What is a titanium coating?
Quick answer: A titanium coating is a high-solids ceramic coating doped with titanium dioxide. The SiO2 backbone does the work; the titanium adds extra UV stability, better resistance to etching and a crisper gloss.
Titanium coatings are ceramic coatings at heart -- you are not wrapping the car in metal. The backbone is still an extremely high percentage of SiO2 glass, but it is doped with titanium dioxide, the same mineral used in quality paints and sunscreens. That titanium adds UV blocking, extra resistance to micro-scratches and water spotting, and a deeper gloss. In practice the coating works harder as a sacrificial layer so your clear coat does not have to.
Compared with a standard ceramic, a titanium coating such as Fireball Dok Do has three selling points: it protects better, it lasts longer, and it looks sharper. The titanium helps the film shrug off harsh sunlight, traffic film and light contamination, while the ultra-high SiO2 content gives a dense shell over the paint. The result is a finish that holds its shine, washes cleanly and is less prone to fine wash marring and staining than a basic ceramic.
The titanium additive is there to boost UV resistance and help the clear coat resist dulling and oxidation; improve resistance to light wash marring and chemical etching from bird mess, hard water and traffic film; and add a sharper, more three-dimensional gloss, especially on darker colours.
What a titanium coating is not is a magic upgrade. It still cannot stop stone chips, it cannot fix poor paint preparation, and it does not eliminate the need for sensible washing. The bigger gains over a basic ceramic come on cars that are used hard outside; on a garaged weekend car the difference is subtler.
For how titanium coatings sit alongside other ceramic variants and PPF, see is there anything better than a ceramic coating?