DIY PPF and ceramic coated last weekend

[maximus96]

Followed the tutorials here, InvisibleMask

Bought the precut 3M "pro" kit on ebay for less than $300 and it turned out pretty good. It's a partial hood kit that included the bumper, fenders, lights and mirrors. I requested the seller to include tucked edges so the hood and fender parts could be wrapped around. The edges on the rest are exposed though so they will probably collect dirt eventually. I will need to be more vigilant with then cleaning. The tall and flat bumper is too much of a bug / debris / rock magnet so I'm pretty stoked for $300. There are some air bubbles that have started going away. I couldn't completely line up the tow hook cover but on a white car these things are hard to see when more than 2 feet away.

For the coating I used CQuartz UK. About $60 on amazon. Washed, decontaminated with Iron X, clay, polished with Chemical Guys V36 and V38, wiped down, 2x ceramic coat, and a topper next day. The good thing with picking up at Fremont is that the car didn't need to be transported. The Iron X normally reacts with embedded iron particles and turns purple but on the Y there was absolutely nothing.

 

[Reaction26]

Look great how much did the whole thing cost you and how many hours did it take?

 

[maximus96]

Look great how much did the whole thing cost you and how many hours did it take?

$300...took about 5 hours on saturday....bumper was the hardest and needed my wife to help peel off the backing and lay it on the car. the rest was not too bad.

Actually I didn't put on the headlights yet. I found streaks of something inside the lens on both lights so i'll see this thursday if the service center will replace them.

 

[bcs92]

Looks great! How difficult is the ceramic process? I've been considering doing that DIY rather than paying a shop. Is there much of a difference in the coatings vs those used by the detail shops? I know they advertise 5-10yr longevity depending on the coating.

 

[maximus96]

Looks great! How difficult is the ceramic process? I've been considering doing that DIY rather than paying a shop. Is there much of a difference in the coatings vs those used by the detail shops? I know they advertise 5-10yr longevity depending on the coating.

Ceramic coating was not hard, just time consuming. I watched this video before trying it on our other car last time,

I'm sure the pro version of the formula will last longer. The CQuartz costs less than $60 on amazon and is supposedly good for 2 years. I'm ok with re-doing it every 2 years.

 

[bcs92]

Great thanks!

 

[BMax_V.2]

Rocking cquartz UK 3.0 with Gliss top coat and DLux for wheels..

Loving it !

 

[tashtibet]

which one did you do first Ceramic or PPF?

 

[maximus96]

which one did you do first Ceramic or PPF?

ceramic on top of PPF. I read the other way won’t work.

 

[Falcon3]

Followed the tutorials here, InvisibleMask

Bought the precut 3M "pro" kit on ebay for less than $300 and it turned out pretty good. It's a partial hood kit that included the bumper, fenders, lights and mirrors. I requested the seller to include tucked edges so the hood and fender parts could be wrapped around. The edges on the rest are exposed though so they will probably collect dirt eventually. I will need to be more vigilant with then cleaning. The tall and flat bumper is too much of a bug / debris / rock magnet so I'm pretty stoked for $300. There are some air bubbles that have started going away. I couldn't completely line up the tow hook cover but on a white car these things are hard to see when more than 2 feet away.

For the coating I used CQuartz UK. About $60 on amazon. Washed, decontaminated with Iron X, clay, polished with Chemical Guys V36 and V38, wiped down, 2x ceramic coat, and a topper next day. The good thing with picking up at Fremont is that the car didn't need to be transported. The Iron X normally reacts with embedded iron particles and turns purple but on the Y there was absolutely nothing.
View attachment 549630 View attachment 549631 View attachment 549632

Great job. The trick to get out those small tiny bubbles is to take a small needle syringe, poke a hole at the edge of the bubble, and suck out the air. Once you suck out the air, you can run your finger on the bubble and make it dispensary. I also DIY my model 3 (bumputers, hood, front fenders, and all the doors), which saved me a ton of money. My front bumper has seen the most damage with all those road rocks hitting it. So glad I have PPF on it. I definitely recommend doing the hood. Gets a lot of rocks hitting it. It's pretty easy since it's super flat and you can cut the PPF near the end and tuck it under the hood which nobody whill really see. Once you do the hood, you will get comfortable with PPF.

