Frequently Asked Questions

The purest form of Graphene is indeed expensive, however we utilise a variety of graphene additives in our coatings like Graphene Oxide (GO) and Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) that do not require large amounts to exhibit required capabilities.

We disperse graphene additives that are processed into nano sized particles smaller than 1 micron into the formulation, hence the name Nano Graphene Coating. To compare, a strand of human hair is about 50 microns. The coating itself is NOT made from Graphene. With nano sized particles, we are able to increase the particle count of graphene oxide to provide a higher concentration and coating surface coverage.

Most surface protection coatings are made using many different silicon based polymers and silanes, that all contain silicon (Si) groups including SiO2. This is the reason why manufacturers affix names like GLASS, CERAMIC, QUARTZ, CRYSTAL to their products since these are derived from SiO2. They are simply just names for ease of marketing. Artdeshine’s graphene coating formulations utilizes the same silicon based polymers and silanes as with many other brands/manufacturers. We call some of our products “ceramic coatings” too.

The term “Ceramic Coating” have become synonymous with a very hard and tough coating due to the fact that most manufacturers prefer to cure them into a glass-like material that is hard, transparent and reflective. However many do not know that these “Ceramic Coating” can also be cured into softer more flexible materials. For ease of identification’s sake, many prefer to associate hard and tough coatings as “Ceramic Coating”. Artdeshine coatings cures into a softer (but still hard tough!) and more flexible material due to the type of silicone polymers and curing agents used for certain functional properties.

To simply put it, soft or hard, brittle or flexible, thin or thick, a coating’s ability to resist abrasion and scratches is not significantly dependent on the hardness, toughness or thickness. Any product applied by hand to a surface is too thin to exhibit any real scratch resistance (9H scratch test rated coatings or otherwise). The real reason why a treated surface is able to reduce chances of scratching is due to the slickness, lack of friction and smoothness of surface.

9H is the grade of pencil tip used to scratch a surface to measure abrasion resistance while hardness is measured using the MOHS Scale. Some brands or manufacturers use the words “9H Hardness” that carries no meaning.

While many coatings are made with materials that resist a 9H abrasion test or are made to be hard like glass/quartz rated 5-7 on the MOH Scale, Artdeshine coatings as a cured material is softer and very slick that is still able to resist a 9H pencil scratch test due to lack of friction but as a thick cured sample!

Depending on the type of graphene additives used. Graphene Oxide used in our coatings are not functionalised to improve repellent properties, whereas CNT increases the coating’s anti-static properties which in turn improves it’s repellent properties.

Most of the coating’s hardness comes from the silicone polymer material while abrasion resistance comes from the lack of friction due to the slickness our products exhibits. Graphene Oxide as an additive does nothing to increase coating hardness. However, the use of CNT as an additive has demonstrated improved coating hardness.

No. Contrary to popular assumptions, our product is dominantly a silicone polymer coating whereby graphene additives are suspended in the polymer matrix when cured.

Slickness is made possible from using a variant of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a type of silicone polymer. Graphene Oxide as an additive does nothing to coating slickness or smoothness. However, due to the use of CNT, the increased hardness of the coating has improved the coating’s surface smoothness though this is not the same as the sensation of slickness by touch.

No. These properties are entirely dependent on the polymers used. In “Ceramic Coatings” that are cured to be hard and transparent, these usually look like optically transparent glass, which gives reflectivity (shine) and gloss.

Coatings (Artdeshine Nano Graphene Coating) that are cured to be softer are usually slightly cloudy though when applied onto a surface is still optically clear, these will darken and saturate (vibrant) colours.

We would first need to clarify that any silicone polymer coating cures to form a layer of SiO2 or Si derivatives on the substrate, that is the reason why brands would claim “High SiO2 Content” or “100% SiO2 Coating”. In actual fact, the coating itself in uncured form will have to contain solvents to aid in application or mixing of different materials together. So yes, high content or 100% SiO2 or Si claims are a fact if we are talking about the cured coating on a substrate but not true for the uncured coating itself.

Because Graphene Coatings are NOT made from Graphene itself but are only used as additives, the question “what is the percentage of graphene in the coating?” becomes irrelevant since this is not an indicator of performance and having that knowledge will not serve any purpose for installers using the product. And we are always transparent about the contents of our products and confidently say that our coatings with GO additives contains approximately 0.05g-0.1g nano-sized GO per 1000g of coating solution in terms of weight, that is only 0.00005-0.0001% of total coating composition by weight (or 100ppm), while our coatings with CNT additives range from 100ppm – 1000ppm.