What Is Ceramic?

Finishing sprays are a vital part of the detailing world. Whether you’re a professional detailer looking to perfect paintwork for the best impact before handing the vehicle back to the customer, you’re on-site at your favourite show finishing your car to look its best, or simply an enthusiast looking to get the best results from their detail, you’ll always need one of these all-time great kit bag essentials to hand. In fact, both our wax-based Finale Quick Detailer and Glisten Spray Wax are some of our most popular detailing products ever, capable of bringing surfaces to a deep shine and adding a little protection along the way.

But what if you’re looking to install (or indeed top up) long-lasting, ultra-hydrophobic ceramic protection at the end of every detail? Well, that’s where our Ceramic Spray Wax can help you push your detailing to the next level. Let’s take a look…

What is Ceramic?

Ceramic Spray Wax is a next-generation finishing spray with a difference. Instead of being infused with a natural wax emulsion like traditional sprays and quick detailers, this product has been specially formulated to include an advanced ceramic coating… while remaining as easy to apply as a traditional spray wax. In fact, if you said that we’ve take all the advantages of an advanced detailing spray like Glisten Spray Wax and replaced the protection element with our own ceramic coating, you’d be pretty close in your estimation.

With more and more detailers looking for the hardiest protection available, ceramic coatings - which are capable of lasting much longer than waxes – are proving increasingly popular for protection and bringing the shine to hard surfaces such as paintwork, glass, exterior plastics, wheels and vinyl wraps. The issue of course with most ceramic coatings is that they can be a little involved to apply, many requiring professional training to do the job safely.

Ceramic Spray Wax is different. This product offers the quickest and most straightforward way of adding a coating because the Si02-based formula instantly bonds to surfaces. The protection also has a durability of up to 3-months, outlasting any equivalent spray wax on the market.

What are the benefits of Ceramic?

Aside from being ridiculously easy to apply - the easiest way to finish your detail with ceramic protection, in fact - this product creates a crystal-clear layer that’s not only extremely deep and glossy but offers an ultra-hydrophobic barrier to the elements.

Because SiO2-based ceramic coatings essentially install a super-smooth, glass-like top layer, water molecules aren’t able to take hold and simply run off of the surface or sit on top and bead up without sticking. This is why ceramic coatings provide unrivalled performance when it comes to the most extreme water behaviour.

But that’s not all. In the same way that water can’t penetrate or bond to surfaces treated with Ceramic Spray Wax, neither can the larger particles you find in grime, dust and all other kinds of environmental contamination. And because these can’t stick, at the most they can only sit on top, it makes maintenance cleaning much easier and the process requires less (and milder) cleaning products. In other words, Ceramic Spray Wax not only makes your car easier to clean but is capable of keeping your it cleaner for longer in between washes. It really is that simple.

What is Si02?

Silicon Dioxide, which is also known as silica, is the substance that makes a coating ‘ceramic’. This particular chemical compound (which is technically an oxide of the element silicon) is also the main ingredient in glass and quartz. The reason we use this compound in detailing comes down to the unique properties it has when it bonds with surfaces in a layer. Unlike a wax or a sealant which physically bonds, essentially holding on but remaining separate, Si02 chemically bonds to become part of the top layer.

The tight-knit formation of SiO2 molecules on the surface is a bit like a flexible layer of glass, and what makes it impermeable to foreign molecules like water and grime, but it’s also this property that makes ceramics resilient to chemical degradation. In fact, these SiO2 molecules are all but non-reactive, so they won’t be degraded by cleaning chemicals, which always helps with longevity over lots and lots of maintenance washes.

Si02 coatings can only be removed fully through friction, the main reason why they’re capable of performing for extended periods. The strong chemical bonds they form with surfaces like paint, glass and vinyl make them extremely difficult to remove during day-to-day driving. And, just because they’re so hard to remove, it gives you the most extreme durability. The hardest protection available.

For more on the science of Si02, check out our full article - What is A Ceramic Coating?

How do you apply Ceramic?

The short answer is just like any detailing spray. We’ve already said that Ceramic Spray Wax is easy to use, but just how easy is easy? Well, it’s just a case of a spray, wipe and buff… and yeah, that’s about it!

Simply spritz a small amount over half a panel, spread evenly with your microfibre cloth and (after turning your cloth to a clean, dry portion) buff to a high shine. As we said Ceramic Spray Wax bonds instantly, so there’s no curing time needed.

The only thing to remember is that a little always goes a long way, we’ve formulated our 500ml Ceramic Spray Wax to last you through multiple details both in the initial installation of the Si02 coating and subsequent top ups during routine maintenance.

Do I need any special preparation for Ceramic Spray Wax?

Ceramic Spray Wax will always enhance your gloss and offer up to 3-months of ultra-hydrophobic protect, but like all true paintwork protection products it’s not intended to correct defects like an abrasive polish or compound. In other words, Ceramic is not intended to hide defects already in your paintwork or gloss plastics. This is why - even though this product will still be effective with regards to adding gloss and protection - we always recommend first carrying out any swirl mark and defect corrections if you’re not completely happy with the condition of your paintwork. This way you’re not essentially locking in any defects underneath, the same advice we’d give before the application of any type of protection layer. The only difference with a ceramic coating is to ensure that any polishes and compounds you use don’t contain waxes, fillers or glazes. These kind of products are ideal for use before application of a wax, but they will block the chemical bonding necessary for a ceramic layer to adhere properly. It is possible to use a wax-based finisher over a ceramic coating, just not the other way around. For corrections before applying any ceramic coating, it’s important to only use ‘pure’ abrasives such as our Revitalise System Compounds, One Step All-in-One Compound or our Professional Series Compounds.

Regardless of the surface condition, it must be completely clean of contamination before applying Ceramic Spray Wax. In the same way, you don’t want risk to locking in any grime or having foreign particles blocking the chemical bonding of the Si02. For this reason, we’d always recommend carrying out a full-deep clean and 3-stage decontamination wash where applicable.

How do I maintain the performance of Ceramic?

After your initial application, maintenance is even simpler. It’s just a case of performing an effective pre- and contact wash, before drying and spritzing on another layer of Ceramic Spray Wax in exactly the same way. The great thing this product is that it can also be used to top up any other previously-applied SiO2-based coating prolonging the life and hydrophobic performance for the maximum amount of time.

The most important part though, is making sure that your maintenance is carried out properly to cut down on abrading the surface with your mitt or any grime on the vehicle. As we said, ceramic coatings can only be removed by friction, so it makes sense to limit physical contact as much as possible… just like you would with any maintenance wash on any type of protection layer. Avoiding swirl marks and avoiding abrading protection is essentially the same thing and exactly the same process should be utilised every time you detail.

Even though ceramic coatings are extremely resilient to cleaning chemicals, it also makes sense to use products that are wax, sealant and coating-safe, too. Products such as Citrus Power Bug & Grime Remover, Avalanche Snow Foam and Lather Car Shampoo are all powerful cleaners for use in various parts of the wash stage, but they won’t abrade any protection layer, Ceramic or otherwise. For more info on the ultimate detailer’s safe wash, follow along with our full article - How To Safely Wash A Car.