Brand new car exterior prep work - what to do?

[nate704]

I did 2 stage paint correction, full car PPF and 2 coats of ceramic coating by myself.
2 stage paint correction is not necessary if it is a new car and the PPF will hide most of the imperfections and scratches anyway..
As for the ceramic coating. it is not for paint protection (well, it will provide temporary/short term protection against bird poop or any harmful chemicals on the paint surface) for chips and scratches. The main purpose of the ceramic coating is for the look and Hydrophobic Nature, Ease of Cleaning, but not by much.
$50-$100 (depending on brand/quality) bottle of ceramic coating will cover 2 cars and more (depending on how many coats), and it is easier than you think.

 

[Haydn31]

Did Opticoat Pro on my 2015 BMW. Still looks new, no maintenance.

 

[Wattsisname]

The more I read, the more I've been leaning towards the DIY PPF and then DIY ceramic on top. I got scared off a bit though from many of the first time DIYers who claimed it took a lot lot more time than they first thought.

I really have to make a decision. My car has been sitting in the garage for 2 weeks not being driven while I'm getting it prepped for the road.

Can you share where you ordered the pre-cut PPF from and did you do just the front or the entire car? I would love to be able to cover the front, mirrors, and rocker panels at least as they get the worst chips, scratches, and stuck on dirt.

There are some very useful Youtube videoed on DIY PPF and Ceramic coatings,

Most "high-end" coatings, like GTechniq are only sold to qualified detailing firms.
This maybe to create a mystique and protect the detailers.

The Bearded Tesla Guys tries everything; PPF and Ceramic and uploads good tutorials. In general, the smaller the bottle of Ceramic, the higher the price.

Oh to have a garage.

 

[Wattsisname]

I did 2 stage paint correction, full car PPF and 2 coats of ceramic coating by myself.
2 stage paint correction is not necessary if it is a new car and the PPF will hide most of the imperfections and scratches anyway..
As for the ceramic coating. it is not for paint protection (well, it will provide temporary/short term protection against bird poop or any harmful chemicals on the paint surface) for chips and scratches. The main purpose of the ceramic coating is for the look and Hydrophobic Nature, Ease of Cleaning, but not by much.
$50-$100 (depending on brand/quality) bottle of ceramic coating will cover 2 cars and more (depending on how many coats), and it is easier than you think

Excellent, Oh to have s garage!

 

[Eto Demerzel]

While my car is still new and dust free, was wondering what I should do to protect the paint from UV and rock chips and environmental contaminants.

1) Film wrap? Heard these were really expensive running into the thousands.

2) ceramic coating? Not as good as the film wrap but superior to wax.

3) simple wax?

I keep my cars forever and want to maintain that new car look for at least 15 years. Living in SoCal, we don’t get much rain but UV can easily fade a finish.

Any suggestions?

In socal and feel similar as well with long lasting cars.

wait a few months if you're going to ppf. Make sure the paint is fully cured. These cars are not sitting around on lots. They are fresh from the assembly line to your door.

wash and glaze, if you want the shine. Don't seal it with wax or other sealants right away.
After that, normal wash and wax. See how you feel about doing anything more.

In the meantime, tint might be top on a lot of owners minds. (Teslas already have UV protection all around but you may want more heat rejection properties and darker glass).

The most concerned I would be with are the head and taillights. Especially the upper facing surfaces.
I would never polish or compound the plastic. Clean and wax. Protect the plastic, don't cut into the surface. That's the only uv protection it has.
The roof and hood get it the worst, but the MY's roof being all glass and hood so short, there actually isn't so much directly sky facing paint.

ppf doesn't make sense for me. In socal, we have dozens of really great mobile repair shops that can fix any bumper in a couple hours for a couple hundred, and be a perfect match.
PPF isn't going to protect you from gouges or dings and dents, and the edges look like crap after years in the sun.
ppf is not cheap to remove either. It's very expensive to remove, in fact.

Smaller ppf sections might be good if you tend to scuff the rear bumper dragging stuff in and out or you wear rings and want door handle scuff protection, for example. I noticed tesla sells lower door pieces, since that flares out and debris from the front tires can hit it. Front flaps would minimize that but again, small ppf you can diy.

If I need it bumper repair, much prefer a factory fresh finish done in my driveway for a couple hundred. Which I've done, and it's great.

