paint protection
WHAT IS CERAMIC COATING
Ceramic coatings offer a sacrificial layer to your cars paintwork that can be removed and reapplied. Ceramic Coatings are a fairly new phenomenon within the auto detailing world. To make things simple, ceramic coatings are extremely strong, and protective coatings that bond to car paint so intensely they can last up to 7+ years (if properly cared for). I like to call them “wax on steroids.” While a wax or a sealant may protect your car’s paint mildly for several months, ceramic coatings not only last years longer, but they are extremely tough. To put this into perspective, your car’s clear coat measures anywhere from a 2h-4h on the hardness scale, while many ceramic coatings measure a 9h (the highest measurement on the scale).
WHAT MAKES CERAMIC COATINGS DIFFERENT
There are many things that differentiate between ceramic coatings including life-span, hardness, chemical makeup, and more, but these 3 are really the most important. The 3 major brands in the ceramic coating industry are: Ceramic Pro, C. Quartz, and Opti-Coat Pro. While Opti-Coat is made up of “Silicone Carbide” (SiC), most other coatings are made up of “Silicone Dioxide” (SiO2). Coatings that are made up of Silicone Carbide (SiC) are a truly permanent coating, because they chemically bond to the paint, and more or less become one with the paint, as they take on the very properties of the car paint itself. Silicone Dioxide coatings do not become one with the paint as much as they form a very distinct, and separate barrier that sits on top of the paint.
ARE CERAMIC COATINGS EXPENSIVE
The simple answer to this question is yes, but of course that is extremely subjective. This is a bit of an over simplification, however an easy way to think about this is, I have never seen a ceramic coating applied for less than $800, but I have rarely seen them applied (at least on the average car) for more than around $2000. In our area, it is safe to assume that applying a ceramic coating will cost somewhere around the $1000 to $2000 range, but again, that is an over-simplification. Are there some places that charge more like $10,000… probably, but again, they are probably catering to the high end crowd that drives lamborghinis, and bugattis. The reason why ceramic coatings are a more expensive service, other than the fact that they are permanent protection that can last as long as 7 years, is simply because of the work and skill that it takes to apply them. It is not nearly as simple as just slapping on some protection, and letting it dry for a little while. Before a ceramic coating can ever be applied, the vehicle must be polished, at a minimum one time, but more often than not, because most paint has serious swirls, scratches, etc… the paint requires a 2 or 3 step polish, which on a good day (and done properly), can take 8+ hours. Polishing is required because before the paint is sealed in with the protective ceramic coating, the swirls, scratches, and defects in the paint must be corrected, otherwise we would be permanently sealing in all of those horrible scratches, swirl marks, etc… and who wants that? After that is finished, the coating is finally applied, but even that is not quite as simple as it sounds. Many coatings require certain “prep” products to be used before actually applying the coating itself, then after the coating is applied, there are finishing products that must be applied over it as well. The entire coating application process can take many more hours as well depending on the size of the car itself. It is for this reason that ceramic coatings tend to be more expensive. The 20+ hours of work that some take to apply require a more hefty compensation for obvious reasons. For more information on the price of a ceramic coating, contact us at Razor Sharp.
WHAT CERAMIC COATINGS ARE NOT
These coating are not the solution to having a wash free vehicle. meaning your car still need regular maintence washes. although these ceramic coatings are incredibly hard, its important to convey that they are not “life proof” they still need care just as much as a car that didn’t have any protection. washing a car with a ceramic coating is much easier than it would be washing a car without a ceramic coating. ceramic coatings are extremely hydrophobic, meaning if water, muddy water and even dirt land on the surface, it has less of a chance of sticking to the paint and will fall off, or bead off. this makes washes much easier, faster and with very little effort.
The word “Permanent” gets thrown around a lot in the world of ceramic coatings. the truth of the matter is that ceramic coatings are not Permanent, ceramic coatings do not peel off, they wear down the same way a wax or a sealant would, but at a much much slower pace. now remember as i stated above coatings made of silicone carbide (SiC) make a permanent bond with the paint. that does not mean they are a permanent form of protection. coatings do wear down over time, but with the proper care and washes will last for years to come.
Ceramic coatings are not scratch “proof” by any stretch of the imagination. A lot of misinformation gets passed around about ceramic coatings being scratch “proof” and that is completely false. ceramic coatings are much much more “resistant” to scratching than a wax or a sealant. care still needs to be exercised with ceramic coatings. ceramic coatings can still get swirls, and scratches, but its just a little harder to instill them due to the hardness of the ceramic coating.