Ceramic Coating on Classic Cars

August 21, 2022

How Classic Cars Benefit From a Ceramic Coating

The paint on a classic car can sometimes be its most valuable asset. This is true whether the paint is factory-original, or brand new fresh from the paint shop. Either way, a ceramic coating on a classic car provides the best protection of your investment.

Cars that still have their factory-original paint need to be protected as much as possible. The best way to do this are the common sense tactics of keeping it in the garage, keep the paint free from dirt and contaminants by washing it frequently with the proper carwash solution, protect it from scratches and dents, and of course getting a ceramic coating on the paint ASAP.

The ceramic coating will provide a greater level of protection from caustic contaminants like tree sap and bird-poop, but it will also make washing your classic car much easier because dirt cannot adhere as readily to a ceramic-coated surfaces as it can to a non-coated surface.

The trick here is to make sure you're using a detail shop that you can trust with your baby. Fresh Start Detail Co. has been in business since 1983 and has had countless award-winning cars through its shop over the years.

But what about if your classic car doesn't have factory-original paint? Does a ceramic coating still make sense? Absolutely!

It's no secret that repainting a vehicle is extremely expensive, especially on a classic car. This is because classic cars usually have more paint surface area, and require much more masking and removal of chrome emblems than modern cars do. They also oftentimes have hidden body repairs that will need to be addressed by the painter in order to produce the best quality repaint job. All these reasons add up to you wanting to keep your existing paint job looking great as long as possible. Enter ceramic coatings! Designed specifically to significantly lengthen the lifespan of automotive paint, ceramic coatings are a no-brainer investment in your classic car. Again, choosing the best professional detailer here is key. You want someone with the most experience in working with classic cars, and someone who knows all the little differences and tricks to working on older cars. (Most detail shops are operated by people who wouldn't even know how to start a carbureted car with a choke!)

Scroll through my photo gallery to see just a small fraction of the classic cars I've worked on over the last few decades.

You can rest assured that I know classic cars, and I know ceramic coatings. I love working with both! -Jason Barker

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Matte Paint Ceramic Coating

By Jason Barker • June 8, 2026

Why Ceramic Coating is Mandatory for Matte Satin Paint and Decals There is no denying the dramatic increase in popularity that matte finishes, satin wraps, and bold vinyl graphics have on modern automotive culture. Whether it’s a stealthy aftermarket wrap or an ultra-premium factory finish like Mercedes’ Magno series or BMW’s Frozen paint, a non-glossy surface gives a vehicle a unique and sometimes aggressive look. But buying a matte vehicle usually comes with a massive wave of immediate anxiety for the owner because they're frequently not sure of how to care for this style of paint. Should you use wax, a sealant perhaps, or an off-the-shelf DIY ceramic coating? As a professional detailer who has spent over 31 years in the trenches of preservation-focused detailing, I hear the same questions every single week at my shop in Beaverton: “How do I protect this paint? Can I ceramic coat it? And if I do, is it going to turn my beautiful matte finish into a shiny, glossy, blotchy mess?” If you are asking these questions, you are asking the right things! But there is a lot of misinformation out there. Let’s clear up the confusion once and for all. Not only can you ceramic coat matte paint and decals, but if you want to keep your vehicle looking pristine, a dedicated ceramic coating that is designed specifically for non-glossy finishes is practically mandatory. This blog post is a deep dive into why prevention is your only line of defense, the actual science of how a matte coating bonds to your car, and how we prove it doesn’t add artificial shine.