Rain After Ceramic Coating

If you’ve ever applied or considered applying a ceramic coating to a car, you may have heard that you should avoid exposing the new coating to rain or washing it immediately after application. Some coating manufacturers will recommend waiting an hour. Some recommend 24-48 hours. Others say 1-2 weeks. 

Why do you need to avoid rain or washing after applying a ceramic coating? What should you do if it rains after applying a ceramic coating? How do you protect a fresh ceramic coating from rain if the vehicle can’t be garaged? We’ll answer all those questions and more here. 

Why Recently Applied Ceramic Coatings Can’t Get Wet (Or Be Washed)

Ceramic coatings are supposed to be durable, protecting your vehicle for years on end. Why can’t they handle a little water after being applied? 

How Ceramic Coatings Bond to the Surface

The fact is, ceramic coatings need time to cure in order to form the semi-permanent bond that keeps them durable for years. During the curing process, cross link bonds form between the paint and the coating, creating a net-like barrier that’s fused to the paint. As more cross link bonds are formed, the net grows more and more dense, eventually curing into an ultra-hard impermeable barrier. 

Why Water Destabilizes Coating Bond

In order for the coating to properly bond with the surface, it needs to remain stable before, during and after the coating process. This means the surface must be completely free of any destabilizing contamination.

Because the net-like nanostructure takes time to become dense and impenetrable, destabilizing contamination can pass through a still-curing nanostructure. So if rain water floods a recently applied coating, the contaminated water will penetrate and destabilize the bonds, resulting in coating failure. 

Why Washing Destabilizes Coating Bond

Contamination isn’t the only thing that can destabilize a ceramic coating bond. Introducing surfactants—like those found in car wash soap—to a still curing ceramic coating will also destabilize the surface, causing the coating bond to fail. 

How Long After Ceramic Coating Do I Need To Wait Before Getting My Car Wet?

There are many different kinds of ceramic coating technologies out there with many different curing times. Older technology coatings require 1-2 weeks and infrared curing before they can be safely exposed to water. New technology coatings tend to require 24-48 hours. The latest ceramic coating technology can cure in as little as an hour. 

To be certain, check with the ceramic coating manufacturer before exposing your freshly ceramic coated vehicle to water. The label, product page or even a customer service representative should be able to point you in the right direction. 

What Should I Do If It Rains After Applying Ceramic Coating?

If you find your freshly ceramic coated vehicle engulfed in a rainstorm, you might be worried your coating is as good as gone. But all hope is not lost! 

First, check to see how long the manufacturer of your ceramic coating recommends allowing the coating to cure for before exposure to water. There’s a chance your ceramic coating is already cured! 

If your coating was still curing during the rain exposure, however, it may need to be re-applied. Thankfully, because the coating hasn’t bonded with the surface, you don’t need to worry about removing it before re-application — just prep the surface and re-apply. 

What If I Can’t Garage My Car While the Ceramic Coating Cures?

Not everyone has the luxury of letting their car sit inside an environmentally-controlled garage while their ceramic coating cures. What are people with daily drivers supposed to do? Thankfully there’s an easy solution. 

Protect With a Ceramic Top Coat

In addition to ceramic coatings, many coating manufacturers also offer ceramic top coatings that can be used as maintenance treatment for their ceramic coatings. These ceramic top coats are also great for protecting curing ceramic coatings against rain exposure. If you’re in a position where you can’t keep a curing ceramic coating garaged, protecting the ceramic coating with a ceramic top coat is the best way to ensure the bond doesn’t fail. 

To summarize: generally speaking, you should wait until the ceramic coating has cured before exposing it to water. This can take anywhere from 1-2 hours to 1-2 weeks, depending on the technology. Always check with the manufacturer first if you don’t know how long the curing process will take. 

If you are unable to avoid water exposure after the ceramic coating is installed, applying a ceramic top coat will protect the curing ceramic coating from destabilizing environmental contaminants. 

If you can keep all that in mind, your ceramic coating will cure perfectly and keep your vehicle protected for years and years on end. 

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