Ceramic Coating vs PPF: What Actually Protects an Aircraft?

Two products, two different physics

Ceramic coating is a bonded SiO₂ layer measured in microns. It cannot stop a stone. What it does is take the UV, the acid, and the chemical attack that would otherwise age the paint, and it makes every wash faster and less abrasive. Think of it as sacrificial chemistry.

Paint protection film is urethane measured in mils — hundreds of times thicker. It absorbs rain erosion and debris strikes on leading edges, radome perimeter and walkways, and self-heals light scoring. It is sacrificial armour, and it goes only where the aircraft actually takes hits.

The order of operations is not optional

Both products are optically clear and both lock in whatever is underneath. Coating over swirled, oxidised paint preserves the swirl for years and magnifies it under ramp lights. This is why correction comes first on any airframe that is not in genuinely light condition — and why our booking flow physically stops you from ordering it the wrong way round.

What we would put on your aircraft

For most owners: correct the paint once, film the strike zones, coat the whole airframe including the film, then hold it with a maintenance cadence. The coating gets a registered warranty and an annual inspection. The economics favour this stack because it converts unpredictable repaint risk into a scheduled, documented care program — and the documentation itself carries value at resale.