Definition, Benefits, and Prices of Car Coating

One of the car components that requires special attention is the car body. Apart from being nice to look at, a car body that is clean, shiny and looks new will certainly add more value to the car if you intend to sell it.

To keep the car body looking shiny even though it has been used for a long time, the owner could apply coating - a treatment quite well known among automotive enthusiasts. As the term says, coating is a coating process done on the surface of a car paint or car body to make it more durable. Generally, the car coating process uses Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), which is the basic ingredient for making glass and ceramics.

Coating is an alternative solution for vehicle owners who want to maintain the appearance of the car's paint color so that it always looks clear, glossy and bright. Even though it covers the car's paint layer, the coated layer can be removed at any time without damaging the original color. Are you planning to do coating maintenance on your car? It's best to know in advance the benefits, types of coatings, and costs that you need to prepare. 

Car Coating Benefits

Coating is becoming a trend among automotive enthusiasts. It goes naturally considering there are many benefits to this treatment technique. Here are the benefits of car coating.

1. Prevents paint color from fading

Even though you have taken care of the car body by cleaning it regularly, still, due to dust, dirt, and weather, the color of the car's paint fades over time. This is where the car coating can prevent the color of the car paint from fading. This is because the coating layer is able to protect the paint surface from exposure to UV rays which have an unfavorable impact on the car body.

2. Keeps the car body from scratches

Sometimes the driver cannot prevent scratches on the car. Another benefit of car coating is to protect the car against scratches. However, the benefits of this one will really depend on the quality of the material and the type of car coating you use. The thicker and harder the coating layer, the better the resistance of the car paint to scratches.

3. Increases resistance to water and mildew

In addition to increasing scratch resistance, the next function of the coating is to make the car body and paint surface more resistant to water spots and mildew. This is because car coatings have a water repellent effect or what is known as the taro leaf effect.

This effect is useful to prevent rainwater and dirt from easily sticking to the vehicle and for the water to skid when it touches the car's paint surface. Coating will help minimize the growth of mold by preventing water spots from appearing on the car’s body.

4. Make car shiny longer

If you want your car to stay shiny for a longer time, car coating could be the solution. Coating uses materials that absorb into the pores of the car paint, thus giving an impression like laminating which will keep the car shiny.

The duration of the shiny car after the coating process will depend on the type of coating used. For example, if you use wax or sealant, the car's shine lasts about 1-3 months. Meanwhile, if you use a type of nano coating, the luster can last up to 3 years.

5. Car maintenance just got easier

Another benefit of car coating is making the maintenance much easier and faster. Vehicle owners do not need to frequently go to the car salon to get the car cleaned. It is because you can immediately wipe the dirt off of the paint yourself using a microfiber cloth.

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Types of Car Coatings

After knowing the benefits of car coating, it's time for you to get to know the types. In the automotive industry, there are three popular types of car coatings, namely waxing, nano coating, and ceramic coating. All three have their advantages and disadvantages. To find out more about the type of car coating you will choose, here are the differences.

1. Waxing

The first type of car coating is waxing. You can do this type yourself at home because the process is fairly easy. You can find car polish liquid or spray wax that is widely sold in repair shops or e-commerce.

The waxing technique works by coating the base surface of car paint. The drawback of this type is that the wax layer doesn't last long, especially if the car is often exposed to heat. Therefore, you need to apply wax many times to keep the car shiny.

2. Nanocoating

If you want a coating technique that is more durable than wax, then nano coating can be your alternative. This technique will coat the car body using a special nano-sized liquid that will enter the pores of the car paint.

However, even though nano coating can provide protection to car paint, the chemical content used is quite dangerous for the environment and humans. Therefore, the use of nano coatings should only be done by experts in special rooms.

3. Ceramic coating

This type of coating is more popular than the others. Ceramic coating uses a liquid with a special ceramic content that provides extra protection and protection to the car's paint surface.

When compared to the two previous types of coating, the ceramic coating technique has the best level of protection, safety, and has the longest durability of up to three years. However, with all its advantages, ceramic coating has a higher price than other types.

Apart from these three types of coating, there is also a special coloring technique for metal-based components known as powder coating. This technique is usually done on car wheels and has the advantage of being water repellent. Water repellent will work to remove any dirt that sticks because of its slippery nature. In addition, powder coating also has anti-UV and scratch resistance properties so it tends to be more scratch resistant.

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Car Coating Prices

Car coating does have many benefits for your vehicle. However, one of the drawbacks is the relatively expensive price of the coating, starting from IDR 2 million to IDR 8 million depending on the coating layer to be used.

Furthermore, the cost of car coating will be categorized based on the size of the car, whether the car is small, medium or big. Cars that fall into the small category include the Toyota Agya, Toyota Yaris, Honda Brio, Honda Jazz, Nissan March, Suzuki Karimun Wagon R, and Mercedes-Benz A Class. Then for cars that fall into the medium category are the Toyota Calya, Daihatsu Sigra, Toyota Innova and Avanza, Suzuki APV, and medium sedans.

Meanwhile, big category cars include the Toyota Alphard, Toyota Vellfire, Nissan Elgrand, Mercedes-Benz G Class, or Honda Odyssey. The bigger the size of the car, the more layers of coating that will be used so the price becomes more expensive. The following is a price range for car coatings quoted from the carmudi.co.id page.

The coating price list above includes several services, such as paint correction, two layers of coating for premium coatings, and three layers for nano diamonds. Not only the body parts, the headlights, taillights, wheels and chrome accessories will also get a coating. Generally, detailing workshops will provide a guarantee for two to three years after the coating process is carried out.

Tips for Caring for Car Coatings

After coating a car, as a vehicle owner you still have to do maintenance to keep the car's paint remaining shiny for a long time. Maintaining the car coating is fairly easy, you can even do it yourself at home. Here are the tips.

1. Wash your car regularly. Like caring for cars in general, cars that have been coated with coating must also be washed regularly. Use a special car shampoo that doesn't quickly damage the coating every two weeks. Post-coating car washing care is fairly easy because the coating has water repellent properties or the taro leaf effect. This will make it easier for you to dry the car.

2. Don't park your car carelessly. Avoid parking the car in an open area that is exposed to direct sunlight for a long time. If the coating layer is exposed to direct sunlight too often, the car paint will get dull faster even though it has been coated.

3. Wax your car. Even though it has been coated with liquid coating, you could wax the car body at least once a month. You can use liquid spray or gel with a thin layer, then wipe using a clean microfiber.

That is the information about the meaning and benefits of car coatings along with the costs that you need to prepare. Car coating maintenance can not only be done on old vehicles. Some coating specialists suggest coating when the car is new. This is because the color of the car paint is still in excellent condition and has not been oxidized, thus making the process easier and keeping the car paint last longer.

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