BEST CERAMIC COATING FOR CARS 2023
Why we think Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra is THE BEST Ceramic Coating in 2023
If you’re looking at ceramic coating your car and you’re not seriously considering Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra – you should.
Gtechniq was founded in 2001 by quantum physicist, Drew Gill, as he was dissatisfied with the performance of paint protection products at the time.
Fast forward 20 years and it is now one of, if not THE, leading global car ceramic coating brand.
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First up – What is Gtechniq ceramic coating?
Gtechniq ceramic coating for cars provides high-performance protection for your car’s paint and keeps it looking new and glossy for years, if maintained correctly.
Ceramic coatings are liquid polymers applied by hand which bond to the paint creating a hard layer that protects against environmental damage, including UV fading, bird/bat droppings, tar, water spots, light scratches and swirls.
Gtechniq ceramic coating is made up of nanoparticles that are so tiny they fill the pores of your car’s paint creating a (water repellent) hydrophobic and super glossy surface.
It’s this hydrophobicity that gives your paintwork that beautiful beading or sheeting effect when you spray it or it rains!
It also prevents dirt and other contaminants from sticking to it, making it easier to clean.
Compared to the other products that have been in the Australian market for longer, such as Ceramic Pro, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra has quickly developed a strong following here in Australia due to its high quality, consistency of application and its solid warranties.
Only applied by professional Gtechniq-accredited applicators (like us), Crystal Serum Ultra is Gtechniq’s premium professional ceramic coating. It is an incredible product that provides the highest level of ceramic protection to your car’s clear coat – 10h – and is guaranteed for 9 years when applied by an accredited professional.
Now for the geeky stuff…
With its Crystal Serum Ultra, Gtechniq has developed a revolutionary dual nanoparticle approach, giving it a super hard 10h top layer with a softer 7h base layer. This gives it superior toughness to resist swirls over regular 9h paint protection coatings, with the flexibility to also withstand extreme temperature variations (-40 degrees to +250 degrees celcius), which is perfect to withstand our harsh Queensland heat!
Compared to standard ceramic paint coatings, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra can withstand even the strongest wash chemicals and bird droppings.
Is a Gtechniq ceramic coating worth it?
At Paint Protection Pro, we believe Gtechniq Crystal Serum ceramic coatings to be the best range of professional ceramic coatings currently available.
When deciding which ceramic coating products we would use, we chose Gtechniq for four key reasons:
- Their great reputation globally and in Australia.
- High level performance from their products – their Crystal Serum Ultra beats or equals all other products we’ve tested.
- Consistency of application – this is important when you’re a pro detailer applying ceramic coatings regularly. You want it to be reliable and consistent to apply.
- Their professional products are backed by solid warranties – 9 years for the Ultra, which again beats all other brands available in Australia.
If you’re looking for tough protection for your car’s paint at a reasonable price, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra is hard (impossible maybe?) to beat.
Which is Better – Ceramic Coating or PPF?
Now, we’ve explained why ceramic coatings provide excellent protection from environmental damage.
However if protection from stone chips is critical for you, you’ll need a Paint Protection Film (PPF, often called ‘Clear Bra’) rather than a ceramic coating. PPF is literally a thin plastic film coating that is smoothed over the paint giving it a strong layer of protection.
PPF unfortunately doesn’t give the gloss levels of a ceramic coating, but it does provide similar protection from environmental damage and certainly performs better against stone chips and scratches.
The cost of PPF however is usually significantly higher than ceramic coatings for cars. Most PPF packages start around $3,000 for a full protective coat, whereas ceramic Gtechniq coatings start around $750 for a 5-year warranty coating.
How Long Does a Gtechniq Coating Last?
How long the ceramic coating protection lasts depends on 3 key things:
- Which coating you had applied
- How well the paint was prepared and the coating applied
- How well you look after the coating/paintwork.
Let’s explore these in more detail…
Which coating you had applied:
Gtechniq do a range of ceramic coating products to suit different budgets and needs. There are also heaps of other brands out there promising all sorts of things, but they are not all created equal.
We detail cars every day and see the poor effects of inferior ceramic coating brands that sadly don’t stand the test of time. Unfortunately, many of these were sourced through the dealer that the car was bought from.
Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra is their premium coating which is guaranteed to last 9 years, as long as it’s applied by an authorised detailer like us (this is from their professional range).
However, if you’re planning to only keep your car for max 5 years, the next level down – Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light – is also an excellent (and slightly cheaper) option, with a 5 year guarantee.
How well your coating was applied in the first place:
Almost as important as the brand and type of ceramic coating you have applied, is how well the car’s paint was cleaned, prepared and finally coated. The preparation is essential to having a long-lasting ceramic coating.
At Paint Protection Pro, we undertake a multi-stage decontamination clean before performing a single (or 2-stage if needed) correction process to properly prepare the paintwork ready for ceramic coating.
If you skip either of these the ceramic coating either (a) won’t adhere properly to the paint and will quickly come off and (b) won’t look as shiny, as minor scratches and swirls in the paint (present even in brand new cars) will remain under the coating and reduce gloss levels.
We take a full day when ceramic coating a car. By comparison, we know that new car protection provided through the dealers is a considerably quicker process, whereby the cars are cleaned and coated in 1-2 hours.
We take pride in doing a thorough job to make sure that your coating lasts and looks amazing!
How well you look after the coating/paintwork:
To maintain your Gtechniq warranty, you do need to follow their aftercare guidance.
Washing your car the wrong way will, over time, damage even your ceramic coating so it’s important to make sure you follow the instructions.
The key things to note are:
i) You need to get your car inspected annually by a Gtechniq accredited detailer – ideally whoever applied your Gtechniq coating in the first place. This should be a free assessment of the coating to make sure it is holding up as expected, and any corrections made if necessary.
ii) You should clean your car in the shade with a ph-neutral car shampoo, and use a microfibre mitt with a bucket using a grit-guard. This helps to prevent hard dirt and debris from being wiped over the paint, over time causing micro-scratches and swirls.
iii) Finally, dry your car with a clean microfibre drying towel. We advise you rinse out your drying towel with clean water and leave it to air dry. Never use a tumble dryer or the drying towel will lose its effectiveness.
We hope that’s shown you why at Paint Protection Pro, we believe Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra is the BEST ceramic coating for cars (and yes it can also coat vans, motorhomes, motorbikes!).
Want to book your Gtechniq Ceramic Coating?
If you’re located on or near the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and want your car coated with the best quality ceramic coating on the Sunshine Coast – just book online on a day that suits you.
If you’re located elsewhere in Australia or the world, you can find your nearest Gtechniq-accredited detailer on the Gtechniq website:
