If you can buy ceramic coatings yourself from Amazon or online stores, why not save money and apply it yourself?
There is a multitude of reasons why that would be a bad idea unless you have extensive detailing and paint correction experience. Here are the following reasons why you shouldn’t install the coating yourself, and just what ceramic coating is.
What is Ceramic Coating?
A liquid coating that utilizes nanotechnology to provide a completely invisible layer of protection. Nanoparticles, when applied to the surface, seal all the pores making the surface extremely glossy, hydrophobic, and UV resistant.
The nano-coating forms a semi-permanent bond with the surface of the vehicle, resulting in a “sacrificial” layer.
The ceramic coating contains synthetic protection agents in it. It provides protection from contaminants as well as a shiny, and glossy finish to your vehicle by bonding to the paint. These products are called semi-permanent because they can be removed only through “cutting” aka polishing it off the vehicle with abrasive polish or wearing off naturally over years.
More on this on our Ceramic Coat Page
Step 1: The car needs to be properly prepped
In order to get the car ready, it needs to be properly washed as the first step. This includes a thorough pressure wash, making sure to get all the crevices where dirt hides, to get it exceptionally clean, using the proper soap, and removing of contaminants from the paint. You will want to either use the two-bucket system or a grit guard in the bucket. The ceramic coating will only highlight and make more obvious any imperfections or contaminants missed.
Removing contaminants can range from using Iron-Off to needing extensive claying. Even brand-new cars need proper prepping before the ceramic coating is installed, as they sit on the car lot exposed to the sun, elements, and dirt. But it is important to remove anything from the paint before installing the ceramic coating to achieve the perfect finish.
Step 2: The car needs to be properly detailed and the paint corrected
If not done properly the clear coat and even the paint can be damaged in the process. The paint can come out looking scratched and dull. The clear coat can become uneven or hazy. You could even entirely polish off your already thin clear coat leaving exposed paint.
Proper and well-trained detailers also use the best materials available. You wouldn’t want to risk the clear coat or the paint by using cheap materials or tools. You will also want to make sure you know how to use all the products and tools before using them on a vehicle. Another important factor is ensuring that you are doing all this in an enclosed location with exceptional lighting. Generally, it is always recommended to have a vehicle professionally detailed and paint corrected to ensure the clear coat and paint are not damaged in the process.
Step 3: Application of Ceramic Coating
What happens when ceramic coating is improperly applied? The ceramic coating “flashes” and has a short window to properly wipe the coating off. Failing to do so means it comes out foggy looking, streaked, and can also bubble leaving behind a difficult-to-fix situation. Then the only way to fix this would be to cut down the coating. Another issue for those new to applying ceramic coatings is an uneven coating. When improperly applied it can come out with raised spots, or entire panel sections missed.
Good detail shops will be well-lit and extremely clean. Doing the ceramic coating in your garage, if you lack proper lighting, you would need to back the vehicle in and out to check the coating. Moving the vehicle in and out can cause the still not cured ceramic coating to get dirt, debris, or other contaminants in it. And once cured the coating is hard to fix.
Conclusion
Once the coating is cured the only way to remove and/or fix any imperfections or errors would be to cut down the coating. Possibly even damaging the clear coat or paint underneath if the improper application affected the clear coat underneath. It would be a very time-consuming and expensive process. This is why ceramic coating application is strongly recommended to be done by professional detailers with application experience.