HomeCeramic Coating FAQs

Ceramic Coated Cars LOOK Amazing. Many ceramic coating businesses splash around images of freshly coated, glossy cars but what are our customers actually investing their hard earned money in? 

Your car has a very thin amount of paint on it, which includes a clear coat layer (see diagram). When UV rays, bird poo, dirty wash mitts and chemicals hit the clear coat it starts to degrade and/or scratch away. This all happens on a microscopic level but you sure know about it when you get to the point of needing a respray. The cost of that? THOUSANDS. That’s why good paint protection is a worthwhile investment.

A ceramic coating protects your vehicle’s paintwork from chemical and environmental degradation. It forms a durable protective layer over the paint that can help resist contaminants, chemicals and UV exposure, while also making the vehicle easier to clean and maintain.

Different ceramic coatings have different strengths and characteristics. Some offer greater chemical resistance, some suit particular paint types or turnaround requirements, and others provide different levels of durability, slickness or appearance. That’s why we offer several professional coating systems rather than assuming the same coating is the right choice for every vehicle.

Often the words paint protection and ceramic coating are used interchangeably; however, ceramic coating is a type of car paint protection. Technically, it is possible to refer to something like a polymer sealant or a carnauba wax, which still offers some protection, as a paint protection. However, a ceramic coating is a protective layer that is much thicker and stronger than both of these options.

Ceramic coatings are now one of the most common forms of professional paint protection, but there are other options too. We offer both ceramic coatings and Opti-Shield, which provides a thicker protective layer for customers wanting greater resistance to light scratches and minor stone impacts.

Yes. If you’re looking for the best car paint protection for your needs – something that provides long-term protection, makes your car easier to maintain and keeps the paint looking better for longer – a ceramic coating is absolutely worth considering. It provides significantly longer-lasting protection than waxes and sealants, with strong resistance to chemical and environmental contamination.

Ceramic coating isn’t the only option though. If greater resistance to light scratches and minor stone impacts is a priority, Opti-Shield provides a thicker protective layer and sits between ceramic coatings and the much more expensive Paint Protection Film (PPF).

Yes, many professional ceramic coatings come with a guarantee, although the length and conditions vary depending on the coating system. The ceramic coating systems we install come with guarantees of 5, 7 or 9 years, depending on the system selected.

When comparing ceramic coatings, it’s worth looking beyond the guarantee length and checking the terms and conditions too. Some require annual inspections or regular servicing to remain valid, while others don’t. We’ll explain the relevant requirements when recommending a coating so you know exactly what’s involved.

You can view the guarantee terms for the systems we install here:
NXTZEN Guarantee | Opti-Coat Guarantee | Gtechniq Guarantee

No, your car will still require washing and periodic maintenance to get the most out of your paint protection. It provides a protective layer between your car’s paint and the elements, not a car cleaning service. Its job is to protect the paint underneath.

That being said, washing a protected vehicle will be far easier and your car’s paint will retain its gloss much better than without any protection.

Short answer: generally, no.

Dealership paint protection products are often not brands that are well known or widely used within the professional detailing industry. While that doesn’t automatically mean every dealership product is poor quality, in our experience there are generally better-performing professional coating systems available through specialist installers.

The product itself is only part of the issue. The quality control and preparation of your car before the protection is applied matters enormously. To apply a ceramic coating properly, the surface must first be thoroughly cleaned, decontaminated and prepared. On average, a dealership may spend only 1–2 hours applying a coating or paint protection product to your car. By comparison, at Newcastle Auto Protection we generally spend 6–8 hours preparing and applying a coating, with more involved protection packages taking longer.

That doesn’t mean the dealership is simply more efficient. There are a number of steps involved in properly preparing and coating a vehicle, and rushing or skipping those steps can affect both the finish and the performance of the protection.

In a nutshell, our concern with dealership paint protection is both the product being used and the way the vehicle is prepared and protected. We use proven professional coating systems and take the time to prepare the vehicle properly before anything is applied.

This can be a very contentious subject for some people. There are a few reputable ceramic coating brands out there along with many unreliable, cheap knock-offs. But among reputable professional brands, there isn’t one ceramic coating that is automatically the best choice for every vehicle.

