[0:00] hello everyone and welcome in this video
[0:02] we are learning all about ceramic
[0:05] coatings this is all things to expell
[0:07] who I've partnered with on the video to
[0:09] learn about the ever-popular world of
[0:11] coatings they've recently launched their
[0:13] new product fusion plus and what I
[0:15] appreciate about expell is that they're
[0:18] very realistic about what ceramic
[0:19] coatings can and cannot do if you
[0:22] followed the ceramic coating craze
[0:24] lately you may hear claims like these
[0:26] coatings completely preventing scratches
[0:29] and Rock chips or that you'll never need
[0:30] to wash your car again not exactly
[0:33] accurate but that's not to take away
[0:35] from the very real benefits that these
[0:37] coatings provide like the ease of
[0:39] maintaining your paints cleanliness
[0:41] protection from things like tree sap bug
[0:43] guts and bird droppings the deep glossy
[0:46] appearance and of course they're very
[0:48] popular hydrophobic or water repelling
[0:50] qualities so let's start with how it
[0:53] works why it's useful and then get into
[0:55] some of the more common misconceptions
[0:57] expell ceramic coating fusion plus is a
[1:00] silicon based product so you have a
[1:03] carrier fluid containing nanoparticles
[1:04] and these tiny particles create an
[1:07] inseparable bond with your paint work
[1:09] that can't easily be washed off like a
[1:12] wax or sealant really one of the easiest
[1:15] ways to think about a ceramic coating is
[1:16] like a semi-permanent wax or sealant
[1:19] semi-permanent in that it lasts for
[1:21] several years in this case expels
[1:24] coating comes with a four year warranty
[1:25] the duration for the four year warranty
[1:27] was set based on third-party accelerated
[1:30] wear testing applying the product starts
[1:33] with the condition of your car's paint
[1:35] and whether it's being applied to the
[1:36] paint directly or on top of a paint
[1:39] protective film in this video the
[1:41] ceramic coating is being applied on top
[1:43] of the expelled paint protection film on
[1:45] my Tesla Model 3 if it's applied
[1:47] directly to your paint you'll want the
[1:49] paint to be perfectly clean and any
[1:51] paint correction to be done beforehand
[1:54] ceramic coatings will not hide swirls or
[1:56] scratches instead they'll seal them and
[1:59] permanently so it's important that you
[2:01] have your paint as perfect as possible
[2:02] before applying the coating if the
[2:05] ceramic coating is being applied on top
[2:07] of a paint protection film then paint
[2:09] correction is not required
[2:10] and unlike ceramic coatings protective
[2:13] films can
[2:13] cover up and hide light swirls and
[2:16] scratches on a clear coat as the
[2:18] adhesives of the film fill in the gaps
[2:20] on the paint surface we'll get more into
[2:22] the differences between protective films
[2:24] and ceramic coatings later in the video
[2:27] the application process itself is pretty
[2:29] straightforward similar to painting a
[2:31] car proper protection is required this
[2:34] includes skin and eye protection as well
[2:36] as a knee OSHA approved ventilator if
[2:38] you're not working in a well-ventilated
[2:40] area the risk of inhaling fumes with
[2:42] liquid based products that are applied
[2:44] directly is decreased versus spray-on
[2:47] coatings however a proper respirator is
[2:49] never a bad idea fusion plus is applied
[2:52] with a dropper to a micro suede towel
[2:54] and then applied to the vehicle in small
[2:56] sections after applying to a small area
[2:59] once the product starts to develop a
[3:01] streaky appearance and is beginning to
[3:03] flash off you wipe off the excess with a
[3:06] microfiber towel and then a final wipe
[3:08] down with an additional separate
[3:10] microfiber towel if applying the ceramic
[3:12] coating to glass it may require a third
[3:15] wipe down with a slightly water damped
[3:17] microfiber towel to remove any haziness
[3:20] that may appear the coating will be
[3:22] perfectly clear on glass when applied
[3:24] correctly the process is repeated for
[3:26] the entire car and you can slightly
[3:28] overlap sections which won't leave any
[3:30] visual indication to ensure the complete
[3:33] car is covered some ceramic coatings are
[3:35] sold as DIY kits some are professional
[3:38] install only expel fusion Plus only
