What are the disadvantages of ceramic coating on a car?
Disadvantages of ceramic coating include the potential for scratches and water spots, high costs, and the need for professional installation. Several layers of liquid polymer and other strong materials create a powerful coat, but nothing can protect a car against everything.
Ceramic coatings effectively repel water. These surfaces cause water to condense into beads, but the coating is so durable that these little balls of water roll off the automobile and pick up dirt as they go. Every time it rains, the coating's hydrophobic features ensure your car's paint gets cleaned!
Do Ceramic Coatings Fill Scratches? The short answer is yes. The properties of ceramic paint coating make it so that it seeps into swirl marks and scratches on your car's vehicle. This does not actually repair the paint finish, though, and does not even visually hide the damage, unless the damage is extremely small.
Yes, it is possible to mess up a DIY ceramic coating application. Improper application may cause high spots, streaks, cloudy reflections or hazing. These mistakes won't permanently damage your vehicle's paint and can be undone.
Cost and problematic. Maybe not the cost of the material, but the dowtime during the curing process. That would 12 to 48 hours to the production time, olus they need to be stored in a clean space for that period of time.
Trying to apply wax to a quality professional grade 9h ceramic coating would leave nothing more than a smeared mess and a headache. Wax needs a surface to bond to and because the surface of the vehicle is so slick with the coating applied the wax has no way to bond and ends up just streaking and smearing everywhere.
First and foremost, one of the most important things you need to know about ceramic protection is that it's not recommended to wash your car for up to 7 days after applying the coating. This allows the coating to fully cure on your vehicle's surface.
In general, most ceramic coatings will reach 90% of their cure in just 72 hours! However, it is important to keep in mind that a full cure can take up to four weeks. During this time, it is best not to apply any pressure or blows to the coated area; for example, avoid washing your car with a high-pressure hose.
- Use some sort of Pre-Wash Or Snow Foam before coming in contact with the paint.
- Use a Two Bucket Wash Method at the very least.
- Use a good quality Microfiber Wash Mitt.
- Use Grit Guards Where Possible.
- When drying your car use a dedicated detailing towel or a blower.
If you want to know if a car has a ceramic coating, take the car for a drive. Spray the car with water; as you increase the speed of the vehicle, water beads will gather into streams that will flow from your vehicle. In the absence of ceramic coating, the drops of water will cling to the car's surface.
Can you polish a car that has ceramic coating?
Unfortunately, no. Ceramic coatings are not standard finishes for vehicles, so polishes are not formulated to work with them. If you use polish on top of ceramic coating, you will strip the coating off of your vehicle, leaving it patchy and damaged.
Because of its restorative properties, applying a polishing compound to your ceramic coating would simply strip away this protective layer, leaving your car with nothing but the exposed clear coat. While this is great for removing old layers of wax, it shortens rather than extends the life of your paint sealant.
Advantages of Ceramic Coating
Essentially a hard shell, a ceramic coating will prevent water stains, road grime, bird droppings, and other substances from reaching and harming the paint. With a quick rinse, they'll simply slide right off.
Ceramic coatings can't damage your paint, regardless of what you do. However, improper application can leave streaks, high spots, hazing, and horrible reflections.
The Use Of Too Much, Or Too Little Product
While a little goes a long way when it comes to ceramic coatings, applying way too little product will make the coating ineffective. On the other side, using it excessively can result in a greasy looking coating that might be hard to cure properly.
Graphene coatings are more durable and offer better protection against UV rays and chemicals than ceramic coatings. They also last longer, with most manufacturers offering a warranty of up to five years.
| PRO Ceramic Coating | DIY Ceramic Coating | PRO Wash/Wax/Polish |
|---|---|---|
| $11,800 (install + 5 years of upkeep) | $940 (product + 5 years of upkeep) | $13,800 (install + 5 years of upkeep) |
Is it worth getting a ceramic coating? At face value, the paint protection offered by a ceramic coating is well worth the cost you pay for it. You can expect robust protection against surface contaminants - such as dirt or swirl marks - and clear coat scratches.
The second method for removing ceramic coatings requires the use of a clay bar, clay mitt, or clay towel. While “claying” a vehicle is a crucial step in the surface prep process, cutting back on the amount of lubrication used turns this synthetic material into an incredibly potent ceramic coating removal tool.
Once you are confident that you have all the needed knowledge about how to remove a ceramic coating, there are a few ways you can proceed: through chemical removal, by polishing, or by using a clay bar.
Is it better to wax or ceramic coat your car?
Ceramic protectants (coatings) provide a much higher durability than wax. They resist heat, UV rays, environmental contaminants & harsh detergents much better than wax. Wax on the other hand simply sits on top of the paint's surface. It does not create the chemical bond like we find with ceramic coatings.
Professional nano-ceramic coatings have far superior aesthetic qualities compared to traditional carnauba wax. Therefore, applying wax over your ceramic-coated vehicle does not make sense.
A ceramic coating is a proven paint protection solution. However, it shouldn't be assumed that you don't need wash it frequently. Every two weeks is recommended.
Will high-pressure washing cause damage to a ceramic coated vehicle? A car with a ceramic coating can be washed with a pressure washer without concerns. You may take advantage of the coating's capacity to clean itself with the help of a pressure washer, which removes the vast majority of surface contaminants.
Premature exposure to moisture will wreck a ceramic coating faster than you can say “smells like rain.” Precipitation, dew, mist, or testing the hydrophobic properties of the coating before it has fully cured can all compromise the quality of a vehicle's ceramic coating.