What is self cleaning?
Quick answer: On ceramic or graphene-coated paint, self-cleaning is a side effect of the smooth, hydrophobic finish: dirt sticks less and water rolls off, carrying grime away. It keeps the car cleaner for longer, but not perfectly; you'll still need the occasional wash.
Ceramic and graphene coatings are sometimes described as "self cleaning", and to some degree they are.
Because the paintwork is so shiny, there is very little for dirt and dust to cling to, and so when water hits the car, the dirt would rather stick to the water. But because the coating is also very hydrophobic, the water is repelled, rolling off the paintwork, taking the dirt with it.
Just recently, we had two customers come back to us for other work, who had their cars ceramic coated almost a year previous. As one of the major benefits of ceramic coatings is how easy they are to wash, we asked them how easy it had been to clean their cars. Both said that they hadn't actually cleaned their cars since having the coating, as they just weren't dirty enough to warrant it.
Of course, rain won't wash away all the dirt, so we would recommend giving your car a wash once in a while. "Self cleaning" is not really a feature which was designed into ceramic coatings, as much as a fortunate side effect.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 14/10/2025 16:45