A ceramic coating forms a hard layer over the clearcoat that repels water and dirt, holds the gloss steady and halves the time it takes to wash the car. At XWrap the treatment always includes the preparation beforehand: without decontaminating and correcting the paint, the ceramic only seals in the defects that were already there.
ceramic, surface by surface
The main treatment: applied over the clearcoat once it has been corrected and sealed. It makes the surface water-repellent, makes washing easier and protects the gloss against sunlight and organic fallout, which in Valencia is the real problem for most of the year.
The hardest-worked area on the car: hot brake dust, tar and aggressive cleaning products. Ceramic on a wheel stops that dust baking in, so cleaning stops being a job with a brush and becomes a rinse.
On the windscreen and the front side windows the coating throws the water off above a certain speed and improves visibility in rain at night. It is the treatment with the shortest life, which is why it is renewed separately from the rest.
Ceramic also goes on top of protection film or a wrap, and there its job changes: it does not protect against impacts, it keeps the surface clean and stops a matte or satin finish from dirtying unevenly.
Water-repellent protection for cloth, Alcantara and leather seats, and sealing for plastics and screens. Liquids sit on the surface long enough for you to lift them off without a stain.
A check on the state of the coating, a technical wash and reactivation of the top layer. It is what keeps the water beading for the whole life of the treatment instead of just the first few months.
They are three different things and they solve different problems. This is the comparison we make in the workshop when someone is choosing between them.
| Wax / sealant | Ceramic coating | PPF | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Gloss and temporary water repellency | Steady gloss, water repellency and easy washing | Absorbing impacts and scratches |
| Protects against gravel | No | No | Yes, that is its main job |
| Prevents wash swirls | No | Reduces them, does not remove them | Yes, and light ones self-heal with heat |
| Approximate life | Weeks or a few months | Years, depending on the product and the maintenance | Years; it is a physical film |
| Changes the look | No | No, it deepens the one already there | It can be clear or matte |
| Combines with the others | Superseded by ceramic | Yes, it goes on top of PPF | Yes, it is the ideal base for ceramic |
If what worries you is stones off the motorway, PPF is the answer; if it is the look and the work of keeping it, ceramic is.
No preparation, no ceramic
We measure the clearcoat and look at it under dedicated lighting to find swirls, holograms and wash marks. That is what tells us whether the car needs a one-step polish, a two-step polish or only a gloss-up.
Technical wash, chemical decontamination of iron and tar, and clay where it is needed. Any particle left at this stage is sealed under the ceramic for good.
Machine polishing, with abrasives chosen for the real state of the clearcoat. This is the part that genuinely changes the result: ceramic does not correct defects, it fixes them in place.
A full degrease to remove the polishing oils. Without this step the product does not bond properly and its life drops.
We work panel by panel and remove the excess within the product's own time window, controlling the temperature and the humidity of the bay.
The coating needs curing time before it gets wet. We tell you when you can wash the car and with what, and hand it back with the maintenance guidance in writing.
Rating on Google
Thibaut Merlange
5 months ago
I contacted Xwrap to apply a dark vinyl wrap to protect my rims and give them a more aggressive look. They gave me excellent advice and did a top-notch job. I highly recommend them; they are very professional.
José Joaquin Godoy Haro
2 months ago
En Xwrap me abrieron un hueco para realizar un trabajo de vinilado en mi coche (cambio de color del parachoques). Quedó estupendo, buen trato, varias maneras de pagar y eso que me retrasé en la recogida. ¡Los recomiendo!
Saifa D
3 months ago
Very satisfied with the service. Full wrap in Avery Dennison satin black vinyl on my BMW X5, impeccable result. Deadline met, meticulous work, attentive team. I came all the way from France specifically for this and it was definitely worth the trip. I recommend them without hesitation. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Luismi Ferreres Martínez
3 months ago
A very thorough and high-quality job on the entire car: PPF, polishing, ceramic coating, wheels... and especially the vinyl wrap during the Chrome Delete service. Very happy with the result and the service.
what sets the price
Most of the cost of a ceramic job is not the product, it is the preparation. Two cars of the same model can come out well apart if one arrives with sound clearcoat and the other with roller-wash marks.
Includes technical wash, decontamination, correction according to condition, and application.
Booked alongside the bodywork treatment, or on their own.
Ask for a personalised assessment by sending us photos of the car: with two or three shots of the bodywork in daylight we can set a range, and the final price is confirmed when we look the car over at the workshop.
We give a warranty on the application, and its term depends on the product chosen: a coating meant to be renewed every year is not the same as a long-life one.
We set out in writing what it covers, for how long, and what maintenance you have to do to keep it.
No. It reduces the micro-scratches that come from washing, because the surface is harder and more slippery, but against a stone off the motorway or a key it offers nothing. That is what PPF is for.
Yes, and on matte and satin wraps it is particularly useful, because it stops them dirtying unevenly. We use a product suited to the finish, so a matte does not end up glossy.
It depends on the state of the clearcoat. On a new car a light preparation is usually enough; on an older car that has been through roller washes, skipping the correction means the ceramic locks the swirls in for as long as it lasts.
It depends on the product applied and, above all, on the maintenance. With hand washing and periodic checks you get the full life out of it; with roller washes it is cut short.
You have to respect the initial cure before it gets wet. We give you the exact time for the product used on your car when we hand it back.
Hand washing with the two-bucket method, or a brushless wash, with a pH-neutral shampoo and nothing containing filler waxes. Avoid abrasive products, and do not let water dry on the bodywork in the sun.
Yes. They are separate services, and plenty of people start there, especially with the wheels, which are the most work to clean.
Tell us the make, the model and what state the paint is in. With a few photos we give you a price range the same day and, if it works for you, we book the bay.
Av. de Peris i Valero, 68, Quatre Carreres, 46004 València, Valencia
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A ceramic coating is a layer that bonds chemically to the clearcoat and changes how the surface behaves: water slides off instead of sitting there, dirt sticks less, and the gloss holds without waxing every few weeks. What people notice most is not the first day, it is the third month: the car looks right again after a simple wash.
In the Valencia climate the enemy is not the cold, it is the combination of strong sun, dust, salt air near the coast and organic fallout from the trees in summer. All of it attacks the clearcoat if it is left to sit. Ceramic does not stop it landing, but it buys you time to get it off before it marks.
The result depends almost entirely on what happens before the product goes on. That is why our process spends most of its time decontaminating and correcting: sealing a marked clearcoat leaves those marks there for years. When a car arrives newly bought, the preparation is shorter and the quote reflects it.
If impacts worry you as well as the look, the usual combination is PPF on the front end and ceramic over the rest of the body: physical protection where the gravel arrives, and easy maintenance across the whole car.