I would be skeptical of a ceramic coat application for $250. I have a 2017 2500 Regular Cab (RC). I had it about 2 months and looked into having a ceramic application. Prices ranged a bit, from about $800-$1200. Now this was on a Ram that was only 2 months old at the time. I bring this up because the hardest (and most important ) part of a ceramic application is the PREPARATION / PAINT CORRECTION. Vehicles that are older and / or have higher mileage will usually need more labor for the prep and paint correction.
Another poster above opined that ceramic was not so great because it did not increase the shine. He is actually only partially correct. While ceramic will have a slight increase of paint shine, that is NOT its major attraction. Ceramic is all about the durability and paint protection it provides. The increase of paint shine is primarily obtained from the paint correction and polishing that has to be done before application of the ceramic coating. The slight increase in paint shine from the ceramic coat itself is an added bonus.
I cannot stress how important the prep work is. I know since I decided to do the application myself. It took me almost 3 days to complete. Here is a quick list of steps I followed:
1) Power wash with a pressure washer
2) Hand wash
3) Completely clay my Ram
4) Using an orbital polisher, polished the truck using a high grade polish compound ( I used Menzerna )
5) Finally applying Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light Ceramic ( they make "non' light version but that is only available to detail / body shops)
The ceramic coating ( 50 ml bottle ) ran about $90, the Menzerna ( 8oz bottle ) is about $22. Add in micro fiber cloths, clay bars, detail spray to use while claying, and you are at about $200. Yes it was a lot of work and you need to follow instructions EXACTLY. Ironically, the application of the ceramic coating itself is the easiest part.
BUT....the results for me have been plain outstanding. I have NEVER seen water bead off a vehicle like it does on my Ram. And I say this as an old guy who has owned many vehicles (look at my avatar) and have used all the different waxes and polishes on them. Washing my Ram is way quicker and easier. I recently took my Ram to a car wash. When it came out of the wash one of the workers walking up to it looked at me and said " you have ceramic on this".
I would do this again in a heartbeat, and my Ram is always outside since it does not fit in my garage. But to have someone else do it the right way is going to cost more than $250 for sure....
) I don't have the time to detail it every 3 or 4 months. A coating that can give me 2 years of protection under those conditions is well worth it IMHO.
