The Benefits of a Ceramic Coating for Your Car or Truck

The Promise of Ceramic Coatings

If you’ve done any research into ways to protect and preserve your vehicle’s paintwork, chances are you’ve heard about ceramic coatings. These high-tech paint protection systems have exploded in popularity in recent years for their superior durability and performance compared to traditional waxes and sealants.

Professional detailers market ceramic coatings as a long-lasting shield that will protect your paint from the elements and environmental contaminants like acid rain, sap, bird droppings, road tar, and bugs for years at a time, all while giving your vehicle’s paint a deeper, more lustrous shine.

When properly applied, a ceramic coating can indeed provide both solid protection and great looks. They work by chemically bonding to the paint surface to create a durable microscopic barrier that repels water, automotive fluids, and other materials that might stain or damage the paint.

The best ceramic coatings on the market today are backed by multi-year warranties giving you peace of mind that your paint investment will remain guarded for a long time. But are those advertised claims really possible given the variability of our environment and the abuse our vehicles endure in the real world?

The Reality of Year-Round Protection

Here in northern states, our vehicles face harsh extremes in all four seasons. Baking hot summer sun, acid autumn rains, road salt/brine exposure, tree sap, and debris like bird droppings and bug guts are just some of the elements and contaminants that batter our rides.

Given this annual cycle of punishment from Mother Nature, you might rightfully wonder - can a ceramic coating really hold up and sustain its protective qualities for 2, 3, 5 or even 7 years as some manufactures claim?

Thankfully through real-world testing, ceramic coatings are proving their mettle as an incredibly durable form of paint protection. While very few owners actually get a full 5 or 7 years of peak performance before needing a maintenance coating reapplication (more on that later), the best ceramic products absolutely do deliver extended protection that far surpasses traditional waxing when properly maintained.

Here's what you can expect from a professionally applied and warrantied ceramic coating on a year-round basis...

Summer Time Protection from UV and Oxidation

Intense summer sun can quickly cause your vehicle’s paint to fade, oxidize, and lose its luster. A properly selected and applied ceramic coating however forms a durable clear barrier that blocks the sun’s UV rays from initiating this type of long-term damage.

So even after months of daily driving under hot summer sun with the odd wash here and there, expect very little deterioration or change in your paint’s gloss and vibrance compared to an unprotected vehicle that would exhibit a duller, more chalky appearance from UV-initiated oxidation.

This UV protection is one reason professional detailers often recommend light colored or pastel vehicles be coated since darker paints naturally absorb more heat. But regardless of your paint color, a ceramic coating slows the process of UV-related damage and color fade.

Even if you skip the occasional wash, a coated vehicle will shed dust and surface particles far better than bare paint, so it continues to maintain notably better gloss through the sunny summer season.

Fall Season Acid Rain Protection

Once summer gives way to autumn rains, falling leaves release acids and nutrients as they decompose on our vehicles. These contaminants harm paint when moisture from morning dew and rainfall cause them to spread.

Bare unprotected paint is vulnerable and often stained by these autumn-borne agents. But a well-cured ceramic coating prevents their absorption into the clear coat, causing them to bead and slide off easily at the next rain or wash.

Even after months of exposure to acid autumn rains, expect your ceramic-coated paint to remain glossy and free of water spots. The slick clear barrier continues to do its job of repelling environmental contaminants even through this season of messy falling foliage.

Winter Rock Chip and Salt Protection

For vehicles in northern climates, there is no crueler test of a protective coating’s resilience than exposure to winter road salt, brine, sand, snow and ever-present stone chips that pepper paint and glass surfaces. From the first frosty nights of late fall through the thaw of early spring, these abrasive materials produce that all too familiar wintertime crud covering vehicles on roadways across the northern U.S. states.

Ceramic coatings are formulated to withstand this type of cold weather abuse better than any other protective coating option including paint protection films. These durable clear barriers keep salt, brine and grime from soaking deep into paint pores. So while abrasive sand and road debris may produce some surface marring and scratching, your clear coat beneath remains largely intact. This preserves the life of your paint investment better than an unprotected vehicle whose clear coat can become permanently pitted and damaged from cold weather contaminants.

Come spring thaw, a regular wash will dissolve away winter's crud film from the surface of a ceramic-coated vehicle far easier than it would from bare paint. And since a coating shields against absorption, most salt staining and water mark damage will not occur allowing your paint to emerge cleaner and shinier. Ceramic-coated vehicles have an advantage resisting the ravages of winter.

