What types of paint protection are available?
There are different types of paint protection, but when you boil it down to it, there are only 3 different main categories:
- Wax
- Paint sealing
- Ceramic Coating
Here you will find all three different types, and it comes in many different variants, each with its own purpose and suitable for everyone, no matter how big or small your budget may be.
The most important thing is that it fulfills what you want a paint protection product to do for you and your car.
What is car wax?
Car wax is often based on Brazilian carnauba wax, which provides some protection against car scratches, while also providing an incredibly deep and rich warm color, making the surface very smooth and also making water bead off the surface very easily.
The reason why water beads off the paint is because it has an incredibly hard time sticking, this also makes it very difficult for dirt and grime to stick, which in short means that it is easier to wipe it off after washing the car, but also means that it takes longer between washings.
However, car wax has the disadvantage that it does not last as long as other types of paint protection.
What is Paint Sealant?
Paint sealant is a synthetic product that gives you much better durability than wax, which is based on polymer. Polymer gives you better protection than car wax, as it provides protection against UV rays, meaning the paint does not fade.
Typically, varnish sealer gives you a surface that gets more shine, but where the water does not bead, but comes off in so-called ''sheets''. Imagine that you take a sheet of water, rather than beads, and you have the difference with how water behaves, on wax and varnish sealer.
However, it must be said that not all types of varnish sealers do this. Soft99 Fusso Coat is one of the exceptions, as it is a hybrid of wax and varnish sealer, and therefore the water beads.
In short, if you want more protection for a longer period of time than what a car wax offers, then a paint sealant is the best choice for you.
What is Ceramic Coating?
Imagine getting the best of both worlds of car wax and paint sealant, then turning the performance clock just one more time, and you're almost there.
Ceramic Coating is an incredibly thin film that becomes extremely hard , chemically resistant and provides a water(d)vital water repellent effect. It also provides an incredibly beautiful shine and finish that cannot be described.
Many manufacturers of Ceramic Coating often overpromise by saying they have a coating that cannot be scratched, or is scratch resistant. The Ceramic Coatings that you find in our range make it harder for you to scratch your car's paint, but not impossible.
Some of them even contain a ''self healing effect'' , but it is just an extra layer of protection, and that does not mean that you should start scratching your car or start washing your car differently.
On the other hand, it requires a little extra work and requires the use of several accessory products that cannot be used afterwards, such as microfiber cloths and microfiber applicators.
The huge advantage of ceramic coating is that it protects for an incredibly long time, in fact anything from 12 months up to 9 years! It really puts paint sealing to shame.
Here in the shop we sell NXTZEN Ceramic Coating , and they have everything from what the enthusiast at home can use, to what is exclusively for professional certified installers to use, and there is a good reason why there is a difference.
Although Ceramic Coating is relatively easy to handle, the professional variants are more difficult than those intended for enthusiasts. So to avoid having a bad experience, it requires a course to be able to handle the professional variants.
What is best?
It depends a bit on what you want and how often you want to apply paint protection.
If you love touching and caring for your car, love the deep and rich color that a car wax can provide, and don't mind having to apply paint protection a little more often, then car wax is a great solution for you.
If you want a solution where you can easily leave your car for several months at a time without having to apply paint protection, then paint sealing is probably the best solution for you.
Is only the best enough, and you don't want to have to reapply paint protection every year, or before at least a year. Then I would definitely recommend Ceramic Coating. It simply makes life easier that you don't have to think about re-treating your car, and that it just repels dirt and water.
Of course, it also provides the best protection against scratches from washing, and some of them even have a layer of ''self healing'', i.e. a self-healing layer that goes in and melts together, thus removing scratches from washing that have occurred in the ceramic coating.
Please note , however, that just like your car's paint, the better you treat the paint protection and the self-healing effect, meaning that you don't make scratches in it, the longer the self-healing effect will last.