---
title: 'Ceramic Coating Myths, Lies, and Misconceptions'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=YkCPkhqcbKo'
video_id: 'YkCPkhqcbKo'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 0
---

# Ceramic Coating Myths, Lies, and Misconceptions

> Source: [Ceramic Coating Myths, Lies, and Misconceptions](https://youtube.com/watch?v=YkCPkhqcbKo)

## Summary

The video debunks 10 common myths about ceramic coatings, from their hardness and scratch protection to maintenance and resale value. The creator argues that coatings are thin, not diamond-hard, and require realistic expectations about their durability and benefits. The key takeaway is that coatings are a tool for personal enjoyment, not a magic solution for all paint problems.

### Key Points

- **Hardness Scale Confusion** [1:29] — The 9H rating refers to the pencil hardness scale, not the Mohs scale. A 9H coating is about as hard as a fingernail.
- **Thinness and Limited Protection** [2:48] — Coatings are only 1-2 microns thick (human hair is ~50 microns). They cannot prevent rock chips and offer very limited scratch protection.
- **No Wash Myth** [3:39] — Coated cars still get dirty, just less rapidly than uncoated paint.
- **Booster Products Are Not Rechargers** [4:06] — Booster products are sealants that sit on top of the coating, not replenish it. Warranties tied to booster use are often a way to avoid claims.
- **Longevity Claims Are Irrelevant** [5:44] — Most people don't keep cars long enough for a 10-year coating to matter, and daily driving causes scratches that require paint correction anyway.
- **UV Protection Reality** [6:20] — Coatings provide a chemical barrier that can help prevent UV-accelerated damage from contaminants, but they don't block UV like a sunscreen.
- **Beauty Depends on Prep** [7:34] — The beauty of a coated car comes mostly from paint correction and prep, not the coating itself. Other products can look just as good.
- **Not a Resale Investment** [8:30] — Coatings are for personal enjoyment, not resale value. Most buyers won't notice or care. PPF is a better investment for protection.
- **Coatings Are Not the Only Option** [9:10] — Coatings are one of many options. Spray sealants, paste waxes, and PPF all have their place. Use the right tool for the job.

