Brette

Posting images in the gallery but this line-up deserves to be on the drive thread too. Amazing turnout and wonderful drive. @Wrangeld your trip reports are awesome and like Rahim Bhai said, they paint the perfect picture for those who missed the drive.

Congrats @Jeepie

Congrats @adildbx.

Congrats @tjsingh. Well deserved.

Yes, silicon coating only has a 6 month life. They have to be stupid to tell you it will last for 2 years. Average time frames with various products if maintained. Wax - 2 -3 months max Silicon- 6-8 months max Ceramic coating - 1.5 - 2 years max. None of these are scratch proof. Ceramic coatings add about 8 to 10 microns thickness to the clear coat and when completely cured bonds like a very fine layer of quartz to the surface so it resists swirls to an extent but not completely.

I tend to lean towards Turtle Wax. It's pretty good, not expensive and available at Carrefour. Yes, I do it myself. Afte to you wash the car, dry it and use the sponge pad that u get with the wax and apply a thin coat even coat in circular motions. Leave it to dry for about 30 minutes in the shade and then buff it of with a micro fiber cloth. Do it once in 2 months. It will take max 90 mins. A little elbow grease goes without saying...

My GC is ceramic coated and did not have a swirl on it for the first year but after just 2 drives I started noticing the swirls and then gave up. Desert sand will blow of any car coated or not. Yes, I agree with the dust showing up in 30 seconds on a black car but that is something you can't avoid. It will happen even if you coat your car but will not look as bad when a car is coated or polished due to the reflections on a shiny black surface. To ceremaic coat a car you first wash, then have to decontaminate the paint to remove bonded brake dust and anything else stuck to the surface that you can not even see, clay the entire body and then polish atleast twice to remove all swirls and scrates that have not gone through the clear coat. Once all of the above is done, you have to wipe down with a non oily alcohol to remove any oils left from the polish and only then apply the ceramic coating. When you apply the coating, it can take anywhere between 60 seconds to 5 minutes to flash depending on the weather and has to be buffed immediately. If not buffed of at the right time, it will dry and then you will have to wet sand to remove it. A good ceramic job will cost at least 3k and last for about 2 years if you put in the effort to maintain it. Spend 200 every 6 month for a good waxing for the body and you will be good. One thing I always tell people when they ask about detailing is " Do it if you have the time to maintain/wash it yourself. The car wash places and the mall car wash guys will mess it up in a month"

Congrats @Wrangeld. Well done to both of you.

@Xafcongrats and well done. If you want to throw sand, drive behind me. 😅

@Shamil I have done my fair share of ceramic coatings for my car's and for paying customers too. Would not suggest you do a ceramic coating on your xterra or on any car being used for desert drives. The difference between the coating and a wax is that the coating stays put for around 18-24 months if applied the correct way and maintained. A wax on the other hand will last for about 3 months and is a lot more easy to apply. With ceramic coatings many dealers will give you a whole load of cr*p but don't fall for that. Yes, there are benefits and I would suggest it if the car is not being used in the desert and being maintained by someone passionate about always having their car spotless and swirl free. If a car is ceramic coated correctly, you invest in a good quality car duster and dust the car everyday and you can do this for about 2 weeks before you have to wash the car. However, if your car is parked outside and is dusty and there is dew overnight it does not make a difference if coated or not, you will have to wash the car to get it clean as once wet the dust will stick to ceramic too. Can give you more info on these coating if you want because they have a lot of advantages too but not for a car that gets a sand blasting every weekend. And yeah, don't try doing it at home because it's unforgiving if you mess up and will require wet sanding the car to remove it.

Congrats @Frederic. Well deserved and I second whatever Rahim Bhai said.

Have fun. Gonna miss the drives for the next 4 weeks.