by Reece @ DI
Why Should I Apply a Glass Coating, you might ask?
Ceramic coatings provide a strong, protective barrier to the surface of your vehicle that works to not only protect from dirt and grime, but also UV rays. If you think these coatings are just for your painted surfaces, you may want to think again. There are many coatings on the market that exist to protect your glass surfaces, providing several benefits exclusive to these unique glass surfaces. Below are four benefits of glass coatings and why this type of protection should be on your shopping list for your next detailing supply pickup.
Note from Sunset North Car Wash Detailing Dept.: We’ve been testing a number of ceramic treatments to determine the best ones to offer our customers. Contact us if you have questions about ceramics!
Visibility
When driving there can be times that we are caught in rain storms and while our windshield wipers do a great job pushing water from the surface, a glass coating can greatly increase this benefit. This is due to the hydrophobic nature of these coatings, which causes rainwater to bead up on the surface. Water will not cling, but more easily slide off the glass, especially when hit with the wipers. You may even find water beading up and pushing off the surface in lighter rain and at higher speeds you may not even need to use your wipers. Glass coatings can really increase your visibility, in turn aiding in safer driving!
Clarity
When glass surfaces are new, they will be flat and smooth. This means no swirls, scratches, chips, etc. Just a nice, clean, clear piece of glass. However, over time you can see some imperfections creeping in even though glass surfaces are hard. These imperfections, while hard to see on their own, can cause light to refract when rays hit the surfaces at certain angles, causing a decrease in clarity. Many glass coatings will actually fill in very light imperfections that are hard to see, greatly increasing clarity of the glass surface overall. While you might only notice this on your windshield, clarity will be increased on side windows and all other glass surfaces.
Cleaning
Glass cleaning is something that as a detailer we all hate, but glass coatings can help make this cleaning process easier. This is due to coatings protecting from dirt, grime, bird bombs, and more. Less will stick to the surface due to the hydrophobic properties and anything that does happen to stick or dry, will be resting on top of the coating rather than onto the glass surface itself. When it comes time to clean, most contamination will be removed during the wash process with minimal effort. I mean, who doesn’t like making their cleaning process easier!?
Protection
Just like ceramic coatings for painted surfaces, glass coatings will aid in protecting your glass from imperfections. This means protection from anything like wash induced swirls to light scratches from dirt, grime, rocks, etc. While the protective layer is not strong enough to stop heavy rock chips, you will breathe easier knowing that you are protected from lighter imperfections. Less imperfections means increased visibility and clarity overall, so you will find that all of these benefits tie in together in some way.
Also see our post with easy DIY tips on cleaning headlights!
Suggested Glass Coatings
There are many great glass coatings on the market and below you can find a few of our favorites. For all of the glass coating items we carry, check out our glass coatings page.
