Nexgen Ceramic Spray vs Mother’s Ceramic Spray is a battle between products I’ve had on my list for a long time. Nexgen holds the highest amount of SiO2 of any other brand, and Mother’s created a blend of SiO2 and TiO2 – a combination I’ve never used. Given the chemical properties, I expect these two products to be top-tier.
SiO2 creates a bond between a car’s surface and the protective barrier, provides slickness for smooth application (necessary for adhesion), and adds a richer color to your paintwork. SiO2 also reaches up to an impressive 9H on the hardiness scale.
TiO2 creates an illusion with lighting, which would theoretically create a new level of shine and gloss over a treated vehicle. By scattering light, titanium dioxide should provide a significantly brighter, glossier surface.
Nexgen Ceramic Spray
Nexgen has been around for a long time, yet they aren’t a well-known brand amongst individual at-home car detailers. However, in the world of showroom detailing and extreme auto enthusiasts, Nexgen is in a league of its own. Given the company description you may think Nexgen products are expensive. However, a bottle of Nexgen Ceramic Spray will only run you about $35.
Nexgen Ceramic Spray contains an astounding 13% Silicon Dioxide (SiO2), making it the most concentrated spray ceramic coating on the market. This creates an incredibly hard shell over your clear coat making it impossible for contaminants to get into the pores of your paintwork.
The application process is incredibly easy. As with most ceramic sprays, you spray in sections, wipe with a microfiber cloth, then buff it out with a second dry microfiber cloth. This formula feels incredibly slick and is easy to level. Right off the bat, the high gloss was immaculate. After applying it to the entire exterior of my car I let it cure for the full 24 hours, then repeated the process for optimal results. I highly recommend this if you’re going for a true showroom shine.
The results were impressive. Since Nexgen creates showroom-quality products, I was expecting the stunning appearance to fade quickly. Kind of like putting makeup on a car for a special event. Surprisingly, Nexgens ceramic spray lasted nearly six months. Overall my car stayed clean longer, the beading remained tight and water rolled off my car at a rapid rate. Even the high gloss maintained its hold on my exterior.
Pros:
- Inexpensive
- Last about 6 months
- Super-hydrophobic
- Leaves a silky, glass-like finish
- High gloss
- Easy to apply
- Great customer service
- 30-day money back guarantee
- Made in the USA
Cons:
- Not available in brick-and-mortar stores (available on Amazon & GetNexgen.com)
Mother’s Ceramic Spray
Mother’s is a well-known brand. They’ve been around for a long time and you’ll see their products in tons of auto shops as well as large retailers. Overall, the items aren’t expensive and the company is great at maintaining a high level of consistency throughout their array of products.
Mother’s Ceramic has some unique properties. Instead of increasing the amount of silicon dioxide, Mothers created a mixture of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2) to create a new formula altogether. The main purpose of TiO2 is to scatter visible light to create a brighter surface with enhanced clarity. Since SiO2 creates a high gloss on its own, the effects of scattered light should be a game changer.
The product itself is easy to apply. As with most spray ceramic coatings, you spray, wipe in a cross-hatch pattern, and then buff. For the most part, the product leveled nicely and left a slightly enriched color on the treated panels. When I was finished applying, I took a step back to get a once-over of my work. Immediately I was delighted by the bright shine over my exterior.
There were a few things I found to be disappointing. First, the sprayer seemed to choke during application, which would occasionally cause overspray once the neck was cleared. Every surface the overspray dried on had a sandpaper texture that was difficult to clean. My only other issue was that it didn’t look great on glass. I ended up stripping Mother’s Ceramic from my windshield due to streaking.
Now let’s get into the long-term results. Mother’s Ceramic Spray overall didn’t disappoint. The color of my car was a bit deeper, the gloss was pretty, and the beading was tight. Sheeting was an issue right away. Mother’s Ceramic did great in light rain, but water pooled during medium to heavy rain. The last remnants of the product were gone entirely after only two months.
Pros:
- Available in many brick-and-mortar stores
- Inexpensive
- Gives a pretty gloss
- Slightly deepens paintwork
- Tight beading in light rain
Cons:
- Water pooled during medium to heavy rain
- Only lasted two months
- Leaves streaks on auto glass
- Sprayer choked and would sometimes spray unevenly
- Any overlooked overspray left a rough texture behind
Which Product Wins?
Nexgen Ceramic outperformed Mothers across the board. My initial impression of Nexgen’s ceramic spray leaned more toward “makeup” for car shows and showroom floors, so I was surprised by how long the product lasted. Beyond that, I was impressed by how long the product looked like it was freshly applied.
Mother’s looked great after application but wasn’t durable enough. The hydrophobic properties just weren’t there. The shine was stunning but faded quickly. However, one of the bonuses to Mother’s over Nexgen is the ease of access since Mother’s is easy to find on shelves, making it a great choice if you’re in a pinch.
How we have graded them
To determine the best Ceramic Spray I had to chart out the purpose of a ceramic spray and rate each category between the two products. Here are the properties that I judged: beading, gloss, slickness, overall cleanliness of the treated areas throughout each product’s lifespan, ease of application, durability, and longevity.
During my test of Nexgen Ceramic vs Mother’s Ceramic Spray Nexgen lasted longer, had tighter beading even in heavy water flow, gave a shinier glass-like finish, my car stayed clean longer, and the slickness was like running my hand over smooth glass.
Both products were easy to apply and did a great job throughout their lifespans. Mother’s Ceramic seemed to take a beating, while Nexgen Ceramic Spray coasted through. My best guess would be that the drastically different levels in SiO2 made the difference. Nexgen contains significantly more SiO2 than any other DIY ceramic spray on the market and the results I saw were impressive.
Conclusion
Nexgen Ceramic Spray vs Mother’s Ceramic Spray was a fun competition and the results weren’t what I was expecting. This just goes to show that newer isn’t always better. While Mother’s in general creates great products, their mix of SiO2 and TiO2 falls short.
After experimenting with Nexgen’s ceramic spray, my curiosity peaked. I look forward to trying more products from the company and putting each one through the oh-so-addicting torture tests. If the rest of Nexgen’s inventory is half as good as their ceramic spray they’ll get a new loyal customer out of me.
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