Self Healing Coatings Debunked
Why We Do Not Develop "Self-Healing Coating" Products
I. Background
In recent years, some products marketed as “self-healing ceramic coatings” have appeared, claiming that minor scratches on car paint can be repaired simply by sunlight exposure or heating with hot water. While this sounds appealing, from a chemical and practical standpoint such products have significant drawbacks, making them unsuitable for real automotive applications.
II. Common Technical Principles of Self-Healing Coatings
1. Reversible Chemical Bonds
Examples: hydrogen bonds, Diels–Alder reaction, disulfide bonds. Scratches can be repaired through heating, which re-forms these bonds.
2. Polymer Chain Mobility
Using softer polyurethane, polyurea, or other elastomers. Heating activates molecular chain rearrangement, which masks scratches.
Both approaches rely on “softness” or “reversibility,” rather than the hardness and stability that conventional ceramic coatings are designed to achieve.
III. Key Issues
1. Poor Weather Resistance
Reversible bonds are unstable under UV exposure and heat, breaking down over time and causing chalking, yellowing, or decomposition. On vehicles exposed to outdoor environments, failure may occur within only a few months.
2. Strict Healing Conditions
True self-healing often requires 50–80 °C. In reality, car surfaces rarely reach and sustain such temperatures; customers often need hot-air guns or hot water, which is inconvenient.
3. Contradiction Between Mechanical Properties and Healing
Coatings must be “soft” to self-heal, but soft materials have poor hardness and scratch resistance compared with traditional ceramic coatings. If the coating is hard, polymer chains cannot move, and healing is impossible.
4. Fundamental Difference Between Coatings and PPF
PPF (Paint Protection Film) is manufactured under high-temperature or high-pressure conditions, producing high molecular weight polymer chains with excellent weathering resistance and mechanical strength (tensile, tear, UV resistance).
Liquid coatings (ceramic coatings) cure on-site through crosslinking reactions, where the final performance depends heavily on temperature, humidity, and application process. As a result, their durability is inherently much weaker than PPF.
Even if self-healing mechanisms are added, coatings cannot match PPF in terms of durability and protective performance.
5. Short Service Life
Conventional ceramic coatings (SiO₂/SiC based) can last 3–8 years. Self-healing coatings often show clear degradation within 6–12 months, providing limited long-term protection.
IV. Comparison with TPU Paint Protection Film (PPF)
The only truly mature “self-healing” solution in the industry today is TPU paint protection film: TPU films are thick (150–200 µm) and can repair minor scratches through polymer chain mobility under heat. Because they are pre-formed high molecular weight polymers, their weather resistance and mechanical performance are well established. Liquid coatings, in contrast, cannot compete with PPF in chemical structure, mechanical strength, or long-term stability.
V. Our Position
For these reasons, our company has decided not to develop so-called “self-healing ceramic coatings.” Instead, we focus on: Developing high-hardness, weather-resistant ceramic coatings to ensure long-lasting protection and stable performance; Enhancing application experience and gloss effects, delivering greater value to our customers;
Recommending TPU PPF for customers who require self-healing functionality, as it is the only truly reliable and proven technology available today.
VI. Conclusion
“Self-healing coatings” are more of a marketing gimmick than a truly reliable solution.
Rather than following hype, we are committed to stability, durability, and protective performance, the values that truly matter to our customers.