[MD707]

Another Tanzaniter here.

I found G Techniq didn't last more than 18 months and the guy I use has actually stopped using it. I really struggled with watermarks and it did seem to pick up swirls.

He is now a Labocosmetica dealer and after a year with their five year coating, anecdotally at least, I have to say it does seem to be much, much better. Cleans up much easier, deep shine and no watermarking issues. Even when dirty, it looks 'treated' if that makes sense. It does still scratch, but IMO you need PPF to guard against that. I have a strip of that along the bumper lip.

Tanzanite is a VERY high maintenance colour! About the same as Black Sapphire.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by G21-M340i

Another Tanzaniter here.

I found G Techniq didn't last more than 18 months and the guy I use has actually stopped using it. I really struggled with watermarks and it did seem to pick up swirls.

He is now a Labocosmetica dealer and after a year with their five year coating, anecdotally at least, I have to say it does seem to be much, much better. Cleans up much easier, deep shine and no watermarking issues. Even when dirty, it looks 'treated' if that makes sense. It does still scratch, but IMO you need PPF to guard against that. I have a strip of that along the bumper lip.

Tanzanite is a VERY high maintenance colour! About the same as Black Sapphire.

Lovely looking car but then I would say that wouldn't I?!

I certainly wish I'd done the same as you with the PPF on the top of the rear bumper; on occasion the dogs can get a bit enthusiastic - and jump in or out before I've got the bumper protector in place - and I've got a couple of marks on the bumper as a result. My fault entirely as I meant to ask the detailer to put some PPF on the bumper before he applied the ceramic coating but forgot; however, it's one of those things where it would be easy to resolve if there was no coating in place but I'm not sure what's involved now there is!

In terms of Gtechniq, the coating still seems to be doing its job in terms of keeping the shine and making the car easy to clean; however, so it should be given the coating's not quite a year old, the car has only done 5k miles (and is always garaged) and in theory at least Crystal Serum Ultra is meant to last 9 years! That said the coating isn't as good at resisting water marks as I'd expected and of course there's the aforementioned issue with swirls and light scratches even though the car's had an easy life and I'm always very careful how I wash it.

I do agree Tanzanite is a hard work colour, especially for those who are bit finicky about how their car looks. However, I knew that before I bought it and it was largely to mitigate that that I spent money on a good quality ceramic coating. I'm now thinking that might have been a mistake but when I see my detailer he might tell me there's an easy solution and I'm worrying unnecessarily - here's hoping!

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by DavidXJ

As a tanzanite 40i owner, I agree that a ceramic coating doesn't prevent the kinds of swirls that even careful 2-bucket washing will at some stage leave behind. The colour is fabulous; but the very kind of bright days on which it looks its best are also those days when you're going to spot the odd topcoat scratch or swirl. On balance, I'd happily spec this colour again, as I'm willing to put up with the high maintenance and swirl tendencies for the sake of what is a truly lustrous look (when clean!) that particularly suits the meaty contours of the G20. What I would advise, though, is be super careful if you ever use detailing sprays or so-called waterless wash sprays to remove pollen or dust. Even with an upmarket microfibre towel you can easily mar a ceramic coating if you happen to pick up a bit of gritty dust or conifer seed (my car sometimes has to be parked under trees!) and tanzanite will immediately show up your mistakes. I'm having my detailer guy look at such a scratch next week, and it'll be interesting to see how (if) he goes about removing and then reapplying the coating to the area in question.

I certainly don't have a problem with the Tanzanite paint as I knew it was a high maintenance colour before I ordered it; rather, my disappointment is more that Gtechniq's top range ceramic coating doesn't seem to have been terribly successful at mitigating some of the issues I'd anticipated.

As I've said, perhaps when my detailer does the annual inspection it will turn out I'm worrying unnecessarily - and the solution is relatively easy and low cost - but if that's not the case I think I'll be wishing I'd stuck with a conventional wax and invested in a decent machine polisher!

