Ceramic Coat - ‘Unfinished’ Hard Top

[ecnrsfm_3hnds]

‘21 JLUR w/black, ‘unfinished’ hardtop; pic below.

I’m planning to ceramic coat my JLUR but seeing/receiving conflicting info how to deal with the hard top. Some say decontaminate & clay it, put on the ceramic coat; others, including Chemical Guys reps I’ve spoken, don’t recommend it. (I have access to CH carbon force).

Up till now I’ve just been putting spray wax on the hard top - it works but, as you know, doesn’t last.

Anyone here with experience and advice? TIA!!

View attachment 769452

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[Old Jeeper]

‘21 JLUR w/black, ‘unfinished’ hardtop; pic below.

I’m planning to ceramic coat my JLUR but seeing/receiving conflicting info how to deal with the hard top. Some say decontaminate & clay it, put on the ceramic coat; others, including Chemical Guys reps I’ve spoken, don’t recommend it. (I have access to CH carbon force).

Up till now I’ve just been putting spray wax on the hard top - it works but, as you know, doesn’t last.

Anyone here with experience and advice? TIA!!

View attachment 769452

When I lived in the Sonoran Desert I painted my WHITE using a solar reflective paint, WOW what a difference that made.

 

[ecnrsfm_3hnds]

I’m in Michigan currently; would sure consider it if I move back down south!

 

[ChuckQue]

I’m not sure I understand why CG would say you couldn’t ceramic it. You can ceramic unpainted plastic trims, so why not the hard top? I say go for it. The only issue I could see is the texture would be hard on the applicator, so you may have fibers stuck on there. Plus when you knock down after it flashes. You’ll have to get creative, maybe use a spray ceramic instead like Adam’s Advanced. Test it on the freedom panels first. I’ve seen them do this with textured rock sliders.

 

[NCRob]

I applied Adam’s graphene ceramic to my hardtop and all plastic trim. It makes cleaning a lot easier. I’m going on 9 months and it still beads and sheds water just like the painted surfaces.

 

[lashlee]

I used Ethos graphene on my wife's JLUR's black top. I washed it and put it on. I didn't mess with claying the top, even though I had clayed the rest of the body.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

The black hardtop is not unfinished. It is in fact painted with a single stage matte black paint. In it's raw state, the hardtop is white.

I see no reason why you could not put a ceramic coating on it. What you want to avoid is any type of coating/wax with any abrasives in it, as the coat of black paint is not very thick.

I've used a spray coating with ceramic in it and have had zero issues. I would think that the more concentrated, high end ceramic coatings would perform even better.

 

[ChuckQue]

The black hardtop is not unfinished. It is in fact painted with a single stage matte black paint. In it's raw state, the hardtop is white.

I see no reason why you could not put a ceramic coating on it. What you want to avoid is any type of coating/wax with any abrasives in it, as the coat of black paint is not very thick.

I've used a spray coating with ceramic in it and have had zero issues. I would think that the more concentrated, high end ceramic coatings would perform even better.

I admittedly haven’t had a black hard top or even seen one in person up close. Doesn’t it have some sort of rougher texturing or am I wrong? If it doesn’t, then yeah it should be super easy to ceramic it….

 

[elf883]

also used adams ceramic coating on my top, and the ceramic for paint

i use the graphene detail spray for detail in between washs
and when i want to add a extra layer i use
https://adamspolishes.com/collections/sio2-infused/products/adam-s-ceramic-paste-wax

you can coat the roof , just dont let bake in
be in the shade make sure its cool before you coat it

 

[elf883]

I admittedly haven’t had a black hard top or even seen one in person up close. Doesn’t it have some sort of rougher texturing or am I wrong? If it doesn’t, then yeah it should be super easy to ceramic it….

the roof isnt rough at all , its just a matte paint/coating

 

[DewHawk]

This has been covered before but in general a spray ceramic will be much easier to apply and maintain than the traditional applicator pad from a bottle will. There's plenty of options out there to choose from but my personal go to spray ceramics are Adams Advanced and Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray. Turtle Wax has come a long way from where they used to be and are considered one of the better ceramic brands for the money these days. I'm still testing it on my wife's Mercedes but so far I'm pretty impressed after 6 months. Adams takes a bit more effort to apply properly but should get you closer to 12 months without reapplication.
If you want something stupid simple to apply that you can use during a normal wash that'll get about 4 months of protection on average, you might consider Gyeon Wet Coat. It's the least demanding product to apply and gets pretty good results.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

I admittedly haven’t had a black hard top or even seen one in person up close. Doesn’t it have some sort of rougher texturing or am I wrong? If it doesn’t, then yeah it should be super easy to ceramic it….

There is a texture to it, but it's not in the color coat.

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