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Dropped off for Xpel Ceramic coating
- Thread starter tfraley
- Start date
That’s a thought... I was trying to make sure you didn’t notice any lines from where the PPF stops. I figured doing the whole front end and then wrapping it around the panels a little it would basically be invisible. Also I’m hoping to protect from swirls and I feel like the hood is a huge “flat” area that swirls would be really noticeable on.
Does ceramic coating protect from that?
I was going to do PPF for the full front and then either have them do ceramic on the rest of the car, or do that myself. I was also going to have them do a full tint on the car for about $1600. Now since I can’t have PPF applied on top of a ceramic (makes sense) and it doesn’t sound like there is an easy way to remove the ceramic coating, I’m debating if I skip the tint and see if ~$3000 will get me a PPF on the full car... then maybe at the start of next summer get a full tint or just buy the Tesla sun shades and see if that’ll be enough.
I’ve never tinted my previous vehicles but I’ve never had so much glass as the Model 3...
I also know AC takes for less electricity than heat, so during the summer there might actually not be much of a range hit due to the heat...
@acarney
I didn't get tint and I'm in SoCal, The fact you can pre-cool your car I do that like15min before I leave work and it's fine.
Dons't take much battery to do it. I like the open feeling in the car which is why I didn't want to tint and make it feel darker.
as for the PPF I would of done it but I'm loving the M3 and wish I got the performance so my plan is to trade it in, in a year or two if I still feel the same way. So didn't want to put to much money into it. becasue you can't get that money back.
PPF will protect from small scratches rocks.. Ceramic won't. Ceramic will help with fading from sun, bird poop, etching things like that while making it easier to clean. It's for sure a different type of protection. People who have the money Will do both for best of both worlds.
I didn't get tint and I'm in SoCal, The fact you can pre-cool your car I do that like15min before I leave work and it's fine.
Dons't take much battery to do it. I like the open feeling in the car which is why I didn't want to tint and make it feel darker.
as for the PPF I would of done it but I'm loving the M3 and wish I got the performance so my plan is to trade it in, in a year or two if I still feel the same way. So didn't want to put to much money into it. becasue you can't get that money back.
PPF will protect from small scratches rocks.. Ceramic won't. Ceramic will help with fading from sun, bird poop, etching things like that while making it easier to clean. It's for sure a different type of protection. People who have the money Will do both for best of both worlds.
Lol seems like every thread Nowa days goes off on a tangent,
Broken record, this thread was to be about Xpel Ceramic
Broken record, this thread was to be about Xpel Ceramic
That looks very nice! I don’t know if tint shops get a lot of people complaining it’s not dark enough or what, but they always want to go as dark as possible when I talk to them and most the cars they are working on to point to as an example are going as dark as possible. (About 20% in WA).
I don’t want to feel closed in. I like how much glass the Model 3 has, I just would like some heat rejection and a little more style.
How’s it holding up? Any swirls so far? Is it supposed to be hard enough to use automatic car washes or anything like that?
The main reason our clients get light tint, is privacy. Only a shadow can be seen inside the vehicle. Another reason is appearance. Tinting your windows changes the way the car looks. We are in Fremont and a lot of people drive Teslas. They all look the same.
I plan to do another wash this weekend, Along with trying out The Xpel booster.
Only did the initial wash after application last weekend
sneakypotato
Member
Hey guys,
Just a quick update.
So I did my second wash it did the same strange thing as the first.
It almost seems like the hydrophobic coating is so good that when washing off the foam (chemical guys foam)
It seems as though the water beads off super fast and leaves the soap behind comes right off right after but again seems like the water beads off faster than the foam.
I used Xpel booster. I really couldn't tell much of a difference from just the ceramic to the booster. It didn't look or feel any slicker if anything it may of felt less slicker.
Xpel booster is applied sprayed on then wiped off according to the directions you do not let it dry on.
I may give it another week or two but I may want to try something else so I have something else to compare to.
Just a quick update.
So I did my second wash it did the same strange thing as the first.
It almost seems like the hydrophobic coating is so good that when washing off the foam (chemical guys foam)
It seems as though the water beads off super fast and leaves the soap behind comes right off right after but again seems like the water beads off faster than the foam.
I used Xpel booster. I really couldn't tell much of a difference from just the ceramic to the booster. It didn't look or feel any slicker if anything it may of felt less slicker.
Xpel booster is applied sprayed on then wiped off according to the directions you do not let it dry on.
I may give it another week or two but I may want to try something else so I have something else to compare to.
Have you seen any swirls showing up on parts of the body that has the ceramic coating?
Oh, I thought the ceramic was supposed to help protect against swirls...
Sounds like I'll skip the ~$1200 for the coating and instead invest that in more PPF. I plan to do the full front as soon as I get the car (at $1650) and then maybe in the spring do the doors if I can afford it and then maybe finally the rear of the car. The car is usually kept in pretty good condition so I'm not tooooo worried about non-leading edges getting messed up with my daily ~8 mile low speed drive... I mainly want nice and easy washing without creating swirls. Maybe I'm a horrible person, but I don't really want to spend hours and hours every couple weeks cleaning the car. I just want to foam cannon, pressure wash, and then whip dry. Maybe when I need a nice gloss enhancer spray but that's it
@acarney
I hear you I would do PPF if I planed to keep mine longer.
Lots of people will do PPF then put ceramic over it. Best of both worlds
Sounds like you have a good plan. But your correct cermic will not stop swirls it will make it easier to clean. Which will help you with avoiding swirls but not prevent it. It stops things from sticking to the paint. so less if not no scrubbing but no protection from rocks and swirls
I hear you I would do PPF if I planed to keep mine longer.
Lots of people will do PPF then put ceramic over it. Best of both worlds
Sounds like you have a good plan. But your correct cermic will not stop swirls it will make it easier to clean. Which will help you with avoiding swirls but not prevent it. It stops things from sticking to the paint. so less if not no scrubbing but no protection from rocks and swirls
jebinc
Well-Known Member
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