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Editor’s Note: MotorTrend’s gear team tests and reviews every recommended product. Read more about how the gear team tests products.
Ceramic coatings are the apex for hobbyist detailers looking to maximize and maintain their vehicle’s showroom shine. You’ve probably heard of waxes and sealants for your paint, but nothing can match the protection, shine, and water-repelling properties of a ceramic coating. But like many things in life, applying a ceramic coating to reap the rewards we talked about above isn’t what we’d call easy or quick.
It turns out there’s quite a lot of elbow grease required before you can even think about applying a ceramic coating. First, you’ll need to give your vehicle a thorough wash. Next, you’ll need to use a clay bar (or a clay towel, in our case) to pick up other contaminants embedded in the clearcoat. Once that’s done, you’d be well advised to correct and polish your car’s paint before protecting your work with a ceramic coating. Full transparency: Once your paint has been prepped, applying the ceramic coating is the quickest and easiest part of the job.
We selected five ceramic coatings at different price points to discover which products are the best.
Our Recommendations
- Best Overall: Gtechniq EXO | Crystal Serum Light Kit
- Clever System: Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating (standard kit)
- Best Budget: Cerakote Ceramic Coating (60ml kit)
- Barebones: Chemical Guys Carbon Force Ceramic Coating
- Super Cheap: Weiruixin Advanced Graphene Ceramic Coating
What We Looked For
Ceramic coatings were straightforward to test, since most metrics that differentiate them are objective. A few subjective metrics still exist, though, including ease of application and the scratch resistance they can provide. We should also note that we only tested proper ceramic coatings, none of those 3-in-1 spray products that also include the word “ceramic.”
Here’s a more detailed list of our expectations for the test:
- Easy to apply
- Resistant to wear and tear from regular car washing
- Improved water beading
- Should add significant slickness to the paint
The Reviews
[Best Overall] Gtechniq EXO | Crystal Serum Light Kit
Pros
- Superior performance and longevity
- Excellent scratch resistance
Cons
- Time-consuming to install both products
- Doesn’t come with panel-wipe or microfiber towels
VITAL STATS
- Ease of install: 4/10
- Water roll-off angle: 6.6 degrees
- Roll-off angle after durability test: 6.8 degrees
- Scratch resistance: 8.5/10
As one of the most expensive products we tested, we had high expectations for Gtechniq’s ceramic coating. If you’re willing to spare the extra elbow grease (and, eh, cash) to buy and apply it, it’s by far the best coating we tested. Here’s why.
Before we get too excited about how well it performed, we should note that Gtechniq’s kit took far and away the longest to apply. That wasn’t entirely surprising, as it’s a two-product system. Crystal Serum Lite (applied first) acts as a good base, protecting your clearcoat. Exo, meanwhile, acts as a finishing layer that maximizes gloss, slickness, and hydrophobic performance. Thankfully, the return on investment is well worth it, as you’ll see the coating passed most of our tests with flying colors.
You’ll see from our testing that the roll-off angle—that’s how far we had to tilt our test panel to get a 0.5-milliliter bead of water to roll off—wasn’t class-leading when new. However, we awarded Gtechniq’s ceramic coating our Best Overall nameplate as it wasn’t far off the best performer, and it only degraded two-tenths of a degree after our car wash durability test. Great work, Gtechniq.
[Clever System] Adam’s Polish Graphene Ceramic Coating Kit
Pros
- Super straightforward application process
- Kit comes with everything you need
Cons
- Fairly significant performance drop-off after durability test
VITAL STATS
- Ease of install: 8/10
- Water roll-off angle: 7 degrees
- Roll-off angle after durability test: 7.8 degrees
- Scratch resistance: 7.5/10
Adam’s Ceramic coating was the only other kit we tested above $100. As such, we had high expectations for its performance, much like Gtechniq’s coating. Right off the bat, we noticed it was much easier to apply than the Best Overall Gtechniq coating.
While the kit is expensive, it’s important to note that it comes with everything you need and more. For context, it arrives with a bottle of Adam’s Graphene Ceramic coating (big surprise), a bottle of surface prep, a bottle of graphene boost, applicator pads, gloves, and microfiber towels. Using all the tools at my disposal, the coating went on super easily, flashed in about a minute, and wiped off with no drama.
