Why Ceramic Coating?

CERAMIC COATING

DOES IT REALLY WORK?

Have you ever thought about applying ceramic coating to your car? Do the popular claims of it preserving your car’s paint job hold true? Is it better than waxing and polishing? How does it fare against the advantages of a paint protection film (PPF)? And is it really worth it considering its price tag?

We know you have asked these questions many times only to end up more confused than before. The amount of contradicting information available on the web can be annoying at times. Which is why we have decided to clear them once and for all.

Today, we will walk you through the basics of ceramic coating for cars. What it is, what are its advantages and disadvantages, how it fares versus waxing and other alternatives, and what we as experts think about it. Here goes…

Ceramic Coating Basics

We get it. You want your car to look lovely all the time and you are open to trying anything that’s effective and permanent.

You have tried all the basic stuff like daily washing and monthly waxing to get rid of those scratches, stain marks, dirt, grime, and what-not. And yet they come back the following day with the additional swirl marks from all the washing.

So, you think of something else. A solution that will make your car look heavenly day in and day out with just little regular maintenance. Something that is a one-time affair against the menace of chemical etching and oxidation: you apply it and then forget about it for years.

Let us introduce you to ceramic coating, the magical potion for cars that everyone’s talking about. We know you have heard about it before. From that friend who recently applied it on his Torch Red Chevy Corvette and who couldn’t stop raving about it.

But what about the naysayers? The critics who doubt about its reliability? Is there any truth in what the critics say about ceramic coating?

Is it really the best solution for preventing dirt and grime sticking in your car? Let’s find out.

What is Ceramic Coating?

Industry-grade ceramic coating is a chemical polymer solution that is applied to the exterior of a vehicle to protect it from external environmental paint damage. Typically applied by hand, it blends with the paint of your car and creates an additional hydrophobic layer of protection.

Due to this chemical bonding and creation of a new layer, the car’s factory paint job now has a layer between it - and the elements. In addition to protection it also offers a super high level of gloss and slickness.

While many car enthusiasts, dealerships and even some detailers will tell you it’s an alternative to clear bra (paint protection film), ceramic coating, in reality, is an alternative to waxing. The main idea is to prevent dirt, grime, and stain marks from appearing on the paint job and ruining the clear coat and help protect it from environmental damage (UV rays, sap, bugs, bird bombs etc). It does not however, prevent rock chips, scratches, nuclear blasts or fire storms (sorry YouTubers!)

CERAMIC COATING ADVANTAGES & BENEFITS

Protection from Harmful UV Rays

You can only imagine the damage that the sun’s harmful UV rays can do to your car’s paint job. Ceramic coating will protect your car’s paint from oxidizing, preventing it from fading and wearing a dull look. This is absolutely critical if you park your car outside.

Protection from Chemical Stains

Chemical stains arising from acidic contaminants in the air is another potential damage to your car. A coating will prevent these contaminants from bonding into the paint. With air pollution rate only rising in the city, ceramic coating can be a huge relief.

Hydrophobic Nature, Ease of Cleaning

Have you ever cooked using a non-stick pan and experienced how easy they are to wash up afterwards? That’s one of the benefits of having a ceramic coating. A non-stick, super easy to clean surface…cause lets face it, cars are a lot bigger than pans and require a lot more work!

Candy-Like Gloss

Not everyone gets it - but if ya know, ya know. That gloss, that wet look, that mirror like reflection…yeah, it matters. We get our satisfaction by delivering that level of gloss to people every day. You get your satisfaction being able to walk out to a like-new finish for years to come.

Things that ceramic coating cannot do

Protection from All Types of Scratches and Swirl Marks

Ceramic coating will not protect your car from the usual threats: scratches, swirl marks, and rock chips. Despite its blending properties, it still retains the characteristics of paint. This is why you should still expect your car to be at the receiving end of these common, undesirable elements.

Protection from Water Spotting

As discussed before, after the application of ceramic coating, water-based contaminants will bead on your car’s surface and eventually slide off. But they still contain natural minerals and soluble particles that will stay on the surface after the water has evaporated. Ceramic coating cannot get rid of the water spots that are produced as a result, removal of which will require a far more hands-on approach.

Stop the Need for Car Wash

You will still need to regularly wash your car. A layer of ceramic coating does not give your car superpowers to auto-clean itself. While we are all waiting for a miracle product that would do that, for now, let’s focus on the bright side of ceramic coating.

Is it still worth ceramic coating your car?

That being said, we’ve been installing ceramic coatings for over a decade - before it was such a fad and before the qualification levels to become a professional level installer was as simple as “Can you spell ‘car’?” We don’t continue to have repeat customers and coat our own personal cars because we don’t find it absolutely amazing.

When we first started ceramic coating cars - there were only a couple big names on the market - and CarPro’s CQuartz Finest was one of them (and the one we still proudly offer as our featured coating).

The catch back in the “good ole day”, was you had to know your stuff. You had to have experience and knowledge in Paint Correction and proper paint prep procedures. You had to have an outstanding reputation as a detailer and as a business. You had to have great customer service reviews. Luckily, CQuartz Finest Ceramic Coating installers all must still meet these requirements - AND get recertified every 2 years. There aren’t a lot of CQuartz Finest Installers - and that’s by design.

What does that mean for you?

It means you’re entrusting your car with the best of the best. While we’ve tried and have been offered many other ceramic coating brands over the years and honestly, if one of them had beaten CQuartz Finest, we would have changed brands. However, CQuartz Finest still reigns supreme from all of our in-house testing and real world experience in Az’s extreme conditions.