303! We haven't made an official review of their products yet, but we are long-term fans of most of their products which range all the way from prep products and UV protection products to paint protection coatings. And let us tell you, they are amazing!
303 has been around for about 40 years now, and they have built quite a reputation for itself.
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Today we have one of their Ceramic Spray products on the chopping block - 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating. Will it hold up, or will it fail spectacularly? Grab that nice hot cup of coffee and read on to find out!
We did say Ceramic Spray Coating, but 303 named their product Graphene Nano Spray Coating. Does that mean that it is based on graphene, the wonder material that has better conductivity than most materials and that can arrange its molecules in such a way that it becomes harder than steel while having only a fraction of its eight? Well.... we are afraid it is not that simple.
If you want to learn more about Graphene Coatings, and a full in-depth review on that subject, you can read this here.
But long story short, 303 claims their product is made using Graphene Oxide. And we aren't scientists to prove that it isn't, so we will just stick with it. But the question comes up whether graphene brings more to the story than regular SiO2 that ceramic coatings are made from. Well, it would appear that it doesn't. While graphene is a real thing, and its amazing application versatility is also real, our current technology doesn't allow us to utilize those benefits in ceramic coatings.... yet.
So, it is a scam; Are graphene coatings a hoax? Well... we wouldn't go so far as calling it a scam, but when you see 'graphene coating', just read 'ceramic coating' because it is a ceramic coating that is infused with added graphene.
Just to clarify - we are not sponsored by 303 or any other manufacturer of Paint Protection products, and we will test and review the product as it is in real-world conditions. We will follow the manufacturer's instructions during the application process, and we will prepare the surface to ensure the best finish and best adhesion possible. We are leaving an affiliate link to all our review products but in case the product turns out to be of low quality or not as all as advertised, we leave a warning to all our readers, and the quality of the product will always be reflected in the grade we assign to it at the end of every review. So if you do not want to sit through all of this text, you can scroll down to the Average Grade and read our Final Thoughts to get a general idea of what the product is all about.
Ok, guys, let's jump into it and take a look at what we are reviewing today.
Get your 303 Nano Spray Coating on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3tADHWJ
What does this product promise:
1+ Years of Premium Protection
Lowers surface temperature, reducing water-spotting
A high water contact angle sheds water quickly
Easy to use! Black paint? Direct sunlight? No problem!
Great for use on chrome, wheels, trim, and glass!
Paint: Coats and protects the paint from scratches leaving a hard layer of protection
Glass: Protects glass from chips and cracks, repels water while driving
Wheels: Repels brake dust and helps keep your wheels looking clean (use an applicator to apply product to wheels).
Trim: Preserves and protects plastic.
Quite the list they have there. Let's go through it step by step!
So, first of all, we start with the longevity of this product. They promise more than a year per application. And to be fair, when companies advertise the longevity of their products, they state the maximum time a product maintains its full effect under some ideal conditions. If you are a reckless car owner or simply live in an area where the climate leans towards the more extreme than usual, or simply do not park your car in a garage. Those are all factors that cut that ideal life of a product by a lot!
So is it a year? Well, hard to tell. It seems plausible, but for a Ceramic Spray product, a year would be among the highest values we had the pleasure of testing.
Next, 303 claims that the coating lowers the surface temperature and therefore lowers water spotting.
For those uninitiated, water spots are what is left once a droplet of water dries up due to evaporation and leaves all the minerals behind baked on the paintwork of the car. They can be stubborn to remove and are generally the bane of the existence of any car owner. Well, we will test all that.
Higher contact angle ensures that the least amount of water stays on the car. That is good. We will see how well it compares in that department.
If you would like to learn more about the hydrophobic properties of Ceramic Coatings and about contact angles, you can read our article on that topic.
Ease of use is always a good thing, but it does tend to come with Ceramic Spray Coatings. Our experience with graphene coatings in the past was that they tend to be a bit stickier in the buffing process, so we will keep that in mind.
Also, they claim that direct sunlight is no problem. And black paint tends to absorb sunlight much more than, for instance, a white one would. On a hot day, a black car will be much hotter on the surface than a white car parked next to it. That is why direct sunlight is best to be avoided when performing any car detailing process, even as simple as washing a car.
The reason is that liquids will evaporate much more quickly and will leave whatever hard residue was in them, creating a headache that you will have to deal with.
Every person that has anything to do with car detailing will suggest you avoid direct sunlight when working on a car.
They say that 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating can be used on any surface of the car except rubber. So avoid using it on a tire.
They say that the Nano Coating protects the car from scratches. Well... that might be a bit misleading, but that will also be tested.
You can read all about ceramic coatings and scratches in a previous article we wrote.
Then we are informed that you can use the coating on a windshield as well, and that supposedly protects your windshield from cracks and chips. Without any further thought about that - this is straight up a lie.
As to the issue of whether you should or shouldn't ceramic coat your windshield, you can read it here.
