CERAMIC COATING

Ceramic coating is a silica-based (SiO2) liquid polymer that chemically bonds to your car’s clear coat and cures into a hard, glass-like layer.

That’s the key difference from wax. Wax sits on top of the paint and washes away within weeks, while a coating bonds and becomes part of the paint surface, protecting it for years.

Once cured, it resists UV and chemicals, and buys you time against bird droppings and tree sap, though they still need removing as soon as you spot them. Being hydrophobic, it makes water bead and sheet straight off, carrying dirt with it. The harder, slicker surface also resists the light swirls and marring that bare clear coat picks up from everyday washing, and it adds a depth of gloss to your colour that wax simply can’t reproduce.

Please note: a coating seals in whatever condition your paint is already in, so preparation matters more than the product itself. That’s why every package includes full decontamination, and why Restore & Protect and Full Protection include full paint correction before a single drop goes on.

We use Phoenix EOD Kronos, which the manufacturer rates for up to seven years. We sell and warrant it as a 5 year coating, because how long it really lasts comes down to how the car is maintained.

A car washed correctly, using pH-neutral shampoo, clean microfibre and safe technique, will go the distance. A car that’s run through automatic car washes, cleaned with harsh chemicals or washed carelessly will wear the coating down long before its rated life.

You get a written warranty certificate on handover, and the Ceramic Care Plan is what keeps it valid: two exterior visits a year where we decontaminate and inspect the coating, with a top-up once a year.

Please note: rating and warranty aren’t the same thing. The rating is what the product can do; 5 years is what we’re prepared to stand behind, and it depends on the coating being looked after.

Our packages start from $1,399 for the New Car Package, $1,649 for Restore & Protect, and $2,299 for Full Protection across paint, glass, trim, wheel faces and interior. Final pricing depends on your vehicle’s size and paint condition, and a 30% deposit secures your booking.

Prices vary widely across Sydney, and it comes down to what’s included and who’s doing the work. Most of what you pay for isn’t the bottle, it’s the hours of decontamination and correction beforehand. A cheap quote usually means rushed prep, improper technique and little or no correction, which seals swirled paint under a layer meant to last years.

A coating is only as good as the preparation behind it. Reading paint depth, choosing the right pad and compound, levelling at the correct flash time and checking every panel under proper lighting are what separate a coating that lasts from one that fails. This isn’t a job for an amateur. Drive Fresh is owner-operated, working on one car at a time from start to finish, so nothing gets rushed and no corners get cut on the parts you can’t see.

Please note: every package includes full decontamination. Restore & Protect and Full Protection also include full paint correction (up to two steps), glass coating and exterior trim and plastics. If your paint needs more than two steps, we quote the extra before we start. Compare what’s included and how it’s done, not just the headline price.

It’s the best time to do it. Your paint is at its peak, so there’s minimal correction needed and the coating locks in a near-perfect factory finish.

That’s exactly what the New Car Package is built for: cars under 3 months or 5,000km, confirmed on inspection. It includes a one step polish to clear the transport and dealer wash marks that even a brand new car arrives with, then the coating goes straight on.

Left bare, new paint starts collecting swirls from the very first wash. Coat it now, and you’re preserving it. Wait two years, and you’re paying for correction first, then the coating.

Please note: dealer “paint protection” packages are often an overpriced sealant rather than a genuine ceramic coating, and rarely include any correction or proper prep. Worth asking exactly what’s being applied.

Depends on your vehicle’s size and paint condition:

• New Car Package: usually 10-12 hours or one full day
• Restore & Protect: usually one to two days
• Full Protection: usually two days

These times cover the whole job: prep wash, decontamination, taping off seals and trim, paint correction, an IPA wipe-down and the coating itself, which needs time to flash and cure before we hand your car back. After that, don’t wash it for 7 days.

Please note: if a job runs overnight, we’ll need the car stored securely undercover.

Yes, and this is the biggest misconception about coatings.