[MD707]

He will certainly be able to buff out any light scratches or swirls and reapply. My last car was Tanzanite (I didn’t plan to buy another but you know how it goes) and that was the GTechniq one - after a ‘top up’ it was as good as new, so don’t worry 😀

[Alpine110]

Stage 1 Detailing ongoing before GTechniq later in the week

[DavidXJ]

Originally Posted by Alpine110

Stage 1 Detailing ongoing before GTechniq later in the week

Beautiful! Pics like that remind us why we still slog it out with Tanzanite...

[Alpine110]

So the M340i is back from a week with AMDetails, where the work has included a Stage 1 Correction, GTechniq Ultra Serum Ceramic Coating, GTechniq Glass and Leather and Fabric treatments- Alan has worked on 5 cars for us over the years starting with a Z4M. Delighted with the results.

[DavidXJ]

Originally Posted by Alpine110

So the M340i is back from a week with AMDetails, where the work has included a Stage 1 Correction, GTechniq Ultra Serum Ceramic Coating, GTechniq Glass and Leather and Fabric treatments- Alan has worked on 5 cars for us over the years starting with a Z4M. Delighted with the results.

Utterly outstanding. A coating is a must for us tanzanite owners... But you've taken this one to another level. It's going to pop in the sun (if indeed we ever get a fully sunny day this month!).

[Alpine110]

Thanks David, it’s always better than new car hand over going to pick up the car from the Detailer, the level of work that has gone into it is always humbling.

[Charlie (Wessex)]

Love these dark colours (though not so keen on black) - this blue looks very classy.

My e36 was Montreal Blue, the e39 was Oxford Green II and the e61 was black. Then my pickups have also been black, and the Golf R was Atlantic Blue (dark blue). All very hard to keep clean. Had the Dravit Grey for over a month now and still doesn't look too dirty.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by Alpine110

So the M340i is back from a week with AMDetails, where the work has included a Stage 1 Correction, GTechniq Ultra Serum Ceramic Coating, GTechniq Glass and Leather and Fabric treatments- Alan has worked on 5 cars for us over the years starting with a Z4M. Delighted with the results.

Very nice, sounds like the same treatment I had on mine last year (albeit not from the same place!).

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by JNW1

I certainly don't have a problem with the Tanzanite paint as I knew it was a high maintenance colour before I ordered it; rather, my disappointment is more that Gtechniq's top range ceramic coating doesn't seem to have been terribly successful at mitigating some of the issues I'd anticipated.

As I've said, perhaps when my detailer does the annual inspection it will turn out I'm worrying unnecessarily - and the solution is relatively easy and low cost - but if that's not the case I think I'll be wishing I'd stuck with a conventional wax and invested in a decent machine polisher!

Just by way of an update, my car had its annual inspection earlier this week and the good news is the marks can indeed be rectified via a top-up. However, the bad news is a) a top-up costs £200 and b) one will more than likely be required every year if I insist on trying to keep the car as close to immaculate as possible. I suppose the alternative would be to pay to have the coating removed - and then have it detailed with a conventional wax - but I suspect that process would take a few days and wouldn't be especially cheap. I'm therefore leaning towards the top-up route at the moment as I suppose it's "only" the equivalent of three tanks of premium fuel at current prices and there's no doubt the ceramic coating does make the car easier to clean.

However, knowing what I know now would I have the car ceramic coated again? Don't think I would to be honest - obviously it's horses for courses but for me I think a new car detail with a good quality conventional wax - which I could have then largely maintained myself - would have worked better.

[MD707]

Hmm interesting. My guy charges about £30
To redo a panel. £200 seems steep?

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by G21-M340i

Hmm interesting. My guy charges about £30
To redo a panel. £200 seems steep?

Is that with Crystal Serum Light or Ultra?

[DavidXJ]

Originally Posted by G21-M340i

Hmm interesting. My guy charges about £30
To redo a panel. £200 seems steep?

Agreed. 200 quid seems rather pricey (that's close to what one might expect to pay for a full body 12-18month coating treatment). My regular detailer machine-polished out some swirls and clear coat scratches on my tanzanite the other day after a routine clean, before then topping up the ceramic coating on those areas. 70 quid all in. Of course, it depends on how serious your patches of correction are; but if
you're having to pay a 3-figure bill for rectifications, then that's pretty much on par with a new coat.

