Hello all! I recently acquired a '23 Prime in Midnight Black, and I'm discovering that it's a nightmare to keep clean in the midwest during this season. I was looking into ceramic coating to just cut down on the amount of required maintenance, and also to make the lovely paint pop a little more (if you haven't ever looked at midnight black closely, it's gorgeous when the sun hits it and makes the metallic flaking come out!) I also took a pebble on the drive home from the dealership so now there's a microscopic chip in the hood My concern is that if I were to get ceramic coating, it might adversely impact the effectiveness of the roof solar panels. Granted they don't generate a whole ton initially, and in some cases I imagine making them hydrophobic could positively impact them- I'm just wondering if there are any experts in this community that can weigh in on whether having them coated would be a colossal mistake or render them ineffective. The coating used at this installer is Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra With an optional application of the EVO v5 Hydrophobic Coating - I can't add a link but it should be searchable. My initial thought is to see whether I can get the ceramic on everything but the roof and apply the hydrophobic, as in my initial 10 minutes of googling, it seems people do that for their roof solar panels to make the water and dirt slide off. Any thoughts?
To anyone who looks into this in the future, I got a response from Gtechniq (Ceramic Coating manufacturer) "There is a piece of glass over these panel cells. As long as the coating is not going directly on to the actual solar cell, then the coating can be applied. We do have coatings specifically for glass that would be used other than CSU [Crystal Serum Ultra], as CSU [Crystal Serum Ultra] is designed to bond to clearcoat. G1 ClearVision Smart Glass can be applied on glass as a hydrophobic barrier. This is designed not to impact clarity of glass in anyway as long as it is applied properly. It is safe to use for your application because of the glass panel over the cells. " Ultimately I spoke with the detailer and he's going to apply the SmartGlass to my solar panel to give it hydrophobic properties and ceramic coating elsewhere. I love my new Prime (upgraded from a '21) and I want its lovely Midnight Black to shine! I can already say that I don't think I'll ever do a black car again, though... My Arctic Pearl '21 hardly required any upkeep.
Update: Response from Toyota: "Thank you for contacting us. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us to inquire if your solar roof will be negatively impacted by adding a Ceramic or Hydrophobic coating on your 2023 Toyota Prius Prime. We understand the importance of maintaining your solar roof and thank you for the opportunity to address your inquiry. On page 138 of the owner’s manual it states, “applying a glass coating to the solar roof may change the refractive index of light and reduce the amount of power generated.” There is a notice that advises, “do not modify the solar roof.”"
