaining things to you and giving you the necessary options to get a coating that works best for you.
If you are in the Lancaster PA area and would like to talk with us about having your vehicle ceramic coated, email info@dinosdetail.com or give us a call at (717) 945-2450. Be sure to check out our Ceramic Coating and Paint Correction Service pages for more information on scheduling and what each package includes.