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Coating Warranties…Valuable?

by

Coatings

“The paint coating will prevent rock chips, 15 layers will provide a lifetime of protection, Never wash or wax your vehicle again, Nuclear fallout, no problem.”

Okay, I haven’t heard the last one, except at SEMA as a joke, but at the rate marketing claims are going it seems to be just a matter of time. Remember the quote from the movie Tommy Boy; “They know that all they sold you was a guaranteed piece of crap. If you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will.”

In a world filled with empty promises and smiles, the coating market is surely NOT exempt. Some coatings even go so far as to aggressively name their product to sound like a type of super hero armor, yet these same coatings hardly last a year and offer next to no protection.

Warranty Promises:

The largest issue with automotive based coatings tends to be the magical promises made within the ‘warranty’. While they tend to promise the world up front, when it comes to the fine print, the loop holes to allow the companies to not provide warranty service are as frequent as the holes in Swiss cheese.

A large majority of automotive coating manufacturers have loopholes within their warranties to allow easy denial of potential claims. This is because many of the automotive coating companies have an actual insurance company underwrite their warranty. So, what good is a warranty if all they are going to do is deny your claim to keep their premiums down?

An example of a typical disqualification clause within warranties:

VOID IF: … “the owner has deemed to have been careless, negligent, or fails to maintain the exterior painted surface in the correct manner.”

This is clearly a blanket statement to avoid potential claims to be made against the company.

Coating Marketing Claims:

As mentioned earlier, another big issue with many coatings being sold today is the misleading or outright false information claims either make or infer. For example, the advertising will make frequent mention of common defects such as: Swirl marks, marring, scratches, scuffs, scrapes, chips to the painted surface:

Even though many of these companies exclude these defects from the warranty, the marketing departments of these manufacturers advertise these defects are prevented. In simple terms, straight out lying to customers to drive business. The problem isn’t with the coatings, problem lies at the methods in which many of them are marketed and sold.

Some coating companies will encourage detailers to “pad” or add a percentage into your prices during the initial service to cover any future claims. What they are saying is that the installer should expect some issues and get paid for those issues up front.

How To Avoid – Confusions Commonly Associated With Coating Marketing Wars:

Instead of placing all your faith in the coating itself, put that faith in a professional that understands automotive protection and provides excellent customer service. An honest detailer will tell you that a coating will make maintenance washes faster and easier and the car should stay cleaner longer than a non-coated car. If they promise more than that, then just make sure you do your homework as a consumer. While a coating can help prevent fine swirl marks from improper washing, that is not the main intent. Coatings mainly function to add hydrophobic properties to the paint system with some additional UV and chemical resistance. So if you’re relying on a coating to prevent scratches and swirls, I think you will end up being upset with a coating.

As with anything, neglect will take its toll on a coating. If not properly maintained, you will never see the long term benefits of a coating. Regular washing is an important part of maintaining a coating on your car in order to keep the protection benefits intact.

Conclusion:

The detailing market is being flooded with new coatings everyday – each one promising more and more. How can they tell you that it will last 5+ years if it was only released 2 weeks ago?

There are a few signs of an “over promised” coating. Lighters – if you see them hitting cars with lighters, that’s a sign they are reaching. Fire – if they are lighting their cars on fire, that also is another pointless demonstration that has nothing to do with real world use.

Since paint coatings are the evolution and future of surface care, when you’re choosing a coating, the most important variable is the detailer installing the product, not the coating alone. A quality detailer will be upfront and honest with you with what let you know works and what is just snake oil. In the end, the warranty will fall back upon the installing detailer to take care of any issues that may arise. So in the end, the warranty is only as good as the detailer installing it to begin with.

Gregory Gellas
Signature Detailing NJ
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
SignatureDetailing.com
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18 comments on Coating Warranties…Valuable?

  1. Kevin George says:

    Great topic Greg, and one that most people really have very little knowledge of. Unfortunately our industry is filled with lots of dishonest people ranging from product reps to actual detailers. Make sure to do you research on the product and the detailer you use for the install.

