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If you’re like me, your first introduction to Ammo NYC was via the company’s quite successful YouTube channel. And while I have been known to indulge in one or two of its videos, I had not yet had the pleasure of using any of its products until the Reflex Pro Top Coat arrived at my door.
This product is unusual in the ceramic coating space in that it appears to be primarily considered a maintenance product for a traditional ceramic coating. That being said, Ammo NYC is quick to point out that you can use Reflex Pro Top Coat on an uncoated car to quickly provide a lil’ boost of protection.
I decided to apply this to the driver’s side of my 1999 Honda Accord, adjacent to panels that had been treated with a variety of other coating types, in the effort to see how it applied, how it worked, and if it’s as good as the production value on the company’s videos. Let’s see how it stacked up.
Unboxing the Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
I’ve noticed that a bunch of the spray coatings tend to be shipped with the spray nozzle separate from the bottle, and this was no exception. Contrary to some of the others, the Ammo NYC spray nozzle had a particularly long and rather stiff tube, which required some force to convince the nozzle to mate with the bottle. After a little pep talk to convince these girls to play nice, all was well.
The packaging on the Reflex Pro Top Coat is pleasant and eye-catching, but I must say I was more than a bit confused by the directions on the bottle itself.
Ammo NYC claims that this product can be used on a wet or dry car. However, according to the instructions on the bottle, it seems to prefer a wet application. And while a dry application seems pretty self-explanatory, I could see someone less experienced getting flustered by the vagueness. Hey, at least it’s a pretty bottle…
Getting After It With the Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
- Good: Many use cases
- Bad: Kinda confusing directions
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I chose to apply this product to a dry car, as that’s what I’d done for the other tests. This, however, meant I was sort of flying blind with the directions.
What I ended up doing was spraying the product directly onto the panel, and buffing off like is typical with other spray coatings. I immediately noticed that removing the product from the car tended to require a second pass with another clean microfiber towel, and I attributed that to the bottle seemingly preferring a wet application. However, once I trotted over to Ammo NYC’s website, the company very clearly pointed out that less is more with Reflex Pro Top Coat.
I must have been pretty aggressively over-applying. Don’t be like me. But also, the directions, again, should be clearer.
Aside from the extra elbow grease that I had to put into removing the product, I was pretty happy with the apparent gloss boost on the car’s paint. And a nice little side benefit is that this stuff smells pretty nice, though not overwhelming either.
What’s Good About Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
On its own, I got some noticeably good results from applying the Reflex Pro Top Coat to a prepped, but uncoated surface. I appreciate spray products like these for their ease of use and reduced commitment and elbow grease required in its application — especially once you realize you’ve applied too much on the first go.
This is definitely a great way to dip a toe into Ammo NYC’s product line or the world of ceramic coatings in general. And the pleasant smell offered is one that won’t smoke you out of the garage with chemical aromas, making it more difficult to use repeatedly.
What’s Not Good About Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
My main issue is really just Ammo NYC’s directions — or lack thereof. I think the directions could benefit from a little more detail (no pun intended).
That’s what really makes it seem like this is a side product to the Reflex Pro Enamel Coat, which is pretty dang pricey itself being almost double the cost of the other traditional coatings I tested. Based on the results from the Top Coat, I’d give the Enamel Coat a try, but I’d be hard-pressed otherwise.
Our Verdict On Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
I do appreciate this product, but it’s not necessarily my favorite ceramic spray coating. I definitely see the appeal of using this with Ammo NYC’s other products as a one-stop-shop for what is clearly an elevated product line.
However, if you’re not interested in going that deep into the world of automotive detailing products, you can probably pick up something a little cheaper that will still get you some decent results.
That being said, I’m really just nitpicking at this point, because this is a great product otherwise. There is good potential for brand recognition here because Ammo NYC has nearly 2 million subs on YouTube at the time of this writing. I like its mission of making gross things cleaner, and I enjoyed using this product in my quest to make my gross little Accord coupe way prettier than it has a right to be.
TL;DR REVIEW
Ammo Reflex Pro Enamel Coat
FAQs About Ammo NYC Ceramic Coating
You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.
Q. How do I maintain Reflex Pro?
A. Maintenance of Reflex Pro Top Coat is really just another application. Wash your car and repeat.
Q. How do I prep the paint before applying Reflex Pro?
A. With any coating, you’ll get the best results from at least one stage of paint correction and surface prep to remove any contaminants.
Q. Is Reflex Pro safe on matte paint or vinyl wraps?
A. It’s safe, but definitely consider testing on an inconspicuous area as it may change the appearance a little bit.
Q. How long does Reflex Pro take to cure?
A. Ammo NYC says wait 6-12 hours before getting the car wet after applying.
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