Is it bad to get PPF now and ceramic coating later?

[Hank Hill]

I'm getting my car wrapped in Expel PPF. I was planning on getting ceramic coating a bit down the line but the shop is recommending I get it done along with the PPF right from the get go (just because of the full protection and how easy it is to clean). They're definitely not being pushy about it though, which I appreciate.

I mostly wanted to put it off just because it's a lot of money to me, and I'm still getting over paying thousands for my PPF. Was wondering if anyone had insight/experience on getting ceramic pro coating some time after PPF.

 

[Jkwan]

You can do it yourself and save some money. There are so many DIY products such as AvalonKing | Quality Automotive Ceramic Coating Products

 

[maximus96]

if you're wrapping the whole car with PPF, you should definitely look into DIY ceramic coating. It'd be really easy since there will be no paint prep involved, which is the majority of the cost for shop-applied coating.

 

[Hank Hill]

if you're wrapping the whole car with PPF, you should definitely look into DIY ceramic coating. It'd be really easy since there will be no paint prep involved, which is the majority of the cost for shop-applied coating.

This is helpful to know, thanks. Do you happen to have any brand recommendations?

You can do it yourself and save some money. There are so many DIY products such as AvalonKing | Quality Automotive Ceramic Coating Products

Will look into this, thanks!

 

[JHCCAZ]

I got my car wrapped soon after purchase, despite my initial thought that it was a crazy expense! The film used was a type that includes the ceramic-infused top layer and apparently does not need a subsequent topcoat. If desired, the liquid coating product can additionally be applied and they would have been happy to take my money for doing it, but they told me it wasn't really needed with this newer ceramic PPF. As far as I can tell it should last a long time as the ceramic layer is essentially bonded as part of the film, and not simply equivalent to a factory application of the liquid ceramic-coat product.

All the further comments should be taken as my impressions. I don't present myself as a great expert, just as a customer who went through a similar decision process recently.

In searching just now, it looks like Xpel's premium PPF is Ultimate Plus and I don't see that they're claiming it to include the ceramic layer. They have their Fusion Plus ceramic coating that they would obviously recommend as a companion product, but I think you cannot buy it as a retail product, it's for the shop application. I don't know enough to say that it would be any better for Xpel PPF then another quality brand of ceramic coat. You can buy an Xpel product called Ceramic Boost that is really intended to go over an already ceramic coated paint or PPF surface. It has good reviews including people who seem to have used it directly on PPF.

I also found a recommendation from 2018 that CeramicPro is the best coating on top of Xpel ultimate Plus PPF, but that was from a shop that obviously sold both, and I think a year before Xpel came out with their own Fusion Plus product.

Overall, my impression is that you could wait a while before doing any ceramic treatment, but the advantage of doing it right away is mainly that it would take a little less effort to clean the entire car before the application. Since you're in LA and you have a lot of sun, I would not wait more than a few months, in order to get the most benefit from the ceramic topcoat over the fresh PPF.

I think if I were in your place and you think the PPF guys are being straight with you, then you should just ask them if there's any downside to doing it yourself, and if you do are there any products which are more recommended, or products that are best to avoid in case you want their professional coating later. Also be ready for them to offer you a better deal on the coating when they sense that you're about to dtive away without it.

 

[Hank Hill]

I got my car wrapped soon after purchase, despite my initial thought that it was a crazy expense! The film used was a type that includes the ceramic-infused top layer and apparently does not need a subsequent topcoat. If desired, the liquid coating product can additionally be applied and they would have been happy to take my money for doing it, but they told me it wasn't really needed with this newer ceramic PPF. As far as I can tell it should last a long time as the ceramic layer is essentially bonded as part of the film, and not simply equivalent to a factory application of the liquid ceramic-coat product.

All the further comments should be taken as my impressions. I don't present myself as a great expert, just as a customer who went through a similar decision process recently.

In searching just now, it looks like Xpel's premium PPF is Ultimate Plus and I don't see that they're claiming it to include the ceramic layer. They have their Fusion Plus ceramic coating that they would obviously recommend as a companion product, but I think you cannot buy it as a retail product, it's for the shop application. I don't know enough to say that it would be any better for Xpel PPF then another quality brand of ceramic coat. You can buy an Xpel product called Ceramic Boost that is really intended to go over an already ceramic coated paint or PPF surface. It has good reviews including people who seem to have used it directly on PPF.

