Clear coat is generally only as thick if not thinner than a strand of human hair! When your car is polished or paint enhanced, a very fine layer of that clear is removed, showing extra gloss underneath. What happens when you go through this extra thin layer? Well, it’s not pretty. In Fact it significantly reduces shine, and the life of your paint. It’s called clear coat failure. What can you do to remedy this you ask?
Ceramic Coatings have been around since 2004. It seems every detailer has a ceramic coating service – even body shops and PPF installers are getting in on it. I have been behind the times it seems. I might be called a laggard… or slow. Really I have been in the dark. There are some misconceptions about Ceramic coating. What exactly is a Ceramic coat? It’s been called a wax on steroids, this simply isn’t true. LESS LIKE A WAX, MORE LIKE A SECOND CLEAR COAT. In the factory clear coat is applied through multiple stages, in a clean room environment, and baked to bring the hardest part of the clear to the surface. Like clear coats, most ceramic coatings require a cleanroom, and baking for the best finish, leaving mobile detailers lagging.
Also like a clear coat, ceramic needs to be maintained. We’ve come a long way from waxes and sealers, (which generally only fill, and give gloss but wear out quickly) with ceramic “boosters” that act as a protection and give that wow effect making your vehicle easier to clean just like wax, sealants, polymers would with a factory clear.
Ceramic coating molecularly bonds to your clear coat giving it a harder, easier to clean surface, and adding thickness to your clear coat, replacing any that was polished off in the paint enhancement process.
What about mobile detailers? Advances in polishing and ceramic technology allow us to do a better job, than standard polishes, which have oils in them that prevent the ceramic coat from “sticking” as the polishes we use don’t have these oils, and actually lay ceramic coating down as we polish, effectively lengthening the longevity of your coating and insuring against failure.
Depending on the product you choose and the layers added, coatings can last from 6 months with an entry level coating, to 4-6 years with a high end coating.
Every ceramic coat, even at the beginning needs a booster, to protect it from rain, as if it gets wet before full cure you risk getting water spots that will need polished out. After your vehicle is coated, it is recommended depending on how much your vehicle is in the elements, that you maintain your ceramic coating by regular washing, just like you would with clear coat, and a booster coat, every 6 months to a year.
1 – Park n Shine is committed to preserving as much clear coat as possible.
2 – Park n Shine is IDA certified, and is one of two mobile detailers in Albuquerque, New Mexico having that certification. We are committed to continuing education, and giving you the customer the best possible service and quality possible with a mobile service.
3- We can come to you, and Ceramic coat your vehicle!
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