We install ceramic coatings from NXTZEN, Opti-Coat and Gtechniq, and each has different strengths. The right choice can depend on your vehicle’s paint type, how long you plan to keep it, whether you need same-day pickup, the level of durability you’re after and even the type of finish and feel you prefer.

Rather than pushing one particular brand, we recommend the coating system that best suits your vehicle and priorities. If you’d like to understand the differences between the brands and coatings we offer, take a look at our Choosing the Right Ceramic Coating page.

UV exposure is a big paint killer in Australia, but so is chemical and environmental damage from things like bird poo, bat poo, bug splatter, tree sap and other contaminants. Basically, a ceramic coating helps protect your car’s paint from environmental and chemical damage, while making it easier to clean and maintain.

However, ceramic coatings are not designed to stop physical damage caused by abrasions such as washing with a dirty sponge, branches brushing against the car or keying. While a coating can provide some resistance to very light marring, it shouldn’t be considered scratch protection.

If greater resistance to light scratches and abrasions is a priority, a thicker protection system such as Opti-Shield may be more suitable.

Graphene coatings have become increasingly popular in the past few years, despite causing a lot of confusion when they first came out. Essentially, graphene is used as an additive within the ceramic coating. It can enhance properties such as slickness, durability and resistance to chemical and environmental degradation.

Take note though – graphene only enhances what is already there. The addition of graphene doesn’t automatically make a coating better, and adding graphene to a poor-quality coating won’t suddenly turn it into a good one.

The graphene coating we offer is NXTZEN Graphene Serum. It starts with NXTZEN Ceramic Professional, with graphene nanoparticles added during the manufacturing process to enhance the properties of the ceramic coating. The result is greater slickness and durability, increasing the guarantee from 5 years for Ceramic Professional to 7 years for Graphene Serum.

Some coatings are specifically engineered to be applied as a multi-layer system, with the different layers designed to work together. These systems can provide greater performance and durability than a single-layer coating, depending on the products used and what each layer is designed to do.

We offer several dual-layer ceramic coating systems from NXTZEN, Opti-Coat and Gtechniq.

However, we do advise caution regarding the additional layers advertised by some businesses. If a coating is designed as a single-layer coating, simply adding additional layers on top may provide very little additional benefit. More layers don’t automatically mean better protection, so it may not be worth paying extra purely for a higher layer count.

Opti-Shield is a liquid-applied paint protection system that creates a much thicker protective layer than a ceramic coating. While ceramic coatings are primarily designed to protect against chemical and environmental damage and make the vehicle easier to maintain, Opti-Shield provides greater resistance to light scratches and everyday physical wear.

It can be a good option for customers wanting more physical protection than a ceramic coating while retaining a seamless, liquid-applied finish. You can read more about the different protection levels on our Opti-Shield Paint Protection page.

No. Opti-Shield and PPF are very different products. Opti-Shield is applied as a liquid and cures directly onto the paint, while PPF is a much thicker urethane film physically applied over the vehicle’s painted surfaces.

PPF provides a significantly higher level of protection against stone chips, scratches and physical impacts. Opti-Shield doesn’t provide the same level of impact protection as PPF, but it offers greater physical resistance than a ceramic coating without the visible edges or joins associated with film.

In simple terms, Opti-Shield sits between ceramic coating and PPF: more physical protection than a ceramic coating, but less than PPF.

No. Window tinting and glass protection do completely different jobs. Window tint is a film applied to the inside of the glass, primarily to reduce heat, glare and UV entering the vehicle. Glass protection is a coating applied to the exterior glass.

The glass coating creates a water-repellent surface that helps water bead and move off the glass, while also making dirt, bugs and other contaminants easier to clean away. Glass protection is included with all of our vehicle protection services.

It doesn’t matter. Window tint is applied to the inside of the glass, while our glass protection is applied to the exterior, so the two services don’t interfere with each other.

You can have your windows tinted either before or after your vehicle comes to us for protection.

Wheel protection applies a protective coating to the wheel surfaces, helping resist contamination from brake dust, road grime and other contaminants. It also makes the wheels easier to clean and maintain.

Wheel protection is included with all of our vehicle protection services.

