Windshield Ceramic
From $75
- Windshield prep + IPA wipe
- Single-pass ceramic application
- Cure-time guidance
- A low-cost way to try ceramic before booking a full car
03 / Ceramic Coating
Ceramic coating.
Hand-applied ceramic coating. Long-lasting protection from water spots, UV damage, and contaminants.
Protect your paint for years.
Ceramic coating bonds to the paint as a clear protective layer. Water beads off, dirt won't stick, and your car stays glossy long after wax wears off. Ceramic doesn't make the car bulletproof, but it's easier to keep clean and washes get faster.
Think of it like an invisible shield baked onto your paint. Rain rolls off in beads, bugs and bird droppings wipe away easier, and the shine lasts for years instead of the few weeks you get from wax. It's the easiest way to keep a car looking new with less work.
What it really is
What ceramic coating actually does.
A ceramic coating is a liquid that bonds to your clear coat and hardens into a thin, clear layer of protection. Once it cures, it becomes part of the surface instead of sitting on top like wax. That layer does a few specific jobs well, and it is worth knowing them before you spend the money.
It makes the surface hydrophobic, which is a fancy word for water-hating. Rain and wash water pull into beads and roll off instead of sitting and drying into spots. It also adds real resistance to UV rays, road grime, bug guts, bird droppings, and the mild chemicals in most car washes. That resistance is why a coated car holds its gloss and color far longer than an uncoated one.
Here is the honest part. A coating is not a force field. It will not stop rock chips, it will not stop a shopping cart, and it will not make your paint scratch-proof. What it does is take the daily wear that dulls paint over time and slow it way down, while making the car much easier to keep clean. That is the real value, and it is a big one.
Standard Ceramic Coating
From $299
- Full vehicle prep
- Multi-pass ceramic, panel-by-panel
- 2–3 years of protection
Premium Ceramic Coating
From $599
- Full multi-stage prep
- Multi-pass ceramic, panel-by-panel
- 4–6 years of protection
- Our strongest gloss + hydrophobics
02 / How it works
Three steps. Done in order.
- 01
Wash.
Two-bucket wash, iron remover, clay bar, IPA wipe. The surface is bare and contaminant-free before we open the bottle.
- 02
Apply.
Hand-applied panel by panel in cross-hatch passes. Four to six hours total. We don't rush this step.
- 03
Cure.
Leave the car parked 24-48 hours, under cover or in your garage. Longer cure = harder, more durable coating.
Know the difference
Ceramic vs. wax vs. sealant.
These three all protect paint, but they are not the same thing, and the difference is mostly about how long they last and how hard they work.
Wax is the old-school option. It gives a warm shine and some water beading, but it is soft and wears off in weeks. Heat, rain, and a few washes break it down fast, so you are reapplying it often to keep any real protection. A sealant is a synthetic step up. It bonds a little better than wax and usually lasts a few months, but it still wears away on a similar cycle.
Ceramic is a different category. Because it chemically bonds and hardens to the clear coat, it holds up for years instead of weeks or months, and its water-beading and chemical resistance are far stronger. You are trading a higher one-time cost for protection that does not need to be redone every season. For someone who wants to set it and mostly forget it, ceramic is the one that earns its keep.
The part that matters most
Why prep is everything.
The single biggest factor in how a coating performs is not which bottle gets used. It is what happens to the paint before the coating ever touches it. A coating bonds to whatever is on the surface, so if the surface is dirty, the coating locks the dirt in and fails early.
That is why real prep takes most of the time. The paint gets a thorough wash, then iron and tar removal, then a clay treatment to pull out bonded grime you cannot see, and finally a wipe-down that strips away any oils so the surface is truly bare. Skip any of these steps and the coating has something between it and the paint, which is exactly how coatings peel, streak, or wear thin in months instead of years.
This is also the honest reason most do-it-yourself coatings disappoint. The product in the kit is usually fine. The prep is what gets rushed. When you pay for a coating done right, a large part of what you are paying for is the careful, unglamorous work that happens before the coating is ever applied.
Bundle
The New Car Prep.
A Full Detail and a Standard Ceramic Coating, done in a single visit on a fresh or as-fresh-as-it-gets surface. Book them as two services; we schedule them back to back.
- Full Detail
- Standard Ceramic Coating
From $538
Combined starting price. Both vary by vehicle size; final price confirmed before we start.
