Thoughts on Paint Protection - Wrap, Ceramic, Teflon,...

[Southpaw78]

I plan on getting the front bumper and mirrors with PPF and the whole car ceramic coated including rims and calipers with Modesta. Likely BC-X for the body and whatever product they use for the wheels and black plastics (can't think of the names). It's going to run over $3k but with this being more of a weekend car and garage kept, I'm hoping it will last for a number of years.

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[dusman59]

Did you do the roof? How are your rear quarter panels doing?

When you say you had the “front” done, what was actually wrapped? Hood, bumper, and what else?

My roof is glass. The hood is 16 inches from front. Head lights,entire front bumper,front fenders 16 inches to match hood and front of mirrors. I have one really small chip on left A pillar which I wish I had protected. My rear quarter panels are mint with no chips as I installed Roush side spitters that keep the rash from the front wheels. We get so much granite here on the roadways to cover ground areas that seem to find your windshield everytime you go out.

 

[Interstellar]

My roof is glass. The hood is 16 inches from front. Head lights,entire front bumper,front fenders 16 inches to match hood and front of mirrors. I have one really small chip on left A pillar which I wish I had protected. My rear quarter panels are mint with no chips as I installed Roush side spitters that keep the rash from the front wheels. We get so much granite here on the roadways to cover ground areas that seem to find your windshield everytime you go out.

Do you have a link to the side splitters? Do you mean mud flaps or splitters? (Like the RTR ones that just came out)

 

[dusman59]

Do you have a link to the side splitters? Do you mean mud flaps or splitters? (Like the RTR ones that just came out)

https://www.amazon.com/2010-14-Rous...ocphy=9030036&hvtargid=pla-570358940318&psc=1

I used the GT500 rear mud flaps with these.

 

[Mazman]

The most important areas are the areas which your own tires impact, specially if you are planning to go with wider wheels and tires.

Rocker panels/lower portion of the doors and the portion of the fender in front and behind you rear wheels.

Next step is obviously the front bumper, head lights, hood, a-pillars and first 3-5 inches of the roof. If you do e.g XPEL they have an extended kit that will take care of all above mentioned areas apart from the area in front of the rear wheel (but your PPF guy/gal can print that easily)

You can treat the PPF with most consumer product with regards to sealants/ ceramic coatings best to check or do a small portion and see the result. But I would do PPF from day one if you are going that route. I have done ceramic, sealant etc on my PPFs without any issues!

Only thing to consider depending on the edge work on the PPF is
- when going over the car with pressure washer don't spray directly on the edge(specially close distance) if it is not folded around the panel
- if you are polishing tape over the edge so you don't lift the film with the pad and also preventing compound/polish to get stuck behind the film.

I have had PPF on my last cars with the areas mentioned above and they have all looked like new in the paint when selling. However I am a amature DYI:er with a (large)teaspoon of OCD so my cars look good in general .

As for DYI ceramic coating I highly recommend Gyeon Evo Syncro (have a video on when I applied on my MX5). I can almost bet there is no other ceramic coating that is easier to apply. However as with everything the preparation is key, washing steps, chemical/mechanical decon, polish etc before applying anything that is semi permanent as e.g ceramic coating. Also planning your time as it will take some time.

Having PPF treated with e.g. ceramic coating the bugs will come of really easy. Also having PPF there is no worry that something will etch into you paint. However with that said it will be much easier to remove bugs on a treated paint.

One thing to consider with ceramic coating is that if you do get a lighter scratch and if it needs to be polished out you would have to polish the whole panel ensuring you are leveling/removing the ceramic coating and the would have to re-apply the ceramic coating. Removing the ceramic coating can be a bit of a pain depending how hard and how thick the layer is.

Also a ceramic coating is not magic however what I like about ceramic coatings is that it last much much longer than e.g. a wax, spray ond sealants specially if you use stronger degreasers during e.g winter time. When first applied a good spray on sealant and a ceramic coating will behave quite similar. But the base protection of ceramic coating is far superior even after a short time in my opinion.

 

[Aramis76]

The reason it's so popular is because it's so much lower maintenance than wax. And it's a better shine, lasts longer, is more durable than wax, applies easier (especially after the first coat), and cleans easier. But some are better than others for sure.