The last two things we need to look out for are 'break dust repelling properties' and the protection of plastic trimming on a car. For the brake dust, we had some success with ceramic coatings, but since brake dust is basically iron particles and they stick to the wheel due to extremely high temperatures upon usage, ceramic coatings just do not have what it takes to tackle such an adversary. It helps to some degree, but it certainly won't prevent brake dust from sticking to your wheels.
Check out this article if you are wondering whether you should ceramic coat the wheels of your car or not.
The plastic trim on a car can certainly benefit from a good ceramic coating, especially if it is dulled out or faded. Now some products we have tested performed extraordinarily in that department, but others didn't do anything, and some even left white spots on the plastic.
We shall test, and we shall see.
Let's see how 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating performed!
The first thing we did was wash the automobile and prime the surface for paint protection. There's no need to go to such efforts, but we want to be as objective as possible and examine how this product operates in ideal settings.
Learn how you can prepare the surface of your car for ceramic coating and other forms of paint protection.
After preparing the car for 303 Ceramic Spray, it was time to put it through its paces and see how it performed.
The first thing that you will notice once you spray it on the car or onto the microfiber towel or applicator is that the liquid is black. And you might think that that will leave nasty stains or darken the color of the vehicle but no.
Your car will retain its original shade of whatever color it currently has, just enhanced and more glossy.
How will we test the product?
In summary, we'll leave the covered automobile outside for the next two weeks and let the elements do their work. For the following 14 days, we'll drive the car hard every day, even on dirt roads, to replicate months or years of frequent driving.
video explaining 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating in detail
We'll wash the car using inexpensive auto shampoo at the conclusion of each day. Cheap vehicle shampoos are frequently alkaline or acidic in nature, and the alkaline or acidic base they utilize can harm paint protection. We'll also use harsher chemicals while cleaning, and we'll scrape a place on the carpet with an abrasive sponge to imitate scratching and evaluate the Ceramic Coating's resilience.
If you would like to learn the full testing and reviewing process we go through with each and every ceramic coating product, you can click the link.
Test results
The application was straightforward. Before use, the bottle was well shaken.
We sprayed the product on a specific work area ( a few sprays are all you need for a reasonably sized area ). To achieve complete coverage, the solution was massaged into the surface using a microfiber applicator in a crosshatch pattern.
We polished the surplus paint to a glossy sheen because no curing or flashing time was required. We've also discovered that this coating requires a lot of buffing since streakiness was a problem for us.
The product demonstrated great hydrophobicity after the first wash with normal vehicle shampoo. It was doing a bit more than sheeting, it was clearly beading. That is excellent, but you must guarantee that all of the small droplets are removed by drying or utilizing touchless methods such as an air compressor, leafblower, or just driving the car.
On the second day, we also used an iron remover chemical, and after we had rinsed the cleaning product off, to our astonishment, 303 Graphene Nano Spray was still doing its job. Noticeably poorer, to be fair, but still very, very impressive considering the powerful chemicals that were used. After the third day and third wash using regular car shampoo and a degreaser, it was showing signs of struggle. We must say that for a Ceramic Spray coating, which performs much poorer than its standard counterparts, it blew us away with its resilience to chemical damage. And chemical damage is usually the main culprit that removes a ceramic coating over time. Most Ceramic Spray coatings that we had used in the past would completely lose their properties with much less aggressive methods used. This one is truly a gem!
For additional testing, we reapplied 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating to the car's hood to get a better idea of how it will perform in other categories, then completed the balance of the two-week period using only conventional car shampoo.
How we've graded this product:
product life time when applied: C
resistance to elements: C
resistance to damage: E
resistance to chemicals: C
application difficulty: A
hydrophobic properties: C
gloss / shine: D
Average grade: C
Cost: 2.08$ / 1 fl oz
0.07$ / 1 ml
Our final thoughts on 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating
This product, simply said - blew us away. Surprise after surprise, and in a good way! Even if you went into this completely biased, you wouldn't be able to walk away just like that without acknowledging just how good this ceramic spray coating is. 303 created something amazing there. And they should be praised for that. Clap, clap for you, 303. Keep up the amazing work you have shown here.
Was it the Graphene that made all the difference, or is the Ceramic Coating formula simply just too good? Hard to say, really. If we had some more scientific equipment to actually do some more sophisticated testing, in those white lab coats, of course, we might give you a straight answer.
But here we are. We saw what we saw, and we were impressed.
If you are looking for a Ceramic Spray coating, look no further - 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating is definitely for you. And it is, most likely, the best Ceramic Spray coating we have used to date. We might even go as far as to claim that it would beat some regular consumer-grade ceramic coatings we have used in the shop before.
It comes in 24 fl oz packaging as standard, and that should keep you happy the whole summer easily for an affordable price. If you dislike all the massive prep work and all the tools you need to correctly ceramic coat a car, then we definitely suggest buying this product and seeing where it takes you!
Cheers!
Get your 303 Nano Spray Coating on Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3tADHWJ