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by DavidXJ

Agreed. 200 quid seems rather pricey (that's close to what one might expect to pay for a full body 12-18month coating treatment). My regular detailer machine-polished out some swirls and clear coat scratches on my tanzanite the other day after a routine clean, before then topping up the ceramic coating on those areas. 70 quid all in. Of course, it depends on how serious your patches of correction are; but if
you're having to pay a 3-figure bill for rectifications, then that's pretty much on par with a new coat.

Thanks for both of your input and there's certainly some negotiating to be done - looking more closely their standard Gtechniq top-up includes the interior which is still perfect and doesn't need doing again! To be fair, though, a new car detail with Ultra is more like £900 so what I'm being quoted isn't on a par with that either...

[DavidXJ]

Originally Posted by JNW1

Thanks for both of your input and there's certainly some negotiating to be done - looking more closely their standard Gtechniq top-up includes the interior which is still perfect and doesn't need doing again! To be fair, though, a new car detail with Ultra is more like £900 so what I'm being quoted isn't on a par with that either...

To be fair your product JNW1, I see the Serum Ultra comes with a 9 year guarantee (!), which seems extraordinary and almost inconceivable given the amount of strain our cars take here every winter (assuming you haven't got the luxury of a garage). But then, I'm an English Lit Professor, not a chemical engineer, so am hardly an authority! In any case, the price of the original coating in comparison to my coating (which may last 18 months) does indeed put a different complexion on the high price of your top-up.

[paulockenden]

What use is a nine year guarantee if annual £200 top ups are required?

[JNW1]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

What use is a nine year guarantee if annual £200 top ups are required?

I suppose the answer to that is the guarantee is in relation to the coating not staining or becoming discoloured; however, it doesn't guarantee against things like swirls or scratches which, in my case, is what a top-up would be addressing.

I think the lesson for me has been even the best ceramic coating doesn't prevent swirls and light scratches and, if those are the sort of things that annoy you, perhaps a ceramic coat isn't the right option (because solving the problem is less straightforward and more expensive than with a conventional wax). With hindsight I think maybe a ceramic coat wasn't the right way for me to go but if you can live with a few swirl marks - and value the fact the coating makes the car easier to clean - it still has a lot going for it.

[DavidXJ]

Originally Posted by JNW1

I suppose the answer to that is the guarantee is in relation to the coating not staining or becoming discoloured; however, it doesn't guarantee against things like swirls or scratches which, in my case, is what a top-up would be addressing.

I think the lesson for me has been even the best ceramic coating doesn't prevent swirls and light scratches and, if those are the sort of things that annoy you, perhaps a ceramic coat isn't the right option (because solving the problem is less straightforward and more expensive than with a conventional wax). With hindsight I think maybe a ceramic coat wasn't the right way for me to go but if you can live with a few swirl marks - and value the fact the coating makes the car easier to clean - it still has a lot going for it.

You're absolutely right JNW1: there are no perfect solutions for us tanzanite owners, only a series of alternatives that entail different compromises. Tanzanite is going to be a swirl-revealing colour regardless of what one saturates it with; it just comes with the territory, unless you scrupulously garage your car and get the dust/pollen off every week before it takes hold. But on balance, in terms of ease of maintenance and the advantages of having good water beading over the course of a wet winter, I'd opt for a ceramic coating again if I had to choose. Either way, the colour sure is a labour of love!

[Alpine110]

It’s certainly going to take a lot of care to keep the paint looking as it should, reminds me of Deep Sea Blue on E89 Z4s.

Think it will be worth it though;

[Alpine110]

6 months of ownership and the M340i has been doing a great job of doing everything well, take this weekend , drive from Aberdeenshire to Cheshire via Edinburgh. Engaging on the border roads out of Edinburgh and cruising down the M6. Then taxi services for my folks 50th wedding anniversary yesterday. Will need to start looking for winter tyres in the coming weeks.