Ceramic Coating Questions

[MountainBound]

Hello all, the more I read about Ceramic Coatings the more questions/concerns I have. Just wanted to see if a few of you could clear some things up for me.

1) Some coatings say that they are safe to polish after the coating has been applied. Doesn't polishing remove coatings? If polishing doesn't remove coatings how do you remove them if you need to?

2) How do you know when a coating is no longer protecting the paint? Beading of water? Like wax, wouldn't coatings begin to fail on the car in different sections, how do you re-apply without putting new coating on top of old coating?

3) It seems to be that there is so many coatings, toppers, etc. How does one make sense of all the different options? The more I read the more I get confused. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

Thank you for your time!

 

[Btrahin]

1) polishing a coating may not completely remove the coating, however it usually affects the hyrophobics in a negative way (the whole reason coatings are awesome). So may still be protecting the paint but you don't get as much beading.

2) Beading of water is the easiest way to see if a coating is still doing it's job. Keep in mind a coating can still get contaminated, so many times all that is needed is a decon wash, and the coating will come back to life. Of course using a coating booster/topper will also help keep the coating in good shape.

3) They are all pretty good. Find one you like. Use it as directed, maintain it as directed. Understand that they are not bulletproof and may need redone after a few years, unless it's your garage queen.

good luck!

 

[WillSports3]

1) If your car is coated, don't polish it basically. It pretty much won't do the coating any good.

2) It's really hard to say sometimes. A better indication is how well the self-cleaning aspect is. For example, I have had CQuartz UK on my car for three years at this point. Some of the beading is greatly diminished but after it rains, the car is still oddly clean-ish. In my work parking lot, the difference is quite obvious.

3) I've personally moved away from ceramic coatings, although I'm still a huge fan of them. That being said, you can't really go wrong with the major companies. My personal choice for a coating has always been Cquartz UK just because it does exactly what it is advertised and supposed to do. Easy application, and the slight darkening of the paint is kind of nice too.

 

[The Guz]

1) Some coatings say that they are safe to polish after the coating has been applied. Doesn't polishing remove coatings? If polishing doesn't remove coatings how do you remove them if you need to?

Most coatings will be removed with an abrasive polish. On a rare occasion you will need to sand it off but the only one that I know of is Crystal Serum Ultra which one has to be accredited through Gtechniq. But all a majority of the consumer coatings will be removed with an abrasive polish. The layer that they deposit on the paint is still relatively thin.

2) How do you know when a coating is no longer protecting the paint? Beading of water? Like wax, wouldn't coatings begin to fail on the car in different sections, how do you re-apply without putting new coating on top of old coating?

Most associate the lack of hydrophobic's as the sign of depredation. They are still on the painted surface other than losing that hydrophobic behavior and become a bit more hydrophilic. You are correct that coatings will degrade faster in areas that see more abuse. This is going to vary by the environment the coated surface is exposed to. In some cases the coating is clogged with contaminants and needs that deep cleaning to revive it.

To reapply, start with a polish to remove the old layer and reapply. Essentially starting fresh. There are these so called maintenance toppers, which are just a way to have short lived performance in the hydrophobic properties and self cleaning department. This is an easier way to keep reapplying to a degraded coating. Essentially always having a layer on top of the aged coating that no longer exhibits hydrophobic behavior.

3) It seems to be that there is so many coatings, toppers, etc. How does one make sense of all the different options? The more I read the more I get confused. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

Thank you for your time!

Let me put it this way. Anything that has SiO2 (silicon dioxide) is claimed to be a "coating". The term gets thrown around a lot.

A true coating utilizes a resin based delivery such as a Cquartz, Gtechniq, Optimum, 22ple HPC or Insanity and the list goes on these days.

Toppers/Booster are spray sealants that contain a little SiO2. Nowhere near the performance of a true coating. The benefit is it gives the coating slickness as some coatings lack slickness, it is fast to apply and coating companies were smart in making people spend money on something else.

There is coating lite which are vary from a spray to a resin delivery system such as Cquartz Lite, Gyeon CanCoat, Adams Spray coating , etc. These offer performance close to those of a true coating.

There are also silica infused waxes. More "durable" than a traditional wax.

I may have missed a few things as I am typing this pretty fast.

 

[MountainBound]

1) polishing a coating may not completely remove the coating, however it usually affects the hyrophobics in a negative way (the whole reason coatings are awesome). So may still be protecting the paint but you don't get as much beading.

2) Beading of water is the easiest way to see if a coating is still doing it's job. Keep in mind a coating can still get contaminated, so many times all that is needed is a decon wash, and the coating will come back to life. Of course using a coating booster/topper will also help keep the coating in good shape.

3) They are all pretty good. Find one you like. Use it as directed, maintain it as directed. Understand that they are not bulletproof and may need redone after a few years, unless it's your garage queen.

good luck!

2) Decon wash as in iron remover or such?

1) If your car is coated, don't polish it basically. It pretty much won't do the coating any good.

2) It's really hard to say sometimes. A better indication is how well the self-cleaning aspect is. For example, I have had CQuartz UK on my car for three years at this point. Some of the beading is greatly diminished but after it rains, the car is still oddly clean-ish. In my work parking lot, the difference is quite obvious.

3) I've personally moved away from ceramic coatings, although I'm still a huge fan of them. That being said, you can't really go wrong with the major companies. My personal choice for a coating has always been Cquartz UK just because it does exactly what it is advertised and supposed to do. Easy application, and the slight darkening of the paint is kind of nice too.

1) What if a person gets water spots that wont come off or such? Seems to be one of the only reasons you would need to.

3) Did you go back to a wax or standard sealant?

 

[Btrahin]

2) Decon wash as in iron remover or such?



?

Yes an iron remover, and I even will CAREFULLY clay a coated car on the sides (areas that get the most abuse)

 

[Rsurfer]

1) polishing a coating may not completely remove the coating, however it usually affects the hyrophobics in a negative way (the whole reason coatings are awesome). So may still be protecting the paint but you don't get as much beading.




Never found a coating that polishing won't remove. Exception might be GTechniq.

 

[Btrahin]

Never found a coating that polishing won't remove. Exception might be GTechniq.

Truly polishing, yes will remove pretty much all coatings. I'm talking about a couple passes with a non aggressive pad/polish, you may not completely remove the coating. But I agree, if you are polishing a coating, plan on re-coating that area for best results.

 

[WillSports3]

1) To be honest, I've never really had that issue and my water is pretty hard. I just spray a little bit of vinegar and water mixture onto it when I do a wash.

3) Neither, I moved to graphene coatings. Coatings kind of spoiled me for a lot of the really good waxes or sealants. My dads car, I will use Mckees paint sealant because he likes to wash his SUV with a mop. Not a joke. I don't waste a coating when I know how he washes his cars. That being said, out of all the coatings that I've used, I find them all vastly superior to waxes or sealants. The only wax I really still use is either the Black Label SiO2 wax just because I find it stunning, or a graphene infused wax because again visually, they work great and they let me touch my car. Best reason I don't really use purely waxes or sealants anymore, is because even a normally durable wax like the Black Label Synergy only lasts about a month if even that on top of CQUK.

2) Decon wash as in iron remover or such?



1) What if a person gets water spots that wont come off or such? Seems to be one of the only reasons you would need to.

3) Did you go back to a wax or standard sealant?