How much does ceramic coating cost on the Big Island?
Stealth Diamond Borograph is $1,000 for a sedan or coupe, $1,250 for a crossover, pickup or small SUV, and $1,500 for a full-size truck, van or large SUV — or $1,000, $1,250 and $1,500 paying cash.
Liquid PPF with Borograph on top is $3,000, $4,000 and $5,000. Boats, horse trailers and aircraft are priced per foot.
Those are prices for a vehicle in good condition. Paint condition is the one thing we cannot judge from a phone call, so every quote is confirmed after inspection and you get the number before any work starts.
Why do cars age so much faster on the Big Island?
Three things attack at once instead of one at a time: vog, which the USGS describes as primarily sulfuric acid; marine salt, which keeps corroding after it dries; and the highest sustained UV load of any U.S. state.
Mainland paint deals with sun, or with road salt in winter, or with industrial fallout. Here all three run year round, and they compound — UV weakens the clear coat that the acid then bites into, while salt works on anything the other two expose.
That is the whole argument for protecting a vehicle here rather than elsewhere. See vog, salt and UV protection for the mechanism behind each one, with sources.
Do you come to me, or do I bring the vehicle in?
Either. We are mobile across West and North Hawaiʻi, and we have a shop near Magic Sands Beach Park in Kona for drop-off with no travel fee.
East side — Hilo, Keaau, Pahoa, Volcano and Puna — is coatings only, mobile only. Detailing and paint correction stay West and North side. That is a logistics limit rather than a preference, and we say it up front so nobody gets cancelled on.
There is a $50 travel fee past 20 miles outside the Kona district, and it goes straight to the technician working your job.
Why are there two prices on everything?
Because the price you see should be the price you pay. The big figure is the cash or check price. The smaller grey figure beside it is the card price, which is slightly higher because card processing costs us that.
Nothing is ever added at checkout. Both figures are published before you book, which makes this a cash discount rather than a card surcharge — so no fee appears on your bill for choosing a card, and debit cards are charged the cash price.
Hawaiʻi General Excise Tax is added at invoice as its own line, at the state-permitted maximum visible rate of 4.712%. Prices on this site do not include it.
How long does a coating actually last?
Stealth Diamond Borograph is permanent, with 10+ year protection and a written warranty registered in your name. It is applied once and never re-coated on a schedule.
That is a different product class from the consumer ceramic sprays and sealants that wear off in one to three years. Borograph bonds into the clear coat rather than sitting on it, so there is no sacrificial layer to wear through.
If you want protection without the commitment, Ceramic Infused Super Protection gives you six to twelve months here for $100 added to a detail.
Can I take a coated car through a car wash?
No — automatic and drive-through washes void the warranty. Hand wash only.
A tunnel wash drags grit across the paint under pressure, which is what puts swirls into a finish you just paid to have corrected.
Our maintenance program handles one coating-safe wash a month and inspects the coating every visit, from $225 a month with no contract.
What do you work on besides cars?
Boats, aircraft and helicopters, motorcycles, and horse trailers — all with the same coatings and the same honesty about what can and cannot be brought back.
Boats and horse trailers are priced per foot. Aircraft are priced per linear foot of fuselage plus wingspan, with detailing and prep hourly.
On boats the per-foot price is the whole hull up to the rub rail, with the deck and everything above it quoted on inspection. We do not coat rotor blades, trailer floors or ramps.
What will you tell me you cannot fix?
Pitted chrome, heat bluing on exhaust, scratches through the clear coat, deep etching, and trim that has already cracked — and we say so before quoting, not after.
Every one of those is something a shop could take money for and make look briefly better. We would rather lose the job than have that conversation afterwards.
We also will not coat over defects. A ceramic locks in whatever is underneath it, so if the paint needs correcting first we tell you, with the number, and you decide.
