Is ceramic coating your car worth it in 2023?
What are the benefits of getting a ceramic coating?
How do you take care of a ceramic coated car?
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Ceramic coatings excel at environmental protection, i.e., things like water spots, dirt, bug guts, and road grime are going to be a lot easier to deal with and wash off of your personal vehicle. Additionally, they give an incredible amount of gloss and are very easily recognizable on a vehicle simply from the incredibly high shine.
If you want your vehicle to look its best, nothing is going to compare to a ceramic coating.
However, ceramic coatings aren't without their limitations. While they give you that incredible protection, ultimately, it is a liquid sealant. And as a liquid sealant, it is not going to protect your vehicle against scratches, rock chips, and other road debris. You're not going to find that your vehicle is immune to that kind of wear and tear. If that is your goal, you may want to consider paint protection films to protect the most vulnerable parts of your car, and then look at ceramic coating the rest of the vehicle. You can then come on top of that paint protection film with the ceramic coating to lend that paint protection film an incredibly high level of hydrophobic properties and making it easy to clean as well.
So having said that, is a ceramic coating worth it ? Absolutely! everything about a ceramic coating is amazing! Your vehicle will be crazy glossy, and extremely easy to clean. It is, indeed, an excellent solution to keep your vehicle looking brand new for years!
Performance wise, ceramic coating would compare to wax on steroids. It protects your paint from the same environmental elements you'd usually expect your wax to, but it works 10x better. On top of that, it makes maintenance and washing your car a painless process. You may even enjoy washing your own car!
01
Ceramic coating, once cured and bonded to your car paint, acts as a sacrificial layer on top of your clear coat. Whatever was going to touch your clear coat, has to go through your coating first. A professional grade coating is much thicker than the clear coat itself which allows it to better withstand the acidic enzymes in bird droppings, bug guts, tree sap, etc. Hence, it gives you a much better window of time to take care of these elements before they etch your clear coat permanently. The fact the top layer is so slick and hydrophobic means that timely cleaning up of these stubborn spots ends up being remarkably hassle-free.
02
We all know car washes aren't all that safe, but washing your own car, no matter how beloved, can be a pain in this hot humid weather. A professional grade ceramic coating, once installed on your vehicle, makes the surface insanely slick. This makes your everyday dust, dirt, and grime unable to latch onto the paint and makes the cleaning process easy. An enthusiast might even be caught enjoying the whole process right outside their garage sometimes!
03
Depending on the coating, a well maintained professional grade ceramic coating can last anywhere from 1-7+ years. No waxing is needed, or advised during the lifetime of the coating. While the coating itself does not protect from marring or scratches in the paint, the paint will still stay glossy year after year giving you that new car shine even years down the road.
A professional grade ceramic coating, when maintained well, can last years.
Washing and completely drying your car frequently is recommended. Hand washes are best with a premium pH neutral soap with no wax additives.
The car wash brushes really don't help. If going through a rinseless car wash, make sure that your car is completely dry with a towel afterwards before driving off. Also make sure that the car wash they use is free of wax additives.
Once dry, these water droplets leave minerals behind, and cause water spotting which, if left untreated, can etch through the coating AND the clear coat. It is important that you dry your car religiously every time you wash it.
Bring your car to your ceramic coating installer either annually or bi-annually for an inspection to make sure that the coating is performing its best.
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