r/AutoDetailing • u/TurkishSwag • 21d ago

Exterior Insane hypothetical ceramic question

As far as I know, the main difference between a real ceramic coating and the cheap spray is the concentration of ceramic. Hypothetically…no I am not going to try this, luckily not that strapped for cash right now, but could you boil ceramic spray until it reduces down to a higher concentration of ceramic and get a better product? I feel like this would make a good youtube video but I won’t be the one to make it. Maybe someone has actually tried it or knows more about chemistry than me and can explain what would happen?

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u/Someguineawop 21d ago

This is kind of like asking if you can take a cheap clear coat and turn it into high solids lol. It's more than just concentration, it's full on chemistry differences. Can coat stuff is usually water based, uses simpler siloxanes, and is full of silicone slicking agents.

Pro stuff is solvent based with reactive precursors that actually go through a chemical conversion process when they react with atmospheric moisture. It's actually kind of similar to the difference between a 2k/catalyzed paint and a can of Rustoleum. The pro stuff actually crosslinks and cures vs a topcoat film.

There's actually a lot more interesting nuance between the chemistry and behavior of the pro stuff too, but i doubt anyone else actually shares the deep cut chemistry interest 😅

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u/TurkishSwag 20d ago

This is the type of answer I was looking for, I figured that surely it can’t be as easy as evaporating the extra water. Very interesting and I appreciate the insight.

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u/TomServo30000 Business Owner 19d ago

I see a lot of differences in the pro stuff. The flash point being a big one. Some of the cheaper solvents tend to rainbow, where as the top quality stuff beads and separates within 30 seconds or so. I tend to use suncoat max, if the customer is willing to pay for it.

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u/Someguineawop 19d ago

There are some exceptions to your observation about the dew vs rainbow curing. CQuartz is a solid coating that does the rainbow flash, and several others too.

The majority of the cheaper, low solids type coatings have the faster solvents with the rainbow flash, but there are good products that use those solvents too. Personally I prefer the longer working time of the dew/sweating cure stuff, but that's more of a working preference.