Can I put a ceramic coating on my windscreen?
Professional ceramic coatings can be applied to windshields and windows because they are optically clear and very hydrophobic, making the ideal glass coatings, although we do not recommend it for the front windscreen because the water, unable to cling to the windscreen, instead clings to the windscreen wiper causing an effect which some people find annoying. Thus, we recommend having all glass wear coated except your windscreen, but you can have it done if you want to.
Ceramic coating on windscreens work very well when you are travelling at over 40mph because you effectively have a 40mph wind pushing all the water up and off your windscreen. In many cases, you don't even need to use your windscreen wipers (although we wouldn't recommend this).
At very low speeds, the angle of your windscreen means that gravity will take care of the water droplets and they will roll down your windscreen.
However, at speeds in between, around 30mph, gravity and wind speed are in near equilibrium and water droplets will loiter on your windshield. You can clear this by using your windscreen wipers, however the hydrophobic effect of the coating can cause the water to form a sheet of water which follows the wiper blade.
This phenomenon is not unique to ceramic coatings on glass, and the exact same often happens when using products like Rain-X. The difference being, if you find this very distracting, you can remove Rain-X with some alcohol, while a ceramic coating is there to stay. So we would suggest you try Rain-X before asking for a ceramic coating on your windscreen.
Not all products marketed as ceramic coatings are real ceramic coatings. Some are just wax sealants that contain ceramic beads, and are riding the marketing hype. These products may contain lots of silicone oils in order to get the hydrophobic effect. This type of product has been around for far longer than ceramic coatings, and were previously used for hiding scratches on older cars by diffusing light. An oily product with light diffusing properties is the last thing you want on your glass.
We highly recommend getting your windows and glass wear ceramic coated, because when your windows look dirty, your whole car looks dirty. Although your windows might only take up 20% of your car's surface, every professional car detailer knows that if you clean the windows, you make the car look about 60% cleaner. It's also safer to have windows you can see out of, but if you really like your car looking clean, a ceramic coating on the glass is well worth paying a little extra for.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 06/02/2023 13:30