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March 08, 2023 3 min read

Ceramic Coatings Pros and Cons

Up to now, ceramics has been a big buzzword in the coatings industry. Ceramic coatings do provide significant protection for your vehicle’s finish, but they have their limitations. Contrary to some claims, ceramics do not prevent damage to your finish from scratches to dings, or even swirl marks in paint. They also don’t eliminate the need to wash your car. 

To get a truly professional ceramic coating applied to your car will cost you a considerable amount of money due to the materials and labor that are involved. And we’ll also discuss why many products advertised as ceramics are intentionally misleading you. 

What are ceramic coatings?

To begin, we should clarify a couple of things about what ceramic coatings truly are… First, a real ceramic coating is resilient, durable, and hard, demonstrating longer wear and lasting protective capabilities. Second, a ceramic is made with silicon. This is where things start to get a little muddy… because silicon derivatives are used in sealer and sealant coatings. 

Since silicon is used to create a ceramic when baked in a kiln, and silicon derivatives are used in coatings, it was natural the word ceramic became the buzzword of choice. And marketers latched onto this and created an entire industry around these so-called ceramics.

What you’re not being told about ceramics

Unfortunately, many companies are not being honest about the true nature of their products. The majority of “ceramic” coatings in the automotive, marine, RV, and aviation markets are not true ceramics like porcelain, but verbally imply the coating is hard and durable like a ceramic because the coating has a silicon derivative in it.

However, there’s more to a real ceramic than just the presence of silicon or silicon derivatives in the product. For one thing, a true ‘ceramic’ would need to bake on your car in a kiln, like porcelain, for superior hardness and durability. That’s obviously not happening… 

How else can you tell if a product is actually a true ceramic coating?

  • All real ceramics have a shelf life to them. If your product doesn’t have a stated shelf (or pot) life, then it is not a real ceramic.
  • Real ceramics are usually two or three-part mixes, packaged aerobically, foil sealed to prevent air contact. 

    Based on these measures alone, you will quickly see that most products marketed to you as “ceramic coatings” are no such thing. Sadly, the marketers behind these products are motivated by profits alone. They find a buzzword, white-label an inferior product manufactured somewhere like China, and sell it online to line their pockets as fast as possible before people realize they’ve been scammed.

    So What is the Alternative?

    In order to protect yourself from scams such as these, or potentially damaging your vehicle with inferior products, you can choose a product that provides more protection than a ceramic, actually restores damage to your finish (like those swirl marks that show up in the paint), AND provides a shine better than wax.

    TopCoat® F11® is a product that does exactly that.

    In addition to costing far less than a professional ceramic application, you can apply it to your car yourself, with no special equipment, and have professional-level results in just minutes. 

    To top it off, TopCoat® F11® is water-based, so it’s completely safe for you to use in your driveway, without the risk of toxic runoff polluting nearby water, or posing a risk to the health of your family. And all TopCoat® products are 100% made in the USA. 

    So avoid the hype and empty promises of the fake ceramics that seem to be popping up everywhere, and give TopCoat® F11® a try. We’re confident that when you use it, you’ll immediately realize that it’s superior to anything else on the market. Not only that… your ride will look better than ever before!



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