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Ceramic Coating installed on my Prius Prime Advanced! With PICS! Recommended So Cal Detailer 626/909

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Advan34i, Apr 23, 2019.

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  1. Advan34i

    Advan34i Junior Member

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    Been looking around for Ceramic coating for a while, I have it on my other cars, but I think my daily car (Prius Prime) needs protection the most as it gets the most mileage and most exposure to daily crap :)


    For my previous cars, I have couple ceramic coating installer that did coating on my cars, but I wasn’t happy with the results, either because installer (miss a spot, or forgot to wipe off wax off and coat on top so it’s there permanent) or products, not lasting for long, or not as hydrophobic as they claim to be.


    So I’ve searched around So Cal detailers on Yelp and also Tesla forum came across D Lux Studio in City of Industry. Met Mike and Sean, the owner and installer. They were extremely knowledgeable and it helps knowing Mike is a car enthusiast! And Sean is as meticulous and anal as a person can get!


    They explained to me 3 things that they are different from other installers or detailers.

    1. Facility, their facility is simply AMAZING! They have a climate controlled enclosed garage to minimize dust particles while they do paint correction/polishing and applying ceramic coating. They have a nice “light tunnel” that gives proper lighting and also to showcase their work after they were done with my cars.

    2. Process, their polisher really truly fix the swirl marks, I had my car for an year, and they were able to remove all swirl marks.

    3. Their ceramic coating is 2nd to none, it has a very watery shine to it, and its hydrophobic like I’ve NEVER seen before.
    So far I am extremely happy with their work, and their coating has been way better than any other one I’ve had on my cars.


    Here are their info for anyone interested.

    Instagram: https://instagram.com/dlux.studio

    Website: www.dluxstudio.com

    Yelp: https://yelp.to/qTKq/qsBV7M9WgV
     

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    #1 Advan34i, Apr 23, 2019
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  2. CooCooCaChoo

    CooCooCaChoo Active Member

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    How expensive was it?
     
    #2 CooCooCaChoo, Apr 23, 2019
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  3. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I get a bottle of liquid wax every 4~5 years, rewax it every fall and spring. Anything special is mostly hype methinks.
     
    #3 Mendel Leisk, Apr 23, 2019
  4. The Critic

    The Critic Resident Critic

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    Which brand of ceramic coating was used? Most of the work is in the prep, but the brand of coating is important as well.

    @Mendel Leisk, when properly applied, ceramic coatings make maintenance significantly easier. If you have ever washed a car that is coated with a ceramic coating, almost all of the heavy dirt will come off with pressure washing alone. Just ask @Raytheeagle .
     
    #4 The Critic, Apr 23, 2019
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  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I agree - washing takes minutes, even stubborn marks come off easily - and most dirt doesn't even stick anyway, or washes off in the rain. I've had it on 3 cars - the one car I didn't get it done, even though it had been waxed, got faeces bombed by flying foxes overnight. It was parked beside my other car which had ceramic coating on. First thing in the morning, I hosed them off - the untreated car I had to wash much more thoroughly, but the paint was destroyed on the bonnet - circles about 2-3" diameter with the clear-coat etched off, the other car hosed off without any damage.
     
    #5 alanclarkeau, Apr 23, 2019
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  6. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    How expensive was it?
     
    #6 ChapmanF, Apr 23, 2019
  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    With the road and weather conditions in our area, no car will keep clean if driven. Doesn't matter how much time and money are spent. Thus, I have never spent much effort on detailing my cars. That said, it sure does look good.(y)
     
    #7 Salamander_King, Apr 23, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2019
  8. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    How expensive was it?
     
    #8 krmcg, Apr 23, 2019
  9. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Maybe the third time te cost is asked will be the charm:p.

    And if you go to their website, they didn’t block out the OP’s license plate;).

    But with all the exotics listed on their website with services performed it ain’t gonna be cheap(y)
     
    #9 Raytheeagle, Apr 23, 2019
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  10. krmcg

    krmcg Lowered Blizzard Pearl Beauty

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    The prices are on the web site under the "services" tab...
     
    #10 krmcg, Apr 23, 2019
  11. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Don't know which level OP did, but web site shows 4 levels of the Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating. Sport: $600, Sliver: $1,200, Gold: $1,600, and Platinum: $2,000

    Services — dlux.studio

    Edit: The OP's Instagram link from the store web page states, he did GOLD. It is a $1,600 job!
    WOW... that's expensive. I can never spend that kind of money on detailing a car.
     
    #11 Salamander_King, Apr 23, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2019
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  12. Advan34i

    Advan34i Junior Member

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    Yeah, prep work is the most, that's how the coating really sticks on, and also fixing the swirl marks, since after you put on the ceramic coat that is how your paint will be like for the next couple of years. They use a new brand of ceramic coating, not the main stream ones, but they showed me the comparison to other ceramic coating on the market, and theirs truly shows more shine and more hydrophobic. Call them directly and they will explain it to you.

    Yep, I got the gold package, they did hook me up with the price a little bit since my car is fairly new and did not need too much paint correction. Its not "CHEAP" but protecting my daily car, I think its worth it.

    And yes, they work on a lot of high end cars, so you know your car is in good hands! And to be honest, when I shopped around their pricing its actually not expensive compare to some other known detailers. Yes of course, you can always find cheaper, but their facility is simply amazing. You really get what you paid for.

    Contact Mike or Wallis (assistant) maybe they will hook up a group buy or something :)
     
    #12 Advan34i, Apr 23, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2019
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  13. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I went for basic, where they just clean then apply. I have a friend who spent about 3 times as much, but the surfaces were clay corrected and swirl marks were removed. But - to be honest, the final result wasn't much different - I'm more than happy with the basic. Not sure how much mine was - it was done by the same company as did the window tint - for $950 for both. I guess about $500 for the paint protection.

    It would be different if I had a Maserati Spider in Yellow - but that would then depend on whether it was working that day!!
     
    #13 alanclarkeau, Apr 24, 2019
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