Paint Is Plagued by Persistent Peril… Ceramics Coating Are Confronting the Chaos
First, Understand the Layers Beneath the Shine
To understand what clear coats are useful for, I’ll have to go over some fundamentals, but I promise I’ll keep it really quick. A car’s paint is made up of multiple layers. When you see your car’s shiny paint in the sun, the gradient of glow is being caused by light bouncing through these layers and it reflects back onto your eye. That’s why the colors change or become more mirror-like depending on the angle. These layers serve more purpose than beauty however (and it is quite beautiful when it shines in the sun). The first layer of the paint is a phosphate layer. This layer simply covers the bare metal panels to prevent rust and acts as a better bonding surface for the primer preventing it from chipping or being affected by moisture. The primer comes second and smooths out the surface allowing the paint to reflect with more precision. Next comes the basecoat, the paint itself, along with sparkly metallic flakes that give cars their beautiful shine. After that, there is a clear coat on top of the paint to protect it from the outside elements like, rocks getting kicked up from the highway, snow, rain, UV rays, oxygen, bird droppings, and even the nails of your dog excitedly jumping in and out whenever you offer a ride.
What Happens When Clear Coats Fail
What happens when the clearcoat does get scratched up? Well that’s when problems can occur. That allows the paint and underlying layers to easily come off due to other factors like mentioned above and will soon leave the panel’s base metal exposed. The problem with this is rust. Rust will start from that tiny spot, and be able to expand under the paint and can remain fairly unseen. That’s when paint starts to get that warbly appearance. Now, the clearcoat is pretty tough and can last for a while under normal conditions, but it really tends to be a matter of time. That’s where ceramic coatings come in.
Ceramic Coatings Outperforms the Clear Coat
Ceramic coatings are the ultimate protection for your car. It really goes deeper than the paint and protects the car’s structural panels as well. Especially living in high risk environments with salty roads, salty ocean air, urban contaminants, and even slight Winter conditions will eventually break down the paint’s layers and damage vehicles in permanent and very expensive ways. So a ceramic coating serves to be the answer to this problem. It’s not just extra clear coat. It’s stronger. It’s much much stronger. Ceramic coating is different than a traditional wax in that it doesn’t just sit on top of the clear coat, it chemically and permanently bonds to it. While a wax still serves as good protection, it wears off within weeks to just a couple months as opposed to the 2-5 years that many ceramic coatings are rated for. It drastically improves on the resistance to the clear coat while also filling in some of the gaps that have seen some scratches. This smooths out the clear coat layer and helps the light reflect more, enhancing the shine of the car’s paint beyond how it was before.
Lower Maintenance with Easier Cleaning
Due to how protective and smooth the ceramic coating layer is, there is significantly less maintenance needed to keep the coating in good shape. Ceramic coating is even more hydrophobic than wax. When it rains, the rain simply rolls off the sides of the car and along with some other dirt and grime that has accumulated with it. For years, simply washing your ceramic-coated car with just water, a basic pH-balanced soap, and only minor touch-ups here and there, the car’s clear coat and underlying layers will never touch air. The process of cleaning your car becomes much easier and more efficient.
Ceramic Coatings Demand Precision
There is unfortunately one big downside and it’s in the complexity of the application. Paint correction comes hand in hand with ceramic coatings because it doesn’t make much sense to protect and seal away already compromised paint. Working with the multiple layers of paint and matching the delicate color balancing is outside of the scope for many DIY solutions, and without experience, problems could arise like trapping moisture onto the car’s body if not done correctly. The ceramic coating itself is also rather time-consuming and delicate to apply smoothly and correctly. These two factors together means there becomes a necessity for expertise and professional application to be done correctly. For many people, learning to do it themselves requires buying equipment and spending a full day and prep and application. Some may like the challenge of course, but many cannot commit that much effort to a one-time application. Professionals offer ultimate precision and experience that is required for a high quality and effective application.
Time, Cost, And the Long View
Despite the upfront cost, the savings can be massive. Especially climates and regions that are high risk for corrosion, ceramic coatings can become a huge life saver... Or at least a big money saver. The long-term is where the value for ceramic coatings really shines as bright as metallic paint. Compared to frequent wash and wax, Ceramic coatings will save a lot of time, water, and money. For the type of person who wants to clean their car a lot more often than they actually do, ceramic coatings will save a lot of headache and will demonstrate their high value. For anyone that’s into mudding or offroading, the value is immeasurable. For the few who are active about washing and waxing, the value lies mostly in the time and money savings. So while the price is high to start, and that may be a barrier for some people, there is still a huge long-term value. Of course, for those who remain unconvinced or simply can’t afford ceramics at this point, waxing certainly doesn’t hurt either. Ceramic coatings provide long-term protection that reduces and simplifies maintenance, prevents corrosion, and preserves and protects paint in harsh environments. The upfront cost is higher, though the time, supplies, and money saved over years of ownership make ceramic coatings a practical investment alongside being on ongoing cosmetic upgrade
