FAQ

Are there any additional fees?

We’ve been getting that one a lot recently, because I think some businesses have the habit of charging additional card processing fees or whatever. We don’t do that. Whatever the price on the invoice says is exactly what we are charging, no extra taxes or fees or anything. What you see is what you get. I like to keep it simple and easy to understand, with no surprises.

Read the full answer

How does the 15-year guarantee work?

Let’s take my phone as an example. If the phone has a manufacturer guarantee, they’re basically going to guarantee that the phone should work from a software level for, let’s just say, five years. But if I were to throw my phone off of a roof and break it, that is not covered by that manufacturer warranty.

So on the Rocklear, the 15-year manufacturer warranty is them guaranteeing that it’s not going to fail prematurely, it’s not going to fail early on you. It’s not just going to disappear or wear away early. If the car is ever garaged, by the way, it’s going to last longer than 15 years. The 15-year warranty is for vehicles that are parked outside, so if it’s seeing mixed use and it’s out of the sun, you’re going to see more than 15 years.

Let’s say it wears away at year 12. The manufacturer would pay us, or any other Rocklear installer, because there’s more in the area and there’s more in other states, so we’re not the only one, to go ahead and reapply the coating. But it should have no problem making it the full length of time. That covers the coating failing early, not external damage. If you sit there and destroy the crap out of your coating, of course that’s not covered, because you did that.

How the guarantee actually works, in full

What does a rock chip touch-up cost later?

It depends on the damage, but usually under $150, and small five-minute polish-outs are free. We like to try and keep our repairs and touch-ups as low as we can fit it in with the numbers here at the business, because if you’ve already paid for the coating, we don’t really feel like trying to milk the owner of the car anymore. They’ve already paid us to have the install done, and we want to try and help them out where we can.

So a lot of times, if somebody gets scuffed in a parking lot and it just takes us five minutes of polishing to remove that scuff mark off the coating, we don’t even charge for it. It’d be a waste of time to make an invoice and do all that fuss for it, rather than just, okay, it’s all fixed, you’re good to go.

How long should I avoid getting the car wet after the install?

By the time you pick it up, it is okay to get it wet. It will be dry on the surface, you can touch it and you can get water on it and that’s okay, but it’s not fully hardened yet.

You should try to avoid letting bird poop, tree sap, and bugs sit on there in the hot sun for the 30 days while it’s still hardening. By the time it’s fully hardened it will have maximum chemical resistance, and if something stains it, well, it was going to stain it anyway, but it’s a little bit more sensitive in that 30-day period. So we just advise people to try and watch out for it. But it could rain the next day and nothing will impact the coating.

The full aftercare guide

Is paint correction included?

The paint correction is included, it’s a part of the prep process, and we document it so you can see us removing the scratches and everything. As long as the scratches aren’t insanely horrible, like severe scratches, mild to moderate scratches most of the time just completely go away. If you just have a bunch of minor swirl marks in the car, they’re all going to completely disappear.

Mild paint touch-up is included too, things like mild rock chips or one or two deeper scratches with missing paint. Moderate to severe touch-up is available at extra cost, and you hear about it at drop-off when we look the car over together, before any work starts.

Where are you, and when are you open?

We’re at 36 Winsor St, Milpitas, CA 95035, about 15 minutes up the 880 from central San Jose. We’re open Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon on, and closed Tuesday through Thursday. Installs are scheduled ahead of time, so we set a drop-off date with you first.

If a closed day is the only day you can drop off, that still works. We’re closed that day so we won’t have staff there for the full day, but you can park out front of the office and drop the key through our mail slot, and the team will pull it in that night. Work starts the next open day.

What’s the deposit, and how do I reserve a date?

The deposit is 50% of your total and it’s what reserves the date, and the rest is due once the service is done. We confirm your appointment date with you before any deposit is requested, and once the deposit is taken care of the date is all yours, and we can move it if your timing shifts. It also locks your price, so if your car hasn’t landed yet you can reserve now and we do the install whenever it’s ready.

If plans change, it’s refundable in full up to 72 hours before your appointment, and inside 72 hours it stays on your account as credit toward the job whenever you reschedule.

What happens to your deposit if you change your mind

Does my car have to stay overnight?

