Protection · Studio in Connah's Quay
A ceramic coating is a liquid layer, mostly silica, that bonds to your car's clear coat and hardens into a slick, glossy shell. It makes the paint far easier to wash, stops dirt and bird mess from sticking, and keeps the gloss for years rather than weeks, which is where it beats wax. What it does not do is stop stone chips or deep scratches, and it locks in whatever is on the paint underneath. That is why every coating here starts with a full decontamination and a machine polish, done in the Dock Road studio in Connah's Quay, out of the wind and the rain, so the coating goes onto clean, dry, corrected paint and cures properly. Nick applies G1 Ceramic Coating, with 1-year, 3-year and 5-year options. Nick works with cars from Deeside, Chester, Wrexham and the rest of Flintshire. Send a photo of the car and he will tell you honestly whether it needs a one-stage polish before coating or a full correction.
Packages
Protection
For a car in decent condition you want protected and easy to wash.
Please enquire: price after a look at the car
Done in the studio
Protection
For paint that needs correcting first, then locking in.
Please enquire: price after a look at the car
Done in the studio
Protection
For a new car, before the first winter and the first automatic car wash.
From£200£230£260£300
Subject to inspection
Done in the studio
All prices are from prices by vehicle size, confirmed once Nick has seen the car: every car is different. Mobile work: the first 10 miles are free, then 30p a mile.
Nick applies G1 Ceramic Coating and offers three durability options: 1-year, 3-year and 5-year. The longer options are for cars you are keeping; the 1-year option suits a car you want protected and easy to wash for the next year or so. Each option is priced on enquiry, because the price depends mostly on how much preparation the paint needs before the coating goes on.
| Option | Suits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| G1 Ceramic Coating, 1-year | A car you want protected for the year ahead | Please enquire |
| G1 Ceramic Coating, 3-year | A car you are keeping for a few years | Please enquire |
| G1 Ceramic Coating, 5-year | A new or much-loved car you are keeping long term | Please enquire |
Durability depends on the car being washed sensibly: hand washing, pH-neutral shampoo, no automatic brush washes.
Wax sits on top of the paint and washes off in a matter of weeks. A sealant lasts a few months. A ceramic coating is different in kind: once it cures it is chemically bonded to the clear coat, so it stays through washing, rain and road salt, and it keeps doing its job for years if the car is washed sensibly.
In day-to-day terms, you notice four things. Water beads and sheets off, taking dirt with it. The car stays cleaner for longer between washes. Bird mess, tree sap and bug splatter lift off instead of etching into the paint. And the gloss has a depth that makes a dark car look wet.
This is where a lot of coatings are oversold. A coating is not armour. It will not stop a stone chip on the motorway, a key scratch, or a car-park door ding. For chips, the answer is paint protection film on the front of the car, which is a different product.
A coating also does not remove swirls, scratches or holograms. It seals in whatever is there, and because it adds gloss it can make existing defects easier to see. That is the whole reason for the preparation below: the paint has to be right before anything goes on it.
The honest test
If you run a fingernail across a scratch and it catches, it is probably through the clear coat. A coating will not hide it and polishing may not remove it safely. Nick will tell you before you book, not after.
Most of the time in a coating job is not the coating. It is getting the paint clean and flat enough for the coating to bond to. Skip it and the coating is sitting on traffic film, iron fallout and old wax, and it will fail early.
The paint is checked panel by panel under studio lighting, with paint depth readings where correction is likely, so there are no surprises halfway through.
Snow foam and a two-bucket hand wash, then an iron remover for the brake dust and industrial fallout embedded in the paint, then tar removal and a clay bar.
At least one polishing stage to remove light swirls and lift the gloss; a full two-stage correction where the paint needs it. This is the step that decides how the finished car looks.
Every trace of polishing oil is removed so the coating bonds to bare clear coat, not to residue.
The coating is applied one panel at a time, levelled, and left to cure indoors. The car goes home when the coating can take the weather.
