Beautiful job.
Cost for all the work?
Will you be forgoing a front NJ license plate?
I see more and more NJ tesla owners not installing them (despite the law).
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My PPF Journey
- Thread starter Joey D
- Start date
Cost for all the work?
Will you be forgoing a front NJ license plate?
I see more and more NJ tesla owners not installing them (despite the law).
$3500 PPF (on high risk areas), Ceramic Coating (entire car, including on PPF), and Rear widow and hatch Tinting.)
Good catch on the license plate.
I have decided to try forgoing it for now. However, I am purchasing a QuickBandit license plate holder (that I can put on and remove at will.) Reason: I don't want Tesla's "sticky tape" attached license plate holder attached to the PPF. (I'm concerned it won't hold or will start pulling the PPF.) So, if I get stopped I will play the "oh, I remove it when I wash the car...just forgot to put it back on card" and will keep the plate in my trunk. If it turns out I get stopped relatively often, I'll just leave the QuickBandit attached.
Yes, they won’t know you have ppf, the vandals going to pass by with a sharp object and disappear in a flash. I had Ppf on my white F83 and deterred vandals as well my RIP 22MYP had the matte ppf and didn’t know have any chips or keying from clown when I took the car out.
ChooseFreedom
Member
tradosaurus
Member
I did almost the same except I drove my new Tesla from the delivery center to the detail shopThought there might be others like me who are deciding whether or not to "protect the paint" on his/her car...so I figured I would let you all know what I'm doing and why. Maybe it will help others make a decision.
I recently took delivery of a Model S LR, Ultra Red. Like many, I then faced the question of to what degree (if any) should I protect the paint. My history with cars:
1) I have never installed PPF on any of my past vehicles (mine or wife's).
2) This Model S is the first vehicle I've purchased which cost more than $55K.
3) Historically, I purchase cars new or near new, and drive for 10-12 years.
4) The Model S will be my daily driver, including occasional 1000+ mile road trips.
5) I live in the Northeast USA...so there will be cold winters, road salt, etc.
6) This will not be a track car in any way
7) I like to keep my cars "clean" inside and out, though not super anal about it. This means (historically) regular washing at a local "car wash". Imperfections in appearance do tend to "bother me".
8) The car will be garaged when not in use.
I was on the fence about spending a few more thousand to have some amount of PPF installed. However, within a few weeks of delivery I my hood already developed a very small paint chip/nick. This has convinced me that just for peace of mind itself, I want some PPF protection.
After the typical research on-line and friends, I settled on an installer.
Auto Detailing New Jersey: Clear Bra (PPF) & Ceramic Coating
Premium Auto Detailing New Jersey. 5 Star Services: Clear Bra / Paint Protection Film, Paint Correction & Ceramic Coatings. Hillsborough NJ & NYC.signaturedetailing.com
I will be getting the following services:
- Basic paint prep (clean, one step correction, polish)
- PPF (Suntek Ultra) on typical surfaces: Front Bumper, Hood, Head lights and Fog Lights, Front Fenders, Rocker Panels, side view mirrors
- CQuartz Pro Ceramic Coating of entire car (PPF panels and non PPF Panels)
This seemed to me to be a good compromise between cost and protection price. Greg and his staff walked me through their process and options. They cut their own PPF, will wrap panels (tuck PPF around / underneath) where possible, and do not remove panels. (I prefer they do not remove panels) Some panels will have small visible edges at the corners, since the corners can't be wrapped "around." All makes sense, but the point is they make sure I know exactly what to expect before doing the job.
Not protection related, but I'll also have 20% tinting done on the rear windows and hatch. In NJ it is actually illegal to tint front windows and windshield to ANY degree...though many people still do it of course. Doing the rear will offer some UV protection inside the vehicle, while at 20% gives the "privacy glass" type appearance commonly found in many OEM delivered vehicles...including my past vehicle. I'm doing the tinting mainly or appearance reasons.
A few more comments:
1) SunTek Ultra should be a good choice of PPF since I want to enhance the Ultra Red paint / Glossy look. It has a 10 year warranty. The installers were up front and said to honestly expect it to last a few years less than that. They will deal with warranty work when the time comes assuming it is needed.
2) With the PPF I am committed to washing my car myself by hand rather than take it to a car wash. We'll see if I can keep to it...and I still have some concerns of how I will keep up in the winter time (freezing temps, road salt, etc.)
The car is in the shop as I type having the services performed. I'll post back with impressions and pictures in a few days once it is completed.
$3k to do what you did. The ceramic coating is an 8 yr
Man....I should have picked this color, the more i look at it, the more it's gravitating me to it.
I've never been fond of red or owned a red car. It is amazing work.
The ticket is $300 plus court appearance, not worth it in the end u less you have extra $300 to throw away. I installed the quick bandit on my Model Y. I won’t stick anything on the bumper.
tradosaurus
Member
Better than no ceramic coating. The detailer was able to paint correct a few factory paint defects.
tradosaurus
Member
Ceramic car coatings protect your car's clear coat from environmental damage and UV rays. Now is it worth it? That's for you to decide.
DIY ceramic coats for $100 -$200 may be worth it. Paying a detailer thousands, not worth it, especially if you PPF.
Also under a closed dust free environment. Most places use heat lamps for curing
I had laid $6k for Xpel satin ppf and $600 for 4 year Xpel fusion ceramic coating inside out including all wheels and windows. $3k for coating? Someone took you for a ride.
tradosaurus
Member
The key to a professional doing it is paint correction. That's the reason I paid someone to do it. For the 8 yr coating including paint correction I paid $900.
The PPF on the front was $1500.
Other shops (with good reviews) I called were similar in cost.
No one took me for any ride since I didn’t ceramic coat my Teslas. Where did the $3k come from?
I did ceramic coat my previous Audi. Cost me <$100 for the ceramic coat, $10 for the beer and some time, including the time it takes to orbital buff the car.
It doesn’t take a professional to operate an orbital buffer.
If you get a good PPF with hydrophobic properties, like STEK then ceramic coating is even less worth it. It’s easier to install PPF that offers the ceramic coating properties, then to add ceramic on top.
tradosaurus
Member
I agree. I have an orbital polisher and I've tried to paint correct but never can get it close to what a professional can do.
And there is no way in hell I would try to apply PPF myself.
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