How Much to Charge for Ceramic Coating as a Mobile Detailer

If you're wondering how much to charge for ceramic coating, the honest answer is: more than the bottle, and usually more than you think. The coating itself is the short part of the job. Most of the time goes into washing, decontaminating, and correcting the paint so the coating has something clean to bond to.

This guide builds a coating price from your own hours and product use, then checks it against what real detailers publish. It's written for mobile operators, because cure conditions change when you don't have a shop.

Our pricing guide covers the general method: occupied hours, required contribution per hour, and clear package scope. This post applies that to coatings specifically.

How much to charge for ceramic coating starts with prep, not the bottle

Coating jobs break the usual package math in a few ways:

• Prep swings the hours. A new car might need a light polish. An older daily driver might need a full day of correction.
• The car has to stay put. Most coatings need dry, stable conditions for hours after you finish.
• You're making a durability promise. Customers hear "5 years" and expect it, though that number comes from the manufacturer.
• There's follow-up. Many warranty programs require yearly inspection visits.

The getdetaild pricing guide puts it simply: prep work is usually the biggest factor in a coating price. Price the prep and the coating as separate pieces, even if the customer sees one package.

Step 1: Inspect the paint before you quote

Don't quote a coating from a photo. Look at the paint in person, in good light, before you give a number.

During that inspection:

1. Check for swirls, scratches, water spots, and old wax or sealant.
2. Note chips, scuffs, clear coat failure, and repaints. Write them down with photos. Our pre-inspection damage walkaround covers how.
3. Decide the correction level the job actually needs.
4. Ask where the car can sit after the coating goes on.

Step 2: Count every hour the job takes

Time is your biggest cost, so time each stage. The Voltsbook coating guide gives one time budget for a mid-size car in average condition: 2 to 3 hours for wash, decon, and clay; 3 to 5 hours for a single-stage polish; 1.5 to 2 hours for panel wipe and application. That's their estimate, not a rule. Your hours depend on your process and the paint.

Make your list complete:

• Wash, iron and tar removal, clay
• Paint correction (one step, two step, or more)
• Panel wipe to remove polishing oils
• Coating application, plus any extra layers
• Trim, glass, and wheel coatings if included
• Setup, teardown, and customer handoff
• Travel to and from the job
• Any return visit to check the coating or apply a top layer

Then multiply by the hourly amount your business needs to earn. If you haven't worked that number out yet, start with labor and chemical cost math for mobile detailing.

Step 3: Price the product per car

Product cost per car is smaller than labor, but track it anyway. Here's what two manufacturers publish:

• CARPRO lists about 10 ml per coat for CQUARTZ UK 3.0, recommends two coats, and sells the 50 ml kit for $79.99 on its US store.
• Gtechniq lists Crystal Serum Light from $75.95 and says to use an opened bottle within 3 months.

Shelf life matters if you only do a coating now and then. You may throw out the rest of the bottle, so price that waste in.

Add consumables too. CARPRO says to switch suede applicators about every two panels. Count panel wipe, compound, pads, towels, and tape.

Step 4: Plan the cure on mobile jobs

This is where mobile coating jobs differ from shop jobs. The manufacturers are clear about conditions:

• Gtechniq says the vehicle should be indoors and stay indoors for 12 hours after Crystal Serum Light goes on, applied between 5°C and 25°C (41°F to 77°F), out of direct sun.
• CARPRO says CQUARTZ UK 3.0 is easy to apply from 3°C to 40°C. Its US store lists recommended working temperatures of 40°F to 90°F and says not to apply in direct sun or on a hot surface.
• The Ceramic Pro aftercare page says its coatings cure enough to drive outside within 48 hours, with the full cure taking up to two weeks.
• The Gyeon certified detailer manual says higher temperature and humidity make coatings flash and cure faster. It describes IR lamp curing at around 50°C for 15 to 20 minutes per panel and tells installers never to let a customer leave with a fresh coating.

What that means for your price and your calendar:

• Require covered space. Smith Bros Mobile Detailing says its 3-year and 5-year coatings require a garage for mobile service. That's a fair rule to copy.
• Budget for IR lamps if you use them. They're equipment you pay for and haul.
• Book coatings by the forecast. Hot, humid afternoons speed up flash time and make high spots more likely. Plan hot days with our heat-aware scheduling checklist, which also covers crew safety.
• Price the reschedule risk. A coating day that gets pushed is a full day you can't easily refill.

Step 5: Build tiers and size adjustments

Most coating menus have three tiers. Build them around prep and product, not adjectives.

Durability numbers are manufacturer claims. CARPRO's US store lists CQUARTZ UK 3.0 durability as 2 to 5 years. Gtechniq says Crystal Serum Light offers up to five years when properly applied and maintained. Say "rated by the manufacturer for up to X years" on your menu, not "lasts X years."

