2024 test8 productsCar Care & Detailing
Which Ceramic Coating Brand Wins?
We compared 8 ceramic coating options head to head. Adam's came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Adam's
Price shown in test: $150, the most expensive coating tested
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Runner-up
Nano Bond
Price shown in test: $38
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Budget pick
Hybrid Solutions
Price shown in test: $15
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Claims | Slickness fresh | Beading mid-video assessment | Strip wash | Iron remover | Bug and tar remover | Wheel and tire cleaner | Degreaser | Final slickness | Final warm/hot water exposure | Baseline (bare paint) | Beading (polycarbonate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Adam's$150, the most expensive coating tested | kit includes surface prep, graphene boost, and coating, plus applicators and microsuede/plush towels; claims 9 years of protection, 10H hardness, extremely hydrophobic, and 110% satisfaction | 1.7 lb of force to slide the sponge | came out on top in this round | by far the best yet, not even close to the runner up, a definitive win | still performing just as good as new with nothing but water beads | still looks as good as new with only water beads, even under heavy spray; remained on top without water forming a sheet | performing by far the best so far, mostly water beading | still doing a great job, only a small water sheet formed and cleared in about a second, a clear win over Nano Bond | 2.1 lb, taking the lead from the Nano Bond | water is not able to form a sheet, came out on top for warm and hot water exposure | not tested | not tested |
| 2Nano Bond$38 | includes sponge, microfiber towel, microsuede applicator, and gloves; claims outstanding water beading and up to 36 months of protection | 3.3 lb, not nearly as slick as the spray-on products | performed well, finished in second place behind Adam's | still performing very well, water forming beads across the entire test area | holding up the best so far, water forming mostly beads | performing even better than Hybrid Solutions, clearing in only 4 seconds; final summary places it second in this round at 4 seconds | performing the best so far, water unable to form a sheet over the entire test area | experienced quite a bit of damage but was still providing protection, taking 15 seconds for the water sheet to clear versus about a second for Adam's, a win for Adam's | 2.4 lb, the best so far before Adam's was retested at 2.1 lb | small sheet formed and cleared in 3 seconds, the fastest yet at that point, finishing second behind Adam's | not tested | not tested |
| 3Hybrid Solutions$15 | claims extreme water repellency and long-lasting protection over 6 months | 1.5 lb, finished in first place in this round | tied for third place with Cerakote | continues to demonstrate excellent hydrophobic qualities, performing well | still performing well though the iron remover had an impact; held up a little better than Cerakote | damage occurred but water still beaded; took 15 seconds for the water sheet to dissipate | water forming a sheet, pretty much used up | not tested | 3.5 lb, performed just a little better than Shine Armor's 3.7 lb | a much smaller sheet formed and cleared in only 4 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 4Cerakote$17 | claims unsurpassed slickness and to be extremely hydrophobic; cures in about 2 hours | 2 lb, moved into second place at that point in the sequence | tied for third place with Hybrid Solutions; too close to call against Hybrid Solutions; performed better than Chemical Guys in a side by side | performing very well, doing a little better than Chemical Guys with a tighter water bead | performing well, though Hybrid Solutions held up slightly better | seemed to take more damage than Hybrid Solutions; needed a full minute for the water to dissipate | used up, a sheet of water covering the entire test area | not tested | 3.8 lb, same as Chemical Guys | performed very close to Hybrid Solutions, water dissipated in close to 5 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 5Chemical Guys$25 | manufacturer claims extreme hyperactive water beading and protection against UV rays, extreme weather, and contamination | 1.6 lb, moved into second place at that point, only a tenth of a pound behind Hybrid Solutions | looked really good, but Hybrid Solutions and Cerakote may have been a little better | water beading nicely, though Cerakote did a little better; water beginning to form a sheet | almost as good as Cerakote | experienced a lot of damage, a sheet of water formed quickly, needed a full minute to dissipate | chemicals definitely took their toll | not tested | 3.8 lb, same as Cerakote | sheet of water cleared up in about 7 seconds | not tested | not tested |
| 6Shine Armor$8, the cheapest coating tested | claims to offer a waterless coat and shine, includes two microfiber towels | 2.4 lb, quite a bit better than bare paint | not tested | pretty much destroyed the coating, a solid sheet of water formed with only a light spray | really disarmed its protection, almost used up | completely used up, no protection left | not tested | one of the first four spray-and-wipe coatings, appeared completely used up | 3.7 lb, up from 2.1 lb when fresh | took its toll, about 13 seconds for the water sheet to dissipate | unprotected paint took 4.5 lb of force for the sponge to slide | not tested |
| 7TopCoat F-11 Pro$60 | kit includes a 16 oz spray bottle, 2 oz travel bottle, and two microfiber towels; claims to be the most advanced water-based ceramic coating; supposed to last up to 12 months | 2 lb, same as Cerakote | not tested | forming mostly a sheet across the test area, Nano Bond performed quite a bit better | still offering a little protection but water mostly forming a sheet | appeared completely used up | not tested | pretty much used up | 3.2 lb | a larger sheet of water formed, took 7 seconds to clear | not tested | most of the water beaded but there was more sheeting compared to most other brands; performed worse than Nano Bond in a side by side |
| 8Advanced Graphene$90 | claims to last up to 10 years, includes two microfiber towels and a couple pairs of gloves | not stated in the transcript; the fresh-slickness recap names Shine Armor, Hybrid Solutions, Cerakote, Chemical Guys, Nanobond, F-11, and Adam's but omits an Advanced Graphene figure | not tested | still performing well though water began sheeting in some areas; better than the F11 | still trailing Hybrid Solutions, Cerakote, and Chemical Guys | water quickly formed a sheet under a light spray; took close to 45 seconds for the sheet to dissipate | pretty much used up | pretty much used up | 3.1 lb | performed about the same as the F-11, around 7 seconds | not tested | performed better than the F11 but not quite as well as Hybrid Solutions and Cerakote; won a side by side against the F11 when its water sheet cleared faster |
How it was tested
- baseline unprotected paint slickness using a 5 lb weighted sponge, force in lb to slide
- fresh-coating slickness with the same sponge test after full cure
- polycarbonate headlight-panel slickness and water beading, including simulated warm and hot water dishwasher exposure around 120F
- visual water beading and sheeting assessment on the coated hood before chemical exposure
- resistance to Strip Wash (a strong car wash soap)
- resistance to iron remover
- resistance to Bug and Tar Remover, with timed water-sheet dissipation
- resistance to wheel and tire cleaner
- resistance to degreaser, the toughest chemical test, narrowed to the top two finishers
- final slickness re-test and timed water-sheet dissipation after roughly 4.5 hours of combined warm and hot water spray exposure
“So, which ceramic coating is the best? And the Adam's totally dominated the showdown finishing in first place.”