You are shown how to wash the car so the coating lasts, and what to avoid in the first week.
Coatings are sold by the year: one, three, five, sometimes nine. Those figures come from the manufacturer and assume the car is washed properly and looked after. On a daily driver in North Wales and Cheshire, with gritted roads every winter, what shortens a coating is not time, it is washing: automatic brush washes, harsh traffic-film removers and dirty sponges wear it far faster than weather does.
Wash the car every two to four weeks with a pH-neutral shampoo, two buckets and a clean mitt, dry it with a soft towel, and a coating will get close to its stated life. The guide on how long ceramic coating lasts goes through this properly.
A new car is the easiest and best time to coat. The paint is usually close to perfect, so the preparation is lighter, and the coating is protecting good paint rather than hiding tired paint. It is also cheaper to prepare than a car that has had three years of automatic car washes.
New does not always mean flawless, though. Transport film leaves residue, and dealer preparation often adds fine wash marks. Those are removed with a light polish first. Dealer paint protection packages sold with the car are a different thing, and the new car section below explains the difference.
| Item | Ceramic coating | Paint protection film |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A hard liquid layer bonded to the clear coat | A clear urethane film applied over the paint |
| Stone chips | No protection | The reason to buy it |
| Gloss and easy washing | The reason to buy it | Good, better with a coating on top |
| Usual coverage | The whole car, plus wheels and glass | Usually the front: bumper, bonnet, wings, mirrors |
| Cost | The lower of the two for a whole car | Considerably more, priced by the panel |
Many owners of new or high-value cars do both: film on the front for chips, coating on everything for gloss and washing.
Reviews
“I've been using Nick Auto Detailing's services for years, and I couldn't be happier. So far, I've had more than 20 cars detailed by them, including both my own vehicles and cars belonging to my clients.…”
“I recently had my car detailed and I couldn't be happier with the results. Nick did an amazing job…”
“Excellent service and outstanding attention to detail! My car looks brand new after being serviced by Nick Auto Detailing.…”
“Highly recommended, brilliant job on my car today! Full valet inside and out.. looks brand new again. A big thank you!”
“Absolutely amazing service and value for money.”
“High-quality products, fast work, and a very professional attitude.”
“Very fast and very good quality of wrapping and car detailing.”
Questions
It is worth it if you keep your car for a few years, wash it yourself or want washing to be quick, and like the paint to stay glossy without waxing every month. It is not worth it if you expect it to stop stone chips or scratches, or if the car goes through an automatic brush wash every week, which wears it away.
It costs more up front than a wax or sealant, most of that cost is the paint preparation, it does not stop chips or scratches, and it can make existing swirls more visible if the paint is not corrected first. It also needs sensible washing to reach its stated life.
Yes. A pressure washer at a sensible distance is fine and is part of a safe wash, rinsing grit off before a mitt touches the paint. Avoid holding the lance close to edges, badges and any stone chips, as you would on any car.
Around Chester and Wrexham, detailers publish ceramic coatings from roughly £400 with a machine polish to around £900 for a five-year coating, and more where full correction is needed. Most of the difference is the preparation. Nick prices the G1 5-year coating on enquiry, after seeing the car, because a new car and a ten-year-old car need very different amounts of work.
For stone chips and scratches, paint protection film is better, because it is a physical layer that absorbs impacts. For gloss, easy washing and chemical protection, a ceramic coating is the better product. Plenty of people use film on the front of the car and a coating everywhere else.
Coatings need time to cure fully. The usual advice is no washing and no chemicals for about a week, and to keep the car out of heavy rain for the first day where possible. You get the exact rule for the product used at handover.
Yes, and a used car often shows the biggest difference, because it gets a full correction first. The price reflects the correction, which is where most of the hours go.
Next step
Tell Nick the car and what is bothering you. A couple of photos on WhatsApp is the quickest way to an honest price, or use the quote form. You pay on the day, when the work is done.