  2. Very, very well written article, Greg! Kudos to you for speaking up about all of the nonsense that many brands are unfortunately pushing to consumers. In the end, the wild claims made by a few companies & their installers (never have to polish your car again, no more rock chips, no more scratches, 9H Mineral Hardness, etc.) will hurt the entire coating industry as consumers will become unhappy with their coating that was supposed to be scratch proof and assume all nano coatings are just a lie. Hopefully this article will help potential consumers see through the false claims and focus on the true benefits that nano coatings can provide. It all starts with an honest and knowledgeable installer!

  3. Aaron Bodle says:

    EXCELLENT write-up Gregory!

  4. Bravo Greg!!!! Bravo!!!

  5. I should have added… If the industry wants to do away with the ugly marketing its really simple. Detailers stop supporting companies that make nutty warrantys. Unfortunately it’s the Detailers (some of which I never thought would) that drive this by buying and pushing the companies that offer the absurd pieces of paper that they don’t back up.

    • Alejandro says:

      Very true sir! As a Detailer your customers look to you as the trusted authority. If you back a product making false claims that has an effect on everyone. Great point!

  6. Excellent and well written article, Greg! An article on this topic was long overdue too! Thank you!

    Rasky

  7. Bryce says:

    Just to be clear… are the CarPro Finest & OPT Opti Coat Pro(+) Warranties excluded from this discussion???

    • The way I inferred the article is that it applies to ALL coatings, especially the ones with warranties. Both CQuartz Finest and Opti-Coat Pro(+) have warranties and there terms and restrictions can be seen online. I suggest anyone who offers a coating with a warranty to read the terms themselves, or even better, with a lawyer buddy.

  8. Ken says:

    FANTASTIC article! Thank you for keeping it real and honest!

  9. Doug Green says:

    I was considering trying out the Cquartz UK coating. Should i just stick to a sealent and wax?

    • Chris Parrish says:

      CQuartz UK is a great product when applied properly to a properly prepped paint surface. It also has some huge advantages over traditional wax and sealants. I would suggest you get with Corey Caruth at Sky’s The Limit aka http://www.carpro-us.com and get more specific information as to whether UK is right for you. It is an awesome product under the right circumstances, but something else may be more suited to your climate conditions. Corey is as honest as they come and if you’d be better off using something besides a voting he will tell you that. Not all of the coatings representatives are that honest though, so use caution if you go to others for info. Not saying all others are bad, I’m just saying that I can vouch for Corey’s integrity from my own experiences.

    • Kevin George says:

      Doug, it should also be noted that CQuartz UK is a consumer non warranty coating so this topic really has little effect on this product. UK is a great coating, however it can be finicky to apply the first few times if you have not used a coating previously.

      • Doug Green says:

        Thank you Kevin, emailed Corey and he suggested standard Cquartz given the warm temeratures, apperently it is easier to apply rthan the UK in warmer weather.

        Keep up the great articles and reviews. I read them all!

  10. 5 Stars, Common sense advice in the real world on daily drivers! Awesome job, Kevin.

  11. William T. says:

    Good article. A lot of it seems like common sense but folks become captivated so easily with claims nowadays, whether it be the media or something as inane as paint coating attribute claims.

    “How can they tell you that it will last 5+ years if it was only released 2 weeks ago?”

    Extensive testing prior to release could ideally explain a situation such as this.

  12. Chuck Gutscher says:

    Im glad someone wrote this. I explain this to customers every day. A lot of the other shops around me will sel ceramic coatings as impenetrable forces of nature. One even posted that his coated car backed into a tree, with no damage to the paint. So its picked up a bad rap. The best thing to do is be honest. I explain that ease of maintenance and its protection characteristics to UV rays and chemicals is where they stand out. And when properly maintained, last significantly longer. Im a Gtechniq accredited detailer, we offer guarentees with our coatings. But never do i sell someone on this non scratcheable, no maintenance required forcefield that others do. Great write up!

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