Even if weather delays your usual winter wash schedule, expect the protection afforded by a durable ceramic coating to deliver substantial dividends over bare paint when it comes to resisting cold climate damage. So long as you don’t allow abrasive grime to grind away the coating itself from lack of maintenance, it will bolster your paint through months of snow, ice and road contaminants.

Spring Time Grime and Contaminant Resistance

Late winter rains and spring thaw bring an end to salted cold weather abuse, but that just gives way to another seasonal onslaught – airborne contaminants. As temperatures climb, plant and tree debris borne by wind and rain begin coating vehicle surfaces again. Pollen mixing with rain sticks as a fine film. Tree sap oozes from buds and fresh foliage. And bugs of all types reemerge splattering paint and glass.

Through this season of natural gunk and goo, a ceramic coating continues working overtime to protect your vehicle's delicate painted surfaces. Expect contaminants like tree sap to bead atop the slick coating rather than soak in permanently. Soft pollen films that would normally adhere to paint easily rinse away at the next wash. And bug remains and bird waste lift off without etching vulnerable clear coat beneath when cleaned in a timely manner.

No matter the season, warrantied ceramic coatings sustain their durable protection against absorption and etching/oxidation damage far longer than traditional waxes or sealants. Just be sure to support it with regular maintenance washings to prevent abrasive particles from grinding away the coating film over time.

Maintaining the Coating for Extended Protection

While a professionally installed ceramic coating delivers outstanding durability and longevity of protection compared to other options, it does not grant your vehicle “immunity” from the elements as some product marketing might suggest.

Like most protective films, ceramic coatings do slowly sacrifice molecules of their structure over time when exposed to abrasive friction, chemical cleaners, adverse weather, and environmental contaminants that all vehicles endure. Some marketing materials unfortunately oversell the protective longevity aspects of ceramic coatings, picturing pristine shining cars that seem impervious to the realities of year-round driving exposure.

But the truth is even the most durable coatings require some periodic maintenance and eventual renewal after years of use to maintain their highest level of performance. Here are some tips for getting the longest protection possible from a professionally applied ceramic coating:

Automatic car washes should be avoided even if they advertise "touchless" or chemical-free. Their repetitive friction slowly degrades ceramic protection over time. Stick with hand washes using proper technique and pH balanced products. This preserves the coating while safely lifting contaminants. Seek out local professionals using the 2-bucket wash method if doing it yourself proves difficult due to physical limitation or lack of suitable setting.

Adding a maintenance topper product (aka booster) after the first 6-12 months post initial installation ensures the coating maintains its slick hydrophobic properties. Talk with your installer about their recommended maintenance toppers and timing guidelines tailored to your climate and vehicle usage levels.

While a quality ceramic coating provides outstanding resistance to environmental damage, bird droppings, tree sap and other organic contaminants still require reasonably prompt cleaning if contacted. Gentle chemical solvents combined with clay bar treatment lift these safely away preventing permanent etching. But allowing their prolonged exposure without cleaning can still result in permanent damage on any vehicle, coated or not. Just be more timely addressing such issues.

Reapplication of your coating should be considered every 2-4 years by a professional installer in harsh winter climates. This renewal maintains the highest level of protection through subsequent year-round exposure extending your paint investment.

The Takeaway

Ceramic coatings may not be the completely carefree promise of vehicle protection as some marketers pitch them. But professionally installed multi-year warranty ceramic coatings undoubtedly deliver substantially better durability and performance across all four seasons compared to traditional waxes, paint sealants or no protection at all.

So if maintaining your vehicle’s cosmetic appearance is a priority alongside guarding its resale value, then partnering with a reputable installer of quality ceramic coatings is a solid year-round strategy. The coatings available today genuinely do sustain their slick protective properties longer than any other detailing product when matched with reasonable maintenance practices.

Just be realistic about the true level of protection afforded and don’t expect to abandon all periodic cleaning as some product brands seem to promise in their dramatic marketing imagery. With proper maintenance and eventual renewal, durable ceramic coatings help car and truck owners win the year-round battle against paint damage far better than fighting bare-handed alone.

Looking to get maximum protection for your vehicle? Get a quote now.

Want more info? Watch this video from "Engineering Explained:"