What are ceramic coatings?
Ceramic coatings are the latest and most revolutionary way to protect the paint on your vehicle or aircraft on the market today. Using nanotechnology, ceramic coatings bind to the surface creating an extremely durable and protective layer; separating your vehicles paint and interior surfaces from the harsh elements of the environment.
What is nanotechnology?
Nanotechnology is engineering, science, and technology conducted at the molecular and atomic level. In the case of coatings, this is beneficial because characteristics such as hardness, lightness, smoothness, and heat resistance can be manipulated to be greatly enhanced.
What are the differences between waxes, synthetic sealants, and coatings?
When faced with the options of what you want to protect your vehicle with, we find that educating you on the difference between coatings, waxes, and sealants can aid you in choosing the protection that best suits your needs.
Wax
Wax has been around since the dawn of auto detailing and probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. While wax adds a natural and beautiful shine to paint, its UV protective properties can be less than sub-par unless it is genuine 100% Carnauba wax. Jars of pure carnauba wax can range upwards of $400 for a single container! Even at this level, your paint will be protected only for a few months.
Synthetic Sealants
Synthetic sealants are man-made and polymer-based which adhere and bind to clear-coat. They are purposely designed for longevity and protection against UV Rays and elements of our environment. They can last anywhere from 2 months up to 8-12 months depending which you choose. Aside from protection, sealants add a deep shine, as well excellent water beading and hydrophobic properties. For more information about waxes vs sealants, visit our Wax/Sealant FAQ page here.
Coatings
Coatings have been popular in Europe for the last several years and they have been growing in popularity ever since they've been introduced into the United States. Coatings offer the highest level of protection and shine when pitched against waxes and sealants. At the entry level, coatings can last 6 months; and depending what level you prefer, they can outlast the life of the car under proper maintenance. Bugs, tar, sap, and bird droppings all remove with ease and the damaging effects of all of these elements are minimized by 99% due to the extremely durable properties of the coating itself. Another amazing characteristic of coatings are their scratch resistant properties.
Why choose Ceramic Pro?
This is the million dollar question. Why choose Ceramic Pro for your vehicle? The real question is why not? Ceramic coatings are the ultimate form of protection against UV rays and the harsh elements in the Earth's environment. Think of coatings as another layer of clear-coat stacked on top of the clear-coat of your vehicle; only stronger, harder, and offer much higher durability.
We like to make this analogy: Imagine standing on a gravel road and rolling a candle down it. The candle would pick up dirt, gravel, and other debris that would be embedded in the surface. Candles are made with wax. The same properties apply to your paint. Dirt and debris attract to wax.
Now imagine the same scenario only with a glass or ceramic container. There is no debris or rocks that will be lodged into the surface. The same applies to your vehicle. The surfaces of your vehicle will stay cleaner, longer. After a wash, your vehicle will still have that same deep, wet looking shine as the day you picked it up from us.
Left: non coated surface vs Right: Glass coated surface on a Porsche GT3. Extreme Hydrophobic properties where dirt, tar, and soap do not stick to the surface.
How long can I expect my coating to last?
The longevity of ceramic coatings depends on a couple variables; the first being the type of coating you choose to have us apply. There are single application coatings as well as multi-level applications which gives better hardness and durability. This is what separates Ceramic Pro from the other coatings on the market. It is designed to be multi-layerable, giving you a thicker, more durable layer. Other coatings on the market are single layer and are not engineered to stack on top of the other. Another variable to longevity is how well you maintain your vehicle after the coating is applied. Many people think that by the claims of 'no wax ever again' that they can just wash their car indefinitely without the coating wearing off. Many coating companies claim some of their products last a lifetime or 10 years, 5 years, etc. We believe some of these companies' claims to be true, however they still need to be properly maintained. We recommend once a coating is applied; you should visit our Scottsdale detailing facility for your washing maintenance, or on a quarterly or bi-annual basis to maintain the coating and apply an extra layer of protection to keep your paint in the best shape it possibly can. The biggest issue after a coating is applied is how your vehicle is maintained. If someone runs their car through a tunnel wash or a hand wash service that uses harsh soaps, dirty mitts/sponges, detergents or abrasion through brushes, this can compromise the coatings lifespan by half, void the warranty, as well as increase the risk factor for scratching the vehicle.
The bottom line is that whether your car is coated, wax, or sealed, proper maintenance is key to maximize longevity of your protection.
How do coatings work?
