Sealant v. Cerramic Coating

[TR6speed]

I have been seeing posts on some of the different Corvette forums abut ceramic coatings being appled and how they protect the paint.  Is this anything like the paint sealant Adams has?  I have always been a believer in doing my own detailing, but was just wondering is the ceramic coating all that it is made out to be.

[Loop]

The short answer is paint sealant and ceramic coatings have very little in common. Long answer below  

 

Sealants are basically synthetic waxes which offer a longer amount of protection (months) over something like Buttery wax or the paste waxes Adam's offers. They have to be reapplied every few months, depending on conditions, and offer no scratch protection or additional "hardness".

 

Ceramic coatings are a completely different animal. They are super long lasting (read: years) and are bonded to the paint and form a glass like layer of extra hardness. They help resist scratches and swirls, bird poop damage, fall out, whatever, to a much higher degree. They are hydrophobic meaning they basically repel water. They require your paint to be perfect before you apply them or you just lock in the damage underneath the coating for years (unless you want to polish it all off and start over).

Once the coating is on, no more wax or anything on top as it actually impedes some of the benefits of the coating. Just use the "Boost" when the coating no longer feels super slick, thats it for maintenance basically. 

 

Ceramics are the latest, greatest tech and honestly, when done right, are amazing. You can definitely apply them as a DIY as I am doing it myself. I have a black Z06 now and I am correcting it as we speak to get ready for the paint coating. I have already done the wheels on my wife'a Audi because that thing makes brake dust like you wouldnt believe...

 

Adam's offers different coating kits depending on what you want to coat along with videos on how they work and how to apply them. Give it a shot, I think you will be quite surprised. 

[Dan@Adams]

Justin covered just about everything there ^^^^^

 

But here are some direct-links to each of our 3 ceramic coating kits that we offer. Each link has a product video as well:

 

Adam's Ceramic Paint Coating Kit

 

Adam's Ceramic Trim Coating Kit

 

Adam's Ceramic Wheel Coating Kit

 

We strongly encourage going with the full paint coating kit if you are going to tackle a ceramic coating application, as it is a very specific application process and more involved than applying a sealant or wax.

[Ls1transam]

I've looked and looked. What does Adam's rate their paint coating in years? Is it a 1 or 2 year.

[Dan@Adams]

Hi John, It should last around 2 years or more with proper washing and upkeep with Ceramic Boost every 4-6 months or so, depending on how much the vehicle is driven.

[Ls1transam]

Hi John, It should last around 2 years or more with proper washing and upkeep with Ceramic Boost every 4-6 months or so, depending on how much the vehicle is driven.

Thanks!

[Beemer]

Hi John, It should last around 2 years or more with proper washing and upkeep with Ceramic Boost every 4-6 months or so, depending on how much the vehicle is driven.

 

So - what happens after two years?  Would I just reapply the coating over the old one?  Or would I need to polish the old one off first?

 

This question has kept me from trying the paint coating, although I have used the trim coating and LOVE IT!