Table of Contents
Introduction:
Ceramic Coating is the most important step in car care and maintenance. It’s also the most underrated. Many people are not aware of just how important this step is, mainly because there are other steps that people may think work better such as waxing or polishing. Before you consider whether ceramic coating is better than waxing or polishing, it’s important to understand what this coating does and its benefits over the other options. In this article, we will be discussing what ceramic coating is, the different kinds of coating, and why it’s better than waxing and polishing.
Ceramic Coating:
A ceramic surface is composed of a repeating pattern of hard and soft layers. The soft layers are softer than the hard layer. For example, you can think of a brick wall where the brick wall is the hard layer and each brick represents a soft layer. When you add water to this surface (brick wall), it fills up all the spaces in between the bricks while they remain parallel with each other (hard layer). Ceramic coating is just a paint that is composed of ceramic particles where the particles are painted in an alternating pattern on the surface of your car. In other words, instead of adding water to an already “wet” surface, you add water to a surface that has already been coated with ceramic coating. The result is similar to adding water to a brick wall.
Significance of Ceramic Coating:
1) Scratch-Resistance:
Ceramic coating, like any other top coat always has to be applied over a base wax while the car is still wet. Therefore, it needs to be over a base wax so that it can bond with the underlying wax (base wax) instead of being self-adhesive.
2) Smoother Finish:
Ceramic coating forms a very smooth and durable finish and will make the paint feel like glass.
3) Easily Renewable:
Ceramic coating is easily renewable. Just using any type of non-abrasive polish will remove the ceramic-coating from your car. However, by simply applying more ceramic coating over the existing coating, you can give your car that “just waxed” look again in minutes. Additionally, a lot of people even apply ceramic coating on their wheels to prevent brake dust from sticking in between the wheel spokes and rims.
What makes Ceramic Coating Better Than Waxing and Polishing?
Although, the surface of a car is much more smooth and scratch resistant after waxing or polishing, the durability of the wax or polish is limited. The paint will only stay smooth and scratch-free for about 12 weeks depending on how often you wash your car. Waxing or polishing also have some setbacks that ceramic coating does not have:
1) Waxing and Polishing Will Not Give You Glass-Like Smoothness:
Waxing and polishing can only make a surface smoother but not as glassy smooth as corrosion resistant coatings. Not to mention, even after waxing, your paint job may look dull because it’s covered up with a layer of wax which tends to absorb dirt and water.
2) Waxing and Polishing Will Not Last Long:
Just like the above, a car surface can only stay smooth for about 12 weeks. After that time, the wax or polish will be gradually worn off by the friction and pressure from driving.
3) Waxing and Polishing Leaves an Unwanted Residue:
Wax is easily removable but can leave an unwanted residue behind on various surfaces of your car. This residue could be dust, bugs, water spots, and etc. The residue will settle on some exposed areas such as rims and panels that you don’t want to be covered in wax.
Conclusion:
All in all, corrosion resistant coating is the most important step when car care and maintenance. It does a lot more than other steps such as waxing and polishing, so you should consider giving it a try instead of only waxing or polishing.
