Ceramic Coatings: What are they and why?

The term, “Automotive Coatings.” Is actually a pretty broad term.  The term includes various types of paint in liquid and powder form as well as waxes, sealants, protection films, and ceramic coatings.  The basic purpose of a coating is to provide protection and enhancement to the exterior surfaces of a vehicle.  For the purpose of this post I will be focusing on ceramic coatings, their properties, variations, and benefits of having a coating installed.

What is a ceramic coating?  Introduced around the year 2000, ceramic coating is a chemical polymer solution with the most common ingredient being SiO2 (Silicon Dioxide), which is applied to a prepared, painted surface of a vehicle (bikes, boats, planes, BBQs, industrial surfaces, and more based on application specific formulations) to provide a very hard, durable layer of protection.  Considering SiO2 (now there are TiO2 – titanium-based and graphene added coatings, more on those later) at least the silicon part of this chemical compound is the main ingredient in glass, a ceramic coating is essentially a fine, hard layer of glass spread over a vehicle’s hard surfaces (yes, even the windows of the vehicle) that chemically bonds to each surface.  

Just as you see with glass, the properties of ceramic coatings resist scratching in an everyday world of driving and caring for your vehicle.  A coating won’t prevent rock chips when you’re driving behind a dump truck carrying pea gravel that is slowly trickling from its rear hatch, or scratches from that disgruntled ex who decides to key your vehicle.  Ceramic coatings however, prevent micro scratches and marring that show up in the form of swirls, halos, and holograms in the paint incurred when we wash our vehicles with harsh detergents and gritty wash mitts we didn’t properly clean from the last wash.  Common waxes and paint sealants can’t do this like a coating can.  Another property is the durability and longevity of coatings.  Coatings last at least year if the paint is prepared and the coating installed properly.  Depending on the hardness rating of the particular coating being applied, one can last two or three years all the way up to 9+ years based on the claims of some manufacturers.  Not only does a coating have longevity, it makes your vehicle look amazing and keeps that brand-new look for the duration of its life.  A feature of coatings is the brilliant gloss on the painted surfaces after being installed.  The paint will have that “wet” look when it’s perfectly dry.  A property of coatings compared to waxes and sealants is they hold up to the elements.  If a vehicle is parked in the sun on a hot day, it can literally melt the wax off of the painted surfaces.  While sealants are a bit more durable, this can happen to them as well.  This will absolutely not happen to a coating

As coatings and technology have advanced, offerings have become more diverse to include greater durability and longevity to professional grade coatings.  The diversity in offerings also includes coatings and other SiO2 based products aimed at ease of use for the consumer market in the forms of sprays and waxes.  They are products that possess flaw filling capabilities that will provide a more brilliant gloss or shine than traditional wax/sealant products and don’t require the extensive prep you would need for a professional grade coating.  The durability and longevity of these products is also a fraction of what you get in a proper professionally installed coating.  In addition to SiO2 (Silicon dioxide) manufacturers of coatings are upping their game so-to-speak.  TiO2 (Titanium dioxide) is a much newer technology in coatings, but something I learned recently is it’s currently in automotive paints and helps make the colors more brilliant.  In coatings however, TiO2 not only helps with a more brilliant gloss and expands on the wet look, it also gives the coating a “self-cleaning” property.  That is something SiO2 can’t claim.  I will address this next.  Above and beyond SiO2 and TiO2 is a much, much newer and far less developed ingredient called graphene oxide (simply referred to as graphene). Much less is known about this, but it is something added to normal coatings in a very, very low concentration. Earliest understanding is that it helps to a point with greater gloss of the paint, but also better aversion to water spots.  As this product is further developed understanding will increase and more practical, widespread applications will be inserted into a much wider variety of products.  

To this point, I’ve covered the more technical side of coatings to give you an understanding of what they actually are.  But, why get one?  What benefits do they provide your vehicle and you the owner?  The first most obvious benefit is the aesthetic look and feel of the paint.  When a coating is applied to the paint it leaves an extremely slick feeling, highly hydrophobic finish.  What I mean by hydrophobic is that rain or water sheets right off the sides of the vehicle and the beading action on the flat surfaces is amazing to see.  Provided your vehicle isn’t a 1958 Ford Edsel or a Pontiac Aztec (beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though) it will look drop dead gorgeous as its gloss is unmatched by any traditional wax or sealant on the market, including SiO2 based waxes and sealants.  When your vehicle looks better than brand new you feel better about your vehicle.  You want to drive it and be seen in it.  Even when the vehicle is dirty it still has a brilliant shine.  That leads me to another benefit, ease and frequency of maintenance.  With the extremely slick surface created by the coating, dirt, grime, bird droppings, tar, sap, etc. are all so much easier and quicker to remove from your vehicle’s surfaces.  One can also go greater intervals between washes.  The great durability of ceramic coatings resists the damage and degradation you would get on a non-protected vehicle.  Granted, something like tree sap will still etch into the coating if ignored long enough, but your window of opportunity to remove it without incurring noticeable damage is much greater.   The less time you spend cleaning your vehicle, the less money you spend on products overall trying to keep your vehicle looking amazing.  Ceramic coatings were designed to be the “ultimate” alternative to waxing and sealing the paint of a vehicle reducing the amount of time and money spent.  Another benefit is an increased resale value of your vehicle.  This isn’t the case for all ceramic coatings, though.  If you choose an installer who offers a coating brand backed by the manufacturer with a warranty and a registry linked to groups like CarFax it will be recognized by dealerships more specifically.  Given what we spend on some of the vehicles we buy and how long we look to keep them, it only makes sense to invest a little more into our vehicles to ensure they look their best for as long as possible.  

I’ve gone over quite a bit here.  Hopefully it has given you a better understanding of what a ceramic coating is and what it does.  While coatings aren’t necessarily for everyone and every kind of vehicle, they are immensely beneficial to most vehicle owners.  Isn’t it time you did something really special for your vehicle?