For a single layer, yes, one night. The coating cures overnight, so it’s a next-day pickup, drop off one day and pick up the next. Rock Chip Protection Front, with three layers on the front, runs about a day per layer, so that one is closer to a full weekend job.

Can I take it through an automatic car wash, like Quick Quack?

For the first 30 days the coating is still hardening, so hold off on car washes, soaps, and waxes altogether and just rinse off anything that lands on it.

After that, we’ve had a lot of clients keep going to Quick Quack after the coating, and when they come back in I don’t see swirls or scratches in the Rocklear, it’s a harder material to scratch than your factory paint. We usually say do so at your own risk, but with what’s come back from our own clients, if it’s convenient for you I’d keep doing it. Even if some minor swirls show up down the line they’re very easy to remove, nothing permanent. For the best result, hand wash with a pH-neutral soap and clean microfiber towels.

How to wash a coated car

I just bought a new car. Do I even need this?

A brand-new car is the strongest case for it. Factory paint is exactly what’s worth protecting, and the time to do it is while it’s still perfect, before the first rock chip and the first car-wash swirl, because nothing brings paint back to that afterward. That’s why Rock Chip Protection Front is the package we point most new daily drivers at, three layers on the panels that take the hits and one layer everywhere else.

Do you do detailing or window tint?

We don’t do either one, paint protection is the whole business. For tint, OJ’s Tint Studio does all of our tint work right nearby, mention Dragon Auto sent you and they’ll take care of you with a discount on their packages, ojtintstudio.com, (510) 676-1517. For detailing we send people to Dilan at Deluxe Auto Detailing, the team we trust with all of our own detailing needs.

How much does Icon Rocklear cost?

During our 50% Summer Sale, Gloss & Fade Protection, a single layer of Icon Rocklear, starts at $925 for coupes and roadsters and runs to $1,625 for XL SUVs and trucks. Our most popular package, Rock Chip Protection, 3 layers on the front end plus a full layer all around, runs $1,725 to $2,475 by vehicle size. Both packages include the same 15-year warranty, with no annual fees. Summer Sale pricing ends when summer does, and the price you book at is the price you pay.

What’s the difference between the two packages?

Gloss & Fade Protection gives your whole car the same 15-year protected finish with a single layer. Rock Chip Protection stacks three layers on the panels that take the most abuse, the bumper, hood, fenders, and mirrors, with one layer everywhere else. It significantly increases rock chip resistance, though no coating makes paint chip-proof. Both carry the identical 15-year warranty, and neither covers more of the car than the other. The extra layers buy two things, thickness where the impacts happen and more years of wear life, because each layer brings its own UV protection along with it. Stack three on the front and those panels are good for roughly 45 years.

How does the cost compare to ceramic coating or PPF?

Over 15 years, ceramic coating typically costs $6,150 or more once you count reapplication every 3 to 5 years, and paint protection film runs $13,500 or more including the reinstall when the film ages out around year 10. Icon Rocklear is a one-time installation. There’s no reapplication cycle, no film to replace, no yellowing, and no visible seams.

Rocklear vs ceramic vs PPF, the full comparison

Are there annual fees to keep the warranty valid?

No. There are no annual fees, no required inspection visits, and nothing you have to buy to keep the 15-year warranty valid. Some paint protection warranties require paid yearly visits. Ours doesn’t. It’s installed once and you’re covered.

Can I split the cost into monthly payments?

Yes. The monthly figure on a quote isn’t a plan from us, it’s an example: the price divided over 12 months, because the 12 month Affirm plan is the one most people end up taking. Gloss & Fade Protection on a coupe at $925 works out to about $77 a month that way. You can pay outright or finance it through Affirm or Afterpay at checkout, and the terms and rate come from your own application with them, not from us.

What do the add-on coatings cost?

Glass coating, trim coating, and wheel coating are $150 each during the Summer Sale, regularly $300. They’re applied in the same visit as your Rocklear install.

Is my deposit refundable?

Yes. If you cancel more than 72 hours before your appointment, we refund it in full to the card you paid with. Inside 72 hours it stays on your account as credit toward the job whenever you reschedule, so you don’t lose it either way. Getting a quote is free, and we confirm your appointment date before any deposit is requested.

