I called those new ceramic clear coats a gimmick until a 2021 Ram came back for hail damage.

The paint under the ceramic coat had zero etching from the dents, while the untreated roof on the same truck was a mess. I had to eat my words and order a spray kit for the shop. Anyone else seen a real world test that changed their mind on a product?

3 comments

3 Comments

perry.elliot26d ago

Okay but "zero etching" on a hail damaged panel? That sounds almost too good to be true. I've seen those coatings help with water spots and maybe light scratches, but stopping paint damage from actual dents? A dent means the metal is bent, the paint is stretched and cracked. A coating on top can't fix that. Maybe it was just a really light hail that didn't break the clear coat on that one spot, and the roof got hit harder. I'm not fully sold it was the ceramic doing all the work.

black.val26d ago

Yeah I get the doubt, I was in the same boat. I figured it was just a shiny layer. But seeing it on my own truck after that storm last spring changed my mind. The hood was covered in dents you could feel with your fingernail, but the paint wasn't cracked or chipped anywhere. Every other car on the street had those white etching marks in the dents. The coating didn't stop the dent, but it absolutely kept the paint from fracturing. What's your take on that?

the_wren19d ago

Wait you could feel the dents with your fingernail but NO cracks? That's wild. @perry.elliot has a point about the metal bending though, makes you wonder.