03 / FAQ
A few of the most common.
How long does ceramic last?
A correctly applied full-car ceramic coating lasts years with proper maintenance. Actual durability varies by product, prep, and how the car is cared for. We follow the manufacturer cadence on the bottle.
Does it really make washing easier?
Yes. Water beads off rather than sheets. Bug splatter, tar, and bird droppings come off easier and bond less. The car stays cleaner between washes, and the washes themselves are faster.
Can I do it myself?
You can buy consumer ceramic. Application on prepped paint matters more than the bottle. Most DIY ceramic failures are prep failures, not product failures.
Is ceramic coating scratch-proof?
No, and anyone who says otherwise is overselling it. A coating adds a thin layer of hardness that helps shrug off very light marring and makes the surface tougher than bare paint, but rock chips, key scratches, and careless washing can still leave their mark. Think of it as strong protection against everyday wear, not armor.
Will a coating remove the swirls already in my paint?
No. A coating goes over your paint and locks in whatever is there, including existing swirls and scratches, so it can actually make them more visible. If you want those corrected, that is paint correction, a separate service done before coating. Coating a freshly corrected car is how you get that deep, flawless look to last.
Can you coat more than just the paint?
Yes. The same kind of protection can be applied to glass, wheels, and many trim and plastic surfaces. Coated glass sheds rain better and is easier to keep clear, and coated wheels shed brake dust so they clean up with far less scrubbing. Ask us what makes sense for your vehicle.
How soon can I wash the car after it is coated?
Give it about a week before the first wash so the coating can fully cure and harden. After that, stick to gentle hand washing with a pH-neutral soap and skip automatic brush tunnels. The car can get wet from rain sooner than that, it just should not be scrubbed.
Does ceramic only work on new cars?
Not at all. An older car can be coated as long as the paint is sound and properly prepped first. If the paint is swirled or dull, a correction beforehand brings it back, and the coating then preserves that fresh result. A used car often benefits even more than a new one.
How do I take care of a coated car to make it last?
Wash it regularly with a soft mitt and a gentle, pH-neutral soap, dry it with a clean microfiber towel, and avoid harsh chemicals and brush-style car washes. That is most of it. Realistic durability runs into years with this kind of light, consistent care, and we walk you through the routine when we hand the car back.
Where we work
Ceramic Coating across the Charlotte metro.
-
Charlotte →
Ceramic Coating in Charlotte. Hand-applied multi-year protection for daily drivers, weekend cars, and new arrivals across the inner ring. Two-day build with overnight cure in your garage.
-
SouthPark →
Ceramic Coating in SouthPark. The local default after a new delivery. Hand-applied to a fully prepared surface, two-day build with overnight cure in your condo bay or residential garage.
-
Ballantyne →
Ceramic Coating in Ballantyne. Most appointments pair correction and coating on a new arrival or a recently corrected daily driver. Curing happens in the owner's garage, panel by panel.
-
Waxhaw →
Ceramic Coating in Waxhaw. Careful application on older daily drivers and well-kept weekend cars. Surface prep first, then coat by hand. Two days, overnight cure inside.
-
Weddington →
Ceramic Coating in Weddington. Full two-day builds on garage-kept estate cars. Most are new deliveries or fresh paint corrections, locked in by hand with overnight cure in the owner's bay.
-
Huntersville →
Ceramic Coating in Huntersville. Multi-year protection on daily drivers and weekend cars across Birkdale and the Lake Norman corridor. Overnight cure in your garage, the drive worth it.
-
Lake Norman →
Ceramic Coating in Lake Norman. Hand-applied protection on lake-stored daily drivers and weekend cars. Same boat-grade ceramic process available for vessels stored marina-side or at home docks.
-
Matthews →
Ceramic Coating in Matthews. Windshield-only or full-car ceramic on family vehicles and weekend cars. Two-day build with overnight cure in your residential garage.
-
Fort Mill →
Ceramic Coating in Fort Mill. Hand-applied multi-year protection on new deliveries across the booming SC corridor. New-construction garages cure the work overnight. Two-day build, by appointment.
-
Rock Hill →
Ceramic Coating in Rock Hill. Hand-applied multi-year protection. Common after a new delivery to a Manchester Village address or a Catawba River-side property. Two-day build with overnight cure in your garage.
Book your ceramic coating.
Start with windshield ceramic ($75) or book a full coating (from $299). Either way, we prep first.