Ceramic Coating 2025 Test: Which Brand Wins?
This 2025 head-to-head test of 8 ceramic coating options has the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Hybrid Solutions
Price shown in test: $15
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
Best in 1 of 3 measurements, including Initial Slickness.
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Initial Slickness
- 1Gtechniq1.4 lb2nd
force (2nd place)
- 2Adam's1.6 lb
force
- 3Hybrid Solutions1.1 lb
force (best of all 8, came out on top)
- 4Griot's1.5 lb
force (tied 3rd with Meguiar's)
- 5Meguiar's1.5 lb
force (tied 3rd with Griot's)
- 6CERAKOTE1.8 lb
force
- 720H2.4 lb
force (worst of the group tested to that point, about a pound more than Gtechniq)
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat2.3 lb
force (worst of the spray-on group)
Ease Of Application
- 1Gtechniq1.5
(applicator required, tied with 20H)
- 2Adam's2
(worst/most effort of all 8)
- 3Hybrid Solutions1
(spray-on, easiest tier)
- 4Griot's1
(spray-on, easiest tier)
- 5Meguiar's1
(spray-on, easiest tier)
- 6CERAKOTE1
(spray-on, easiest tier)
- 720H1.5
(applicator required, tied with Gtechniq)
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat1
(spray-on, easiest tier)
Hydrophobic Fresh
- 1Gtechniq
best yet at time tested, clearly beat Meguiar's
- 2Adam's
as good as Griot's and Gtechniq, clearly beat 20H
- 3Hybrid Solutions
very slick, strong hydrophobic performance early
- 4Griot's
very slick, produced tighter water beads than CeraKote in a direct side by side
- 5Meguiar's
good, about the same as Hybrid Solutions and Griot's
- 6CERAKOTE
good, clearly beat Shine Armor, slightly behind Griot's
- 720H
struggled, water forming a sheet in some areas, second worst after Shine Armor
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat
not very slick, water not forming tight beads, worst of the group tested to that point
Final Slickness
- 1Gtechniq2.8 lb
force (best overall, described as a big lead)
- 2Adam's3.9 lb
force (tied tier with Meguiar's and Griot's, see note on Griot's figure)
- 3Hybrid Solutions3.8 lb2nd
force (2nd best overall, still outperforming the 4 lb baseline)
- 4Griot's3.9 lb
force (derived, see note)
- 5Meguiar's3.9 lb
force (tied tier with Adam's and Griot's-inferred)
- 6CERAKOTE4.7 lb
force (worst overall, 0.9 lb more than Hybrid Solutions)
- 720H4.1 lb
force (1.3 lb behind Gtechniq's 2.8 lb)
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat4.4 lb
force (worse than the untreated 4 lb baseline)
Strip Wash Resistance
- 1Gtechniq
still looking as good as new
- 2Adam's
rating tier 1 alongside Gtechniq (see videoNotes on a repeated caption artifact around this rating line)
- 3Hybrid Solutions
completely unfazed, still beading nicely
- 5Meguiar's
took a real toll, water beginning to form a sheet
- 6CERAKOTE
still looking pretty good, not as tight beading as Hybrid Solutions
- 720H
took a toll, mostly forming a sheet
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat
disarmed, water forming a sheet across the whole test area
- 4Griot'snot tested
Bug Tar Remover Resistance
- 1Gtechniq
as good as new, tied for rating 1 with Adam's
- 2Adam's
shrugged off, as good as new, tied rating 1 with Gtechniq
- 3Hybrid Solutions
continued to perform well for a budget coating but took quite a bit of damage
- 5Meguiar's
completely wiped out, eliminated at this stage
- 6CERAKOTE
a lot of damage but still providing some protection
- 720H
really struggling compared to Gtechniq
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat
completely cooked, eliminated at this stage
- 4Griot'snot tested
Iron Remover Resistance
- 1Gtechniq
as good as new, top tier
- 2Adam's
as good as new, top tier with Gtechniq
- 3Hybrid Solutions
experienced an impact but still performing very well
- 5Meguiar's
quite a bit of damage but water still mostly beading
- 6CERAKOTE
impacted but water still mostly beading
- 720H
not going well, mostly forming a sheet
- 4Griot'snot tested
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coatnot tested
Wheel Tire Cleaner Resistance
- 1Gtechniq
held up best, ahead of Adam's
- 2Adam's
close second to Gtechniq
- 3Hybrid Solutions
pretty much destroyed, eliminated at this stage
- 6CERAKOTE
completely used up, eliminated at this stage
- 720H
used up, eliminated at this stage
- 4Griot'snot tested
- 5Meguiar'snot tested
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coatnot tested
All measurements (2 more)+
Headlight Dishwasher Test
- 1Gtechniq
rating 1.5 (2nd, behind Adam's)
- 2Adam's
rating 1, best of all 8 brands in this specific test, by far the best water beading
- 5Meguiar's
rating 2 (3rd place), performing very well
- 3Hybrid Solutionsnot tested
- 4Griot'snot tested
- 6CERAKOTEnot tested
- 720Hnot tested
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coatnot tested
Degreaser Resistance
- 1Gtechniq
won outright, rating 1.5 (best possible remaining)
- 2Adam's
close second, rating 2
- 3Hybrid Solutionsnot tested
- 4Griot'snot tested
- 5Meguiar'snot tested
- 6CERAKOTEnot tested
- 720Hnot tested
- 8Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coatnot tested
How it was tested
- push-pull force meter slickness test on car paint before coating (baseline)
- push-pull force meter slickness test on car paint after coating
- push-pull force meter slickness test on headlight polycarbonate panel (baseline)
- subjective ease-of-application rating (1 to 2 scale)
- hydrophobic water-beading side by side comparison on fresh coating
- hydrophobic resistance after strip wash exposure
- hydrophobic resistance after iron remover exposure (3 minutes)
- hydrophobic resistance after bug and tar remover exposure (5 minutes)
- hydrophobic resistance after wheel and tire cleaner exposure (1 minute)
- hydrophobic resistance after degreaser exposure
- final push-pull force meter slickness test after full chemical gauntlet
- polycarbonate headlight panel dishwasher soak (2x3 hour warm water cycles, 6 hours total)
Data notes and caveats
This is a per-use-case split verdict, not a single winner: the narrator's closing recommendation names Hybrid Solutions for buyers wanting an easy-to-apply, very affordable coating, and separately names Gtechniq for buyers willing to spend more money and more application effort for maximum durability (comparing it against the other two applicator-based products, 20H and Adam's). Both picks are supported by clear verdict language but for different use cases, so winner is left null per the per-use-case convention. Separately, the strip wash, iron remover, wheel and tire cleaner, and degreaser rating-summary sentences each contain a repeated caption artifact naming a phantom 'third place Gtechniq' (e.g. 'the Gtechniq and Adam's ... Gtechniq is in third') immediately after Gtechniq was already named the top performer in the same sentence, at stages where the narrative text shows only Gtechniq and Adam's still had any coating left (all others explicitly called 'used up' or 'destroyed' by that point). Treated as a caption duplication error; no invented third-place brand was recorded for these stages. Description lists Adam's twice and misspells Griot's as 'Groit's'.