Interior protection is an optional add-on rather than a standard inclusion. It can be added to your protection package to help protect interior fabrics and surfaces from spills, staining and everyday use.

Fabric protection offers great stain resistance and makes cleaning up spills a lot easier. The hydrophobic properties of the fabric coating help prevent liquids from penetrating the fibres, giving you more opportunity to clean up spills before they cause staining.

The easiest way to clean up a spill is to use a damp microfibre towel as soon as the spill happens. 

Paint correction is the process of removing microscopic amounts of a vehicle’s clear coat using a machine polisher to remove or reduce defects such as swirls, scratches, oxidation and water spotting.

In most cases, yes. Proper paint preparation is important to ensure the ceramic coating can bond correctly to the surface and perform as intended. Paint correction also removes or reduces swirls, light scratches and other imperfections that would otherwise remain visible underneath the coating.

Even new cars can have minor paint defects from transport, storage, dealership preparation or washing, so we assess the paint rather than assuming a new vehicle doesn’t need correction.

Yes. All of our paint protection services include a preparatory single-step paint correction at no additional cost. Some installers charge separately for paint correction before applying protection, so it’s worth checking what is actually included when comparing prices.

For most new and well-maintained vehicles, a single-step correction is enough to prepare the paint and achieve a great result before applying the protection. If your vehicle has heavier defects that require more extensive correction, we’ll discuss this with you before carrying out any additional work.

Paint correction can remove or reduce defects such as swirl marks, light scratches, oxidation, water spotting and etching. How much can be safely corrected depends on the type and depth of the defect and the condition of the paint.

Defects that have penetrated through the clear coat cannot be removed through paint correction and may require paint repair instead. We don’t carry out paint repairs, but we’ll let you know if we identify damage that should be repaired before your vehicle is protected.

On average, car paint protection takes about one day. This largely depends on the size of the vehicle, the protection system being applied and the amount of preparation required.

Some ceramic coating systems allow for same-day collection, while others need additional curing time and require the vehicle to stay overnight. Opti-Shield applications may also take longer depending on the number of layers being applied.

If same-day pickup is important to you, just let us know when you enquire. We can factor this into our recommendations and suggest a suitable coating system where possible. Otherwise, we’ll let you know the expected turnaround when we recommend your protection options.

Our standard workshop drop-off time is 8:30am. If you have circumstances that make an 8:30am drop-off difficult, please let us know when booking and we’ll advise whether an alternative can be arranged.

For same-day services, we’ll discuss an approximate collection time at drop-off and we’ll message you when your vehicle is ready to collect. If your ceramic coating requires an overnight cure, you can arrange a suitable collection time for the following day when you drop your car off.

You don’t need to wash your car before bringing it in, as we thoroughly wash and prepare every vehicle before applying protection. However, if your vehicle is particularly dirty, we do appreciate it being given a wash beforehand where possible.

If you’re having interior protection applied, please remove personal belongings and make sure the interior is reasonably clean before your appointment. We prepare the interior surfaces before applying protection, but the service doesn’t include a full interior detail. Child seats must also be removed before drop-off.

Yes, mobile paint protection is available in some circumstances, provided you have a suitable enclosed garage or indoor workspace where the vehicle can be protected from weather, dust and other contamination during application and curing.

Not every protection system or vehicle will be suitable for mobile application, so let us know if you would prefer a mobile service when you enquire and we’ll advise whether it’s an option for your vehicle.

Don’t panic! Your car is going to get rained on at some point, and your paint protection is designed to handle it. If it rains after you collect your vehicle, there’s no need to rush home and dry it off.

The important thing is that the protection has had the required initial curing time before the vehicle leaves us. We factor this into when your car is ready for collection and will let you know if there are any specific aftercare instructions for the protection system applied.

OR

Nothing! Your paint protection is designed to withstand the elements, including rain. Once your vehicle is ready for collection, you don’t need to avoid rain or do anything special if it gets wet.

This depends on the protection system applied, as different products have different initial curing requirements. We’ll let you know how long to wait before washing your vehicle when you collect it.

If your car gets dirty during this initial curing period, contact us before washing it if you’re unsure what to do.

We accept bank transfer, EFTPOS and cash. A deposit is usually required when booking, with the remaining balance due when your vehicle is collected.