Ceramic coating is a liquid polymer applied to a vehicle’s exterior that chemically bonds with the paint, forming a protective layer. Unlike wax or sealants, ceramic coatings create a long-lasting, semi-permanent bond with the surface, offering superior protection and a high-gloss finish.

Key Benefits of Ceramic Coating:

• Durable Protection: Shields your car's paint from UV rays, oxidation, dirt, bird droppings, and chemical stains.

• Hydrophobic Effect: Water and contaminants bead off the surface, making the car easier to clean.

• Enhanced Gloss: Adds a deep, mirror-like shine that enhances the paint's appearance.

• Long-lasting

Adding a ceramic coating after a paint correction is the perfect way to protect and preserve the flawless finish you've achieved. Here’s why it’s highly recommended:

1. Lock in the Results

Paint correction removes imperfections like swirl marks, scratches, and oxidation, leaving your car looking brand new. Ceramic coating seals that pristine finish, keeping your vehicle looking freshly detailed for longer.

2. Long-lasting Protection

Once paint correction reveals the true beauty of your vehicle’s paint, ceramic coating creates a durable barrier against environmental damage, such as UV rays, acid rain, bird droppings, and road contaminants. This protection can last for years, unlike wax which needs frequent reapplication.

3. Easier Maintenance

Ceramic coatings are hydrophobic, meaning water, dirt, and grime bead up and roll off the surface. This makes your car significantly easier to clean and helps it stay cleaner for longer, reducing the time and effort you need to spend on maintenance.

4. Enhanced Gloss and Shine#

Ceramic coating enhances the depth and gloss of your paintwork, giving your car a mirror-like finish that is even more striking after the smooth surface created by paint correction.

5. Cost-effective Protection

By protecting your paint correction job with a ceramic coating, you’ll save money in the long run by avoiding frequent detailing services and maintaining the value of your vehicle.

In summary:

A ceramic coating after paint correction preserves the flawless finish, adds long-lasting protection, and makes maintenance much easier. It's the best way to maximize your investment in a paint correction service.

Car polishing is a widely misunderstood process, but one that is really important to make the paintwork look as shiny as possible. In this article, we will be going through exactly what the function of a car polish is, the risks, limitations, the process and the preparation required to get the best finish.

At a Glance

Car polishing is the process of removing minor clear coat damage (scratches and swirl marks) using a polishing liquid to flatten the clear coat which increases the gloss-level. The polishing process can be performed by machine or by hand and should be followed by protecting the paint using a wax, sealant or coating.

Autoheavendetailing offers single and multistage paint enhancement and correction services. Lewis, the owner and detailer is highly trained in the technique of machine polishing, ensuring the best possible finish in achieved in a safe manner.

Polish Isn’t the Same as Wax

This is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions in car care. A lot of car owners fall into the trap of using the terms “wax” and “polish”, interchangeably, but they actually have very different functions.

Car polishes are mildly abrasive, meaning they have the ability to flatten the clear coat (the top layer of paint on the car). This removes any light imperfections, usually inflicted during the wash process by using sponges, brushes or other aggressive techniques of cleaning the paintwork. The overall aim, is to improve the gloss level. Simply put, the flatter the clear coat, the shinier the paint.

Waxes are not abrasive and leave a protective layer on the paintwork to help shield it from UV rays, dirt, road grime etc. They do not have the ability to flatten the clear coat since they do not contain abrasives. Polishes do not protect the paintwork, so it is important to wax after polishing to protect the finish.

The confusion between waxes and polishes probably arises from the underlying claims that they both make the paint look shinier. Waxes tend to contain chemicals which will add some level of gloss to the paintwork. However, they do not have nearly as much of an impact as polishing. A truly glossy finish comes from the flatness of the clear coat, not what you put on top.

How Does Polishing Work?

We’ve touched on this already by saying that polishes are abrasive and help to flatten the clear coat, however it really requires a bit more explanation. The clear coat on a car is very rarely completely flat and will contain some level of damage, unless the car has been recently polished and well-maintained.

Polishes contain mild abrasives in a liquid format which are designed to remove the damaged layer of clear coat, to reveal a fresh, flat layer of paint. They can be applied using a machine polisher, or by hand with a foam or microfiber pad. They are applied in circular motions, on a small area at a time and worked into the paintwork with the aim of removing an even layer. Once the polish has been worked in, the residue can be buffed away using a microfiber towel. It may take multiple attempts on the same area to achieve the level of finish that is required.

What Types Scratches Can Polishing Remove?

Polishing is only capable of removing very fine clear coat scratches. It is not capable of removing scratches that have gone through to the base coat, which usually appear white in colour. Polishes are only designed to really refine the paintwork to a mirror finish.

In order to deal with deeper clear coat scratches, other techniques can be used instead. The most common, is called compounding. Compounds are still used in the same way as polishes, and exist in a liquid format containing abrasives, but they have a higher level of “cut” (abrasion), compared to polishes. These means they are more capable of efficiently removing clear coat damage. Keep in mind though, that they cannot deal with deeper scratches that have penetrated the base coat, as this will require the addition of paint.

Compounds can sometimes leave some very light “hazing”, since they have a higher level of abrasion. Compounding is typically followed up by polishing to refine the paintwork and remove the hazing to leave a glossier finish. This is known as a two-stage paint correction, the first stage being compounding to remove clear coat scratches, and the second being polishing to refine finish.

There is also another technique used to correct clear coat scratches, called wet sanding. This is even more aggressive than compounding and is used to deal with severe clear coat damage. It will leave a haze behind, which can be removed with a compound and followed by a polish to reveal the shiniest finish possible.

Many car owners may have heard of the word “detailing”, but most can’t pin down exactly what it means and how it works. Car detailing at a very basic level, is making a vehicle look as close to “brand new” as possible, and even in some cases, “better than new”. However, that doesn’t really even scratch the surface of what actually goes into the detailing process.

Car detailing is the process of improving the condition of a vehicle’s interior and exterior appearance. This involves the most thorough clean possible, any enhancement to deal with minor defects such as clear coat scratches, and protection to maintain the condition.

Here at Autoheavendetailing, we offer a range of detailing services including new car protection, single and multistage paint correction and enhancement, ceramic coating application and a maintenance detailing packages. We also offer interior and exterior deep cleaning, and engine bay detailing services.

Detailing Services and Packages

Car detailers often offer different packages and services to suit the needs of various car owners. Here are some of the most common options available.

• New Car Protection: new cars need detailing in order to protect them and keep them looking newer for longer. New car detailing packages often include a thorough clean and decontamination, paint enhancement if required, and protection of the exterior surfaces.

• Paint Enhancement: there are varying degrees of paint enhancement packages, some which include a single-stage, others which include multiple-stages to create the most refined, mirror-like finish possible.

• Ceramic Coating: this is a form of protection which can be applied to the paint, wheels and glass. It offers outstanding durability of up to 5 years, however, takes a significant amount of preparation and skill to apply.

• Maintenance Packages: these are designed to ensure the “freshly-detailed look” lasts for longer and include a thorough clean and protection top-up.