Lower maintenance? Sure if you garage your ceramic treated car all the time.
Leave it out in the rain a few days and you'll be going crazy trying to get the water spots out.
Then you'll have to buy special products to get them out, then a renew and it never ends.

Where regular wax, you can just reapply the same product when you feel like it.

To each their own i guess, but i did ceramic once, everyone said it was low maintenance and it was great, but when i had the water spots, then they all started saying "well yeah, you have to dry it off after rain, now you need this and that product to clear it out etc".

Never again.

 

[Mastermind46]

I started to get quotes for front facing ceramic coating and for full hood, fenders, bumpers, lighting, and mirrors the prices are rough $2000 to $2200 in Denver from the more reputable shops. Another $500 for ceramic window tint. I plan to do a complete paint correction at home before getting the PPF and then apply a ceramic coating when I get it back.

Roughly 48 hours to complete the tinting and PPF at the shop. It will be another 2 days for me to complete the rest. This really is quite an investment in both time and money. I also am a home DIYer so I am not concerned with reapplying the ceramic a bit more frequently than a professionally applied coating.

For those who want more protection, a couple of the shops recommended a bit more protection.
All of the items above and:

· A-Pillars
· Partial Roof Strip
· Lower Doors (where applicable)
· Rocker Panels
· Lower Rear Bumper Impact Area (right behind the rear tire)

This came out to ~$3000.

 

[erocker]

I'll get a partial front PPF and a detail. I'll do the ceramic coating myself... Way to expensive for what is it and the labor involved. Not worth it as applying a good ceramic coat isn't difficult.

 

[rkmustang]

I got my first quote back, seemed kind of high. $2600 for the Front End PPF (Hood, bumper, fenders, lights and mirrors). $1k for Paint correction, and $1k for Ceramic on the rest of the car. Going to check a few more shops.

 

[unfairslide]

Posted this before but here's my estimate for anyone who's curious about price.

 

[donnytsunami]

Ceramic coating is a must for me. Just makes cleaning 100x easier and offers enough paint protection. Ppf is a bit overkill IMO unless you track the car or drive it a lot on the freeway when there’s traffic

 

[Pyroguy]

Thanks for all the info. It sounds like most of you do some kind of protection, PPF or ceramic. I'm concerned about protecting my Blue Ember, and leaning toward ceramic. I never did any of this before, so I'm going to do some more research.

 

[marcekb]

Thanks for all the info. It sounds like most of you do some kind of protection, PPF or ceramic. I'm concerned about protecting my Blue Ember, and leaning toward ceramic. I never did any of this before, so I'm going to do some more research.

I've done ceramic for years as it's gotten better and better, and love it. Doing full front end (high gloss ceramic coated) PPF this time and ceramic full car, because that paint chips so easily. With full interior tint as well, my bill is $3950 with 10-year warranty. It's a lot, but well worth it to me. Should look great for years I expect. Hope I don't get hit by someone after all that. . Anyone know if insurance reimburses that stuff?

 

[RJV15]

I understand that people love ceramic coat, but the prices are insane!
You can find ceramic coat kits for <100 bucks.

Honestly, the entire car enthusiast market is out of whack. Detailers are charging hundreds for details, shops charging thousands for ppf.

The whole point of PPF it to protect the paint, and some shops are charging enough where you could repaint the car twice over!

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[unfairslide]

I understand that people love ceramic coat, but the prices are insane!
You can find ceramic coat kits for <100 bucks.

Honestly, the entire car enthusiast market is out of whack. Detailers are charging hundreds for details, shops charging thousands for ppf.

The whole point of PPF it to protect the paint, and some shops are charging enough where you could repaint the car twice over!

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Aside from blue ember I agree with you and it's why I decided to only ppf the bumper. Most colors will be cheaper to repaint but at the same time I understand the ppf. While it's easy to repaint you will have to live with the chips until you do, and who's to say you don't get another chip the week you get repainted?

My best advice is to cover as much as you can afford, or at least as much as you care about. Some people don't mind chips and others care more about their paint than woman do their skin all I know is from my use and looking how my current car is, a front bumper ppf and ceramic coat on the rest is enough. If I had the money of course I'd cover the whole thing but at the end of the day I'd rather spend it on performance not paint.

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