For socal, I've noticed the largest impact is from not cleaning off bird droppings and sap right away. 100f days, dropping acid and leaving it on a car isn't the best.
If you regularly wash and wax, there really isn't much more that you need to do honestly. Boring I know.

 

[Nubo]

It's always a compromise between cost, effort, and results. Everyone has their own personal sweet spot on the continuum. After many years I have settled on Nu Finish. It is cheap, ubiquitous, works surprisingly well and, more importantly, it's good enough.

 

[Eto Demerzel]

It's always a compromise between cost, effort, and results. Everyone has their own personal sweet spot on the continuum. After many years I have settled on Nu Finish. It is cheap, ubiquitous, works surprisingly well and, more importantly, it's good enough.

I use that on my truck. Price is right
Project Farm did some tests and I think Nu Finish did really well.
I also like Meguair's, 3M for quality waxes and car care products. I think you get great results and easy to work with.
(NF is also easy)

 

[Xpert]

wait a few months if you're going to ppf. Make sure the paint is fully cured. These cars are not sitting around on lots. They are fresh from the assembly line to your door.

from my readings, I think Paint should be fine for ppf, new cars are baked in super high temp oven at the manufacturer until cured. What you are saying is for repainting at body shops.

 

[Kokukenji]

from my readings, I think Paint should be fine for ppf, new cars are baked in super high temp oven at the manufacturer until cured. What you are saying is for repainting at body shops.

Yeps, should be fine to PPF a Tesla right upon receipt UNLESS you just got paint work done on that panel.

I got mine, attempted to PPF myself, failed, removed it, no issue to the paint. Ended up performing my own minor prep (wash/claybar/polish) and then took it to a shop to have them install PPF. Looked fine when I got it back. Did another wash/claybar/polish on the non ppfed panels and performed graphene coating on the entire car and during the rain this week, seeing beading and sheeting as it should.

Car looks like it's been washed and dried after parking in the garage after driving through the rain. Pretty impressive. First time having a car with a PPF and ceramic/graphene coated.

 

[Xpert]

Yeps, should be fine to PPF a Tesla right upon receipt UNLESS you just got paint work done on that panel.

I got mine, attempted to PPF myself, failed, removed it, no issue to the paint. Ended up performing my own minor prep (wash/claybar/polish) and then took it to a shop to have them install PPF. Looked fine when I got it back. Did another wash/claybar/polish on the non ppfed panels and performed graphene coating on the entire car and during the rain this week, seeing beading and sheeting as it should.

Car looks like it's been washed and dried after parking in the garage after driving through the rain. Pretty impressive. First time having a car with a PPF and ceramic/graphene coated.

I thought wash/claybar/polish is the hardest part, why didn't you install PPF yourself? isn't it just spreading soap and put it on like an iphone protector?

 

[Eto Demerzel]

from my readings, I think Paint should be fine for ppf, new cars are baked in super high temp oven at the manufacturer until cured. What you are saying is for repainting at body shops.

you think paint is cured instantly and no off gassing continues?
"new car smell" doesn't last forever because it's off-gassing new materials and takes time to release most of it.

removing giant sheets of sun baked ppf in 5-10 yrs doesn't sound fun. It'll cost at least half what you paid to put it on, and i'll be interested to see how many put up with the liability of pulling paint up with it. Have you seen old ppf pulled off cars? It's a mess. But that's someone else's problem...

 

[Wattsisname]

you think paint is cured instantly and no off gassing continues?
"new car smell" doesn't last forever because it's off-gassing new materials and takes time to release most of it.

removing giant sheets of sun baked ppf in 5-10 yrs doesn't sound fun. It'll cost at least half what you paid to put it on, and i'll be interested to see how many put up with the liability of pulling paint up with it. Have you seen old ppf pulled off cars? It's a mess. But that's someone else's problem...

Wow! A great ad for PPF. I have not seen this issue covered on Youtube but will be researching it.

Meanwhile, re the paint curing time, this is an international club and not all our car are fresh out of Freemont or Texas, or now, Berlin. RHD cars are made in Shanghai. Mine will have sat in a car park for a few weeks and then several more weeks on a ship before reaching my eager arms. So whatever ailed the paintwork was surely cured by then.