What Happens Before A Ceramic Coating Is Applied

Applying a coating takes a couple of hours. Everything before it takes considerably longer, and that is where the result comes from. Here is what happens to a car between arrival and the first drop of coating.

Before anything is touched, the goal gets agreed. A car being kept for ten years and a car being sold in six months deserve different amounts of work, and it is cheaper to have that conversation at the start.

The paint is inspected under the studio lighting, which is set at precise angles specifically to show defects that vanish under ordinary workshop fluorescents. Existing repairs, thin paint and anything that limits what correction can safely achieve are identified now, not halfway through.

Wheels, arches and tyres first with separate tools, then a careful contact wash of the body. There is no point adding marks to paint you are about to spend hours correcting.

Washing removes what is loose. Chemical decontamination lifts iron fallout and tar, and mechanical decontamination takes off anything still bonded to the clear coat. Run a hand over the paint afterwards and the difference is immediate.

A test section is done first to see how the paint responds, which tells us what is achievable and at what cost. From there it is a single stage polish, a multi stage correction, or in some cases no polishing at all.

After correction the paint is refined, then every panel is wiped down to strip out polishing oils. Coatings bond to bare, clean paint. Any oil left behind is a weak spot in the bond that shows up months later.

The car stays inside a temperature and airflow controlled studio for the application and for curing. This is not a nicety. Coating chemistry is genuinely sensitive to conditions, and a driveway in Melbourne provides none of them.

On a tidy car, most of a day. On a neglected black car with heavy swirling, considerably longer. This is the main reason two coating quotes for the same product can be so far apart.

Yes, and sometimes it should be. A genuinely new or very well kept car may only need cleaning and decontamination. Polishing removes clear coat, and doing it without reason is not a service.

Yes. Matte finishes must not be polished in the usual way, and coatings for matte paint are formulated differently. Film and wrapped panels have their own requirements. Tell us what the car actually has on it when you book.

Because paint is only ever fully assessed once it is clean and under proper lighting. If the car needs more than expected, that should be quoted and agreed before anything else happens rather than added silently.

• clear personal belongings out of the cabin and boot
• mention any recent panel repairs or repaints
• point out any defect you specifically want addressed
• tell us about existing coatings, waxes or sealants
• leave the car unwashed rather than running it through a brush wash

Every part of what you see afterwards was decided during preparation. Send Vanta the make, model and a few photos of the paint, and you will get a plan for your car rather than a package name.