Everything You Need To Know About Ceramic Coatings

[00:00] hello everyone and welcome in this video

[00:02] we are learning all about ceramic

[00:05] coatings this is all things to expell

[00:07] who I've partnered with on the video to

[00:09] learn about the ever-popular world of

[00:11] coatings they've recently launched their

[00:13] new product fusion plus and what I

[00:15] appreciate about expell is that they're

[00:18] very realistic about what ceramic

[00:19] coatings can and cannot do if you

[00:22] followed the ceramic coating craze

[00:24] lately you may hear claims like these

[00:26] coatings completely preventing scratches

[00:29] and Rock chips or that you'll never need

[00:30] to wash your car again not exactly

[00:33] accurate but that's not to take away

[00:35] from the very real benefits that these

[00:37] coatings provide like the ease of

[00:39] maintaining your paints cleanliness

[00:41] protection from things like tree sap bug

[00:43] guts and bird droppings the deep glossy

[00:46] appearance and of course they're very

[00:48] popular hydrophobic or water repelling

[00:50] qualities so let's start with how it

[00:53] works why it's useful and then get into

[00:55] some of the more common misconceptions

[00:57] expell ceramic coating fusion plus is a

[01:00] silicon based product so you have a

[01:03] carrier fluid containing nanoparticles

[01:04] and these tiny particles create an

[01:07] inseparable bond with your paint work

[01:09] that can't easily be washed off like a

[01:12] wax or sealant really one of the easiest

[01:15] ways to think about a ceramic coating is

[01:16] like a semi-permanent wax or sealant

[01:19] semi-permanent in that it lasts for

[01:21] several years in this case expels

[01:24] coating comes with a four year warranty

[01:25] the duration for the four year warranty

[01:27] was set based on third-party accelerated

[01:30] wear testing applying the product starts

[01:33] with the condition of your car's paint

[01:35] and whether it's being applied to the

[01:36] paint directly or on top of a paint

[01:39] protective film in this video the

[01:41] ceramic coating is being applied on top

[01:43] of the expelled paint protection film on

[01:45] my Tesla Model 3 if it's applied

[01:47] directly to your paint you'll want the

[01:49] paint to be perfectly clean and any

[01:51] paint correction to be done beforehand

[01:54] ceramic coatings will not hide swirls or

[01:56] scratches instead they'll seal them and

[01:59] permanently so it's important that you

[02:01] have your paint as perfect as possible

[02:02] before applying the coating if the

[02:05] ceramic coating is being applied on top

[02:07] of a paint protection film then paint

[02:09] correction is not required

[02:10] and unlike ceramic coatings protective

[02:13] films can

[02:13] cover up and hide light swirls and

[02:16] scratches on a clear coat as the

[02:18] adhesives of the film fill in the gaps

[02:20] on the paint surface we'll get more into

[02:22] the differences between protective films

[02:24] and ceramic coatings later in the video

[02:27] the application process itself is pretty

[02:29] straightforward similar to painting a

[02:31] car proper protection is required this

[02:34] includes skin and eye protection as well

[02:36] as a knee OSHA approved ventilator if

[02:38] you're not working in a well-ventilated

[02:40] area the risk of inhaling fumes with

[02:42] liquid based products that are applied

[02:44] directly is decreased versus spray-on

[02:47] coatings however a proper respirator is

[02:49] never a bad idea fusion plus is applied

[02:52] with a dropper to a micro suede towel

[02:54] and then applied to the vehicle in small

[02:56] sections after applying to a small area

[02:59] once the product starts to develop a

[03:01] streaky appearance and is beginning to

[03:03] flash off you wipe off the excess with a

[03:06] microfiber towel and then a final wipe

[03:08] down with an additional separate

[03:10] microfiber towel if applying the ceramic

[03:12] coating to glass it may require a third

[03:15] wipe down with a slightly water damped

[03:17] microfiber towel to remove any haziness

[03:20] that may appear the coating will be

[03:22] perfectly clear on glass when applied

[03:24] correctly the process is repeated for

[03:26] the entire car and you can slightly

[03:28] overlap sections which won't leave any

[03:30] visual indication to ensure the complete

[03:33] car is covered some ceramic coatings are

[03:35] sold as DIY kits some are professional

[03:38] install only expel fusion Plus only

[03:41] allows for professional installation

[03:43] there are several reasons for this first

[03:46] taking proper safety precautions is

[03:48] certainly easier to control in a

[03:50] professional environment glasses gloves

[03:53] and respirator and while the application

[03:55] process is fairly straightforward it's

[03:57] also just as easy to mess up the biggest

[04:00] thing is preparing the paint surface

[04:01] making sure proper correction is done

[04:04] before applying the product and that the

[04:06] surface is perfectly clean when applying

[04:09] the product things like humidity

[04:10] temperature and how much you apply can

[04:13] all change how quickly the product

[04:15] starts to flash off which alters the

[04:16] exact time you should wipe the surface

[04:18] down if you apply too much product or to

[04:21] a dirty surface you can leave behind a

[04:23] streaky appearance drips or sealed dirt

[04:26] to the surface

[04:27] once the product has cured it's

[04:28] difficult to remove and also difficult

[04:31] to tell if you fully removed it to

[04:33] remove it requires polishing aggressive

[04:35] compound or worst case wet sanding I've

[04:38] shown some panels here with what it can

[04:40] look like when the product has not been

[04:42] properly applied versus when it has been

[04:44] installed correctly with the paint in

[04:46] good shape a full installation can

[04:48] happen in a few hours then the coating

[04:51] needs time to cure for the first 24

[04:53] hours you shouldn't get any water on the

[04:55] surface the coating cures with exposure

