I just clay barred my wife's CR-V and am hoping to put some type of sealant on it now that it's clean. I went over to the local Chemical Guys shop to discuss ceramic coatings. The gal that helped me was amazed when I showed her the car. She couldn't believe the condition of the paint. It looks like new, literally, and feels great as in super smooth.
I'm not convinced I want to put ceramic on it though. Yeah, it'll last a lot longer than good old wax but it is so 'permanent' in my way of thinking. Here's a shot of the passenger mirror which I hesitated to clay but it turned out OK IMO.

And yes, that spec on the paint is a chip, not dirt.
Being retired we drive less than 7k miles per year so our maintenance schedule is pretty much once a year oil change etc. I've done most of it myself too.

Note, the white on the A pillar paint is a reflection of the lights in the garage, not a scratch.

 

My son just bought a new car and the dealer wanted $1000 (financed) for ceramic coating. We declined and bought the ceramic coating material with the best reviews, an iron spray remover, clay bars and a neutral Ph car soap. Total $200 and 2 hours. On an older car you will need also paint correction with some time of buffing/polishing first another 2 hours. The results are amazing but from now on a neutral Ph car soap for ever Is needed.

 

Just remember, if you are ceramic coating a car, the surface of the paint needs to be decontaminated and sometimes polished first.

The better the brand, the easier the application (not always though). After the application, you still need a maintenance wash every 4-6 weeks depending on how dirty the car gets.

 

I decided to go with waxing vs ceramic coating. The chances of me doing a perfect ceramic coating were slimmer than me doing a better job waxing. I can fix a bad wax job easier than fixing a bad ceramic coating job.

 

I ceramic coated my 2019 Civic myself after a full clay bar and polish took a weekend but the results were worth it. Two years in, it still beads water like crazy and washing is super easy just use pH-neutral soap and no aggressive brushes. For maintenance I stick to 6-month intervals since small issues are cheaper to fix early.
If you go DIY spend the time on prep ceramic only looks as good as the surface underneath.