Ceramic Coating

[92redragtop]

It’s worth it IMO.

It provides additional protection and easy of cleaning. Even makes the car come out cleaner after a touchless wash. Just can’t ever visit a touch wash again (which I wouldn’t do with any car I own anyway)

Thanks - I don't do the touch washes so that works.

[RedSN]

Can someone explain to me exactly what a “ceramic coating” is? Because the engineer in me can’t get the classic definition out of my head and figure out how it applies to a car finish.

Ceramics are generally made by taking mixtures of clay, earthen elements, powders, and water and shaping them into desired forms. Once the ceramic has been shaped, it is fired in a high temperature oven known as a kiln.

I’m guessing there’s no dirt in these car finishes, and it’s certainly not fired in a kiln. So what makes it “ceramic”?

[Laffs]

They are mostly Silicon Dioxide which is commonly used in enamels, so somewhere in the marketing process someone decided ceramic and enamel were interchangeable and ceramic coating sounded better than enamel coating.

[RedSN]

So sand, not clay.

Thanks for the info. SiO2 was the google key I needed to find the real deal about CC, instead of just the hype literature.
So there’s NOTHING “ceramic” about it. Which is fine, just misleading.

[Scrape]

Sorry, I never saw this post but to answer your question as far as I know it is called “ceramic” coating simply because when the SiO2 cures it has a similar hardness to that of ceramic which is anywhere from 5 to 8 on the Mohs scale. Some products claim a “9h” hardness but that is BS IMO.

So sand, not clay.

Thanks for the info. SiO2 was the google key I needed to find the real deal about CC, instead of just the hype literature.
So there’s NOTHING “ceramic” about it. Which is fine, just misleading.

[RedSN]

…it is called “ceramic” coating simply because when the SiO2 cures it has a similar hardness to that of ceramic which is anywhere from 5 to 8 on the Mohs scale.

Similar hardness (a little higher) to glass. But I guess they didn’t want to call it “glass” coating? Like that I could have understood. It’s not glass either, but it has similar components to glass, so glass coating would make sense. Anyway, enough of my rant, I just wanted to know what was “ceramic” about it.

Thanks L

[hammerhead]

most of my cars are patina for lack of a nicer description and will stay that way —but for the guys who like to wash and wax you may be interested in this:

moms.jpeg

https://www.fordmuscle.com/news/new-...-wash-and-wax/

[FABMAN]

most of my cars are patina for lack of a nicer description and will stay that way —but for the guys who like to wash and wax you may be interested in this:

moms.jpeg

https://www.fordmuscle.com/news/new-...-wash-and-wax/

This is fine for a DIY kind of person who likes to do this as a hobby. That said, it won’t come close to the results of a professional grade ceramic application.

The real key (and work) to a successful , glossy and deep looking ceramic application lies within the paint correction process, then the ceramic will enhance the gloss, make it hydrophobic and offer lasting protection. I mean I literally dry my cars with air or just pour water from a hose on them and the panels are left near dry. It’s really another level altogether.

This is from this October:
D7A36859-EEBC-4099-A988-615507B3DD9E.jpeg

The issue I have with these DIY products is that it dilutes what the actual commercial grade offerings provide and these systems are NOT cheap.