I also found a recommendation from 2018 that CeramicPro is the best coating on top of Xpel ultimate Plus PPF, but that was from a shop that obviously sold both, and I think a year before Xpel came out with their own Fusion Plus product.

Overall, my impression is that you could wait a while before doing any ceramic treatment, but the advantage of doing it right away is mainly that it would take a little less effort to clean the entire car before the application. Since you're in LA and you have a lot of sun, I would not wait more than a few months, in order to get the most benefit from the ceramic topcoat over the fresh PPF.

I think if I were in your place and you think the PPF guys are being straight with you, then you should just ask them if there's any downside to doing it yourself, and if you do are there any products which are more recommended, or products that are best to avoid in case you want their professional coating later. Also be ready for them to offer you a better deal on the coating when they sense that you're about to dtive away without it.

Wow this is super helpful, thank you. Yeah they were saying that they would be using CeramicPro. They're quoting me an extra $900 to add the ceramic coating during the PPF process. I am not sure if that's excessive or not. Obviously more expensive that D.I.Y... I told them I needed some time to think about it and they fully understood and that I could even wait until I drop off my car to decide whether or not I wanted to add it on.

 

[JHCCAZ]

Wow this is super helpful, thank you. Yeah they were saying that they would be using CeramicPro. They're quoting me an extra $900 to add the ceramic coating during the PPF process. I am not sure if that's excessive or not. Obviously more expensive that D.I.Y... I told them I needed some time to think about it and they fully understood and that I could even wait until I drop off my car to decide whether or not I wanted to add it on.

Sorry I can't comment on whether $900 is a normal price, as I did not have to do the ceramic coat. I don't think the price even came up when we discussed it since they weren't pushing for it.

 

[Hank Hill]

Sorry I can't comment on whether $900 is a normal price, as I did not have to do the ceramic coat. I don't think the price even came up when we discussed it since they weren't pushing for it.

no worries all the information you provided was still immensely helpful. given me a lot to think about.

 

[thesmokingman]

I'm getting my car wrapped in Expel PPF. I was planning on getting ceramic coating a bit down the line but the shop is recommending I get it done along with the PPF right from the get go (just because of the full protection and how easy it is to clean). They're definitely not being pushy about it though, which I appreciate.

I mostly wanted to put it off just because it's a lot of money to me, and I'm still getting over paying thousands for my PPF. Was wondering if anyone had insight/experience on getting ceramic pro coating some time after PPF.

Nah you don't have to get them together. They probably want you to do it together cuz $$. They're obviously not mutually exclusive.

I also had my PFF professionally done because well I didn't want to deal with that ordeal. However doing Ceramic is a bit easier so that I tackled myself. Got a cheap kit off amazon and dusted off the oribital. It took my a couple days, 6-8 hours of cutting and buffing. Since I got the cheaper product I got a few bottles and did everything, glass, trim, wheels, all the plastic etc etc. I even did the frunk and trunk, door sills... so you could go crazy. Then I did my other cars lol.

 

[pusheen]

PPF and ceramic coating aren't for everybody. It just depends on how much you want your car to look shiny and new. The values of PPF & ceramic coating are different for everyone.

With PPF, it's important you get it installed by a shop that'll honor the warranty, and make sure you get it in writing. This way for things that don't self-heal, you take the car in and they'll run a heat gun through it and make everything looking new again. Or if they can't fix it, they'll replace the film, because that's part of the warranty. Just don't take verbal "ok yes we'll cover the warranty", get it in writing and PPF can be well worth the price. My SunTek Ultra PPF comes with 10-year warranty that my detail shop covers

What shop did your PPF? I'm in Seattle and looking for a place to wrap my MY when it gets delivered in a few months. I was hoping to get a PPF that would give it a satin finish. Would you recommend the SunTek after using it for a while?

 

[Pumxee]

To the OP! I own a Vinyl Wrap and PPF studio in Calgary and can give you some more info. Ceramic is certainly something you can do on your own.

