Difference Between Car Wax & Ceramic Coating

Protecting your paint can be done in a few different ways: wax or sealants. These have been used for years for UV protection and ease of cleaning. The downside is that they diminish within months, weeks or days. Wax on a vehicle has a low melting point of 150 degrees. What does this mean? Let’s look at it this way. Have you ever lit a candle and let it burn? After you let it burn for a while, the wax turns to liquid. But when you blow it out, there is now less wax there from it vaporizing. The same happens with the wax you apply to your vehicle. So, wax has low chemical resistance and thermal resistance. This means the wax doesn’t protect for long. Studies show that to properly protect your vehicle with wax, you need to have it reapplied every 3 months. Doesn’t sound too bad, but it’s added time and money. Did you know waxing your vehicle professionally costs a minimum of $150 per service? That’s $600 a year for inferior paint protection.

With a ceramic coating, you get it applied once and then just need to do yearly maintenance to maintain the protection. With a ceramic coating, you get protection against UV rays, chemicals, thermal damage, tree sap, bird droppings, and other elements that cause long-term damage. Ceramic coatings have thermal protection up to 1000+ degrees. That means if your vehicle's surface reaches these temperatures, you might need fire department attention because it would be on fire. The chemical resistance you get from a ceramic coating covers pH levels 1-14. So, no worries about washing it off if you use a touchless car wash. Now, let’s look at the numbers. Wax, like mentioned before, costs on average $600+ a year. With a ceramic coating, you can actually pay less, with an average of $400 per year for superior paint protection.