[3:41] allows for professional installation
[3:43] there are several reasons for this first
[3:46] taking proper safety precautions is
[3:48] certainly easier to control in a
[3:50] professional environment glasses gloves
[3:53] and respirator and while the application
[3:55] process is fairly straightforward it's
[3:57] also just as easy to mess up the biggest
[4:00] thing is preparing the paint surface
[4:01] making sure proper correction is done
[4:04] before applying the product and that the
[4:06] surface is perfectly clean when applying
[4:09] the product things like humidity
[4:10] temperature and how much you apply can
[4:13] all change how quickly the product
[4:15] starts to flash off which alters the
[4:16] exact time you should wipe the surface
[4:18] down if you apply too much product or to
[4:21] a dirty surface you can leave behind a
[4:23] streaky appearance drips or sealed dirt
[4:26] to the surface
[4:27] once the product has cured it's
[4:28] difficult to remove and also difficult
[4:31] to tell if you fully removed it to
[4:33] remove it requires polishing aggressive
[4:35] compound or worst case wet sanding I've
[4:38] shown some panels here with what it can
[4:40] look like when the product has not been
[4:42] properly applied versus when it has been
[4:44] installed correctly with the paint in
[4:46] good shape a full installation can
[4:48] happen in a few hours then the coating
[4:51] needs time to cure for the first 24
[4:53] hours you shouldn't get any water on the
[4:55] surface the coating cures with exposure
[4:58] to sunlight or even just air while it
[5:00] can happen sooner the surface will be
[5:03] cured after four days during this curing
[5:05] process the gloss of the finish will
[5:08] actually increase peaking and glossy
[5:10] appearance days after the installation
[5:12] here's where it gets fun while the
[5:14] entire surface including all of the
[5:16] glass on my Tesla Model 3 was coated we
[5:19] coated just half of the hood on my crust
[5:21] wreck as an experiment commence throwing
[5:23] buckets of mud on top of the hood the
[5:26] left side of the hood does not have a
[5:27] ceramic coating though it is covered in
[5:29] expel paint protection film no worries
[5:32] no paint was harmed in the making of
[5:34] this video as you can see the ceramic
[5:36] coating on the right side of the hood
[5:38] has significantly less friction and is
[5:40] more hydrophobic the mud wants to drain
[5:43] right off whereas the non coated side
[5:45] keeps the dirt on top this also
[5:47] illustrates another fascinating property
[5:50] of the ceramic coating and that it has a
[5:51] self-cleaning characteristic dirt on the
[5:54] surface of the car would rather stick to
[5:56] water droplets than the paint surface so
[5:58] when it rains dirt traps in the water
[6:01] droplets and is blown off the car as you
[6:03] drive so does all of this mean you never
[6:05] have to wash your car again no
[6:08] absolutely not
[6:09] you still have to maintain the surface
[6:11] of a coated car it simply makes washing
[6:14] your car significantly easier and it
[6:16] eliminates the need to apply a wax or
[6:18] sealant afterwards no more waxing in
[6:21] fact waxes and sealants often have
[6:24] solvents within them which should not be
[6:26] used on a ceramic coating you don't want
[6:28] to use acetone or lacquer thinners
[6:30] either as these can degrade the surface
[6:32] isopropyl alcohol can be used to remove
[6:34] stains for water spots which yes you can
[6:38] still get with the ceramic coating you
[6:40] can remove the
[6:41] with a water vinegar mix again think of
[6:43] coatings like a permanent wax or sealant
[6:45] you still need to wash your car it's
[6:47] just easier and you won't have to wax at
[6:50] the end a simple 2 bucket method wash
[6:52] and then drying the surface with clean
[6:54] towels is recommended weekly expel also
[6:57] recommends applying ceramic boost every
[6:59] 4 to 6 washes to help maintain the
[7:01] hydrophobic qualities of the coating
[7:03] another fascinating thing about this
[7:05] coating is its compatibility with paint
[7:07] protection films this is something I
[7:09] didn't quite understand before seeing
[7:11] the install process if a ceramic coating
[7:14] a hard glass like surface is applied on
[7:17] top of a urethane paint protective film
[7:19] like expel wouldn't that negate the
