A desire to pick up this skill in 2025 is understandable and relatable.  I do believe that there is fine line between this being a good experience or poor experience for you based on your mindset.  It is not as intimidating as some people will lead you to believe!  But there is a segment who have the same expectations of a $3,500 detail with the assumptions that it is a simple and quick process.  Those individuals are often humbled!  I want to encourage you.  But, in order to have a good experience you need to respect all that goes into this.

For those that have high level coating expectations and other expectations, if you do the bare minimum or ignore recommended advice out of arrogance, the disappointment in the end products are on you.  I see many people post on social media about failed expectations or saying a bottle is scamming them.  From my observation, often steps deemed unnecessary were skipped and a conscious decision was made to entertain grandiose claims about ceramic coatings.  In 2025 and beyond there are numerous groups providing misleading information to sell products and services to willfully misinformed consumers.  There are also numerous reputable resources that can align your expectations to a more realistic domain.

Start with your coating purchase from a reputable source.  That is a bare minimum starting point.  Detailed Image is obviously one resource that will sell decent products.  For obvious reasons, I am not going to get into naming all reputable suppliers.  But utilize some critical thinking.  I have bought many items off of one of those most popular online ordering sites.  They obviously carry unverified and questionable products.  Ofcourse not all products supplied by Detailed Image or reputable detailing suppliers may be one of the best or ones I strongly prefer, but at least we can realistically get to the reputable bare minimum threshold.

Let me help you out with a clue.  The bottles that I use to professionally ceramic coat cars in 2025, cost $180, $250, and $325.  I am not suggesting you should be as discerning as I am.  But if you see a (perfume looking) bottle for $25 online or even a perhaps recognizable name offering 10 years for $100, I advise against it.

Polishing is not only for removing visible paint defects that you see with led lighting.  Older cars, although not visible, have some oxidation that will compromise the bond of a coating in the long run.  The plot thickens though.  If you clay a car, realistically some marring will occur.  That may or may not be an issue to you.  But what most people do not know is the wax in a ‘clay and wax’ service may temporarily fill the microscopic damage done by claying.  This is a reason why many people do not understand the consequences of not polishing after clay bar use.  If carefully done on a relatively well-maintained car it may not be an issue or barely noticeable.  But unlike wax, ceramic coating chemistry is similar to glass.  You are magnifying/intensifying what is there, good or bad.  Think about that!

I am going to say something most have not.  I believe the lock in the paint, phobia producing rhetoric, is a tool (not created by detailers) but ceramic coating companies to manipulate consumers and detailers.  ‘Look at how good the coating looks.’  In reality, the detailing (including polishing) is the primary difference.  For what is worth, I was known for doing paint correction services, well before I offered ceramic coatings.  I have a coating on my car currently.  Well before that I did not need a ceramic coating to care how my paint looked.  After offering coatings, I was responsible as a business owner with how much polishing I performed, even if you still saw scratches.  Imagine that!

The answer to the question of using an all in one type polish like HD Speed on a vehicle you are using a ceramic coating is, No!  Even if you perform the necessary steps which would be more time and money, you increase the chances of leaving something on the paint.  Hypothetically you buy a high-performance sports car.  You use the same tires purchased for an economy car.  You pass on a few oil changes, because you got away with it on the economy car with minimum issues.  We would never do that.  Then why are you debating purchasing a dedicated polish?!  If it is about the results (wax fills) that you are comfortable with, that is a polishing skill level issue.