A ceramic coating is only as good as the prep. Bad prep → coating fails → warranty claim → you eat the cost. Here's the standard prep sequence that protects you and your customer.
Pre-install inspection (10 min)
Before any work: - Walk the vehicle with the customer present (or photo-document if drop-off) - Note any existing damage: paint chips, scratches, dents, swirl marks, oxidation, water spots, etc. - Customer signs the pre-install inspection (capture via SalesThumb installer app) - Photo the entire vehicle from 8 angles + closeups of any noted damage
If the paint is in worse condition than expected, flag now. Don't proceed with the install — call the customer, explain the condition, offer either a paint correction add-on or a "decline coverage of this area" rider.
Step 1 — Foam pre-wash (15 min)
Apply pH-neutral snow foam to the entire vehicle. Let dwell 5 minutes. Pre-foam loosens road grime, bug residue, light dirt. Use a foam cannon at 1:8 ratio for most products.
Recommended products: Gyeon Foam, Adam's Mega Foam, Bilt Hamber Auto-Foam. Skip cheap detergents — they leave residue.
Step 2 — Touchless rinse (10 min)
Rinse the foam off with a pressure washer (1,500-2,500 PSI). Don't touch the paint yet. The pre-foam should pull most surface contaminants off.
Step 3 — Two-bucket contact wash (25 min)
Two buckets: one with shampoo solution, one with rinse water. Grit guards in both.
- Microfiber wash mitt
- Top down — roof → glass → upper panels → lower panels → wheels last
- Rinse mitt in rinse bucket between every panel
- Two clean mitts: one for upper panels, one for lower (cross-contamination prevention)
Recommended shampoo: Gyeon Bathe+, Carpro Reset. pH-neutral. No wax. No "shine" additives.
Step 4 — Wheel wash (15 min)
Separate process. Different mitt, different brushes. Iron remover on wheels. Pressure-wash off. Don't use the same mitt that touched paint.
Step 5 — Decontamination (30 min)
Two passes:
### Iron decontamination Spray iron remover (Gyeon Iron, Carpro Iron X, Adam's Iron Remover) over entire painted surface. Let dwell 3-5 minutes. You'll see purple/red bleed where iron contamination is being lifted. Rinse off.
### Clay bar / clay mitt Lubricate panel with clay lube spray. Clay the entire painted surface + glass + wheels. The clay should glide smoothly after one pass. If still rough, repeat. Flip the clay frequently.
For high-volume shops, clay mitts (Carpro Polyshave, Adam's Mitt) are faster than bar clay.
Step 6 — Final rinse + dry (15 min)
Pressure rinse one more time. Dry with: - Air blower (Master Blaster, Metro Air Force) for crevices first - Plush microfiber drying towel for surface - Don't drag the towel — blot
Do NOT use a leaf blower or shop air. Compressors can blow water-line contamination onto fresh paint.
Step 7 — Paint inspection (15 min)
Bring the car under proper lighting (Scangrip Sunmatch, Brinkmann swirl finder, or proper LED ceiling lighting at 4000K). Inspect every panel.
Document: - Swirl marks (rate severity 1-10) - Scratches (location, depth — if you can catch a fingernail in it, it's deeper than coating depth and won't be hidden) - Holograms (machine marks from previous polishing) - Water spots (etched into clearcoat?) - Other defects
Photos document the pre-correction state.
Step 8 — Paint correction (60-300 min depending on tier)
Three correction tiers:
- Single-stage — light-medium polish. 60-90 min for a sedan. Removes ~70-80% of swirls.
- Two-stage — compound + polish. 2-4 hours. Removes 90-95% of swirls.
- Three-stage — heavy compound + medium + finish. 4-6+ hours. Show-car finish.
Recommended products: - Compound: Rupes Zephir Gloss, Sonax CutMax, Menzerna FG400 - Polish: Rupes Diamond Gloss, Menzerna SF4000, 3D ACA 520 - Finishing pad (the final pass): foam, not microfiber
After each pad pass, wipe with IPA panel-wipe to see real defect state (not the polish residue).
Step 9 — Panel wipe (15 min)
Critical step. Wipe entire surface with IPA panel-wipe or dedicated panel prep spray. This removes any polish residue, oils, fingerprints. Without this, the coating won't bond properly.
Recommended: Carpro Eraser, Gyeon Prep, Gyeon WetCoat (lighter). Use a fresh, dedicated panel-wipe microfiber per panel. Don't re-use.
Step 10 — Coating application (per coating product)
Now ready for coating. Follow the manufacturer's exact procedure. Skip any step and the warranty is void:
- Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra — Pro-only product. Single-layer panel-by-panel, ~60-90 sec dwell, level off.
- Ceramic Pro 9H — multi-layer. Each layer requires 1-2hr cure between.
- Modesta BC-04 — extreme prep + nano application, requires specific lighting + temperature.
- Gyeon Mohs+ — DIY-ish but pro variant exists. Two-layer recommended.
Documentation throughout
The installer app should require photo capture at:
- Pre-wash full vehicle
- Decon stage (iron remover bleed photo)
- Pre-correction defect inspection (under proper lighting)
- Post-correction defect inspection (same lighting, same panels — proves correction worked)
- Coating application start
- Coating curing
- Final reveal photo
These photos protect both you and the customer.
Common skip-this mistakes
- Skipping iron decon — coating bonds to iron particles, fails within months
- Skipping clay — micro-contamination embeds under coating
- Skipping panel wipe — most common warranty-voiding skip
- Rushing correction — leaves swirls that show through coating
- Coating in too-cold or too-hot environment — varies by product but generally 60-80°F, dry, dust-free