Is silica dioxide content important in ceramic coatings?
There is a degree of marketing hype to claims of silica content, which gives the impression that silica is some exotic and expensive ingredient which lesser companies skimp on to save money. Just like the consumer, we get most of our information about these products from marketing departments and salesmen, who, in general, give us the impression that they know less about these products than we do.
We have often heard the claim that a coating is inferior because it contains less silica, but is that really the reason, or is it because it's a product that mixes silica with wax, and wax is the weak link? It may very well be true that retail products contain less silica, we doubt this is the sole reason why they are inferior products.
Conversely, we have sometimes been told that a product is superior because it has the highest silica content, but would an extra pinch of silica actually make a difference? If adding an extra 1% of silica makes the product better, wouldn't they all be doing it?
You never hear a builder claim that their concrete is better because it contains extra cement because we know that the mix needs to be right, with enough cement to make it work. Any of us can go online and buy a bag of silica fairly cheaply, which is 100% silica, but we know that this wouldn't be a better product for coating your car.
We remain highly sceptical, we hope you will too because it helps keep everybody honest.
Written by Danny Argent. Last updated 16/06/2022 15:35