DIAMOND CERAMIC COATING ON AUTOMOBILES

 What is it?

One of the most important factors in maintenance of a car is the exterior look of the car, especially its paint’s shine and gleam. Diamond ceramic coatings impart a color enhancing gloss to the exterior surface and simultaneously protect it from UV rays, chemicals and extreme heat.

There are three coats on the surface of a car, innermost is the primer, middle one is a base coat of paint and an outermost clear coat. DIAMOND ceramic coating is applied on the top of clear coat. It’s a very thin coating and it is completely invisible to the naked eye.

The diamond coating covers the car in a shell of protection and protects from exterior damage. It enhances the color and look of the car. Diamond makes the car exterior surface to shine more stronger. The coat forms a semi-permanent bond with the surface of the car, so that the coat does not wash away or break down easily over a short period of time and lasts for years. It blends with the paint of your car and creates additional hydrophobic (water repellent) protection layer. Nowadays many big automobile brands are using this type of ceramic coatings.

Working of the ceramic coating:

Coating are carefully applied by certified applicator’s as a liquid one panel at a time covering the exterior painted surfaces. The paintwork is firstly decontaminated and prepared to ensure the coating achieves a good bond to the paintwork.

The principle differences are the amount of SiO₂ content in the product. Some have levels as low as 5% as typically found in maintenance sprays. Others have as much as 70%. As a general rule the higher the level of SiO₂ the more durable the product will be.

Diamonds as well as graphite are crystallographic forms of carbon. Difference between these forms is the electronic configuration (sp³ for diamond and sp² for graphite) [0₂] leading to different crystallographic networks and physical properties. Diamond has a hexahedral network which leads to the formation of four covalent links responsible for the high hardness of this material. Diamond deposition on tools is a Chemical Vapour Deposition process (CVD) at low pressure of around 35 Torr and relatively low temperature around 800°C performed in batches. Adding different gases during deposition to enhance nucleation [0₃] or saturating surface in carbon before diamond deposition [0₄] gives several ways to improve the process. Carbon source is methane (CH4) and chemical reactions are occurring due to pressure and temperature conditions, leading to deposition of the diamond layer.

Main obstacle to diamond deposition:

Unfortunately, if diamond layer resists to abrasive wear, other problems are induced by the deposition process due to coating / substrate compatibility. Most common material for machining tool is tungsten carbide bound by cobalt. It exhibits a high hardness, due to tungsten carbide, but also a sufficient toughness to avoid brittle fracture while machining. Mechanical properties of the tools are the results of a compromise between hardness and toughness, depending on the proportion of binder. Also, diamond deposition encounters some difficulties on this substrate. First, cobalt is harmful to diamond deposition leading to graphite formation instead of diamond. Then cobalt must be removed from the surface by chemical and mechanical treatments before deposition.

Second major obstacle to diamond deposition is the difference between expansion coefficients of diamond and carbide tungsten, which induces thermal stresses at the interface between the two materials. The existence of the interfacial tensile stresses combine with adhesion problems at the interface lead to premature failure during machining operations by debonding.

 

 A ceramic coating is silicon dioxide or silica (SiO2) based. Commonly derived from quartz crystals and sand, silica creates an invisible, extremely resilient “nanotechnology coating” when combined with elements like titanium dioxide, polysilazane, triethanolamine, water, and various other ingredients. Once cured atop a hard surface, this viscous liquid forms a crystal-clear shell, a product that is referred to as a nano ceramic coating, or ceramic coating for short.

What are its advantages?

v   1.  With the coating, car requires a very little regular maintenance to keep the exterior surface of the car look clean and shiny unlike wax coatings that wear off with regular washing. It’s interesting to know that it requires another process to remove it completely. Isn’t it a big relief!

v    2.  Diamond withstands repeated car washes without having the swirl marks on your car surface.

v   3.  It is critical that the car’s gloss fades up and starts looking dull under daily exposure to sun for long time especially for those who park their cars outside. The diamond ceramic coatings protect the clear coat from harmful UV rays and helps retain its gloss and color.   

v  4.  Ceramic coating last longer than regular paint and wax coatings. It gives rich and glossy finish, resist elements like water, dirt and mud from bonding with the surface and protect the exterior surface of a car.

Drawbacks

Not everything the ceramic coating can do! As a product, it does have some limitations-

v    1. It does not protect your car from swirl marks and scratches.   

v    2. It is not capable of getting rid from spots that remain on the car’s surface when the water evaporates from the surface leaving behind residues of salts and minerals. A regular car wash is still required for this.

 

 BLOG CREDITS :- INDRANEEL , GAYATRI, CHINMAY - TEAM META MONDAY

References  

https://www.vive-houston.com/blog/ceramic-coating-does-it-work

https://ceramicpro.com/facts-about-ceramic-coating-for-cars/

Ceramic Coating: The Ultimate Car Paint Protection Guide (avalonking.com)

Ceramic Coating Frequently Asked Questions (ceramicprovancouversw.com)

(PDF) CVD Diamond Coatings for Machining (researchgate.net)

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