What are ceramic coatings and why would I want one?

Thank you for visiting our blog and reading through our articles. In this post we will explain what a ceramic coating is, we’ll go over a typical ceramic coating make-up as well as what they are from a functional stand point, and we will also go over the reasons you would want to have a ceramic coating installed on your vehicle.

For the purpose of this article, we will be focusing on coatings that are SIO2 based (silicon dioxide). Another popular type of ceramic coating is SiC based (silicon carbide). SiC based coatings can also be extremely effective and can make great coatings. We’ll do a different write-up on the differences later and focus on SIO2 coatings, which are by far the most popular type of ceramic coating on the market.

So What is a Ceramic Coating?

There are two ways to answer that question. First, what is a ceramic coating from a literal stand point? (What is made of? what is the coating’s composition when it’s installed? What are the properties of the components of a ceramic coating? etc) and second, what does a ceramic coating do? (What is the function of a ceramic coating? How does a ceramic coating work? What does a ceramic coating protect against? Do ceramic coatings make my vehicle look better? etc)

So first we’ll tackle the chemical make up and composition of a ceramic coating and then we’ll take a little deeper look at the functional aspect before answering the question of why you would want to have one installed on your vehicle.

What is a ceramic coating made from?

In a nutshell, SIO2 based ceramic coatings contain the same basic elements. There is a resin, which is typically a silicone based polymer such as polydimethylsiloxanes, or PDMS. This forms the basis of the coating. There are nano particles of SIO2 which are suspended in resin and help to increase the aesthetics of the coating. And then there is a solvent, or carrier, that will flash off during the installation process. That process leaves behind the resin and nano particles which form the installed coating. This is simplified, but that’s the gist of it.

The take away from this section is going to be the higher the quality of raw materials, the higher the quality the final finished installed product will be. The resin will be the “weak link” of the coating. If the resin fails, then the coating fails. Quality of raw materials is not only a key difference between Professional Grade coatings and DIY coatings, but also a differentiating difference between the different Professional Grade Only brands out there as well. Be forewarned, NOT ALL CERAMIC COATINGS ARE CREATED EQUAL!

One last tidbit I want to bring up here is that most traditional ceramic coatings are two layer, or two coat installations. Some are two coats or layers of the same formula, and others offer a base coat and top coat system where the installer installs a single layer of the different base and top coat formulas. Lately single coat options have been hitting the market, and from what we’ve seen, their success has been hit or miss with mostly miss*. This isn’t really important for this conversation but we wanted to make a note of it for your understanding of how coatings come together.

So what do ceramic coatings do?

From a functional stand point, a high quality ceramic coating is ultimately a layer of extremely durable and long lasting protection from environmental factors for your vehicles various surfaces. They offer superb protection from UV, chemical exposure, staining, bird droppings, oils, greases, bonded contaminants, and more. Ceramic coatings also form a hydrophobic surface which excels at repelling liquids and creates an extremely smooth surface which helps to repel dirt and dust. These properties are also what help to make washing a ceramic coated surface so much easier (and more fun!) than a non-coated surface.

A high quality ceramic coating will last years. Our professional grade coatings come with 5 year, 10 ye warranties against issues with workmanship or manufacturer’s defects. We’ll talk about warranties in a different post coming soon. That means, if you have your vehicle ceramic coated, that you do not have to wax your vehicle for the life of the coating! It also means, with proper care, that your vehicle will look incredible and maintain that “better than new” look for years to come.

It is also true the a ceramic coating makes washing and drying your vehicle a breeze. It’s more fun to wash a coated vehicle (seriously, it’s really cool) and it takes much less time. The kicker is, every time you wash your vehicle, it looks like it was just detailed again.

Ceramic coatings also bring a whole new level to the aesthetics department too! They offer a level of gloss and depth that is unparalleled. While paint correction and polishing are what achieves that incredible, show room finish, ceramic coatings are the icing on the cake. The finishing touch that brings it all home for you.

Why should I have my vehicle ceramic coated?

By now you’ve probably developed a sense of why you would consider having your vehicles ceramic coated. A true high quality, professional grade ceramic coating will provide your vehicle with years of protection against the elements. Ceramic coatings help keep your vehicle looking amazing, for a longer period of time. The cost for a coating is negligible when you expand the cost over the lifetime of the coating, but the benefits are something you’ll see and realize every day. If you are someone who values your vehicle, enjoys a clean looking and feeling vehicle, and you want to provide the best protection you can get for your vehicle, then you’ll want to consider purchasing a ceramic coating for your vehicle.

Simply put, if you love your vehicle, you’ll want to have it ceramic coated!

For a free quote to have your vehicle ceramic coated by Horizon Detail, fill out the form at the link below and we will be in touch ASAP!

www.HorizonDetail.com/get-quote

*This statement is based on testing we have done and also anecdotal evidence we’ve seen in our day to day operations and work we do in the industry on a national level. There are high quality single layer coatings on the market, just fewer of them and the margin for error on install is much smaller than on the two layer coating systems. We don’t use single layer coating systems on our automotive coating packages, all of our coatings are, minimum, two layer systems.