Ceramic Coatings on a Off Road Truck?

I am considering applying a ceramic coating to my new ACLB.
Will be doing this myself and will likely use either Avalon King or Adams Advanced Graphene.
Anyone have experience with ceramic coatings on an offroader?
My biggest concern is desert/branch/brush pinstriping.
What will happen to the coating when I eventually get 1,000's of these small to large "pinstripes"?

Most of the branch markings cut into the clearcoat but do not fully penetrate.
Will the ceramic coating eliminate some of this scuffing or will it just accentuate any new ding, scuff, pinstripe or scratch?

Belew are pics of my old truck with zero treatment or wax so you can see what I am calling "pinstriping"
Thanks

 

it will help to some degree, but not prevent

 

I've always called that "OffRoad-Trail Rash". My brother & I used to get those on his truck when we'd go deer hunting out in West Texas. I have ceramic coating on my truck, and the guy that did said it would help with what you're describing, but it's not designed to stop it from happening.

If they are light scratches that don't penetrate the clear coat, the ceramic coating will help it from going deeper. It also helps keep the truck cleaner longer and get cleaner faster.

 

https://www.vive-houston.com/blog/t...tection,scratches into your vehicle's coating.

 

I imagine it will help some light scratches from making it to the clear coat but what happens when the scratch cuts through the ceramic? since the ceramic will be gone in that spot will the "scratch" be even more noticeable?

From many hours of research, the only definitive answer I can find is: if you put the ceramic over let's say the truck I posted in the pictures above, it will act like a clear coat and make ALL of those scratches and imperfections POP and be much more noticeable. Unlike wax, ceramic does not hide scratches.

 

You are correct. If you ALREADY have the scratches, the ceramic will highlight the existing scratches. However, if you DO NOT have them, the ceramic coating will help stop them from happening, and if they do, they'll be easier to get rid of.

The point is to put on the ceramic coating first. Before any damage happens, to mitigate it. Putting ceramic coating on a truck that's scratched up is like trying to wax a car with body damage. All you're doing it making the damage nice -n- shiny.

 

I agree, thank you for the confirmation.
I'm just trying to find someone who has put on a high-quality ceramic and then drove through fields of sage brush and saplings.

Ceramic is likely the correct choice for me seeing I live at 10,200ft elevation and the UV is crazy brutal up here. Ceramic is great for UV protection but how will it fare to my dessert running abuse? I might just have to be my own Guinea pig on that one.

 

Paint protection film is going to protect from brush abrasion way better than a ceramic coating. The 'self healing' PPF is also pretty cool, as some heat will smooth out any surface nicks. But PPF to cover that much surface is going to be mucho $, at least for a professional install.

 

You might be able to take out most of the lighter clearcoat scratch's with a mild rubbing compound before applying any ceramic coating. I've rubbed up against quite a few branches when fishing with my truck that had the simoniz glass coat done on it, and still no scratch's anywhere. That coating has a very hard finish over the paint.

 

No. If it is enough to scratch the clear coat it ceramic won't help.

 

Waste of money

 

It wasn't clear but from the sounds of it you have a NEW truck coming, not and older scratched one. Don't ceramic coat older paint without a proper buffing.
If you do coat a new truck that you plan to take off road find a shop that will NOT charge you for buffing as prep. Buffing increases the shine and is necessary to remove old scratches but if it's new paint and the ceramic coating is done strictly for protection they do NOT need to buff it. Buffing adds SIGNIFICANTLY to the cost. Just a quality wash and ipa will suffice

If you truck is new a good ceramic coating should offer SOME additional protection against trail pin striping. Don't expect it to prevent them, but it should reduce them.

I have not finished this video, I'm interested to see the results. That said, those look to be sprays and not the traditional "ceramic coating"
https://youtu.be/uYxKQwZah1s

 

@Firn
Yes, I have a new truck the one in my avatar. The pictures above are of my old truck that I personally pinstriped.
I'm cringing a bit at the idea of doing this to my new Tacoma... but have decided to accept the fact that it will not stay perfect and use the truck for what I need it for.

Those waxes in the video above are hybrids and need to be reapplied a few times throughout the year.
I am looking at diy ceramic coatings that are said to last 2-9 years with one application.

 

I feel your pain. It's part of the reason I ceramic coated mine within a few days of getting it. It has not seen any trails however so I can't speak to the durability

Yes, those are less "permanent" applications. However it should give a sense of the product and the "permanent" applications should have even higher performance.

 

No such thing. Ceramic coatings last 1-2 years in the best of circumstances. If you want to protect against pinstripes, spend $2-3k and get it wrapped, though even that will begin to degrade in about 5-6 years.

 

From my experience from ceramic, it won’t stop from what you think it’s capable of doing. In other words, a waste of time or money.

 

My new Tacoma still needs buffing to remove minor swirls before ceramic coating.

 

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/

 

This is exactly what I want to do!

Are there any prep steps that need to be taken on the paint before applying film? I would assume clay bar is a good idea, but will a polish cause problems with adhesion of the film?