Matrix Blue Ceramic Coating - Ford RS

A Ford RS in for Matrix Blue -- Autosmart's three-year ceramic coating. The car had swirl marks throughout before we started; the machine polish pass cleared those before the coating went on. You can see the difference in the video.

What Matrix Blue Does

The coating cures harder than the paint underneath, which makes it significantly more resistant to the fine swirl marks that build up from washing over time. Water rolls straight off due to the hydrophobic effect, taking the surface dirt with it. In practice that means washing the car roughly half as often -- and when you do wash it, there is less effort required because the dirt has not bonded to the surface. The finish is exceptionally glossy throughout.

Matrix Blue is a three-year coating. It suits drivers who change cars every few years -- you get the full benefit across your ownership period and the car holds its condition for resale. See our Matrix Blue service or the full coating range if you are considering a longer-duration product.

Can You Apply Ceramic Coating Yourself

We would advise strongly against it. The professional-grade products we use are not sold to the public -- manufacturers usually only supply to accredited companies with the right facilities and trained staff, and for good reason.

Ceramic coating is not technically difficult to apply, but it is procedural and unforgiving. Miss a step, take too long on a panel, work in the wrong temperature -- the result can be permanent. There are photos online of people who got hold of a professional product and made a mess of it. We have done the same ourselves in the early days. We did not take pictures. We were too busy panicking.

The consumer products sold on eBay and AliExpress that claim to be ceramic coatings are a different category entirely -- easier to use, but they barely qualify for the description. If you have bought one of those, we would recommend keeping it away from the car.