What is a Ceramic Car Coating?
Ceramic car coating is a coating process that covers your car’s surface with synthetic substances that contain the element Si (silicone). These coatings are primarily used for their hydrophobic (water-repelling) and anti-scratch properties.
Although there are different types of liquid ceramic coatings, they all contain at least small amounts of silicone. Silicone is known to penetrate deep into the micro pores of the paint and can be difficult to remove. This makes it problematic to repaint your vehicle even if you can remove the ceramic coating.
What is Paint Protection Film (PPF)?
You may have heard about paint protection film when people refer to a “clear bra.” A clear bra is a section of PPF that is used to protect the front and rear fascias, hood, or truck. This special thermoplastic is a urethane that has better durability than the urethane paints that are sprayed onto commercial vehicles. Some brands are higher quality than others, however. When shopping for PPF, be sure to look for brands that are non-yellowing and that are hydrophobic.
PPF also comes in different mil thicknesses. This makes it suitable for a variety of applications and budgets. Most PPF is self-healing and will repair itself if it is scratched or marred. It may heat up in the sun and level out, or it may level out when using a heat gun. This makes it the perfect addition to any vehicle because it protects the paint job from damage and absorbs the impact from debris.
PPF can even absorb the impact of minor hail, stones, and other road debris. This durable “skin” is a shield against the elements, including acid rain, bird droppings, sap, and even wind sediment.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Applying Ceramic Coating to a Vehicle?
Applying a ceramic coating helps seal the paint by repelling water. You can spray liquid silicone onto a snow shovel or the bottom of a sled to achieve the same hydrophobic function. This is hardly a revolutionary concept. Although the thin layer of ceramic coating acts more like a durable carnauba wax, it does not provide the same warm glow as traditional waxing.
Most people apply a ceramic coating if they want the paint to hold up longer using a low-maintenance regimen that skips traditional detailing needs. Although it does create a very thin layer to reduce micro abrasions on the surface of the paint, it does not hold up to more severe abrasions.
What Are the Key Differences Between Ceramic Coating and Paint Protection Film?
The car paint protection film vs. ceramic coating debate is a bit confusing because they both seem to offer similar paint protection. However, the degree of protection in the ceramic coating vs. PPF debate is critical. The ultimate question is, “Paint protection film vs. ceramic coating what’s best?”
And in answering this question, our lab set out to develop ceramic coating liquid products a year ago. After completing lab research, we reached the conclusion that ceramic coatings fail to provide vehicle surface protection.
What we did find is that paint protection film (PPF) offers superior physical protection. It has the thickness and durability to protect the car paint from scratches, stone chips, and other external elements.
Vehicle surface and paint protection capability is the critical difference between ceramic coating and PPF. This is due to the thickness of the material, the composition, and how it’s applied. A ceramic coating is either applied as a liquid and wiped on or is sprayed on. This makes the thickness of it inconsistent.
PPF, by contrast, is a thermoplastic that molds to fit the entire surface of the vehicle. The thickness is consistent throughout and, therefore, can protect the paint better with a higher degree of surface tension. The surface tension is the same reason why you can skip a rock across the water.
This property increases the effectiveness at preventing damage to your vehicle even if the paint surface is impacted at high speeds with hail, stones, or other road debris. Think of the surface tension as an invisible shield that the debris must penetrate.
Can I Use a Combination of Ceramic Coating and PPF?
If you are considering applying a ceramic coating over paint protection film, there really is no need. The hydrophobic Creed PPF available from Rayno eliminates the need for a hydrophobic outer layer. Although traditional PPF does not have these hydrophobic properties that repel water, the Creed product has these properties built in.
No matter how liberally you slather or spray on the ceramic coating liquid, its thickness is too thin to measure. This thin layer of coating cannot protect the clear coat and paint. Although detailers have created videos featuring scratch tests of ceramic-coated surfaces, we were unable to replicate these results in our own testing.
Silicone-based products are slippery and may deflect the force of some elements that can scratch and mar the surface. However, you can achieve an even higher level of paint protection by using traditional carnauba wax. While this may offer a minimal level of scratch protection, it is hardly anything worth noti