For vehicle size, two guides publish multipliers:

• getdetaild: SUV +25 to 40%, full-size truck or SUV +50 to 75%
• Coateau: SUV about 1.2x, large SUV or truck about 1.4x, and they note size matters because coating is priced mostly on labor

Those are a starting point. Better: time a few bigger vehicles and set each size price from the real extra hours.

Step 6: Price the warranty and follow-up visits

If you install a brand with a warranty program, read the terms before you quote:

• Ceramic Pro requires an annual service within 30 days before or after the anniversary, with a fee set by the installer. Missing it drops coverage to a shorter term.
• Gtechniq requires a visit to the accredited detailer every 12 months, and says that inspection comes at no charge to the customer. Its guarantee excludes scratches, stone chips, and defective application.

So price the annual visit as its own service, or build the cost of a no-charge inspection into the original job. Calendar it the day you finish.

A worked example: how much to charge for ceramic coating on a sedan

Every number here is an example, not a recommendation. Swap in your own.

Example job: a three-year-old sedan, one-step polish, two coats on paint, mobile, in the customer's garage.

• Wash, decon, clay: 2.5 hours
• One-step polish: 4 hours
• Panel wipe and two coats: 2 hours
• Setup, teardown, handoff: 1 hour
• Travel, round trip: 1 hour
• Example total: 10.5 hours

At an example target of $60 per hour, labor is $630.

• Coating: 20 ml of a $79.99, 50 ml kit, about $32
• Consumables (suedes, towels, panel wipe, compound, pads): example $30
• Waste allowance for an opened bottle you may not finish: example $20
• Annual inspection built in (1 hour at $60): $60
• Example floor: about $772

That's a floor, not a price. More correction, extra layers, glass and wheels, or a return visit all add lines.

Use our pricing calculator to run your own hours and costs.

Check how much to charge for ceramic coating against real price pages

Once you have your floor, look at what these businesses publish:

• Smith Bros Mobile Detailing (San Diego County): 1-year coating with a one-step polish from $599 for a coupe, $649 for a sedan; 3-year from $799; 5-year from $1,299. They add $180 to $360 for extra polishing based on vehicle age.
• JVR Mobile Detailing: coating only, with decon included, from $375 for a 1-year coating to $850 for a 5-year. Paint correction is priced separately, from $700 for one step.
• AFT Mobile Wash & Detailing: 3-year from $795, 5-year from $995, 7-year from $1,395, shown as sale prices when reviewed.
• ceramiccoating.com reviews prices shops post online and reports half of those posted coating prices fall between $600 and $1,399.

Compare apples to apples. Coateau warns that a coating-only price isn't comparable to one that includes prep. JVR's $375 and Smith Bros' $649 aren't the same job.

Write the quote so the scope is clear

A coating quote should list:

1. The inspection notes and photos
2. Decon and the correction level
3. Product name and number of layers
4. Surfaces coated: paint, trim, glass, wheels
5. Where the car will cure, and for how long
6. Aftercare rules and first-wash timing
7. Annual inspection terms
8. Deposit and cancellation terms

Running Atlas Detailing is where I learned how much time quoting and scheduling can eat. Write these lines once and reuse them.

FAQ

How much should I charge for ceramic coating as a beginner?

Start from your floor: hours times your hourly target, plus product and consumables. Then compare local price pages. Published examples above range from $375 for a coating-only 1-year job to over $1,300 for a 5-year package, so scope matters more than any single number.

Should paint correction be priced separately from the coating?

Many detailers do. JVR lists correction and coating separately, while Smith Bros includes a one-step polish and charges extra for older paint. Either works if the quote shows what's included.

Can I do ceramic coatings as a mobile detailer?

Yes, if you control the conditions. Gtechniq says Crystal Serum Light needs the car indoors for 12 hours after application. Requiring a garage or covered space, like Smith Bros does for its longer-rated coatings, is a reasonable rule.

Are 1, 3, and 5-year ratings guarantees?

They're manufacturer claims tied to proper application and maintenance. Warranty programs from brands like Ceramic Pro and Gtechniq also require yearly visits. Read the terms and pass them to the customer in writing.

How much more should I charge for an SUV or truck?

Published guides suggest roughly 20% to 75% more depending on size. Timing your own larger-vehicle jobs is more accurate than any multiplier.

Do I need an IR lamp?

Not always. Gyeon's manual describes IR curing to speed things up, while Gtechniq's CSL instructions focus on keeping the car indoors. Follow your coating's instructions.

Price your next coating from real hours

Time your next coating job stage by stage and write down the hours, product, and cure spot. That's a coating price you can explain.

At Rinse, we're building simple tools for independent detailers to handle customers, quotes, scheduling, and invoicing in one place. You can set package prices by vehicle size, add a deposit, and add line items when a job needs more. The desktop version is live, and the mobile app is on TestFlight pending App Store approval. You can see the plans on our pricing page.