Do you charge a cancellation fee?

No. You get the full amount back, not the amount minus a processing charge. We’ve refunded over $66,000 in deposits to customers whose plans changed, for everything from a new job to a family emergency. If something has come up and you’re past the 72-hour window, talk to us anyway.

What is Icon Rocklear, exactly?

Icon Rocklear is a permanent paint protection coating. We hand apply it onto your factory paint, panel by panel, and it cures into a hard clear layer that bonds into your clear coat and becomes part of it, thicker than the factory clear coat on its own. It doesn’t wash off and there’s nothing to reapply, so it’s a one-time job with no waxing, and it carries a 15-year manufacturer warranty.

Is Icon Rocklear a ceramic coating?

No. A ceramic coating sits on top of your paint and wears off in a few years. Icon Rocklear bonds chemically and becomes part of your clear coat. It’s permanent, with nothing to reapply.

How long does it last?

The warranty is 15 years, and that’s a minimum rather than an average. It comes from 4,000 hours of lab UV testing that simulates a car parked outside in the sun around the clock, so a garaged car wears slower than that. Each layer carries its own UV inhibitors and those are what wear down over time, so extra layers on a panel add years of wear life to that panel. When it does finally wear out it doesn’t peel or bubble, it just wears away, and the factory paint underneath is left untouched with years of life still in it.

Will it stop rock chips?

It adds real impact resistance, especially with extra layers on the front of the car, but it’s not rock-chip-proof and we’ll never tell you it is. Light scratches polish out, and the coating takes the wear instead of your paint.

What happens if sand, dust, or hail hits the coating?

Out of the thousands of cars we’ve coated, we’ve never seen sand, dust, or hail damage the coating. Sand and dust wear on the coating instead of your paint, that’s the whole point of it, and if anything ever does scratch it, we polish it right out, the small ones usually at no charge. Hail can still dent the metal underneath like any car, and if a panel ever gets repaired at a body shop we recoat that panel, and insurance can usually reimburse the recoat with the claim.

Can you guarantee it won’t chip?

No, and nobody selling any product should guarantee that in writing, a big enough rock at freeway speed will damage film or coating alike. Through the years of us doing PPF, we had enough installs come back to us where a big hit tore the film and it required a full replacement, that’s paying hundreds of dollars to redo an entire section all over again just to repair one small area. With Rocklear a chip is a touch-up, usually under $150, and small polish-outs are free. For an hour commute, 3 layers on the front end has held up great for hundreds of daily drivers we’ve put this on.

Is it worth it on a daily driver?

Yes. You get UV, chemical, water, and environmental protection plus the deeper, glossier look, for far less than full PPF costs over the same years.

Is Icon Rocklear worth it? An honest answer

Can it be removed?

No, Icon Rocklear is permanent. Once it bonds into your clear coat it stays for the life of the coating, and when it does finally wear out it doesn’t peel or bubble, it just wears away.

Does it need maintenance?

No annual maintenance and no special products. It sheets water off the surface, so dirt and minerals rinse away. A normal soap-and-water wash keeps it looking its best.

How long does the install take?

A single-layer install books one day, and multi-layer packages book up to three days. Every install starts with a full decontamination wash, clay bar, and machine polish, so the coating locks in a corrected finish, not the swirls under it.

What does Reddit say about Icon Rocklear?

The negative Reddit threads document real bad installs, and we won’t pretend otherwise. But they’re an installer problem, not a product problem: the same bad work exists in ceramic coating and PPF, it’s just buried under decades of good work. We wrote a full, honest breakdown of what those threads get right, what they miss, and how to grill any installer, including us.

Icon Rocklear Reddit Reviews

Why get it done at Dragon Auto?

We’re the largest Icon Rocklear shop in California and the highest-rated Rocklear installer in the country, with the highest review score and the most reviews of any installer at 4.9 stars across 420 Google reviews. We’ve helped thousands of vehicle owners, and Rocklear installs are what our shop runs on every day.

Read the reviews

What if I’m not happy with the work?

If the coating fails or the finish doesn’t meet our workmanship standard within 30 days of pickup, we’ll redo the work or refund you in full. That’s separate from, and on top of, the 15-year manufacturer warranty on the coating itself.