The credentials behind the work — and how to verify them yourself.
Last updated: May 24, 2026
Ceramic coating and paint correction are skill-dependent and product-dependent. The wrong technique burns clear coat; the wrong application voids a coating warranty. These are the accreditations our technicians and our process are held to — and you can verify each one with the issuing body directly.
The International Detailing Association (IDA) is the industry's professional body. IDA certification tests detailers on safe wash technique, paint correction, coating application, and chemical safety. It's the baseline credential that separates a trained detailer from someone with a foam cannon.
Verify IDA membership and certification through the association's official detailer directory: the-ida.com.
Gtechniq accredits installers on its professional coating line — Crystal Serum Ultra, Crystal Serum Light, and the EXO topper. Accreditation is what makes the multi-year Gtechniq warranty enforceable; a coating applied by an unaccredited installer is not warranty-backed by the manufacturer.
Find accredited Gtechniq installers through the manufacturer: gtechniq.com.
Gyeon (Quartz) certifies installers on its Mohs, Mohs+, and Syncro coating systems. Like Gtechniq, the manufacturer-backed warranty on a Gyeon coating is tied to certified application.
Learn more about the Gyeon Quartz Pro program: gyeonquartz.com.
A $99 spray-on coating from an uncertified applicator and a $1,500 certified ceramic install are not the same product or the same outcome. Certification means the manufacturer stands behind the work, the application was done in the correct conditions, and the warranty registered in your name is real and enforceable.
Ask. We'll tell you exactly which technician holds which certification and how to confirm it.
The International Detailing Association credential is not a single exam. Certified Detailer status requires passing written tests across separate skill areas — safe washing and drying, paint decontamination, machine polishing, interior cleaning and protection, chemical handling and safety, and business practice. Each area is examined independently, and the certification names which areas a technician has passed.
That granularity is the useful part. Someone certified in interior work has not necessarily been examined on paint correction, and it is a fair question to ask. The Skills Validated tier goes further and requires hands-on assessment by an approved evaluator rather than written testing alone, which is the level that matters most for correction and coating work.
Most detailing accreditation is held by individuals, not businesses, which is why a company claiming to be "certified" is a weaker statement than it sounds. A firm can employ one certified technician and advertise the credential across a whole team.
Ask for the name of the technician who will actually be working on your car and the certification held in that name, then check it against the issuing body's directory yourself. We will give you that name before the appointment. Any detailer unwilling to put a specific person against a specific credential has answered the question.
It is worth being straight about this. Certification demonstrates that a technician has been examined on correct process — it does not guarantee the outcome on your particular car, and it does not make a bad decision impossible. Paint that has already been polished thin cannot be corrected safely by anyone, certified or not.
What it does change is the baseline. A certified installer has been tested on when not to cut, on measuring before correcting, and on the application conditions a manufacturer requires. Most of the catastrophic outcomes in this trade — burned clear coat, coating applied over contamination, chemical damage to trim — come from process failures that certification specifically examines.
A manufacturer-backed coating warranty is only enforceable when the installer was accredited at the time of application and the coating was registered with the manufacturer in the owner's name. An unregistered coating from an unaccredited installer carries no manufacturer obligation at all, whatever the invoice says.
After a coating install you should receive registration confirmation from the manufacturer, not just from us — Gtechniq and Gyeon both issue it directly. Keep it with the vehicle documents; it transfers with the car on sale in most cases, which is part of the resale argument for coating in the first place. If you have had a coating applied elsewhere and never received manufacturer confirmation, it is worth asking the installer why.