The History of Protective Coatings

Ceramic coatings fall into the highest category of protective coatings in the market today - nano coatings. Nano coatings are an extremely thin layer of microscopic particles used to fill up every pore of a material's surface. By effectively leveling the surface you are reducing the likelihood of adhesion with the surface to any foreign materials. Currently there are 2 variants of ceramic coatings available to the market, SiO2 and SiC, as well as the newer addition to nano coatings - graphene coatings. Graphene coatings claim to have the highest level of abrasion protection, while their ceramic relative dominates any aesthetic competition. They each utilize cross-linking technology to adhere to itself and also the surface that the coating protects.  

"Graphene is a singular layer of atoms that sits on top of a SiO2 nano-particle to promote adhesion while benefiting from the protection of the R-GO(A.)." Graphene typically tests around the 9-10H hardness level on the Mohs scale, which is equivalent to diamond. While this is immensely impressive the longevity is mildly stifled at 5 years; and the appearance of your clear coat may appear dull due to the structure of how graphene coatings are made. Since the silicon dioxide is the medium for the graphene to adhere it stifles the refraction index of the overall coating.

Silicon Carbide is the secret behind the curtain when you hear about ceramic coating quotes that reach into the thousands. Silicon Carbide isn't nearly as natural as silicon dioxide, while it is a naturally occurring material, it's so rare you'd be unlikely to stumble across it unknowingly. Because of this quality nearly all Silicon Carbide is synthesized. It has hydrophobic and protection efficiency that can be warrantied up to 7 years through an insurance company in our case. It enriches the color and heightens the depth of your paint like SiO2, but at a slightly reduced color depth in order to achieve it's impressive protection rating. SiC is commonly rated around 8-9H on the Mohs scale, and a "refractive index rating of 2.65(B.)" providing a richer color.

"Silicon Dioxide is a natural compound of silicon and oxygen found mostly in sand, Silica has three main crystalline varieties: quartz, tridymite, and cristobalite (C.)" Yes, you heard that correctly, essentially Silicon Dioxide is liquefied quartz rating at 7H on the Mohs scale. Silicon Dioxide is typically what you find on most auto parts store shelves advertised as ceramic. SiO2 has a deeper finish than Silicon Carbide but will never last as long or protect as well as the carbide variant. SiO2 has a crystalline structure that rates "1.45 color refraction(C.)", which means that light can pass through it quite easily. Typically you'll have to apply a booster or re-application of the coating after every wash to retain the glossy benefits of SiO2. Meanwhile SiC, the carbide variant, doesn't require nearly as much discipline to achieve the same results. 

A more typical approach to protecting your vehicle, it's not broken, but as you've already read, they fixed it. Regarded to as waxes, sealants, and glazes, they all have different purposes and benefits over the nano coatings that are being promoted today in the detailing shops across the country. You can protect your vehicle's paint up to a whole year with certain combinations and also improve and protect the appearance of your paint at the same time. 

Paint glaze is used typically when there is limited time or correction available. Essentially a glaze is a sacrificial layer that protects and fills the clear coat. "By filling any imperfections on the surface it produces a smoother microscopic finish on your clear coat(D.);" which is what makes your paint shine. Most body shops don't tend to spend much time on correcting paint and therefore leave minor imperfections like, swirling or holograms. So in turn they generally will use a glaze to cover their work and turnover a better appearing product. However, if you've already had your paint corrected a few times and you no longer have any more clear coat to spare, a glaze might be a good option as well. While using fillers to achieve a higher quality finish is attainable, it is only temporary. After a few washes the glaze will eventually strip away, and all the old imperfections will make their appearance known again. This process is almost always done in a professional setting at a body shop simply because of how glazes allow paint to cure underneath the coating without trapping solvents.

Paint sealants generally offer the highest level of protection on the conventional sides of paint protection. Most manufacturers offer some sort of sealant as a portion of their top-of-the-line wax to increase the longevity of their protection. Sealants are made out of polymers, silicone, and blended specialty waxes in varying ratios for specific protection goals. Sealants can have boosted appearance properties when layered with waxes due to carnauba's filling qualities. However, you must apply the sealant before the wax in order to properly achieve adhesion to the surface. Otherwise you would lose all of the protective benefits at an expedited pace compared to advertised longevity.

Formally invented in 1910 by the Simoniz Company when owning a vehicle was seen as exclusively a commodity of the wealthy. The paste wax that was sold in a shoe polish can made it's way into suburban neighborhoods as automotive ownership rose. "Waxes are comprised of carnauba, palm waxes, and silicone wax mixed with other oils and solvents to help them achieve malleability(E.)." They achieve a similar result to sealants for protection, however can't last nearly as long due to their lack of technological advance. In 1944 Plastone is released to the public, which is now known as Turtle Wax, as the first liquid wax available to the consumer market. This new product sped up the process tremendously, and automotive wax rose to even higher popularity. Today most paint sealants are in the form of liquid bottles which mimic, or replace the historical waxes that began the industry. Even still paste waxes are sold today, most likely based on a track record of consistent protection. So the choice of automotive paint protection will continue to evolve, but with easy availability to the legacies before them.

There's always room for more options at the asset protection think-tank.

Most modern automotive paints derive their beginnings with Henry Ford's black lacquer paint, that wasn't actually automotive paint at all. "They used existing paint technology available at the beginning of the 20th century: a paint based on natural linseed oil resin as the binder. Oil resins cure through oxidative crosslinking, which means the paint takes a long time to dry(F)." Which then inspired the company now known as DuPont to enhance the curing process by utilizing a modified NO2 molecule to cut curing time to a couple hours. By the 1920s this new style of paint hits the manufacturers floors and becomes the new standard for automotive paint. Until the 1950s, when thermoplastic acrylic lacquer paint started to dominate the industry because of it's ability to display so many different colors. "This process used controlled polymerization of various acrylic monomers, to obtain a polymer resin achieving the first man-made resin to be used in automotive technology(F)."

By the 1980s automotive manufacturers and the EPA were putting pressure on the industry to have a change of pace. The emergence of basecoat/clearcoat systems begin their course through shops around the world. They provided more options for customization and also quicker turnover times for shops. This process is very similar to the process used in many auto body repair shops today still. Once the 90s had rolled around waterborne technologies came with the times, completely cutting out the harsh solvent binder. It not only is safer for the environment reducing the amount of byproduct in automotive manufacturing, but also much cheaper. Many manufacturers have changed their production lines to utilize waterborne paint more effectively, even though in some ways waterborne proves to be a more stringent and timely process.