Is there a way to tell if a car has a ceramic coat on it already?
When you buy a vehicle, you want it to retain the condition it was in when you bought it. For this reason, you clean it often and wax it as recommended. Despite all these efforts, you notice stains, swirl marks, and chips on your car’s exterior. Apart from this, your car now has dirt, grime, and spots clinging on it despite washing it recently.
This is a common problem with car owners who have not yet discovered ceramic coating for their vehicles. This is a coating applied on the exterior of your vehicle to protect it from environmental hazards, making it easy to wash. However, there is a lot of conflicting information out there about ceramic coatings that can leave you confused. This article will educate you on the benefits of ceramic coatings and show you how to identify a ceramic coat on a car.
Defining Ceramic Coating
A ceramic coating is a liquid polymer applied using hands on a vehicle’s exterior. The coating creates a protection layer by chemically bonding with your car’s factory paint. However, it is essential to note that ceramic coating does not replace paint protection film that offers a broader form of defense. Instead, it is a wax alternative that creates a semi-permanent or permanent bond with the paint on your vehicle. It does not break down or wash away when your car is cleaned, and you don’t need to apply it every few months.
Benefits of Ceramic Coating
- Protection from oxidization/UV damage
Constant exposure to the sun leads to oxidization that leaves your car with faded and dull paint. Ceramic coating will protect your car’s paint from harsh UV rays to reduce the rate of oxidization.
- Protect against etching and chemical stains
Naturally occurring acidic contaminants are also a danger to your vehicle’s paint job. A ceramic coat creates a chemically resistant surface to prevent contaminants from bonding with your vehicle’s paint. This will result in resistance to etching and staining so long as the contaminant is scrapped away on time.
- Easy to clean
Ceramic coating is hydrophobic; it is water repellent. When you treat your vehicle to a hydrophobic ceramic coat, it means that when it comes into contact with water, it will easily slide off the car’s surface. Water helps grime and mud bond to your vehicle; with ceramic coating, this will not be possible as there will be no water to aid bonding. Also, contaminants wash off more easily in the presence of ceramic coating.
- Improved gloss
A layer of ceramic coating enhances the appearance of your car’s glossy finish. It will enhance your car paint’s reflective features adding to the paint’s clarity and depth.
Preparing for a ceramic coating installation
To prepare for ceramic coating, remove your car’s emblems and license plates. This will eliminate problems resulting from untreated parts, contaminants, and debris around your car’s emblems.
Although ceramic coatings protect your car from the effect of swirl marks, scratches, or rock chips, it does not eliminate the risk of encountering the dangers. Ceramic coatings repel small scratches but may fail to resist parking lot scratches and rock chips. Besides, automated car washes and inefficient car washing methods can create swirl marks on the vehicle. Note that a ceramic coating does not substitute for a serious chip or scratch protection; it also does not eradicate the need to clean your car properly to avoid swirl marks.
Another thing that ceramic coating does not eliminate is the risk of water spots. A drop of water has traces of minerals and dirt. When water lands on the surface of your car and evaporates, it leaves minerals behind, leaving visible spots. A car retailer thinks that a ceramic coating’s hydrophobic quality eliminates water spotting as water slides off the car surface. Although water is removed from the surface with ceramic coating, water droplets will remain and bead on the car, which creates an opening for water-spotting.
Note that ceramic coating protects your vehicle from grime and dirt to keep it looking like new, thus requiring minimal maintenance. However, this does not mean that your car will not require maintenance at some time. The car will get dirty as you drive. Even with ceramic coating, it is advisable to regularly wash your vehicle to maintain its appearance. The advantage of having a ceramic coating is the ease in the cleaning process. When your car has a ceramic coat, you reduce instances of waxing the vehicle, which eliminates an important part of car maintenance. Therefore, having a ceramic coating will not render your car maintenance-free; it only reduces the intensity of the maintenance work involved.
How to tell that a car has a ceramic coating
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.
When the coating starts to lose its effectiveness, water beading will become less pronounced. You will notice that sheets of water turn into visible beads. This leads to water remaining on exterior surfaces for longer than before. As the protection capacity of the ceramic coating reduces, water will continue to cling on your vehicle.
Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap
To prolong the life of your ceramic coat, clean your vehicle with Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap. This is an innovative product that gives your car six months of protection from one wash. The soap is loaded with Sio2, which is the substance that provides the glossy protection shield, such as the one found in ceramic coating. Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap does not only improve the look of your car exterior, but it also provides protection just like ceramic coating.
Car detailers can use Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap on cars that already have a ceramic coating. Also, if you cannot afford the price of a professional ceramic coating, you can use Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap instead. It is cost-effective in comparison with other options that purport to provide the same results.
To achieve proper product bonding, we urge you to use Synergy Worx Car Shampoo to prepare the whole exterior surface before application of Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap. After preparing the surface properly, wash the car using Synergy Worx Ceramic Soap and another one of our products, Super Soft Wash Mitt applying the Two Bucket Wash procedure. Do not use a foam gun or foam cannon when using this soap because the soap should be washed off the surface as soon as possible. The reason is that if you leave the soap on the vehicle for too long or wash the car in direct sunlight, you may experience spotting. Rinse the car thoroughly and dry it with our Super Drying Towel and follow it up with Synergy Worx Detail Spray for an added shine on the car’s exterior surface.
What is curing?
This is a process that is carried out to harden the ceramic coating to ensure durability and maximum protection. It involves using an infrared curing lamp to expose the vehicle for at least 24 hours before applying the ceramic coating. This process results in a very hard coating with outstanding performance and vibrant shine that protects the car from mud, rain, and other rough weather conditions. A professional will put your car through this treatment before the installation of the ceramic coating.
How to avoid scratching the vehicle’s paint while applying a ceramic coating
The process of applying ceramic coating takes hours to perfect and polish. It is a delicate process as a tiny contaminant can damage a freshly polished exterior. To avoid this, the person applying the coat should use a new applicator for every stage of the coating. Changing the applicator will reduce the probability of scratches by contaminants.
Is there a warranty if the process fails?
Do not accept a warranty card with reading the fine details. Vehicle owners are hoodwinked by fake advertisements that promise a ‘lifetime warranty’ while, in essence, such a thing does not exist. If you move to another city of your installer closes shop, the warranty becomes null and void. In case the results fall below your expectations with ceramic coating, most installers will refund 30%-50% of the cost, but never the whole amount. Therefore, do not go for installation in a company after seeing an advert; look for a company with total transparency and include the stages and steps outlined above for ceramic coating installation.
In conclusion, it is important to know that Ceramic Coatings do not replace more comprehensive protection such that it is found in paints protection film. To achieve maximum protection, coat the most vulnerable parts of your car with a layer of paint protection film before applying a ceramic coating. The main reason for applying the ceramic coating is to prolong the life of your vehicle and add its value. For this reason, ensure you find a company that does this job perfectly.