Graphene Ceramic Coating vs PPF – The Winner is?
 

Why your car needs paint protection

Everyday you take your car on the road exposes its surface to natural elements like UV rays, rain and bird droppings to pollutants like smoke, dirt and tar from the road, all of which can cause physical and chemical harm. Oxidation, dents, abrasions, scratches – all ways to kill the natural shine of your car.

The car’s paint is not enough to fight all these elements alone. Enter paint protection products like ceramic coating and PPF, which create a layer, almost like a second skin, on top of your car paint to protect it from all the natural and industrial aggressors that attack paint. And of course there is science behind it. Ceramic coating, Graphene and PPF each protects on the car paint based on a different scientific technique. More on this follows…

Types of Paint Protection Products

Ceramic Coating

Ceramic Coating for cars is a liquid polymer, which on applying to your car’s exterior, bonds with its factory paint and forms a semi-permanent layer of protection over it. Ceramic Coatings are formulated from the same raw material used in glass and ceramics – i.e. Silicon Dioxide or SiO2.

Graphene Coating

Graphene Coating for cars, is created with the addition of graphene to traditional ceramic coatings, creating a lightweight and yet strong coating, which repels dust, in addition to water. This is considered to be a breakthrough in vehicle coating technology.

Paint Protection Films

A paint protection film, or PPF, is a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film that shields your car’s paint, defending it against environmental debris, scratches, rock chips and other abrasives. It is transparent, malleable and self-healing making it an advanced choice for protecting your car’s paint while retaining its showroom shine.

Ceramic Coatings vs Graphene Ceramic Coating vs PPF

Protection

Ceramic coatings are hydrophobic. This means they are water-repellant which makes it hard for dirt and dust to stick to it. Since the coating doesn’t really get dirty, it’s easier to clean too! Ceramic coatings also protect the paint from oxidation caused by UV-rays, almost like a sunscreen for your car. Thanks to graphene’s anti-static properties, graphene ceramic coatings are dust-repelling, as well as, water-repelling. Basically, it won’t allow dust or any other flyaway particles to settle down on the surface of the car. In addition, graphene’s low heat retention property ensures that water does not evaporate on the paint, instead forming water beads that can slide off easily. Graphene’s honeycomb molecular structure imparts a high contact angle to water, making it easy for water to slide down the paint. This reduces the chance of water spots forming on paint.

 

Protection grade of various paint protection products

Meanwhile, Paint protection films or PPF provides great impact resistance and scratch protection from small rocks, twigs, bug splatter and flying debris, because it is thicker and made with Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU). It also has self-healing properties, where any form of scratch or abrasion from keyrings, door handles or other manual activities over time can be fixed using warm water or some hot air is blown at it.

Longevity

Ceramic coating on cars can last anywhere between 2 years to 5 years, depending on the hardness of the coating. A 10H (pencil hardness) coating can provide protection for up to 5 years.

Graphene is thinner, lighter and incredibly strong because of its two-dimensional structure and honeycomb lattice. Industry experts describe this allotrope of carbon as harder than diamond yet more elastic than rubber, tougher than steel yet lighter than aluminium. As a result, it provides 10H hardness and can last up to 7 years.

PPF sheets, made with TPU, have an elongation break of up to 500% and a tensile strength of up to 30MPa, which means they can protect your car’s exterior and paint for up to 10 years. With application of heat, some PPF can self-heal, which means the films can return to its original form after any abrasions or scratches.

Looks

Due to their several chemical properties, ceramic coatings are known for the velvety gloss and shine they add to a car’s paint. They prevent the paint from getting oxidised, which ensures the paint looks fresh for a longer time in a country like India. Graphene coatings, being hydrophobic and anti-static in nature, repel all dust and liquid contaminants, ensuring a sleek glossy look as well. In addition to all the benefits of ceramic coatings, graphene coatings also eliminate the appearance of water spots caused because of water drying on the surface. While PPF can also provide a smooth and glossy finish to the car, especially a product like the Aegis SPX which comes with an extra gloss enhancing top coat, nothing beats the gloss of a ceramic coating. PPF is also not very effective against UV rays. The main feature of PPF is to protect the car from scratches and debris that can damage the car’s paint and to self-heal from any damage caused thus.

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Application

From cleaning to buffing to polishing to actual application, ceramic coatings can take a day’s time to be applied by a detailing professional at a fully-equipped studio like CarzSpa’s Detailing Studios present in over 70 locations across the country.

New age ceramic coatings, including graphene ceramic coatings, take about half a day for application and the remaining time to cure it.

PPF takes slightly longer. A small car could be installed with PPF in 2 days, while bigger vehicles may take longer. While you might be tempted to DIY the application of these paint protection products, we highly advise getting them applied by an experienced car detailing professional, to avoid harming instead of protecting your car paint.

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G10 Graphene Ceramic Coatings

Graphene coating was introduced in India by In n out auto wash with our exclusive product CrystalShield G10. The chemical properties and the honeycomb structure of graphene make the coating highly hydrophobic, dust-repellant and provide a velvety more long-lasting gloss to the exterior compared to the other variants of ceramic coatings.

Read more  :  Ceramic Coating vs Paint Protection Film – What is Better?

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So, which paint protection product is better?

Looking solely at the benefits on offer, PPF definitely ranks on top for long-lasting paint protection from scratches! However, if it is gloss and shine that you are after then Graphene ceramic coatings followed by ceramic coatings would be preferable. Now, for you, our customer. There are many things that matter when it comes to selecting the product. If your focus is to achieve great shine, protect your car paint from UV rays and protect you car paint from minor scratches, ceramic coatings could be your thing.

If you live in a dry and arid environment with lots of dust, are looking for premium shine for longer and don’t mind spending the extra cost for the same, then Graphene Ceramic Coating is your thing!

But if you drive on highways often and want to protect your car from rock chips, tar and dirt hitting your car at high-impact and are willing to spend that much extra to ensure complete protection of your car’s body paint then PPF can be your car paint’s saving grace.

If you still can not decide which paint protection to go for, visit your nearest In n out auto wash with your car for expert guidance on picking the right product as per your vehicle’s need and usage.

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