Once applied (and given time to cure properly), it performed well but wasn’t class leading. Durability wasn’t too bad, though, with 0.8 degree of degradation, which is perfectly acceptable. With the included bottle of graphene boost, you’ll easily be able to get at least five years of life from the coating—assuming it was applied and maintained properly.
[Best Budget] Cerakote Ceramic Coating
Pros
- Super-easy application process
- Class-leading performance when new
Cons
- Roll-off angle took a big hit after the durability test
VITAL STATS
- Ease of install: 8/10
- Water roll-off angle: 6.3 degrees
- Roll-off angle after durability test: 7.9 degrees
- Scratch resistance: 7/10
As you may have guessed, Cerakote is brilliant at producing high-quality ceramic-based products—and has done so for more than 40 years. Best known for its ceramic paints (bringing superior durability and heat resistance), the brand recently branched out into car care products. A quick look at our test data shows the brand’s opening foray into ceramic coatings was well worth the effort.
Application was super quick and easy, and once the coating had cured, it delivered the best performance of the bunch when new. It narrowly outperformed Gtechniq’s product, needing only 6.3 degrees to get the water bead moving. However, the good news ends there, as that number plummeted to 7.9 degrees after the durability test.
Overall, it’s a great product, though, and it retails for just under $100—something that can’t be said for the two products above it.
[Barebones] Chemical Guys Carbon Force Ceramic Coating
Pros
- Only kit to come with three applicator pads
Cons
- Difficult application process (flashes quickly)
- Worst price-to-performance of the bunch
VITAL STATS
- Ease of install: 3/10
- Water roll-off angle: 8.9 degrees
- Roll-off angle after durability test: 9.1 degrees
- Scratch resistance: 7/10
We’d be lying if we said we didn’t have expectations for this ceramic coating. Chemical Guys has always been a major player in the detailing industry for being good enough—and affordable. However, Chemical Guys’ ceramic coating was a bit of a head-scratcher for us, since these products are not only expensive but also not very beginner friendly.
Addressing the elephant in the room, the CG ceramic coating was not easy to apply. You really need to keep a close eye on it, as it flashes quite quickly, even when we applied it indoors, out of direct sunlight. That’s a big deal, as if you’re not quick enough with your microfiber towel to level the product well… you’re out of luck. If you mess up the application, you’ll need a polisher to remove the ceramic coating.
Its performance was adequate, given that it wasn’t the worst ceramic coating that we tested. Its 8.9-degree roll-off angle isn’t bad per se, but compared to the untreated surface, which measured a 12-degree roll-off angle, we can really only call it acceptable. Performance drops off to 9.1 degrees after the durability test, which isn’t a big difference but still isn’t great.
That’s not to mention that Chemical Guys is currently selling its product for $129.
[Super Cheap] Weiruixin Advanced Graphene Ceramic Coating
Pros
- Incredibly inexpensive
- Easy to apply
Cons
- Very low performance
VITAL STATS
- Ease of install: 7/10
- Water roll-off angle: 10.5 degrees
- Roll-off angle after durability test: 11.1 degrees
- Scratch resistance: 7/10
You might have noticed that most of these ceramic coatings are expensive. Big surprise, right? That’s why we wanted to see what budget-conscious Amazon shoppers could expect from a $20 ceramic coating. You’ll never guess, but we weren’t impressed. Take a quick look at the data above, and you’ll spot that it wasn’t significantly better than the untreated surface we tested as a control.
How We Tested Ceramic Coatings
As mentioned above, testing ceramic coatings was positively straightforward after our earlier car polisher test. Having washed, decontaminated, compounded, and polished our test panel to evaluate polishers, we’ve already completed the necessary prep work to apply a ceramic coating. As you’ve seen in our other tests, we look for a healthy balance of subjective and objective metrics to determine which products you should buy.
Test 1: Ease of Application
Installing ceramic coatings is a bit like painting a house: Prep is 90 percent of the job, and the remaining 10 percent is usually the quick and easy bit. Having said that, we noticed some of the products were considerably easier to apply than others. The time it took each product to “flash” or “rainbow” on the paint was the focal point of our first test—a telltale sign that it’s time to wipe off the remaining coating. This is a critical stage as it demonstrates that the coating is chemically bonding with your clearcoat.
