In short
A ceramic clear coat is the thin, clear layer we spray over the finish at the end, over metal or over paint, and it protects the finish and sets the sheen. We choose it for desks, doors and fronts that people touch and clean all day.
What is a ceramic clear coat?
It's the clear top layer of the finish. We spray it in thin coats at the end of the work, and it protects the finish underneath while setting the sheen you see. Our ceramic clear coats are Cerakote, imported directly and exclusively from the manufacturer in the U.S.
The manufacturer develops these clears as a very thin, clear ceramic layer, in high gloss and matte. They harden in the air with no catalyst, and they can go on as a top coat over paint, metal, composites and plastics. The manufacturer focuses on hardness, resistance to wear and chemicals, and stability in the sun, and says that once fully cured the layer won't yellow or turn cloudy. That is why we reach for them on surfaces that get wiped every day. And the layer is thin, so every detail and texture underneath stays in view.
And it doesn't work on its own. A ceramic clear coat does its job as the last layer of a complete system, where the finish underneath and the clear coat are chosen together. So we choose the whole system, not just the top layer.
Which finishes do we spray a ceramic clear coat over?
Over any of our finishes. Over Liquid Metal Coating – MetaliQ it fixes the patina. Over metal laid down by Arc Wire Spraying – TruMetal it seals the finish, as we explain in our article on metallization.
In Metal Finishes on Solid Metals it seals the patina, the blackening and the rust, so the rust doesn't rub off on hands or clothes. And in Architectural Painting – LuxKote it is the last layer over the paint. We wrote about the paints themselves, the colors and the effects, in our article on architectural painting.
And if you are still choosing the finish itself, we wrote a guide to architectural metal finishes, and another article on liquid metal coating.
Where does a ceramic clear coat make sense?
On surfaces that people touch and clean all day. A hotel reception desk, a row of doors along a corridor, a bar front, office joinery, and at home, the kitchen fronts and drawers you open every morning.
A piece that is mostly looked at and rarely touched, such as a wall panel or a high shelf, usually does fine with a regular clear coat chosen for its use. We choose the clear coat by how much the surface is touched and how it is cleaned, not out of habit.
Matt, satin or gloss, which sheen should you choose?
We spray the ceramic clear coat in matt, satin or gloss. Matt looks soft and calm, and suits large planes and quiet rooms. Satin sits in between, with a gentle depth and no sharp reflections. Gloss is sharp and reflective and brings out every line of the design, which is why it asks for the most exact preparation.
The sheen also depends on what lies under the clear coat. Over smooth paint or polished metal the gloss looks deep, while over a textured surface or brushed metal the same clear looks softer. So you judge the sheen on the sample, not on paper.
Ceramic clear coat or anodizing?
They answer different questions. Anodizing is a treatment for aluminum and titanium, and its color comes out of the process itself. That is why its palette is narrower and why, as the maker of our clears points out, the shade can shift from part to part and from batch to batch. A ceramic clear coat is the top layer of the finish, so it goes over any of our finishes, from paint in the color you picked to metal finishes.
What decides it is what the piece is made of and how you want it to look. When one series mixes wood and metal, or the color has to work with a fabric or a stone in the room, a finish with a ceramic clear coat gives you that freedom. Send us the piece and we'll tell you which way suits it.
How does a project with a ceramic clear coat run?
A clear layer shows everything under it, so preparing the finish matters even more than the clear coat. Long planes, edges and corners are checked before we seal them.
We spray the clear coat in thin coats and let it cure the way the system needs, before the piece is packed and leaves our production facility. A typical project is ready 2 to 4 weeks after you approve the sample.
Since 2017, more than 1,000 projects in Israel and around the world, all made in our own production facility.
Ready to start? Send us your design, tell us about the finish and where the piece will stand, and we'll come back with the clear coat and sheen we'd choose. Before production, you see them on a sample made for you.
