The application process for Ceramic or Graphene Coatings is divided into various steps. It involves surface preparation, coating application, initial & final curing, and last but not least the first wash of the car after the coating

1. Surface Preparation

The process of surface preparation begins with cleaning the entire vehicle of any dirt, dust, grime, etc. sticking to its body, by shampoo, clay bar, washing, etc.

Next, we proceed with paint correction. In this step, polishing compounds are used for “rubbing” and “buffing” the painted metallic portions of your vehicle’s body. These compounds are rubbed into your car’s body using hand-held automatic polisher machines (dual-action polishers/rotary polishers). This process is vital as after the application of ceramic/graphene coatings the paint can not be directly corrected. The shine, gloss, color, and condition of your paint are restored to the maximum extent possible via paint correction.

Finally, the vehicle is rinsed and dried off all over using Pre-Coat along with a microfibre towel. This ensures the removal of any excess/residue from polishes, compounds, surfactants from shampoo, fingerprint marks, dust and most important of all moisture, as moisture or water is the nemesis of ceramic/graphene coatings at the time of application and curing!

Now the car is ready for the actual application of nano-coatings!

• Coating Application

Now when it comes to the application processes there are a variety of different products in the market having varying application procedures. However, for Taciturn Coatings the application process is as follows:

We begin with the application of two layers of the base coat before applying the final, third layer of the super-gloss coat on the vehicle’s metallic surfaces.

 Let’ ‘s say you begin the process from the bonnet of your car. Divide the bonnet into multiple smaller portions (approx. 40cm by 40cm), and begin the application process.

Take one piece of applicator cloth patch and tightly spread it over the applicator sponge, then using the droppers provided in our kit pour 5-6 drops from the Base Coat (bottle no 1&2) evenly over the applicator cloth patch spread over the sponge.

Begin the application by hand using a smooth, even, flowing motion. Apply horizontally (left to right) and then proceed to apply vertically over the same patch using the sponge in one flowing motion. This leads to an overlap in the form of a “Chessboard”. This ensures that the coating formulation is applied evenly all over the portion. Each section should take a maximum of 20-30 seconds to apply. If it takes longer than that it is a clear indication for you to reduce the size of the portions.

Immediately after application by sponge proceed with hand buffing of the applied portion using the microfibre towel. Rotate the microfibre towel in smooth circular motions using a firm hand. You may rotate either clockwise or anticlockwise, however, do not change the direction of rotation in between. While hand-buffing you will feel “resistance” or “drag”, just like the resistance experienced while spreading honey over a surface!  Continue buffing until the surface becomes smooth and there is no more drag felt while rotating the towel. This ensures that the coating solution penetrates properly into the applied surface while buffing off the excess solution remaining on the surface.

Do not give any gaps in between application by sponge and buffing by a towel, as Taciturn coatings are purely professional grade coatings with 0% impurities, you will find that the coating solution immediately starts drying at room temperature, and as such buffing must be done immediately after the application by sponge.

Repeat this process until all portions of the vehicle’s painted metallic body is coated. This finishes the application of the first coat of the coating solution.

• Drying

The drying phase can be divided into initial drying and final drying.

The Initial Drying time for the coats varies in every region due to variations in temperature, humidity, etc. however, the range is limited to 1 hour to 1.5 hours maximum. The best part about Taciturn Coatings is that you don’t require any separate Infrared lamps for drying or curing our coatings. Also, the process of applying one coat by a trained installer usually takes 45-60 minutes only, and as such by the time the application of the first coat is finished the drying time for the portion coated at the beginning is also finished! Thus, the installer can directly begin with the application of the second base coat (and later the third and last super gloss coat) directly after applying the previous coat without having to stop at all! This leads to increased efficiency, and faster application times and as such reduces the chances of errors/mishaps occurring during the application process! Not to mention it is also much less tiring for the installer himself.

The Final Drying time is always 24 hours after the final coat is applied to the vehicle’s body.

• Curing

The Curing phase is also divided into two parts, the initial and final curing.

Once the final coat has been applied and dried off, then the Initial Curing process begins. It takes 24 hours for almost 98% of the applied coatings to penetrate and bind themselves within the various outer layers of your vehicle’s painted metallic body. This binding happens on the atomic level! During this time the coated vehicle is kept undercover and in a dust-free environment to ensure that it is not exposed to dirt or moisture during the curing time! This is vital and ensures the impressive lifetimes guaranteed with any of Taciturn’s coatings!

After the first 24 hours/ 1 day, the initial curing process is considered to be complete, and as such the vehicle is ready to be handed over to the customer.  However, it has been found that the final curing process for the rest 2% actually takes as long as 1 week! This means that it is not recommended to wash off the vehicle until the first week after the coating! However, exposure to water is often unavoidable for most people in their daily lives and as such, it is not a hard and fast rule.  

After the Curing process is completed the vehicle is ready for handover and usage.