Is the contamination of ceramic coating a serious problem?
Ceramic coating represents one of the most valid alternatives to keep a vehicle protected from deterioration. After curing, the coating will harden into a robust, ceramic layer that keeps the car paint from contacting the external environment. However, despite what most of the brands in the market claim, car coating is not a miraculous product, and harsh environments or extreme weather conditions might still cause contamination of the protective layer. In case of light contamination, a simple car wash is what it takes to bring back the vehicle to its condition, for most of the coating. However, more serious types of contamination will significantly affect the effectiveness of the coating, and will likely require the help of a professional to bring things back to normal.
Light, medium, and heavy contamination: how do I treat them?
Here we listed the different types of contamination and the most effective way to restore the effectiveness of the ceramic coating on a vehicle.
Light contamination
90% of the contamination on a vehicle is minor and easy to remove. This type of contamination usually refers to dust, rainwater, mud, or anything else that hasn’t been left on the car paint for too long. Most of the coatings on the market provide a relatively good easy-to-clean effect and make it easy for this type of contamination to be removed. All the vehicle needs to get rid of light contamination is a simple wash with a pH-neutral car shampoo.
Medium contamination
It usually happens when contaminants such as bird droppings or water spots have been left on the car for a few days. In this case, we advise you to take your vehicle to a professional, who will hand wash it with stronger detergents to get rid of the contamination. After this process, some of the coatings will likely need a maintenance product to restore the hydrophobic effect, depending on their quality.
Heavy contamination
This is when things start to get serious… Heavy contamination usually happens when contaminants have been left on the car paint for a long time, etching the ceramic coating, and seriously compromising its effectiveness.
Low-quality coatings usually require the polishing of the surface with an abrasive compound to completely remove the damaged layer from the paint. After the car wash, you will have no other choice but to reapply the coating on the vehicle.
As for high-quality coatings, using strong detergents or solvents will be necessary to get rid of the contamination. For high-quality coating, we mean those with a real multilayering structure, that can provide a superior level of thickness and hardness, and that can resist stronger detergents. After the car wash, we suggest the application of a maintenance product, to restore the hydrophobic effect of the coating, and KubeBond’s DiamondPlus is the perfect product for it.
KubeBond’s ION reduces the etching of the paint
KubeBond always works to improve its products and reduce the maintenance time required to maintain coating in its best shape. ION has increased thickness, and thanks to the exclusive ION exchange technology, it has four times the density of 9H. This makes its surface even less porous than in the past, and more resistant to etching from contaminants. Moreover, the hydrophobic effect of the Top layer is now granted by a robust 3D “spiked” structure, instead of the “old-fashioned” nano-hair structure. That’s why, even in the case of the etching of the protective layer, washing with stronger solvents or detergents will be less likely to impact the hydrophobic effect.
In conclusion, the quality of the coating that you choose is important to determine the protection of your vehicle. Low-quality coatings will work just fine with light contamination but require to be completely removed and reapplied in case of heavy contamination. High-quality coatings might still be affected by heavy contamination but only require little maintenance to restore their effectiveness.
We are still far from delivering the world with a free-of-maintenance product, but thanks to KubeBond’s continuous innovations, the car detailing market is one step ahead of reaching that goal.
