The Truth About How Detail Shops Select Their Coating Products

This can be a touchy subject, and it’s not really meant to throw anyone under the bus. But it is an important topic to our clients, especially since you’re trying to make a smart decision about who you trust with your vehicle. As someone who has trained hundreds of detailers nationwide, I have some insight into how other detail shops are run.

Most detail shops choose their ceramic coating products similarly to how we all start shopping for thing. The turn to the internet and social media. They’re in detailing social media groups, they watch what other detailers are talking about, they see which brands are trending, and they start buying into before they even see the product in action. They read posts, watch videos, scroll through before-and-afters, and eventually fall down the marketing rabbit hole just like anyone else would, gravitating the “vibe of their tribe” so to speak. The brand that “speaks to them” the best. The brand they feel good about. All without ever testing the product.

And at some point, a product does catch their attention. The branding looks good. The claims sound impressive. Maybe the company talks about exclusivity, limited installers, or “pro-only” access. A lot of coating companies intentionally lean into that. They require buy-ins, certifications, or training classes, not necessarily because the product demands it, but because it creates the perception that the coating — and the installer — is now “elite”. They’re already liking it from an outsider looking in perspective, now they want to belong.

Or they get even lazier and just use a formula they pick up from one of their window tint or PPF manufacturers, who are also very likely rebranding someone else’s formula (they’re film manufacturers, not coating manufacturers).

So anyway, the detailer buys in. They attend the training, purchase the product, and start using it.

Here’s the thing though: most ceramic coatings work pretty well right out of the bottle. Fresh paint, proper prep, a new coating, if installed halfway decently, is almost always going to look good at first. Beading looks great. Gloss pops. The customer is happy. The detailer has a positive experience. And that’s where the decision-making often stops.

That coating is now “the one for their shop.” It gets sold to every customer going forward. And the detailer\shop is now a part of the “in crowd”. Now they’re the ones posting in the exclusive social media groups. Now they’re on the inside being watched by those on the outs. They’re the “cool kids” now.

The uncomfortable truth is that roughly 90–95% of ceramic coatings on the market are the same formula, rebranded. Many of them are private-labeled or lightly tweaked versions of the same base chemistry. That includes some very big, very recognizable names as well. Different labels, different stories, different price points. Chemically the same, or virtually the same product. Literally coming out of the same manufacturing plant.

We do it differently here. We identified actual manufacturers and we began testing and evaluating their products. They were noticeably better than other formulas we had been looking at, so we started identifying the best ones. While that seems straight forward, it’s taken years to do accomplish.

So, at Horizon Detail we start with amazing, industry leading (by a mile) products, and then we completely over-deliver where it actually matters. With the understanding of how to not only install ceramic coatings, but how to go way over and beyond and install coatings in a way that is far superior to the basic manufacturer’s minimum required installation process every other shops follows. We understand and employ techniques other shops haven’t even thought about. Things like advanced surface prep, different paint system’s behaviors, surface and substrate bonding, environmental factors, application technique, and long-term maintenance expectations. A great installer can make an average coating perform very well. A poor installer can make a great coating fail early.

And the reason I’m able to speak so directly about this is simple: I’ve seen it from the inside.

Over the years, I’ve worked with and trained thousands of detailers across the country. I’ve talked with them about how they choose products, why they choose and switch brands, what they like, what they struggle with, and what actually holds up for them long-term (or more typically, what doesn’t hold up for them long term and how to address it). I’ve helped guide shops toward better processes, not just better labels.

I’ve also worked directly with ceramic coating manufacturers behind the scenes. I was part of a mentor team for IGL Coatings, ones of the largest coating manufacturers in the market, a company we still use and work with today, where I spent years supporting their installer community. I tested products aggressively. I pushed coatings well beyond normal use. I experimented with layering, compatibility, and performance limits. Not from a lab chemistry standpoint, but from a real-world functional standpoint: how coatings behave on different paints, in different configurations, in different conditions, over time.

That kind of access gives you a very different perspective.

It teaches you that no coating is magic. It teaches you that longevity claims are often optimistic at best. And it teaches you that the relationship between the installer and the client matters far more than the logo on the bottle.

When you’re choosing a detailer, the better question isn’t “What coating do you use?”
It’s “Why do you use it?”
“How long have you worked with it?”
“What happens if there’s an issue?”
“Are you selling me a product, or are you standing behind a process?”

That’s the difference between someone who picked a coating because it was popular — and someone who understands exactly what they’re putting on your car, why they chose it, and how to make it perform the way it should.

And that difference shows up long after the initial gloss wears off and the truth about their duration claims start to be revealed.