A good discussion on this is here: Vendor - Tesla Model 3 | DIY Ceramic Coating

cheers and good luck!

 

[Falcon3]

ceramic on top of PPF. I read the other way won’t work.

Agreed. Think of Ceramic as a glass layer like a car wax to help with dirt sticking, glossing, and hydrophobic properties. Doesn't make sense to put the car wax before the PPF.

 

[maximus96]

Great job. The trick to get out those small tiny bubbles is to take a small needle syringe, poke a hole at the edge of the bubble, and suck out the air. Once you suck out the air, you can run your finger on the bubble and make it dispensary. I also DIY my model 3 (bumputers, hood, front fenders, and all the doors), which saved me a ton of money. My front bumper has seen the most damage with all those road rocks hitting it. So glad I have PPF on it. I definitely recommend doing the hood. Gets a lot of rocks hitting it. It's pretty easy since it's super flat and you can cut the PPF near the end and tuck it under the hood which nobody whill really see. Once you do the hood, you will get comfortable with PPF.

A good discussion on this is here: Vendor - Tesla Model 3 | DIY Ceramic Coating

cheers and good luck!

I bought a pack of these syringes for popping bubbles. The tip is super tiny. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NXY2LPF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Falcon3]

I bought a pack of these syringes for popping bubbles. The tip is super tiny. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NXY2LPF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

hopefully when you have friends over, they don't think you've turned into a drug addict.

 

[2020]

Not perfect, but acceptable. I've had numerous cars PPF'd in the past by professional installers. Very expensive. I am thinking of going your route this time and installing it myself. Was this a custom kit for the Model Y? Was it fairly straightforward?
Thanks

 

[maximus96]

Not perfect, but acceptable. I've had numerous cars PPF'd in the past by professional installers. Very expensive. I am thinking of going your route this time and installing it myself. Was this a custom kit for the Model Y? Was it fairly straightforward?
Thanks

yes, precut kit from ebay. i pretty much followed the videos that were made for the model 3

 

[Falcon3]

Not perfect, but acceptable. I've had numerous cars PPF'd in the past by professional installers. Very expensive. I am thinking of going your route this time and installing it myself. Was this a custom kit for the Model Y? Was it fairly straightforward?
Thanks

I bought bulk and did the cuts myself. Was cheaper for me. Still way cheaper than paying for a professional install. Thinking of it like putting a screen protector on your phone but with a car. LOL

 

[maximus96]

I bought bulk and did the cuts myself. Was cheaper for me. Still way cheaper than paying for a professional install. Thinking of it like putting a screen protector on your phone but with a car. LOL

how much was bulk and where did you buy it from? i'm thinking about doing the doors now and the ebay seller gave me a price of $290 for 4 doors.

 

[Falcon3]

how much was bulk and where did you buy it from? i'm thinking about doing the doors now and the ebay seller gave me a price of $290 for 4 doors.

I got mine from XPEL Paint Protection Film from PaintProtectionFilm.ca . I think the pricing depends on the PPF brand. I got Xpel. I know some suppliers will claim a certain brand and sell you something cheaper. just make sure if they are selling you Xpel, that they also give you the roll # too so you can claim it on xpel warranty if anything happens.

 

[BMax_V.2]

I attempted pre-cut 3M kit and it was smooth sail until I got to the front bumper and side mirrors, hell on earth.

I ended up taking it to the shop which installed Xpel. The installer say Xpel is the best, perfect amount of adhesive. They ended up doing a custom cut by hand over precut due to the seams and gap.

 

[Watts_Up]

Actually I didn't put on the headlights yet.
I found streaks of something inside the lens on both lights so i'll see this thursday if the service center will replace them.

I think the headlight cover protection is the first think that I would do, if anything else.