# Auto Finesse Ceramics Wheel Protection



## Dan6416 (Nov 5, 2018)

Fellow DW'ers

has anyone else used Auto Finesse Ceramics Wheel Protection?

i have and happy with the results but what else is out there?

Thanks 

Dan


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

I recently applied it to my winter alloys that I put on almost 2 weeks ago. Will see how well they clean up this weekend. 

By far one of the easiest wheel sealants I've used. After a full prep, spray on, wipe in, buff off


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## Fairtony (Mar 12, 2018)

theyve got some stiff competition in my eyes. its advertised as a full fledged ceramic, and theyre charging as much as Gtechniq C5, but their obvious unique selling point is ease of application. But I have seen some feedback out there that their durability hasnt even been close to 1 year. 

I think so much with long term LSPs is Prep. And in all honesty, I wonder if you really need to be taking off wheels for good contact wash and panel wipe the barrels. Because thats whats gonna fail first, and you cant exactly get a good prep of it when its still attached to the car.


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

Fairtony said:


> theyve got some stiff competition in my eyes. its advertised as a full fledged ceramic, and theyre charging as much as Gtechniq C5, but their obvious unique selling point is ease of application. But I have seen some feedback out there that their durability hasnt even been close to 1 year.
> 
> I think so much with long term LSPs is Prep. And in all honesty, I wonder if you really need to be taking off wheels for good contact wash and panel wipe the barrels. Because thats whats gonna fail first, and you cant exactly get a good prep of it when its still attached to the car.


thats the bit got me pondering
its for sale on the highstreet (or retail park) as well as online, so the bigger % of users probably wont be as,,, nutty as us lot about the prep needed to get the best from it. We know we need to have a "as clean as possible" surface to apply a ceramic coating to get the best from it, our definition of "clean" is vastly different to "normal people" when it comes to clean + car never mind clean + wheels.

its got to affect the reviews on there website and halfrauds one when "£3 supermarket man" slaps it on his wheels after the £3 a wash mob have "cleaned" his car,,,

us, a decon , a wash a rinse a dry, following the application instructions to the letter - different kettle of strawberrys


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## Fairtony (Mar 12, 2018)

andy__d said:


> thats the bit got me pondering
> its for sale on the highstreet (or retail park) as well as online, so the bigger % of users probably wont be as,,, nutty as us lot about the prep needed to get the best from it. We know we need to have a "as clean as possible" surface to apply a ceramic coating to get the best from it, our definition of "clean" is vastly different to "normal people" when it comes to clean + car never mind clean + wheels.
> 
> its got to affect the reviews on there website and halfrauds one when "£3 supermarket man" slaps it on his wheels after the £3 a wash mob have "cleaned" his car,,,
> ...


spot on! Their instructions do make it pretty clear that it has to be completely clean before application, and i think they do include 'prep spray', but Ceramics are not to be taken lightly.

Although TBH this is off the halfords website, for the Caramics paint kit:

_"I was genuinely enthusiastic about Caramics, I waited patiently for release day and bought it as it came out. It sounded perfect, a nice, easy to use Ceramic coating, that would have good beading and water sheeting and last a year?
Wrong.
I machine polished, panel wiped, and applied the coating perfectly as per instructions. I didn't wash it for a week afterwards. I was initially impressed, it didn't bead as nicely as autofinesse's own waxes, but still looked good, if it gave long term protection it was good enough for me. Two weeks after applying, I was the car and discovered, one half of the bonnet had lost all it's hydrophobic properties. It was completely unprotected.
This is not an unheard of story either! Many other people on facebook are complaining that caramics kits have lost all protection on their cars, one man claiming that half his windows were also unprotected after only two weeks.
If you're after durable protection, this isn't it."_

It does seem like the user really does know what he's doing, and its pretty worrying to read.


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## andy__d (Jun 27, 2018)

Fairtony said:


> spot on! Their instructions do make it pretty clear that it has to be completely clean before application, and i think they do include 'prep spray', but Ceramics are not to be taken lightly.
> 
> Although TBH this is off the halfords website, for the Caramics paint kit:
> 
> ...


could well be the case, but theres far too many possibles to judge "is it? isnt it? " from that
as we know from posts on here, ceramic coatings Can be a bugger for some to apply and get the results they expect, and the expectations Might be in some cases un realistic .