To keep things fair, we applied each product under ideal conditions, in a well-ventilated room and out of the sun. Since you’re reading this and are likely new to ceramic coatings, these products flash much faster as the ambient and surface temperatures (of your paint) rise. The test is straightforward: We applied each product per the manufacturer’s instructions and noted the pros and cons. Note that any of the coatings that struggle here will be considerably more difficult when applied in real-world conditions.
Test 2: Roll-Off Angle Test
Hydrophobicity is always a big selling point of ceramic coatings. While it can often be dismissed as a bit of a party trick, it plays a critical role in protecting your paint. Along with simplifying and speeding up the drying process (lowering the chance of scratching), ceramic coatings also inhibit contaminants like bird poop, tree sap, and general road grime from bonding to your clearcoat as tightly—making them much easier to wash off.
To test each coating’s beading properties, we measured 0.5 milliliter of water with a pipette to disperse a uniform bead of water onto each test section. Next, using an angle gauge, we measured how far we had to tilt the panel for the water bead to roll off. Lower numbers indicate a slicker ceramic coating. Don’t overthink it.
Test 3: Car Wash Durability
If you’re willing to spend over 10 hours correcting and coating your car, we’re willing to bet you’ll want a coating that lasts a long time. That’s why we used an aggressive car soap and sponge combo to simulate accelerated wear and how it affects each coating. We began by scrubbing each area for five minutes with the soap solution and an aggressive sponge—normally we’d recommend a proper wash mitt or even microfiber towels to wash a car. Once finished, we repeated the previous roll-off test to measure the decline in the coating’s performance throughout normal washing.
Why Trust Us?
Here at MotorTrend, we know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two—especially when it comes to testing cars. We’ve been testing automobiles for over 75 years, with our first published magazine dropping in 1949. For context, the first installment of the magazine would’ve cost just 25 cents. We digress, but throughout those 75 years, we’ve tested well over 6,000 cars, refining our process into the methodology we use today.
Over seven and a half decades later, we’ve gained a profound understanding of how to test an automobile—and eh… inflation. While cars have been our bread and butter for quite some time, that doesn’t mean product testing has taken a back seat. Our product testing regimen follows the same ethos, targeting just the right dosage of authority and insight. Take this ceramic coating test, for example: You could have just surfed around on Amazon and bought the product rated highest.
The difference is that we can categorically tell you which coatings performed the best in our testing.
Ceramic Coating FAQ
What to Consider
We realize resisting the firehose of information available online about ceramic coatings can be quite difficult. That’s why we’ve distilled it into the bits you need to know to ensure you buy the product you want. Thankfully, once you understand what ceramic coatings do and what they don’t do, they become considerably easier to shop for.
Understanding Ceramic Coatings
Simply put, these products are liquid polymers (infused with silicon dioxide) that chemically bond with your clearcoat to create a semi-permanent, protective layer. If you paid attention in your high school chemistry class, you’ll know that would be called a covalent bond.
Hydrophobic rejection is another major benefit of ceramic coatings. Along with looking really cool, this added surface tension encourages water beading, which helps encapsulate dirt and dust, making it much easier to keep your vehicle clean. Sure, it isn’t quite self-cleaning, but you’ll find it leaves less dirt and dust on your paint to clean.
Ceramic coatings also offer exceptional chemical and UV resistance. The former helps prevent acidic contaminants like bird droppings, bug splatter, and tree sap from etching into your clearcoat. Over time, UV resistance also helps slow the fading and oxidation of your vehicle’s paint and plastic.
What Ceramic Coatings Don’t Do
Next to understanding these products, we think it’s equally important to understand what these products don’t do. Ceramic coatings are incredibly capable, but they aren’t a magic bullet. Here are some facts about them:
- Not all “ceramic” products are coatings
- Can’t absorb rock chip impacts
- Can’t protect your paint from deep scratches
- Can’t mask existing scratches in your clearcoat
- Can still get water spots on a coated car
- Won’t last forever
Maintaining Your Ceramic Coating
Another common misconception with ceramic coatings is that the work stops once it’s been applied to your vehicle. And while that’s certainly an option, you can extend the lifespan (and effectiveness) of your coating with basic maintenance. Along with keeping your car clean, some manufacturers also produce ceramic “boost” products that restore, refresh, and extend the lifespan of your existing coating.
We haven’t yet tested how well these products work, but it’s clear they’re a worthy investment given the time and effort it takes to apply a ceramic coating in the first place.
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