A coating makes washing far easier. Dirt still lands on the car, it just doesn’t bond as hard, so it releases with much less contact and much less risk of putting swirls back in.

Washing regularly and safely is actually how you get the full life out of a coating. Neglect it, and contamination builds up on the surface and in the pores, which dulls performance well before the coating’s rated lifespan. Correct washing is also a condition of your warranty: no washing for the first 7 days, then pH-neutral shampoo, by hand with two buckets or a touchless foam and rinse, no close-range pressure washing and no automatic car washes of any kind. Remove bird droppings, sap and bugs as soon as you spot them, and check with us before putting any wax or sealant over the coating.

The Ceramic Care Plan handles the deep maintenance twice a year, decontaminating and inspecting the coating, with a top-up once a year. Between those visits, regular safe washing is still on you.

Please note: incorrect washing is the fastest way to shorten a coating’s life, and damage caused by it isn’t covered under warranty. If you’re not confident washing it properly yourself, it’s worth having someone who is.

Your 5 year warranty covers the ceramic coating on your painted panels: delamination, peeling or flaking, loss of water beading (tested after our decontamination wash), and clouding, hazing, streaking or high spots in the coating. If a covered failure happens, we reapply the coating to the affected panels at our cost.

It’s a coating performance warranty: it covers the coating layer, not the paint underneath it, so fading or oxidation of the paint isn’t covered. Neither are scratches, stone chips, dents, accident damage, etching, staining or water spots from contaminants (however quickly they’re removed), or damage from incorrect washing. The full list is on your certificate.

Coatings applied to glass, wheels, trim and interior surfaces aren’t warranted, and neither is paint correction or detailing work. Your Australian Consumer Law rights still apply to them.

Please note: the warranty is in your name and doesn’t transfer if you sell the car. It stays valid while you keep up the Ceramic Care Plan and the care conditions on your certificate.

It’s two exterior visits a year that keep your coating performing and your warranty valid.

Each year has a 6 Month Care Visit (a decontamination wash and full coating inspection) and a 12 Month Care Visit (the same, plus a ceramic top-up over the existing coating). Visits fall every six months from the day we apply the coating, for the full five years: ten visits in total. Each one must be completed within 7 days either side of its due date.

Care Plan visits are charged separately from your coating package, with the price confirmed before each booking.

Please note: the Care Plan is exterior only and is a different service from our Maintenance Detail, which is an inside-and-out detailing package with its own eligibility.

Your warranty ends. If a visit isn’t completed within 7 days either side of its due date, any failure that shows up after that isn’t covered. Reinstating it is at our discretion.

If we reschedule a visit because of weather, a major event or anything else on our side, or we can’t offer a time in the window when you book before it opens, the window moves to the date we offer. Book early and you’re covered either way.

Please note: your due dates are on your warranty certificate, and every visit is signed off on its Care Plan Record, so keep it somewhere safe. We keep our own record of every visit too.

Yes, we’re fully mobile and work from your driveway, garage or parking space.

We’ll need access to your water and a power point, and enough room to open all the doors and walk right around the car, roughly a metre of clearance. For apartments and strata, check building access and strata rules before you book, and tell us about any restrictions such as height limits.

Undercover space like a garage or carport is ideal, because the coating needs clean, dry conditions to cure. Travel is included within 30km of Condell Park. Further out, we quote it before you book.

Please note: it’s your responsibility to make sure the location is safe, legal and permitted for the work, including any strata or building approval. If access is refused or unsuitable on the day, it counts as a late cancellation and the deposit is forfeited. Our full Terms & Conditions cover this in detail.

We won’t apply a coating or machine polish in rain or high wind, because coatings need dry, controlled conditions to cure properly.

If the forecast turns, we’ll contact you as early as we can and move your booking. Weather reschedules never cost you anything: your deposit moves to the new date, or we refund it in full if you’d rather cancel.

For the first 7 days after we finish, keep the car out of the rain where you can.

Please note: if you have a garage or carport, mention it when booking. That way, bad weather rarely affects your appointment.