Ceramic Coating Application Process
The last time I wrote to my followers, I talked about what a ceramic coating is and the benefits of having one installed on your vehicle. This time I would like to talk about what it actually takes to install a ceramic coating onto your vehicle’s painted surfaces. The process is roughly the same no matter the vehicle you are coating, the time needed however, depends upon the condition of the vehicle’s paint as well as the desires and budget of the vehicle’s owner. I would like to take some time to walk you through the main steps taken to install a coating.
As I mentioned the installation process is essentially the same no matter the vehicle. The time needed is a different story. The most accepted procedure is to remove as many of the flaws on the painted surfaces as possible to get the vehicle back to that brilliant brand-new look. While it’s not completely necessary a customer may want the look and overall protection provided by a coating but may not have the budget to make sure the painted surfaces are meticulously prepared to receive the coating. One of the most common attitudes of detailers who install coatings is if they are going to put their name on it along with the name of the manufacturer they won’t cut corners and compromise the overall life and integrity of the coating by installing the coating over paint they haven’t done their best to perfect. I too, share the sentiment. Not correcting the paint before installation can lead to product failure in terms of adherence to the poorly prepared panel(s) along with a greatly reduced expected product lifespan. Let’s get into the steps necessary to fully install a coating.
The first step to install a coating is the most obvious step and that is to perform a thorough wash and cleaning of the entire exterior of the vehicle. This means getting into all of the little nooks and crannies where dirt, grime, and debris may get caught. Places like the badges, the window and body trim crevices, in and around the door handles, etc. Basically, anywhere you can look and see dirt lodged or on the surface of that could cause product contamination. When doing the actual wash, a soap that will help strip any waxes or other paint protectants present is the best way to start out. Doing this will potentially help the next steps go a little easier.
Step two is the decontamination step. This step for me consists of using an iron/fallout remover, which is sprayed onto the exterior to loosen contamination left in the paint the main wash cannot remove and rinse it away. This product is applied to the exterior directly after the soap has been rinsed from the wash process. This is then immediately followed by conducting a clay bar treatment to grab as best you can the remaining bits of contamination the iron/fallout remover couldn’t get. The importance of this step is to make the compounding and polishing steps easier and more effective. If not done the compounding and polishing steps could take longer and make it much harder to remove flaws as new flaws from the contamination could be introduced as the product and pad work to smooth out the surface of the paint.
The third step is the compounding and polishing step. Depending on the condition of the paint this could be a very extensive and time-consuming step, or it could be easy and quick. This step most often drives the overall cost of having a coating installed on your vehicle. The point of this step is to remove as many flaws as possible and reduce the presence of those unable to be removed. The flaws looking to be removed include halos, swirls, micro-scratches, and minor gouging in the paint. The purpose of removing paint flaws is two-fold. The most obvious is for aesthetic reasons. Having the paint look its best ensures the finished product will be beautiful and brilliant. The other reason is to ensure the coating has as smooth a surface as possible to bond to leading to product life maximization. In cases where the defects are more severe or defined a wet sanding process may be needed to allow the compounding/polishing step to be most effective. This can be a dangerous step to include, especially when dealing with factory original paint. The reason is factory paint is almost always thinner than that of a vehicle that has been refinished. Wet sanding an area (especially around body and style lines in a panel) as burn throughs can occur or the amount of clear left after polishing can be perilously minimal. Of course, applying a quality ceramic coating will help combat clearcoat failure in these cases.
Once the compounding/polishing step has been completed it is extremely important to make sure all of the surfaces to include a coating (including the paint, trim, glass, headlights, and wheels) need to be prepared with some sort of solution to remove any wax, grease, or residue of any kind that will prevent the coating from bonding properly to the particular surface in question. Most coating makers develop their own panel prep product and it is often advisable to use that product when installing their coatings. That being said, a simple isopropyl alcohol solution will often suffice in creating a proper surface for the coating to adhere to. This is also a good time to get into all of the small areas around badges, fuel doors, door jambs, etc. to remove dust and residue from the compound/polishing step to help ensure better appearance when the vehicle is delivered.
As soon as the surfaces receiving a coating are as defect free as possible and cleared of any residual contaminants it is ready to receive the coating. The coatings in most cases come in a small bottle and are installed with some sort of a microfiber applicator. The process is performed one panel or part of a panel at a time. After an area has received the coating it is left for a certain amount of time (2-10 minutes) depending on temperature and relative humidity to allow the coating to start the bonding process. Once the determined amount of time has passed the installer must take a high-quality microfiber rag and buff down and level out the product to eliminate high spots and create a uniform (not blotchy) look to the panel. This process is repeated around the whole vehicle, overlapping each area of application slightly to ensure complete coverage of all areas to be coated. Some coatings require more than one coat offering greater protection of the affected surface. In doing so, each coat or layer must be allowed to cure for a certain amount of time before another layer may be applied. This can range from a couple hours to several hours and is determined by the coating maker. Once the initial cure time has passed the process described above is repeated.
A final and sometimes optional step depending on the kind of coating you are having installed on your vehicle is the application of a topper or sealant to help protect against the development of water spots when the coating is inevitably exposed to rain or as a result of washing the vehicle and not drying it off in a timely manner.
To summarize, the process of installing a ceramic coating can be quite extensive and time consuming. It starts with a thorough wash followed by paint decontamination in the form of iron remover and clay bar treatment. We then move onto the compound/polishing steps and panel prep step concluded with installation of the ceramic coating and topper. Each step is important to the final product, one fantastic looking vehicle with an extremely durable and easy to maintain finish. Given what we pay for our vehicles it only makes sense to make sure they are protected for the foreseeable future. Isn’t it time you did something really special for your vehicle?