張貼日期：Apr 03, 2018 1:53:22 PM
Ceramic Coating vs. Paint Sealant
Nick Yang
Having studied and practiced car detailing for a while, I finally decided to put a layer of protection, which will be more durable than traditional car wax, on my parents' newly bought SUV in order to give its paint an extra protection. It is a second-hand Volkswagen Tiguan that was beautifully painted in metallic black. Despite being a used car, the paint condition still looks excellent. To preserve the gloss of the paint and protect it from the harsh weather, a layer of durable protection is needed. There are two types of paint protection products come to my mind: ceramic coating and paint sealant. After doing some research and comparison on the Internet, I have finally decided to go with ceramic coatings. There were three major concerns when I was choosing from these two products: durability, difficulty, and the price.
Durability will probably be the biggest concern when people are making a selection between ceramic coatings and paint sealants. Paint sealant is a polymer-based product which contains a combination of inorganic and organic ingredients. It usually lasts on the paint for up to 4~6 months depending on the environment the vehicle is parked in. On the other hand, ceramic coating has a better durability thanks to its 100% chemical formula which contains mostly silica dioxide or SiO2. It can last up to a year, which is way more durable than paint sealant. Ceramic coating gets a point in durability!
Compared with traditional car wax, both paint sealant and ceramic coating are not easy to apply. To apply paint sealant onto the paint, all the contaminants, including dirt, dust, grease, tar, and iron particles need to be completely removed from the surface for proper bounding between sealant and the paint itself. After evenly applied to the entire painted surface, the sealant needs to stay on the surface for 40 minutes before the excess sealant being buffed with microfiber clothes. Applying ceramic coating is a trickier procedure to perform than applying paint sealant. Just like applying sealant, all contaminants need to be removed for proper bounding. After that, any defects (swirl marks, water marks, etc.) also need to be removed either by a machine polisher or hands in order to enhance the gloss and shine of the paint. Lastly, ceramic coating can be evenly applied onto the painted surface and it needs to be buffed up after 5 minutes. When the whole car is evenly applied, all the painted surfaces need to avoid any contact with water or grease for at least 24 hours for proper curing. With all the complicated procedures that need to go through, ceramic coating lost a round in difficulty test!
As a college student that lives in a normal family with descent economic condition, price will be one of the biggest concerns to me when choosing between these two products. Even though paint sealant and ceramic coating are not ridiculously expensive compared to some high-end Carnauba Wax, they are still not cheap enough for me to purchase without considering the prices. Paint sealant usually comes in different sizes and prices. However, the price range that I can afford falls on NT $500~1000 per bottle that contains roughly 400~500 ml. Ten to fifteen cars can be fully applied with a bottle of sealant. Ceramic coating mostly comes in a little glass bottle which has about 30~50ml and costs from NT$1500~2000. Only 5~10 cars can be fully applied with a bottle. It may seem that the paint sealant won this round. However, paint sealant needs to be reapplied every 4~6 months while ceramic coating doesn't. Moreover, salty water, which is a common contaminant that exists on the road surface, is the biggest threat to polymer-based paint sealant because it will break down the hydrophobic property of the sealant and slowly eat away the paint. Even though the paint sealant may win the pricing competition against ceramic coating, I still chose ceramic coating because it will last way longer than paint sealant.
The purpose of this comparison isn't about finding out which product is better or worse. Both ceramic coating and paint sealant are excellent products and they have their own lovers in the car detailing industry. If you are a car detailing enthusiast that enjoys spending time caring your cars and has all the tools and time to wash your car every week, paint sealant may be the best fit for you. If you are like me who wants to make the car always look perfect but doesn't have easy access to water hoses or pressure washers to clean your car whenever you want, ceramic coating will give you the maximum gloss with the least amount of time. And thus, I will highly recommend those who are in my position to purchase ceramic coating.