However, considering you've paid for a professional PPF job, I would recommend having the shop do the Ceramic as well. Over the counter products such as those available on amazon are nowhere near as effective or long-lasting compared to dealers-only products like P2Graphene and CeramicPro. These products are very very very easy to mess up during the application process and take quite a bit of time and effort to apply. This is what the high price point is for. That said, I think that $900 is excessive when being applied post PPF. Hence, I'd advise you to negotiate it down to $600 if possible.

If you'd rather go the DIY route, I'd recommend Cquartz Pro UK 3. It is a cheap and easy product to apply. Shouldn't cost more than $80 or so and is a very forgiving product in case you mess up! Do it in a warm area and not outside.

 

[CaptainCrunchy]

@OP what shop did you go to? I'm taking delivery in the next week or so and want PPF asap

 

[kc1953]

Wow this is super helpful, thank you. Yeah they were saying that they would be using CeramicPro. They're quoting me an extra $900 to add the ceramic coating during the PPF process. I am not sure if that's excessive or not. Obviously more expensive that D.I.Y... I told them I needed some time to think about it and they fully understood and that I could even wait until I drop off my car to decide whether or not I wanted to add it on.

The cost of ceramic coating depends on how many coats are applied. $900 sounds like one coat. I had my Y ceramic coated for $2k, but that was with 5 layers. 1 layer was about $900. I got the higher end application because I didn’t do PPF and I wanted more protection/longer duration.

 

[Hank Hill]

@OP what shop did you go to? I'm taking delivery in the next week or so and want PPF asap

All in One Auto, USA (on Sepulveda). I haven't gotten everything done just yet, my scheduled dropoff is next Tuesday. They have been very helpful though, and have answered all my questions. I honestly think I've been a bit annoying with all the questions I've been asking but they've been great so far.

The cost of ceramic coating depends on how many coats are applied. $900 sounds like one coat. I had my Y ceramic coated for $2k, but that was with 5 layers. 1 layer was about $900. I got the higher end application because I didn’t do PPF and I wanted more protection/longer duration.

Ahhhh this is good to know. I didn't even know they typically came in multi layer packages like that.

To the OP! I own a Vinyl Wrap and PPF studio in Calgary and can give you some more info. Ceramic is certainly something you can do on your own.

However, considering you've paid for a professional PPF job, I would recommend having the shop do the Ceramic as well. Over the counter products such as those available on amazon are nowhere near as effective or long-lasting compared to dealers-only products like P2Graphene and CeramicPro. These products are very very very easy to mess up during the application process and take quite a bit of time and effort to apply. This is what the high price point is for. That said, I think that $900 is excessive when being applied post PPF. Hence, I'd advise you to negotiate it down to $600 if possible.

If you'd rather go the DIY route, I'd recommend Cquartz Pro UK 3. It is a cheap and easy product to apply. Shouldn't cost more than $80 or so and is a very forgiving product in case you mess up! Do it in a warm area and not outside.

Oof yeah this is invaluable. Thanks for this. I think I'm going to leave the ceramic to the professional. They informed me they would be using CeramicPro. Not sure if I'll try to negotiate down... honestly I feel like I've been overloading them with questions and they've been super accommodating haha. At this point, with their patience, I think I'm happy to give them my business.

 

[Pumxee]

All in One Auto, USA (on Sepulveda). I haven't gotten everything done just yet, my scheduled dropoff is next Tuesday. They have been very helpful though, and have answered all my questions. I honestly think I've been a bit annoying with all the questions I've been asking but they've been great so far.


Ahhhh this is good to know. I didn't even know they typically came in multi layer packages like that.


Oof yeah this is invaluable. Thanks for this. I think I'm going to leave the ceramic to the professional. They informed me they would be using CeramicPro. Not sure if I'll try to negotiate down... honestly I feel like I've been overloading them with questions and they've been super accommodating haha. At this point, with their patience, I think I'm happy to give them my business.

No worries at all and do not for one second hesitate to ask questions. They are your provider and it is their job to make sure you fully understand what you are paying for. Asking questions is part of your diligence process and answering them is part of theirs!