There are multiple ways you can improve the quality of your daily drive. Self-cleaning and paint correction might do the job but a growing number of car owners are looking at ceramic coating as an alternative. This has seen the proliferation of numerous videos on the web as experts and amateurs alike seek to share their knowledge. The most dramatic videos involve hurling mud at a car hood and watching it sheet off immediately while leaving no marks.
If you are hearing about ceramic coating for the first time, you’ll be glad to know you’re not alone. This article will provide foundational highlights. If you’d like to delve into more detail, CarPro’s blog post about auto ceramic coating does a great job of extensively breaking down ceramic coating.
The Need for Ceramic Coating
Your car’s surface is subjected to relentless attack by the elements. Dust, mud, dirty rain, hail, ice, sunlight, snow, water spots, grime, bird droppings and more. This adds to the everyday scratches from scooters, bikes, shopping carts, kids and other motor vehicles.
Washing your car may provide some reprieve from these but it’s at best, temporary. Worse still, automatic car wash machines will mar and scratch your paint. A manual car wash will do the same in addition to being exhausting, time-consuming and monotonously boring. Another solution? Apply some car wax to add a decent level of gloss, shine and some protection. This will, however, last for just a couple of months at best.
Ceramic coating provides a much better and higher quality of protection than washing or waxing.
The Science of Ceramic Coating
Ceramic coating was originally designed for space and oil industry before it made its way to the automotive sector. That alone should be a pointer to how effective it is. How does it work? The easiest way to grasp the science is to think about ceramic coating as the application of an additional layer of skin over your own skin.
Going deeper into the concept, ceramic coating leverages nanotechnology to discharge tiny particles that form a thin, fine invisible later over your car’s clear coat. Since the particles used in ceramic coating are extremely tiny, they seal all pores. This effectively makes the car surface water repellent, mud repellent, dirt repellent, UV resistant and provides a robust defense against scratches, chemicals, heat, and even graffiti. It can last for years. The ceramic coating is fully transparent.
Cost of Ceramic Coating
The cost of a ceramic coating depends on the process of application. The professional application will take you back anything from several hundred dollars to in excess of $2,000. It’ll be done by certified professionals and results in a super-hydrophobic coating. The entire process can take up to 5 days depending on the quality required, the size of the car and the condition of your existing panting.
The cost of the professional coating may, however, be out of reach of some car owners. This has led to a DIY consumer kit market. A kit costs under $150. These are ideal for those on a tight budget and aren’t overly concerned about coat longevity or a showroom quality vehicle surface.
What Ceramic Coating Doesn’t Do
Ceramic coating has plenty of advantages. Nevertheless, it’s important that the benefits are peppered with a healthy dose of realism. Ceramic coating isn’t an all-powerful shield that protects your vehicle’s surface from any hazard imaginable.
It doesn’t relieve the car owner from their duty of proper routine care such as cleaning dust and bird droppings. It doesn’t stop rock chips, dents, and dings on your car surface. It doesn’t shield your car from all contaminants.
If you hadn’t already seriously considered ceramic coating, you should probably do so. Given the diverse pricing options, the coating is well worth the cost. Think about the long-term savings in car washing and waxing as well as the confidence boost from driving a nice looking vehicle.