Ceramic Coatings
German performance

Ceramic Coating for Audi

Audi builds a hard, clarity-first clear coat designed for depth — especially in its dark metallics. Here’s why that paint is one of the best substrates a ceramic coating can bond to, and how Chris protects it.

By Chris Lorizio·6 min read

Paint hardness

Hard · 2H–4H

Finish character

Solvent-clarity clears, extensive painted trim

Among the harder factory clears — an excellent, dense substrate for coating.

An Audi RS 6 Avant in deep green metallic — exactly the kind of clarity-first finish a ceramic coating makes look liquid.

Audi paint has a reputation among detailers, and it’s well earned. The clear coat is hard — engineered, like its German rivals, to survive Autobahn speeds and resist stone-chipping and chemical etch. That same hardness is exactly what makes a ceramic coating perform so well on an Audi.

But hard paint cuts both ways. It resists swirls until they happen, and then it fights you on the way back out. The smart move on an Audi is to correct the finish once, then lock it in — so you never have to chase those marks again.

2H–4H

Clear-coat hardness

Multi-year

Owner’s Pride warranty

2-stage

Correction on Enhanced

100%

Money-back

Why it matters

Why coat your Audi

Hard clear is the ideal substrate

A ceramic coating bonds best to a dense, uniform surface — and Audi’s hard clear coat is exactly that. The bond runs deeper and the hydrophobic performance lasts longer than it would on softer paint.

Built for depth, rewarded by coating

Audi tunes its clears for clarity, and it shows most in colors like Daytona Grey, Mythos Black, and Navarra Blue. Correction plus a coating adds the wet, three-dimensional depth those finishes were designed to show.

Stop swirls before they start

The hardness that resists marring also makes swirls stubborn to remove once they’re in. A coating gives the clear coat a sacrificial layer that takes the daily abuse instead — so the paint underneath stays untouched.

Every painted panel, easier to own

Audi paints a lot of surface — mirror caps, blades, big Avant and Q-series panels. Coat all of it and the whole car sheds road film, brake dust, and winter grime with a rinse.

Why correction matters more on Audi

Because the clear coat is hard, a Mercedes-or-Audi-grade finish almost always needs multi-stage correction to fully clear swirls once they’ve set in. Coating a freshly corrected Audi means you bank that work — the sacrificial layer keeps new swirls from reaching the paint, so you don’t pay to correct it twice.

Audi clear coat is some of my favorite paint to coat. It’s hard, it’s clean, and when you correct it and lay a coating down, a dark metallic goes from nice to unreal. The depth is just sitting there waiting for someone to bring it out.

Chris LorizioOwner, Smartwax Pro

The coating

Installed by an Owner’s Pride pro

Silicon-carbide flagship chemistry, self-healing topcoats, and the only major coating warranty with no annual-inspection bill.

Owner’s Pride is a family-run American coating company — two generations and more than two decades at the front edge of surface-protection chemistry. Chris is a trained, certified Owner’s Pride installer, which means every coating is registered under Owner’s Pride’s nationwide written warranty.

SiC — not just SiO₂

Owner’s Pride leads with Silicon Carbide (SiC) chemistry in its flagship line. SiC is harder and more heat-stable than the silica (SiO₂) most coatings rely on — denser protection and a deeper, wetter gloss.

Heat-activated self-healing

The OP X and SELECT topcoats are engineered so light wash swirls and marring soften away with heat — sun, warm water, engine bay. The finish keeps looking corrected far longer.

A warranty without the catch

Coverage runs 3, 5, 7, or 9 years as a written Owner’s Pride product warranty registered to your car — with no mandatory paid annual inspection to keep it valid. Most ‘lifetime’ coatings quietly require one.

The professional lineup Chris installs

OP XUp to 5 yr

Self-healing

Heat-activated self-healing topcoat. Extremely water-repellent, with enhanced gloss and color depth that shrugs off light wash marring.

Flagship

SiC Family3 / 5 / 7 yr

Silicon Carbide

The Silicon-Carbide flagship line — exceptional durability, chemical resistance, and a deep high-gloss finish. Protects paint, wheels, plastics, and high-impact surfaces. Certified install, nationwide warranty.

SELECT9 yr

2-part · Self-healing

A two-part, nine-year system with heat-activated self-healing. An ultra-dense layer built for maximum durability, gloss, and clarity — the top of Owner’s Pride’s range.

Glass & InteriorUp to 7 yr

Hydrophobic

Glass coating strengthens automotive glass up to 30% and sheets away rain for clearer wet-weather vision. Interior coating raises surface tension so spills and stains wipe away.

The process

How we coat your car

Decontamination wash

A thorough hand wash and chemical decontamination strips bonded iron, rail dust, and road tar that a normal wash leaves behind.

45 min

Clay treatment

A clay pass pulls off any remaining bonded contamination, leaving the paint glass-smooth so nothing gets trapped under the coating.

30 min

Paint correction

Machine polishing removes swirls, light scratches, and oxidation. On the Enhanced tier this is a two-stage compound-and-polish that restores a showroom finish.

2–4 hrs

Solvent cleanse

An IPA wipe clears every trace of polishing oil so the coating bonds to perfectly bare clear coat — not to residue.

15 min

Owner’s Pride application

The coating is laid down panel by panel with a suede applicator and leveled by hand — even coverage, no high spots, then registered under the Owner’s Pride warranty.

45 min

Curing

The coating cross-links over 24 hours. The vehicle stays dry and out of direct sun while it hardens. You get specific aftercare in writing.

24 hrs

Packages

Ceramic coating packages

	Express	Essential	Enhanced
Warranty	3 years	5 years	7 years
Decontamination	✓	✓	✓
Machine polish	✓	✓	✓
Paint correction	1-stage polish	1-stage polish	2-stage correction
Owner’s Pride coating	OP 3 · SiC	OP 5 · SiC	OP 7 · SiC
Regular car	$899	$1,299	$1,899
Midsize SUV	$999	$1,399	$1,999
Full-size / Truck	$1,199	$1,699	$2,399
Best for	Newer paint	Daily drivers	Older / marred paint

Every coating installed by a certified Owner’s Pride pro.

Not sure which package?

Take the 60-second quiz. Start the quiz →

Common questions

Ceramic coating FAQ

Especially on those. Dark Audi metallics show every swirl, but they also have the most depth to give back. We correct the paint to clear out the marring, then lock in that mirror finish with the coating — it’s the single biggest visual upgrade you can make to a dark Audi.

Yes. Audi paints more body-color surface than most brands, and those pieces collect the same grime as the panels. We coat every painted surface so the whole car maintains the same slick, easy-clean finish.

Often not much. New Audi paint is usually clean enough that a single refining polish preps it perfectly, which is exactly what the Express and Essential tiers include. We assess it in the sun and tell you honestly whether you need the Enhanced correction tier.

Deep gloss and tight water beading after coating.

Ready to coat your Audi?

Pick your tier, see the price for your car, and reserve the day — a 20% deposit holds it. 100% money-back guarantee — if you’re not happy, you don’t pay.

Book a ceramic coating

Chris Lorizio

Owner, Smartwax Pro · certified Owner’s Pride installer · 15 years of mobile detailing in southeastern Massachusetts

More brands we coat