(its worth me pointing out im a Gtechnic fan and of Autoglym, the autofiness products i have tried, i went back to C3v2 and Uhd,,)


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## Fairtony (Mar 12, 2018)

andy__d said:


> could well be the case, but theres far too many possibles to judge "is it? isnt it? " from that
> as we know from posts on here, ceramic coatings Can be a bugger for some to apply and get the results they expect, and the expectations Might be in some cases un realistic .
> 
> (its worth me pointing out im a Gtechnic fan and of Autoglym, the autofiness products i have tried, i went back to C3v2 and Uhd,,)


Yeah Ive said it a million times, with all the agro of 'propper ceramic coatings', for many out there, its much better to go for your C2v3s, Gyeon Cure, Gyeon Wetcoat, Sonax BSD and PNS. Super ease of application, brilliant durability and amazing beading.


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

Il admit to not paying full RRP and trying my luck with ebay so half the price. It was very easy to use. The prep spray is a strong IPA smelling product so should go some way to a good degreasing of the panel. Time will tell. I'll update with the first wash shortly. 

I also used the glass sealant about 3 weeks ago on just the rear screen. Not washed it since but have used the washer jets occassionally in this grotty wet weather. It's still beading so far. 

I can't imagine it ever being a full ceramic that we all know with it coming in a wet wipe form. But if it gets past 6 months, I'd be tempted to try again for the right price with the ease of use.


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## terrymcg (Mar 19, 2007)

For what its worth guys, I am left wondering what the point in wasting £30 was! I applied it to a brand new set of wheels and instantly the wheels felt less slick and glossy than they were out of the box!

I actually contacted Auto Finesse to ask about this and they just came back with, if you followed the instructions it will be fine and the wheels will be protected.

Fast forward a few weeks and I have washed the wheels twice. I see no advantage to having this coating on at all, other than I have been relieved of £30! The wheels do not clean any easier and still require the same amount of work, or dare I say it maybe more! No beading or anything left on the wheels even when clean.

Stay clear!


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

terrymcg said:


> For what its worth guys, I am left wondering what the point in wasting £30 was! I applied it to a brand new set of wheels and instantly the wheels felt less slick and glossy than they were out of the box!
> 
> I actually contacted Auto Finesse to ask about this and they just came back with, if you followed the instructions it will be fine and the wheels will be protected.
> 
> ...


Then I'd say something went wrong with application or curing. Although the wheels weren't as easy to clean as a full nano coating like gtechniq c5 which is my personal favourite, they were easier and quicker to wash than the other wheels with high temp wheel waxes on


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## terrymcg (Mar 19, 2007)

Yellow Dave said:


> Then I'd say something went wrong with application or curing. Although the wheels weren't as easy to clean as a full nano coating like gtechniq c5 which is my personal favourite, they were easier and quicker to wash than the other wheels with high temp wheel waxes on


Hence why I asked AF but they assured me nothing could go wrong!


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## garycha (Mar 29, 2012)

Do AF actually manufacture the product, or is it another of their repackaging A N Others and then branding marketing exercises?


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## Yellow Dave (Apr 5, 2011)

I can't think of anyone else offering anything even similar? But would it matter or affect the product


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## SadlyDistracted (Jan 18, 2013)

Hmm I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling for this, seems like I'll be sticking with C5/C1 and my bi-annual wheels off (swapping summers for winters and vis versa), good APC, Fall out, polish with CP Essence and re C5/C1 and a topping with Evo., before being put into storage. 
And this is on 2 cars, its a real bane, although I do rope in the missus :doublesho as one of the cars is hers.

Only problem is the the days or so it takes to get all that done feels like a chore rather than a pleasure tho' and surprisingly hard work. 

The neighbours think I'm mad and don't like it as it makes them feel like they're being shown up for not doing a 'proper job'. 


But it's nice to put on a spotlessly clean 'new' set of wheels each time.


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## \Rian (Aug 23, 2017)

IVe had C5 coated wheels for a year and a half now, I didn't run them between November last year and March this year but it's still going strong


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## DaveNewt0n (May 16, 2020)

Looking for advice I have a set of polished rims looking for the best protection. I was thinking is it possible to use ceramic coating on polish rims ,any thoughts thanks 
Dave


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## VW STEVE. (Mar 18, 2012)

Fairtony said:


> theyve got some stiff competition in my eyes. its advertised as a full fledged ceramic, and theyre charging as much as Gtechniq C5, but their obvious unique selling point is ease of application. But I have seen some feedback out there that their durability hasnt even been close to 1 year.
> 
> I think so much with long term LSPs is Prep. And in all honesty, I wonder if you really need to be taking off wheels for good contact wash and panel wipe the barrels. Because thats whats gonna fail first, and you cant exactly get a good prep of it when its still attached to the car.


..........got a bottle of the Gtechniq C5 the other day,not bothered about it for my alloys as i'm forever cleaning them but i had the Exhaust tips black powder coated & want extra protection on them.


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