## Transcript

ever since I started testing detailing
products I've heard a lot of myths
rumors and even lies about how they work
I want to use this video as an
opportunity to give you my take about
the truth I fully expect this video to
be at least a little bit controversial
but if something's working for you if
it's a product or a tool and you love it
that's what really matters let's talk
about my favorite 10
myths most codings themselves are not
particularly hard to install you've seen
me install codings I'm by no means a
rocket scientist the actual coding
application itself requires good
lighting and ideally an indoor
environment when compared to a typical
wax you must make sure to wipe
everything up to avoid high spots but
other than that it's really pretty
simple the greatest Challenge and
biggest cost if paying someone to do it
is the prep work that's the washing the
decontamination and most importantly the
pink correction some people believe new
cars don't need to be prepped but they
absolutely do although it may take a a
lot less
time another common misconception and
one of my favorites is that ceramic
Coatings are diamond hard sometimes they
also compare them with glass and the
insinuation is just how strong and
protective they're going to be most of
us in school learned about something
called the Mo's scale of hardness and
then we see Coatings and they're sold as
8h 9h 10h and so forth the H hardness
scale is actually not the mo hardness
scale although people often think it is
it's actually the pencil hardness scale
a coding that rates 9h can avoid being
marred by a 9h hardness pencil how does
that compare to the most scale well it's
like the hardness of your fingernail you
can even hear our friend Chris gahar of
Adams polishes talk about it when I
interviewed him the two scales get
confused a lot between pencil hardness
and mo hardness I think some of that
purposely is done with um marketing and
things like that and maybe some of it's
just plain ignorance but essentially
what it's doing is trying to see if the
coding is harder than the pencil so you
do a measurement at 9h and if it doesn't
scratch Mar or gouge the surface after
five repetitions if it doesn't do that
on three of them then you're done and
it's greater than 9 H but all those
measurements that you're doing on all
those H's are all within about a one and
a half to two on the most hardness scale
so essentially if you BL up the hardness
scale you're kind of goofing around in
this small
region let's move on to another
longlasting piece of fiction that I hear
over over it's the idea that Coatings
prevent rock chips scratches and swirls
so how true is that we know they're not
very hard as a coating but there is a
sacrificial layer one reality about
Coatings is just how thin they are the
finer human hair on your body is about
50 microns in thickness Coatings are
usually about one maybe two microns
thick as far as blocking Rock chips
forget about it no coating is blocking
Rock chips there may be some limited
truth to scratch and swirl protection
though these Coatings are a protective
layer an incredibly thin one but it is
on top of your clear coat and it might
provide a tiny bit of protection however
because the layer is so soft and thin
any abrasive material can still Scuff
the paint quite easily I would say this
is a little bit of a halft truth it
helps a bit when you're like washing and
drying doesn't really help in real world
situations that may cause actual
scratches one thing that you may
consider is ppf we have tested ppf and
we were able to see some amazing
self-healing Coatings can't do anything
like
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that probably one of the silliest ones
at least to me is the idea that you
don't have to wash your car anymore I
really don't even know where that came
from but it sticks around a lot dirt and
grime sticks less to vehicles that are
treated with Coatings and actually other
lust up products as well coated cars
will still get dirty just not as rapidly
as cars with bare untreated
paint now the one that annoys me quite a
bit is that you have to constantly use
boot booster products or some sort of
special wash to replenish your coating
but the reality is you're not adding
coating back you're putting a sealant on
top of your coated car cool fair enough
if you like that maybe you like the look
you want to use a Topper to give a
certain look and feel to your car that
the coating itself doesn't do more power
to you sometimes on my coated car if
there's an area that the coating didn't
stick too well Chrome for example is one
of those trouble areas sure you can put
a Topper on there you can put a booster
that is all fantastic but the idea that
you have to keep recharging your cating
flies in the face of the whole idea of
Coatings which is that they're supposed
to be these semi-permanent long lasting
products and what really bothers me is
when companies even base warranties
around you using a booster that tends to
be installers more than the
manufacturers but it is very frustrating
for me because a customer will never
know your coding has failed if that
customer is constantly reapplying a
sealant to their car every three car
washes they'll never know of course
you'll never have any warranty claims I
do kind of think some people are going
to comment on this and say well I love
the booster products or manufacturer
says you got to do it I think I wound
myself up a little but let's take a
moment to talk about something there are
Amazon affiliate links Down Below in the
description they do help support the
channel the links are going to be to
some of my favorite codings but if you
buy anything at all on Amazon I do get
credit for that and it does help run the
channel everybody's talking about their
5 10 15 20 infinityy year product I
think this may be more of an irrelevance
than an actual myth and the reality is
yes I've seen a cating go a thousand
washes in our scrub testing but you're
never going to care about 10 years and
let me explain why number one no one
keeps their car that long number two how
many of you just leave your car in the
garage never drive it anywhere the
reality is most of us drive our cars so
what does that mean well going to get
scratched you're going to need pain
correction again
I don't believe codings really block UV
in the way that people are made to
understand blocking UV most people
picture blocking UV the sunlight comes
in coding blocks it goes like you know
get out of here UV pushes it away that's
what most people are thinking these
products do I've never been able to show
that through a variety of weathering and
transmission tests one thing that these
codings can do is they can provide a
layer between your clear coat for when
you have let's say chemicals that
shouldn't be on your car on your car
maybe worst case scenario bleach or some
other chemical that with sunlight and UV
is just going to supercharge and
potentially damage your paint if you're
ever trying to bleach something and
you're doing it just indoors in like a
cup of bleach and it's taken forever
yeah just go put it outside for half an
hour so in that sense there is some
element of Truth in my opinion to the UV
protective qualities of products and a
lot of people will ask well we see these
beautiful cars that are well-maintained
and these guys they wax them they wash
them they seal them they coat them and
the cars look beautiful well yeah guys
let maintain their cars have beautiful
cars
yeah kind of a minor myth but I think
worth talking about is the belief that
Coatings are the prettiest products in
the world people gush over beautifully
coated cars photographed in beautiful
Studios with beautiful lighting but
through my testing I've definitely seen
that Coatings can be quite beautiful
however for a show car finish it's not
always the Top Choice I have seen other
products that yield really really
beautiful results another thing to
consider is that pink correction and
prep is a huge huge part of how your car
is going to look the paint correction is
what's going to make it beautiful like
in those
photos there's this belief Often
perpetuated by usually dealer installers
not So Much by independent installers
that this is a great investment that you
know when you go to sell your car you'll
tell the next buyer it's got a 10-year
coating on it it's going to really
maintain your investment prevent those
Rock chips and scratches and swirls we
talked aled about earlier and it's a
great way to convince ourselves well I
need this that's going to keep my car
nice and then I'll get a good resale on
my car you care it's your baby your car
you don't want the scratches on it right
but when you go to sell it the next
buyer isn't even going to see all those
scratches unless they're as detail
oriented as you are a dealer because
guess what most guys are trading in
their cars dealer really doesn't care
unless it's bad ppf may be a better
investment however I really urge if
you're going to spend a th000 bucks or
several thousand dollars make sure it's
something that is for your enjoyment
unless your car is just quite
special the final myth and personally
one of my absolute favorites is the idea
that maybe nothing really matters
anymore except for Coatings they are the
latest and greatest they provide the
most durability they are pretty they
have lots of great qualities Why install
anything except the coding companies are
in fact working on all kinds of other
interesting products we see highly
performing PTF Products that come in Old
School paste form I've tested spray
sealants that are super easy to use and
Incredibly durable there are what feels
like an infinite number of options and
codings are just one I personally use a
mix of everything it depends on the task
there's the right tool for the right job
I really hope this video wasn't just
like Angry me ranting and it was
actually interesting for you what are
some of your favorite myths
misconceptions and maybe even lies in
the detailing world I'd love it if you
let me know Down Below in the comments
definitely want to hear what you
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think