Ceramic Coatings have become an extremely popular option for protecting automotive paint in the last decade. To understand whether or not a Ceramic Coating on your car is worth it though, we first have to understand what product it’s trying to replace and why. Let’s travel back in time!
The early 1900’s and Automotive Wax
Automotive Car Wax has been around since the early 1900’s and the first bottled car wax arrived in 1944. The first wax was developed using animal fats and was used on lacquer painted, horse drawn carriages. For nearly 100 years, Carnauba Wax & Sealants were the only option for protecting your paint against UV damage and maintaining the finish long term. That being said, Waxes and Sealants didn’t come without their own downsides. To maintain UV protection, you had to remove and reapply the wax every 3-6 months. They also didn’t offer much chemical resistance against environmental damages, and could also potentially stain or ruin plastic trims if you weren’t precise with your application. For these reasons, wax was doomed to be replaced at certain point with new innovative products.
Pro’s:
Very Cheap
Easy to apply
Improved gloss & depth of paint
Protects paint against UV exposure
May hide minor defects & swirl marks
Con’s:
Doesn’t last long and has to be removed and reapplied every 3-6 months
Low temperature resistance & attracts more dust in hot weather
Little to no chemical resistance or protection against bird droppings, tree sap, bugs, or pollen stains. The average bird dropping can eat through wax and clear coat in as little as 30 minutes on a hot day.
Wax can stain or ruin plastics & moldings
Early 2000’s: Ceramic Coatings enter the scene
At first the industry and consumers were skeptical. What was this new magical liquid that could protect a car for years instead of months? Was it just snake oil? Why was it so much more expensive than wax?
Ceramic Coatings are typically made from nanotechnology-based liquid polymers, most commonly using silicon dioxide (SiO₂) as the main active ingredient. Once cured, they form a thin glass-like layer on the paint and permanently fill in the pores of the paint. This in turn provides superior chemical resistance against environmental contaminants & unparalleled UV protection.
Ceramic Coatings also create an extremely slick hydrophobic surface on the paint for water to bead and roll off which makes cleaning and maintenance a breeze. The best part? You didn’t have to reapply them every few months. In fact, Ceramic Coatings are able to last 5+ years due to their semi-permanent nature and hardness once cured.
Wax Is Dead
By the late 2010’s, most Automotive Detailing shops across the world had adopted Ceramic Coatings and very few were still using wax to protect their customers vehicles. Ultimately, Ceramic Coatings were more profitable, offered better protection, and lasted years instead of months. Around that time, you probably would have heard of four main Ceramic Coating brands such as Opti-Coat (Optimum Polymer Technologies), Ceramic Pro, CQuartz by CarPro, and Gtechniq. These four brands pioneered a large part of the industry and were what most Detailing shops were using, at least in the U.S..
Nowadays, most Detailing shops offer Ceramic Coatings and have moved away from offering wax as a form of paint protection. Once Ceramic Coatings became mainstream, it’s what most customers requested and eventually the wax bottles started to collect dust on the shelves as they became less and less used in the shops.
Ceramic Coatings & their real world benefits:
Better Longevity: Unlike traditional wax, Ceramic Coatings don’t wash off after a few months. A quality application with a professional grade product can last 3-10+ years depending on the product, amount of layers, and care taken post application.
Superior UV Protection: Rather than protecting your car for only a few months, most name-brand coatings offer at least 5+ years of protection with some approaching 10+ years for their top tier coatings.
Increased Chemical Resistance & Environmental protection: Ceramic Coatings create a long lasting chemical barrier against harmful contamination such as bird droppings, tree sap, bigs, pollen, and more.
Added Gloss & Color depth: Not only do Ceramic Coatings add gloss to the paint like wax, but they also have what we like to refer to as a “darkening effect”. Imagine you ran a piece of tape down the hood of a black vehicle and only applied a Ceramic Coating only on one side. Once you remove the tape, you’d realize how much deeper the black paint looks on the coated side and the non-coated side would almost have a slightly washed out and grayish looking tone to it in comparison.
Hydrophobic Properties Easier Maintenance: Most first time Ceramic Coatings purchasers find that they end up washing their car half as much as they used to. When it comes time to clean your car, you’ll also realize within seconds how much easier it is to clean your car and how much time you’ll save. Dirt and contaminants just roll off the paint as soon as you start spraying water on the surface.
Cost savings over time: Although more expensive at first, Ceramic Coatings end up being significantly cheaper over time. They only have to be applied once as opposed to having to do a full exterior detail & wax every 3 months.
Things Ceramic Coatings won’t do
Not Bulletproof: They won’t stop rock chips or deep scratches from happening in the paint. For that, you’d need Paint Protection Film (PPF) on any high impact areas of the vehicle.
Doesn’t eliminate maintenance: You still need to wash your car, just not as often. Most consumers find that they wash their car about 50% less with a Ceramic Coating. A clay bar treatment is also needed once a year to remove any stubborn contamination buildup on all of the surfaces.
Be easy to apply: It’s important to find a trained and trusted installer as an improperly applied Ceramic Coating can be just as expensive to removed as it is to have it installed. While Ceramic Coatings offer superior protection over wax, the installation is quite a bit more intricate in return.
Final Thoughts
Ceramic Coatings are not an end all be all solution, however they are one of the best ways to preserve a new car’s paint today. Think of it like an insurance policy for your cars appearance: it won’t stop every scratch, but it will keep your car looking better, longer, and with less effort.
If you love that “new car look” and want to protect your investment, a Ceramic Coatings is absolutely worth considering.