Your car could use a nice new coating. So, you type “car waxing near me” into Google to see what pops up. The usual suspects appear, including car detailers and a few sites selling car wax. However, you also see a few results talking about something called “ceramic spray” as an alternative to waxing your car.
Now you’re left with a choice – ceramic spray or wax. Which is better for your car? That’s the question we’re going to answer here because there’s no cut-and-dry choice.
What Is Car Wax?
As the name plainly states, car wax is a type of wax you use to coat your car. It comes in three varieties – paste, liquid, and spray. We could write an entire article on the differences between these three. However, the basics are that paste is the easiest to apply, spray wax is great for brand-new cars, and liquid gives a stunning gloss but is a little more difficult to apply evenly.
All are usually made using carnauba wax, which comes from a palm plant that’s native to Brazil. The plant uses its wax to protect itself from the sun’s ultraviolet light (UV) while still allowing itself to feed from the sun’s rays via photosynthesis. The wax you apply to your car is often a refined version of this carnauba wax, though you may also find paraffin and Montan wax.
What is Ceramic Spray?
Ceramic sprays are liquified polymers that you apply to your vehicle’s exterior in a similar method as car wax. It’s made primarily using silicon dioxide, though some versions of the sprays may include additives, such as titanium oxide. These additives mean that no two ceramic sprays are alike, so it’s important to check the bottle before you buy.
Auto detailers tend to use highly concentrated versions of the spray (containing 80% silicon dioxide or more) that come in tiny bottles. The commercially available variants tend to be more diluted, though you also get more of them. Regardless of which you choose, the concept is the same – the ceramic spray applies a coating that bonds to your car’s paint to form a protective layer.
Ceramic Spray or Car Wax – Which Comes Out on Top?
Though both products offer the same surface-level benefit of adding a protective coat to your car, there are differences between them. We categorize those differences here while highlighting which comes out on top in each category.
Category 1 – Application
Wax is the clear winner here as you only need to clean your car’s exterior and then apply the product. As long as you make sure the wax application is even, the job’s done. With ceramic spray, you need to get rid of grime, paint over blemishes on your vehicle, and then apply the spray. Less is always more with ceramic spray and you’ll still need to buff and even out the spray to get a good coat.
Winner – Car Wax
Category 2 – Durability
Several factors affect how long a wax or ceramic coating lasts on your car. The vehicle’s paint job (and whether you have a clear coat) is a factor. So, too, is how often you drive and the conditions in your location. Long exposure to sunlight or arid conditions can strip either coating quickly. However, on a general level, wax lasts between three and six months while ceramic spray is often rated to last up to 12 months. More concentrated ceramic sprays can last even longer than 12 months.
Winner – Ceramic Spray
Category 3 – Protection
The polymer effect comes into play here, which makes ceramic spray better if protecting your car from the elements is high on your priority list. While both products guard against UV rays, the ceramic spray does it a little better because it binds to your car’s paint. That also makes ceramic coating the better choice for high-pressure washes. Plus, it’s water resistant – ideal for quickly wiping down.
Winner – Ceramic Spray
Category 4 – Aesthetics
Wax comes roaring back into the race on the aesthetic front because it offers a better shine than ceramic spray. You’ll get that “wet-look” shine every time, assuming you apply the wax correctly. That’s not to say that you don’t get a shine with a ceramic spray. You do, but it doesn’t glisten quite like a wax finish, making car wax the better choice if you value looks over practicality for your vehicle.
Winner – Car Wax
Category 5 – Cost
Everything we do with our cars ultimately comes down to our budgets. Coating your car is no different, which means wax comes out on top on the cost front. On the consumer front, prices for a wax spray and a ceramic spray usually fall into the $20 to $40 bracket per bottle. It’s when you start working with auto detailers that the price for one ramps up far beyond the price of the other. Do you remember we mentioned that detailers often use high-concentration forms of ceramic spray? That higher concentration comes at a cost, with professional-grade ceramic sprays costing several hundred dollars. Add labor to the equation and you’ll usually find that it costs less to have a detailer wax your car than for them to apply a ceramic spray.
Winner – Wax
Choose the Third Option – Have Both
Car wax may come out on top across our five categories. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s automatically the best choice for your car. If protection and durability are your priorities, ceramic spray wins every time.
But here’s the thing…you don’t have to choose.
Ceramic spray and wax can work together, allowing you to apply both to your car. For instance, you can apply wax first to get a beautiful sheen before applying ceramic to seal that sheen in for at least a year. Or go ceramic first to deliver more protection to your paint before adding wax to get the look you want. Either approach works to deliver the best of both worlds to your car.
