You may often hear them called by different names, ceramic coatings, nanotechnology, glass coatings, and quartz coatings. But generally speaking, they’re all the same. They’re long-term protection options. Before we talk about ceramic coating options. We’re going to get into why you even need to protect your vehicle’s paint in the first place. Your vehicle’s paint is made up of a primer layer, a base coat, or a color layer. And the last coat, which is a clear coat layer, the clear coat is what gives your vehicle paint that shines in depth. If you choose not to protect this layer, the exterior of a vehicle is going to start to deteriorate very quickly.

Your vehicle’s exposed to all kinds of elements, like UV rays from the sun, dirt, debris, and salt from the road, tree sap, pollen, bird droppings. All these things are going to damage fade and they’re going to cause your vehicle’s pain to be oxidized, leaving your car looking old and dingy. If you want to prevent damage to your vehicle’s paint and keep it looking showroom new, you have to use something to protect it from these elements.

Think of these protection options as sacrificial layers that will absorb the damage instead of your clear coat layer. Now, there are four main types of protection for your vehicle’s paint. You have Wax, polymer sealants, ceramic coatings, and paint protection film.

The first and most common protection that you’ve already probably heard of and know of is Wax. They are very easy to use. It’s wax on, wax off and it’s good protection for your vehicle’s paint. The problem with wax is that you have to reapply it every six to eight weeks to be effective. Wax sits on top of the paint and doesn’t form a very strong bond. They can easily be stripped off by detergents and because they have a low melting point, they can melt on a hot day, leaving your paint unprotected.

Better protection for your paint is a paint sealant. Paint sealants are synthetic polymers that bond better with your clear coat, making them more resistant to heat than Wax. They are just as easy to apply as wax, but they will last six to eight months instead of weeks. Wax and paint ceilings can both be stripped off the car if you use a harsh chemical to wash it.

The newest protection technology is ceramic coating. They usually contain silica dioxide, which is an incredible hard-like glass polymer. A bit more skill is required to prepare the paint and apply them. But the result is a thick glass-like layer that protects your vehicle’s paint. This thickness gives it an incredible deep gloss. The hardness gives you long-lasting durability. And unlike waxes and sealants, they are resistant to detergents and chemicals.

When properly maintained ceramic coatings will last several years. Ceramic coatings are unique because they have a very low slip angle where water rolls off any surface that is not perfectly level. The car stays clean for longer. It also makes cleaning the vehicle much easier and safer. Dirt has a hard time sticking around because of the hardness of the coating. It reduces the fine scratches and swirls caused by washing.

So, in short, a ceramic coating will protect your car just like a wax or a paint sealant, but a ceramic coating is much thicker, more durable, better scratch resistance and chemical resistance. They’re very hydrophobic, which will keep the car cleaner for longer and they’re going to last year instead of weeks. So now that you have a better idea of a ceramic coating is, are you and your car right for a ceramic coating?