Ceramic coating or a paint sealant: which does your car need?

What a paint sealant is

A sealant is applied to decontaminated paint and bonds to it as a thin synthetic layer. It makes water bead and run off, and it stops road film keying into the surface, so the next clean is quicker and gentler. It wears away gradually and wants renewing roughly twice a year.

This is what is included in every Setup Wash, and it is renewed free after six continuous months on a maintenance plan. If someone has told you your car needs paint protection, this is usually what will do the job.

What a ceramic coating is

A ceramic coating is a liquid polymer, usually silica based, that cures into a hard layer chemically bonded to the lacquer. It is more durable than a sealant, sheds water more aggressively and is measured in years rather than months.

It is also a different job. The paint has to be corrected first, because a coating locks in whatever is underneath it, including swirl marks. That correction is machine polishing, the car normally needs to be somewhere dry and controlled for a day or more, and the price reflects all of it. It is specialist work and it is quoted per car.

Which one you probably want

If the car is in reasonable condition and you want it to stay clean, easier to wash and protected through winter, a sealant does that and costs a fraction as much.

If the paint is already marked and you want it corrected and then protected for years, that is coating work, and you want someone who does it properly.

• Everyday car, kept clean: a sealant, renewed twice a year
• New car you intend to keep: a coating is worth considering
• Swirled or scratched paint: correction first, whoever does it
• Car being sold soon: neither, just a thorough clean

What we do not do, plainly

We do not apply ceramic coatings, we do not machine polish and we do not carry out paint correction. Machine polishing works by removing a small amount of clear coat, there is a finite amount of it on any car, and it is not work to hand to someone doing it occasionally.

So if that is what your car needs, we will say so rather than sell you a wash instead. Ask us and we will tell you honestly whether what you want is a coating or a sealant, and we are happy to point you at someone for the work we do not take on.