Exterior & Interior Car Detailing in Fargo, ND

As with all things, you get what you pay for. Tunnel washes, though convenient and inexpensive, do not provide the same quality of clean as a hand wash and are notorious for damaging your paint. Automated touch washes use high pressured water and large rags to scrape the debris and traffic film off of your car. This method is indiscriminate and ends up using that film and debris as an abrasive against your paint, resulting most commonly in what are called "swirl marks", due to the swirling action of the rags. These are the circular scratches that are blindingly apparent in sunlight, ruining the presentation and wearing the protection of your cars paint.

Depending on the depth of the scratch, yes, scratches can be removed. However, in order to "remove" a scratch it requires taking off microscopic layers of clear coat. This means that, in order to preserve the integrity of your car's paint, it is prudent in most cases to not try to remove every single scratch. Most paint correction services are able to safely remove up to 80-90% of scratches, but the primary concern in paint correction is how much paint will be left on the surface for future correction. This is why having your car hand washed is so important - the scratches put into your paint by automated car washes can only be levelled out so many times before your paint is compromised.

A ceramic coating is a chemical polymer solution that is applied to the exterior of a vehicle to protect it from external paint damage. As it cures, it blends with the paint of your car to create an additional hydrophobic layer of protection. Ceramic coatings are the cutting edge of paint protection/ glass enhancement technology.

Ceramic coatings have a large breadth of durability, ranging from 1-10 years according to type of ceramic coating you opt for. Of course, real-world durability will depend on the exposure of the coating and the maintenance of the coating. Though they do protect the paint, they are not impenetrable. One must always keep in mind that the coating is used as a sacrificial layer, meant to take the beating that your clear coat would otherwise receive. That said, the durability of a ceramic coating will easily outlast modern waxes and polymer sealants several times over.

Unfortunately, many in this industry wrongly claim that ceramic coatings will protect your paint from scratches. That may be true in some cases, because coatings do come with 9-10H hardness, but it is measured according to the scale of pencil hardness, not mineral hardness. The primary protection that ceramic coatings provide is against harmful environmental factors like UV rays, chemical stains, mineral etching, and embedded contaminants. All of those factors will cause serious damage to your paint over time, resulting in not only a worn-out, abused appearance, but will eventually eat the paint down to the metal and allow rusting to occur. Additionally, because ceramic coating bonds to the paint, traffic film and debris are naturally repelled by the slick surface of the coating, resulting in a safer and easier surface to clean. Lastly, the cherry on top for ceramic coatings is the presentation that it provides. Like traditional waxes, ceramic coatings are not just for protection, but they provide the absolute best glossy, mirror-like presentation money can buy. There simply is no comparison between a ceramic coated car and a waxed car.