[04:58] to sunlight or even just air while it

[05:00] can happen sooner the surface will be

[05:03] cured after four days during this curing

[05:05] process the gloss of the finish will

[05:08] actually increase peaking and glossy

[05:10] appearance days after the installation

[05:12] here's where it gets fun while the

[05:14] entire surface including all of the

[05:16] glass on my Tesla Model 3 was coated we

[05:19] coated just half of the hood on my crust

[05:21] wreck as an experiment commence throwing

[05:23] buckets of mud on top of the hood the

[05:26] left side of the hood does not have a

[05:27] ceramic coating though it is covered in

[05:29] expel paint protection film no worries

[05:32] no paint was harmed in the making of

[05:34] this video as you can see the ceramic

[05:36] coating on the right side of the hood

[05:38] has significantly less friction and is

[05:40] more hydrophobic the mud wants to drain

[05:43] right off whereas the non coated side

[05:45] keeps the dirt on top this also

[05:47] illustrates another fascinating property

[05:50] of the ceramic coating and that it has a

[05:51] self-cleaning characteristic dirt on the

[05:54] surface of the car would rather stick to

[05:56] water droplets than the paint surface so

[05:58] when it rains dirt traps in the water

[06:01] droplets and is blown off the car as you

[06:03] drive so does all of this mean you never

[06:05] have to wash your car again no

[06:08] absolutely not

[06:09] you still have to maintain the surface

[06:11] of a coated car it simply makes washing

[06:14] your car significantly easier and it

[06:16] eliminates the need to apply a wax or

[06:18] sealant afterwards no more waxing in

[06:21] fact waxes and sealants often have

[06:24] solvents within them which should not be

[06:26] used on a ceramic coating you don't want

[06:28] to use acetone or lacquer thinners

[06:30] either as these can degrade the surface

[06:32] isopropyl alcohol can be used to remove

[06:34] stains for water spots which yes you can

[06:38] still get with the ceramic coating you

[06:40] can remove the

[06:41] with a water vinegar mix again think of

[06:43] coatings like a permanent wax or sealant

[06:45] you still need to wash your car it's

[06:47] just easier and you won't have to wax at

[06:50] the end a simple 2 bucket method wash

[06:52] and then drying the surface with clean

[06:54] towels is recommended weekly expel also

[06:57] recommends applying ceramic boost every

[06:59] 4 to 6 washes to help maintain the

[07:01] hydrophobic qualities of the coating

[07:03] another fascinating thing about this

[07:05] coating is its compatibility with paint

[07:07] protection films this is something I

[07:09] didn't quite understand before seeing

[07:11] the install process if a ceramic coating

[07:14] a hard glass like surface is applied on

[07:17] top of a urethane paint protective film

[07:19] like expel wouldn't that negate the

[07:22] protective properties of the film

[07:24] allowing for cracks and rock chips and

[07:26] also remove the self-healing properties

[07:28] of expels paint protection films and yet

[07:30] it does not much of this is a result of

[07:33] how incredibly thin the ceramic coating

[07:35] layer is the flexible protective film

[07:39] helps prevent rock chips by spreading

[07:41] out the stresses of a rock on impact and

[07:43] because the ceramic coating is so thin

[07:45] the self-healing properties of that film

[07:47] still work here's a quick little test to

[07:50] demonstrate this we have a sheet of

[07:52] painted metal then covered an expell

[07:54] ultimate plus paint protection film and

[07:56] then covered in fusion plus ceramic

[07:59] coating first I'm spraying water on the

[08:01] surface to show the hydrophobic

[08:03] properties of the ceramic coating next I

[08:06] take a brass brush and create surface

[08:08] scratches on the film and coating as you

[08:11] can see you can still scratch a ceramic

[08:13] coating even when this has a scratch

[08:15] resistance of 9h the highest rating on

[08:18] the pencil hardness test and the

[08:20] standard for a good ceramic coating next

[08:23] a heat gun is used to heat up the

[08:24] surface and as you can see just like a

[08:27] non coated expelled paint protection

[08:29] film the surface heals just fine again

[08:31] it comes down to just how thin the

[08:34] ceramic coating is so is the coating

[08:36] still there a few sprays of water and

[08:39] you can see the hydrophobic qualities of

[08:40] the ceramic coating remain so with a

[08:43] paint protective film and a coating you

[08:45] get the best of both worlds this was

[08:48] pretty mind-blowing for me to watch and

[08:50] to be honest I still don't fully

[08:52] understand what's happening at the

[08:53] molecular level

[08:54] essentially the brass brush is

[08:57] rearranging the protective film

[08:58] structure and with some heat it's back

[09:01] to a lower energy state that's smooth

[09:03] and flat the ceramic coating is bonded

[09:05] to that topmost surface and rearranged

[09:08] with the film as it's heated leaving

[09:10] behind no noticeable scratches and a

[09:12] smooth surface again after allowing the

[09:15] coating some time to cool and then

[09:16] spraying again with water you can see it

[09:18] still maintains the hydrophobic

[09:20] properties of the ceramic coating so as

[09:23] a brief summary of the to a ceramic

[09:25] coating we'll provide some basic

[09:27] protection but it is more so about the

[09:29] depth and glossy appearance as well as

[09:31] hydrophobic and self-cleaning properties

[09:33] again think relatively permanent wax

[09:37] paint protective films on the other hand

[09:39] will offer real protection against rock

[09:41] chips and scratches ceramic coatings can

[09:44] also be applied to matte surfaces like

[09:46] on the trim of my Tesla or the carbon

[09:48] fiber spoiler without significantly

[09:50] altering the matte appearance while you

[09:53] could get either product individually

[09:55] and both have their advantages it is

[09:57] important to note that a ceramic coating

[09:59] 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