Coatings work due to nanotechnology. Since molecules and atoms are manipulated to optimize temperature resistance and hardness, this gives coatings hydrophobic properties. Hydrophobia literally means 'fear of water.' This property is what makes water literally fall off the surface when it makes contact. The amount of hydrophobia a surface can obtain depends on its anchor pattern.
What is an anchor pattern?
An anchor pattern is simply the profile of a surface. Every surface at the microscopic level has "peaks and valleys". Your vehicle's clear coat and paint have an anchor pattern that generally has long peaks and valleys. The longer they are, the more risk there is for particles in the environment to embed themselves into, and the increased chance of corrosion, both which can lead to clear coat and paint failure. Coatings have very short peaks and valleys; when applied to paint, they adhere and form a protective layer over the anchor patterns of paint, leaving the top of the surface with a durable layer and an anchor pattern that is highly resistant to the elements mentioned above. The smaller the anchor pattern, the less chance of corrosion. When peaks and valleys are shorter, the surface will feel smooth to the touch.
What preparation is needed before I have my vehicle coated?
We recommend having the paint of your vehicle as close to perfect as possible before applying a glass or crystal coating. If scratches and imperfections are not removed prior to application, they will be trapped under the surface of the coating and will not be able to be removed unless drastic measures are taken such as wet sanding to remove the coating, then removing the scratches, and then reapplying the coating after the scratches are taken out. Depending on the condition of your vehicle will determine which paint correction package of ours best suits your vehicle's needs. Our paint correction services begin with the Stage 1 Paint Correction. Visit our services page by clicking here.
For more information about what paint correction is and how you can tell if your vehicle needs it, visit our Paint FAQ page here.
Is Ceramic Pro Scratch-Proof?
No coating on the market is 100% scratch proof. If you are looking to achieve the maximum scratch resistance from Ceramic Pro, we recommend having our ION or Ultimate ION Package installed; this comes with two warranty options: 7 year or lifetime. For the ultimate scratch protection, we offer KAVACA paint protection film. This is a clear film that has a self-healing polyurethane topcoat that when lightly scratched, self-heals with heat from the sun. For more information on paint protection film, visit our page here.
How does Ceramic Pro compare to other coatings on the market?
Ceramic Pro differs from virtually every other coating on the market due to the fact that it is has been SGS Tested and proven for its hardness. It is also unique in the fact that ION (the durable hard layer) is multi-layerable. This means that it can be stacked on top of itself, offering a much thicker and durable layer of protection than any other coating on the market. ION also contains about 70% silica. Silica is the solid content that remains on the vehicle's surface once the coating cures and all solvents evaporate. Other coatings on the market only contain about 30%. This means that with each layer of ION applied, 40% more product is left on the surface, meaning more protection. No matter your budget, we at Detail Boss have a Ceramic Pro package that will protect your vehicle and make it have that showroom shine.
What coatings do we offer?
Ceramic Pro is the exclusive glass coating we offer. We feel Ceramic Pro is the current industry leader and provides extremely satisfactory results. If you have a preferred coating you would like applied to your vehicle; we can do that as well. All that we would need is for you to either provide the product, or we can special order it in for you when you schedule your detailing appointment with us.
Package Options
Ultimate ION Package
Includes 2 Layers of ION and 1 Layer of ION Topcoat applied to paint surface. Adds paint hardness and scratch resistance. Includes Wheel Faces and Windshield
Lifetime Warranty.
ION Package
Includes 1 Layer of ION and 1 Layer of ION Topcoat applied to paint surface. Adds paint hardness and scratch resistance. Includes Wheel Faces and Windshield
7 Year Warranty.
Silver Package
Includes 1 Layer of 9H and 1 Layer of Light applied to paint surface. Adds paint hardness and scratch resistance.
5 Year Warranty.
Bronze Package
Includes 1 Layer of Light applied to paint surface. Everything from Sport Package + high gloss and added self-cleaning properties.
2 Year Warranty.
Interior Package
Includes coating carpets, plastics, leather and upholstery with Ceramic Pro's interior products including Textile, Plastic, and Leather. This package aids in UV protection and prevention from fading, not to mention allow spills and liquids to float above the surface for easy cleaning!
Wheels
Includes coating wheels with Ceramic Pro to make for easy clean-up and prevent corrosion from brake dust. Please inquire for more information!
Glass
Includes coating windshield with Ceramic Pro Rain for easy removal of bugs and debris and cleaning. Makes water fly off the windshield! Pricing for coating all glass is also available. Please inquire for more information!