OH MY Ceramic coatings get sold as magic. They’re not magic — they’re chemistry. A professional coating like the Gtechniq systems we use bonds to your clear coat and cures into a hard, glossy, hydrophobic layer. Here’s what that genuinely gets you, and what it doesn’t.
What a coating actually does
- Gloss. A properly applied coating deepens colour and adds a wet-look sharpness that lasts years, not weeks.
- Water behaviour. Rain beads and sheets off. Dirt struggles to bond. The car stays cleaner between washes and washes come off easier.
- Chemical protection. Bird lime, road salts and fallout etch coated paint far more slowly — giving you time to get it off before it marks.
- Longevity. We offer a 2-Year and a 5-Year Gtechniq system (+£100 and +£200 on any detail).
What it doesn’t do
A coating is not armour. It won’t stop stone chips, it won’t survive automatic car washes unscathed, and it will not hide swirl marks — in fact it locks in whatever finish is underneath it. Which brings us to the part most people skip.
The prep matters more than the product
Coating swirled paint is like varnishing an unsanded floor — you’re sealing the damage in. That’s why every coating we apply comes after machine polishing: our Single Stage Polish as a minimum, or a Two Stage Correction if the paint needs proper work first. It’s also why we price coatings as an add-on to a detail rather than a standalone — anyone offering to coat your car without polishing it first is doing you a disservice.
So — worth it?
Yes if you keep your car more than a couple of years, care how it looks, or want washing it to take half the time. Probably not if it’s a short-term lease you rarely clean. And if you do coat it, the Maintenance Plan is the natural partner — regular safe washes that let the coating do its job for its full lifespan.