Ceramic Snow: The SiO2 Car Shampoo That Protects While It Washes

Every wash takes something off your car. Soap strips a little wax, a little sealant, a little of whatever you last put on the paint, and after a summer of weekly washes the water stops beading and the gloss goes flat. Most people fix that with a separate protection step on a Saturday afternoon. We would rather the wash did it for you.

Ceramic Snow is a car shampoo with SiO2 in it. You foam the car, you rinse the car, and the silica stays behind as a layer that repels water and dirt and adds gloss. On a bare car it gives you hydrophobic paint from the first wash. On a coated car it feeds the coating instead of wearing it down. Either way, the car leaves the driveway more protected than it arrived.

This guide covers what Ceramic Snow is, what changed in version 2.0, how much to use in a foam cannon and a bucket, where the foam goes first, and how it fits with the rest of the wash.

What Ceramic Snow SiO2 shampoo is

Ceramic Snow is a pH balanced wash soap super charged with modern SiO2, the same silica chemistry behind ceramic coatings. Every wash leaves a silica infused layer on the paint that helps repel water, dirt, and contaminants, and nourishes the finish. The protection bonds on the surface with every wash, and the hydrophobic effect shows up immediately, on the first rinse.

It works on coated and uncoated surfaces. Use it on a non coated car to add hydrophobic properties, or on a coated car to fortify the ceramic coating with a simple wash and dry. That second use is the one we care about most. SiO2, the main ingredient in Ceramic Snow, helps revitalize a coating, improving its durability, gloss, and hydrophobic properties with every wash instead of chipping away at them.

The other half of the formula is the foam. Ceramic Snow is an extreme foaming formula, and thick foam makes cleaning safer. It lifts and carries the grit off the panel before your mitt ever touches it, which is where most wash induced swirls come from.

What changed in Ceramic Snow 2.0

Version 2.0 is the current bottle. The updated formula gives you more foam, more protection, and a better shine than the original. The directions are the same, the dilution is the same, and it runs through the same foam cannon. If you liked the first version, this is the same idea with more of everything you bought it for.

Where the foam goes: tap the truck

This is Ceramic Snow out of a foam cannon on a Raptor at the shop. Tap the dots to see the order we work in and why.

1 2 3 4 5

1. Roof and glass firstFoam from the top down so the dirt runs off the car instead of across it. Two to three ounces of Ceramic Snow in the foam cannon is the whole recipe. The roof and glass are the cleanest panels, so they get the mitt first too.

2. Doors and upper bodyLet the foam sit a minute or two while it lifts the grit. The thick foam is what makes the wash safer, since it carries the dirt down the panel before the mitt arrives. Wash upper panels before lower ones.

3. Bed, tailgate, and rearThe back of a truck collects the most road film. Foam it last so it has the shortest dwell before you rinse, and give the tailgate a second pass with the mitt.

4. Wheels and lower panelsThe foam covers them, but this is not where the wheels get cleaned. Wheels get Fuego before the car is foamed, and the lower panels get the last, dirtiest mitt pass.

5. Rinse and dryRinse from the top down. The beading you see on the panel is the SiO2 already at work. Dry with the Drying Aid Kit or a mist of SLIQ on the towel to stack a little more slickness on top.

How to use Ceramic Snow in a foam cannon and a bucket

Foam cannon. Put 2 to 3 ounces of Ceramic Snow in the cannon bottle and fill the rest with water. Foam the car top to bottom, let it dwell, and rinse. That is the full dose. More soap does not mean more protection, it means more rinsing.

Bucket. If you are washing with a mitt, put 1 to 2 ounces in the wash bucket as well. The point of the soap is to clean the paint, but we also want ample protection left behind, and the mitt pass is where the SiO2 gets worked into the surface.

Both. Our routine at the shop is cannon plus bucket. Foam the car with Ceramic Snow, let it lift the loose dirt, rinse, then do a two bucket wash with Ceramic Snow in the wash bucket, top down, and rinse again. Then dry.

Ceramic Snow on a coated car

A ceramic coating is only as good as the washes it survives. Harsh soaps and strip washes wear a coating down over a season, and the beading fades before the coating is really gone. Ceramic Snow does the opposite. The SiO2 in every wash bonds to the surface and revitalizes the coating, improving its durability, gloss, and hydrophobic properties with every wash.

If you coated your car with UNO, DOS, TRÉ, or STAK, this is the maintenance wash to use. Ceramic Snow for the wash, SLIQ as the drying aid, and Fuego on the paint a couple of times a year to pull the iron the wash cannot.

Ceramic Snow on an uncoated car

You do not need a coating to use it. On bare paint, Ceramic Snow adds hydrophobic properties right away, so the first rinse after the wash beads instead of sheeting flat. Keep washing with it and the silica layer keeps stacking. It is the easiest way to keep a daily driver looking protected without adding a step to the wash.

When you are ready for real long term protection, wash with Cleanse instead to strip everything down to bare paint, decontaminate, coat with UNO or STAK, and then come back to Ceramic Snow for every wash after that.

Ceramic Snow, Foam Wash, or Cleanse

Three soaps, three jobs. Foam Wash is the plain high lubricity shampoo for a car that has protection on it and does not need anything added. Cleanse is the strip wash for the day you are going to coat. Ceramic Snow is the maintenance wash that leaves SiO2 protection behind every time. Most of our customers keep Ceramic Snow as the everyday bottle and pull Cleanse out once a year.

Ceramic Snow questions, answered

How much Ceramic Snow do I use?

2 to 3 ounces in a foam cannon. 1 to 2 ounces in the wash bucket if you are using one. A 16 ounce bottle covers several full washes, and the gallon covers a season.

Does Ceramic Snow work on an uncoated car?

Yes. It works on coated and uncoated surfaces. On bare paint it adds hydrophobic properties and gloss from the first wash, and the protection builds with every wash after.

Will it hurt my ceramic coating?

The opposite. The SiO2 in Ceramic Snow bonds to the surface and revitalizes the coating, improving its durability, gloss, and hydrophobic properties with every wash.

Is the protection immediate?

Yes. Hydrophobic protection works immediately. You will see the water bead on the rinse.

Can I use it in a bucket without a foam cannon?

Yes. Put 1 to 2 ounces in the bucket and wash as normal. The cannon adds the foam dwell, but the bucket wash is where the SiO2 gets worked in.

What is the difference between Ceramic Snow and Cleanse?

Ceramic Snow leaves protection behind. Cleanse strips protection off. Use Cleanse the day you coat, and Ceramic Snow every wash after that.

Get Ceramic Snow

A wash that protects the car instead of undoing the last protection you put on it. The 16 ounce is the place to start. The gallon is the better buy if you wash every week.

Used in this guide Ceramic Snow SiO2 Infused Shampoo, 16 oz $19.99 · extreme foaming wash that leaves SiO2 protection and gloss behind every time, on coated and uncoated paint · 2 to 3 oz per foam cannon Add to cart Shop size Gallon, $64.99 · Dry with SLIQ · See details