Coating or Sealant ?

Summary: This guide aims to help with the decision if you should use a true coating or any other kind of sealant.

A coating is a big investment – but what differentiates it from other sealants? 

Neither a ceramic coating, nor a sealant, is “better” than the other; what makes one of the two better is how it fits your needs and skills. 

Let’s start with the prep that’s needed for each. For a coating, you want super clean, decontaminated, and (if not a matte vehicle) polished paint.

And, while the correct application of a coating has gotten to the point of being easy nowadays with the right coating – the preparations needed, and the correct maintenance, is where most fail.

A sealant on the other hand can be applied after just a wash. You will get slightly better results for every extra step of preparation you take, but you will be fine with just washing the car and applying the sealant. You can put some sealants on in under 5 minutes, whereas applying a coating is at least a full day’s job – not to mention the cure time.

A good coating has mostly two features going for it, when compared with a sealant: chemical resistance and durability. 

With both, there are fringe cases, where some high-quality sealants outperform low-end coatings in both instances. 

It’s important to only compare durability in one manufacturer’s lineup as the testing is not standardized, and many companies use fantasy numbers. An honest company’s one year product might outlast some not-so-honest 3 or even 5-year coatings. 

Keep in mind that, with a coating, you “lock in” your paint condition, as any polish will remove the coating. So, any scratches already in the car, or any that you produce during the lifespan of the coating, cannot be removed without also removing the coating.

These following common coating selling points may apply in lab testing but do not transfer to real life conditions: 

• Stone-chip protection – you need PPF for that. 

• UV protection – the layer you apply is far too thin to have any meaningful effect. 

• Swirl protection – this one is kind of partly true, due to easier cleaning and therefore less contamination on the paint, but not by a big enough margin to make this claim reasonable. 

Both sealants and coatings require regular washes for them to protect your car. The main question, which you must answer yourself is: “Would you rather spend a little time, but more often, or would you rather spend a lot more time (and money!), but only once?” 

If the former, then go for a sealant; if the latter, then go for a coating!