Finishes · 3 minute read
Ceramic coating, sealant or wax: which to choose
All three sit on top of the paint and make water bead off it. Where they differ is in how long they last in our climate, and in how much work the paint needs before they go on.
· Exquis Motor Co.
Wax
Carnauba wax gives a warm, soft glow that suits dark paint, and it is easy to put on by hand. Its weakness is heat. A dark bonnet in the April sun gets hot enough to soften it, and in a Kerala summer a coat of wax may last a few weeks. It also holds on to dust a little.
Wax is for people who enjoy spending a Sunday morning on the car. There is nothing wrong with that.
Ceramic sealant
A ceramic sealant is a liquid built on silica, which is where the word ceramic comes from. It bonds to paint more firmly than wax, gives a sharper reflection and copes with heat and rain much better. One coat on its own does not last long. Topped up regularly, it builds into a dependable layer.
This is what the Ceramic Wash applies. Once the car is clean, the sealant is worked in one panel at a time and levelled by hand. It needs no machine polishing, and because it is renewed at each visit, it never has to last long on its own.
Ceramic coating
A true coating is far more concentrated. It cures into a thin, hard layer and, washed properly, it can last for years. The catch is preparation. A coating seals in whatever is underneath it, swirl marks included, so the paint has to be decontaminated and usually machine polished first. That preparation is most of the work, and it is why we quote for a coating only after looking at the car.
Many coating bottles say “9H”. The number comes from a pencil hardness test, and it tells you less about your car than the label would like you to think.
What none of them can do
A coating is not armour. It will not stop stone chips on the bonnet, or the gatepost you have reversed past without trouble for ten years. It resists chemical etching and buys you time with bird lime and tree sap. A dropping left on a coated car for a week in May will still leave a mark.
Coated cars also show water spots more clearly. Well water in much of Kerala carries iron and other minerals, and when it dries on the paint in the sun it leaves rings that are harder to remove than the original dirt. If you wash at home, dry the car straight away.
Which to choose
For a car in daily use, a ceramic sealant renewed at every visit gives most of the benefit at little risk. For a new car, or one whose paint has just been corrected, a full coating is worth considering, provided it is washed carefully from then on. A coating cleaned with a gritty sponge wears like anything else.
Wax suits people who like the look and do not mind doing it again every few weeks.