Match it to the prep you are willing to do. Clear Coat Ceramic Lite is the one-year option and the most forgiving to apply. Platinum Paint Coating is rated at two years, Oracle at three, and the PRO range coatings Molecule 9H and Nero at five, with Nero adding self-healing properties. The longer-rated coatings need proper preparation, iron removal, clay and a panel wipe, plus a controlled indoor space to cure. There are also dedicated Platinum coatings for wheels, glass and trim.

You need an applicator, suede or microsuede cloths and a plush levelling towel at minimum, which is what the Coating Application Kit bundles. What matters more is the preparation before it: a coating locks in whatever is on the paint, so iron removal, a clay stage and a panel wipe to strip oils are what decide whether the coating bonds properly and how long it lasts. Skipping the panel wipe is the most common reason a coating underperforms.

The coatings chemically bond to the clear coat and are measured in years, but they need full preparation and a curing window. Speciale SiO2 Detailing Spray and Hybrid Coating 2.0 are spray-on products for maintenance: they go on after a wash in minutes, top up water behaviour and gloss on a coated car, and are the right answer between full applications. Use a coating as the base layer and a spray as the thing you actually reach for most weeks.

It is faster and more durable in use. A traditional clay bar has to be kneaded, is ruined if you drop it, and gets used up. The Exfoli-Block 2.0 is an interchangeable block system with replaceable surfaces, so you swap the working face rather than the whole thing, and it covers panels more quickly. The technique is the same: plenty of lubrication, light pressure, straight lines, and check the surface regularly for picked-up grit.