[7:22] protective properties of the film
[7:24] allowing for cracks and rock chips and
[7:26] also remove the self-healing properties
[7:28] of expels paint protection films and yet
[7:30] it does not much of this is a result of
[7:33] how incredibly thin the ceramic coating
[7:35] layer is the flexible protective film
[7:39] helps prevent rock chips by spreading
[7:41] out the stresses of a rock on impact and
[7:43] because the ceramic coating is so thin
[7:45] the self-healing properties of that film
[7:47] still work here's a quick little test to
[7:50] demonstrate this we have a sheet of
[7:52] painted metal then covered an expell
[7:54] ultimate plus paint protection film and
[7:56] then covered in fusion plus ceramic
[7:59] coating first I'm spraying water on the
[8:01] surface to show the hydrophobic
[8:03] properties of the ceramic coating next I
[8:06] take a brass brush and create surface
[8:08] scratches on the film and coating as you
[8:11] can see you can still scratch a ceramic
[8:13] coating even when this has a scratch
[8:15] resistance of 9h the highest rating on
[8:18] the pencil hardness test and the
[8:20] standard for a good ceramic coating next
[8:23] a heat gun is used to heat up the
[8:24] surface and as you can see just like a
[8:27] non coated expelled paint protection
[8:29] film the surface heals just fine again
[8:31] it comes down to just how thin the
[8:34] ceramic coating is so is the coating
[8:36] still there a few sprays of water and
[8:39] you can see the hydrophobic qualities of
[8:40] the ceramic coating remain so with a
[8:43] paint protective film and a coating you
[8:45] get the best of both worlds this was
[8:48] pretty mind-blowing for me to watch and
[8:50] to be honest I still don't fully
[8:52] understand what's happening at the
[8:53] molecular level
[8:54] essentially the brass brush is
[8:57] rearranging the protective film
[8:58] structure and with some heat it's back
[9:01] to a lower energy state that's smooth
[9:03] and flat the ceramic coating is bonded
[9:05] to that topmost surface and rearranged
[9:08] with the film as it's heated leaving
[9:10] behind no noticeable scratches and a
[9:12] smooth surface again after allowing the
[9:15] coating some time to cool and then
[9:16] spraying again with water you can see it
[9:18] still maintains the hydrophobic
[9:20] properties of the ceramic coating so as
[9:23] a brief summary of the to a ceramic
[9:25] coating we'll provide some basic
[9:27] protection but it is more so about the
[9:29] depth and glossy appearance as well as
[9:31] hydrophobic and self-cleaning properties
[9:33] again think relatively permanent wax
[9:37] paint protective films on the other hand
[9:39] will offer real protection against rock
[9:41] chips and scratches ceramic coatings can
[9:44] also be applied to matte surfaces like
[9:46] on the trim of my Tesla or the carbon
[9:48] fiber spoiler without significantly
[9:50] altering the matte appearance while you
[9:53] could get either product individually
[9:55] and both have their advantages it is
[9:57] important to note that a ceramic coating
[9:59] can go on top of a paint protective film
[10:01] but not the other way around if a car
[10:04] has a ceramic coating it makes it very
[10:06] difficult for a paint protective film to
[10:08] bond to the surface so the coating has
[10:10] to be removed before installing the film
[10:13] and obviously since the paint protective
[10:15] film is a much thicker layer by covering
[10:17] up the ceramic coating you will lose the
[10:19] purpose and benefits of that coating
[10:21] putting the coating on top of the film
[10:23] gives you the best of both worlds
[10:25] so a huge thank you to expell for
[10:27] partnering on the video and of course
[10:29] for sharing so much information about
[10:31] ceramic coatings if you're interested in
[10:33] having expell ceramic coating installed
[10:35] on your vehicle i've included a link to
[10:38] their dealer locator in the video
[10:39] description I'll also include additional
[10:42] information in the video description
[10:43] about pricing as this will be dependent
[10:46] on how much paint correction is required
[10:47] paint protective film coverage and
[10:49] installer labor rates based on location
[10:52] thank you all so much for watching if
[10:54] you have any questions or comments feel
[10:56] free to leave them below