No PPF but Ceramic Coat?

[adhoc]

I skipped PPF and got a 9 year ceramic coat. Very happy with the results. 2000 miles of driving and no chips. I think I've washed the car twice and it looks great. I haven't used a sponge or done any scrubbing. Just foam blade, rinse, and leaf blower dry off.

very good results!

I see your in LA,
what was the ceramic coat brand?
and if you'd share, who did the work
and how much was the charge!

again, beautiful results!

 

[dek526]

i had my car ceramic coated with ceramic pro ... iirc i got the silver package. completed by 5 star auto spa. contact ed as his pricing will depend on how much prep work he has to do. best part is that he’s mobile

 

[MosquitoFloss]

very good results!

I see your in LA,
what was the ceramic coat brand?
and if you'd share, who did the work
and how much was the charge!

again, beautiful results!

I went to Concours In Torrance. They’re the one’s offering a Group buy for various packages. Check on their site for package pricing. What I got was in the $1200 range if I recall. It included paint correction, and they were perfectionists about the whole process. When I did my post-work check up a week later, they saw something I couldn’t even see and asked to redo a portion of the hood.
Good dudes.
The brand was Gtechniq. Ultra Coat Premium, or something like that.

 

[Brian's ReX]

With respect: I do get amused when I read about those that had rock damage through their PPF, and follow it up with a version of "it did no good".

I was lucky enough to be at the Auto Salon that did my PPF and coating, and saw with my own eyes a BMW that had only half of the hood PPF'd originally. (never understood only doing half... the line is unsightly, in my opinion)

I got there after they had removed the PPF, but before it went to the paint shop, I assume. If I remember correctly, I was told the BMW driver was behind a truck on the highway that had a bunch of gravel or something just fall out of the back... something like that. Nonetheless, there was quite a bit of damage to the front of the car, as well as a nicely cracked windshield. However, you could clearly see the difference between the two halves of the hood. The unprotected upper portion had chips that were quite visible... but the front, which had PPF (Expel, I think) had what I would call 'divots'. Only noticeable due to the black paint, probably.

IMHO, those that don't have PPF, and/or have removed said PPF for any number of reasons, and say they 'haven't had any issues' without the PPF are simply lucky. I see protection as a form of insurance: glad to have it when needed... but I hope it's never needed! Peace of mind is worth it. For me, at least.

If someone had a large rock hit a protected (read: PPF'd) portion of their vehicle, and there was damage to the paint... I don't think you can truly argue the fact that the damage would have been worse (probably much) had it not been protected.

 

[adhoc]

I went to Concours In Torrance. They’re the one’s offering a Group buy for various packages. Check on their site for package pricing. What I got was in the $1200 range if I recall. It included paint correction, and they were perfectionists about the whole process. When I did my post-work check up a week later, they saw something I couldn’t even see and asked to redo a portion of the hood.
Good dudes.
The brand was Gtechniq. Ultra Coat Premium, or something like that.

thanks for the info!
you mentioned "9 year"
is that a literal expectation of life?
what would happen if you hand washed?

 

[paulvinh]

View attachment 322499 i had my car ceramic coated with ceramic pro ... iirc i got the silver package. completed by 5 star auto spa. contact ed as his pricing will depend on how much prep work he has to do. best part is that he’s mobile

Does he paint correct too?

Im thinking front bumper PPF and ceramic coat whole car.

 

[dek526]

Does he paint correct too?

Im thinking front bumper PPF and ceramic coat whole car.

yes sir! let him know derek referred you

 

[MosquitoFloss]

thanks for the info!
you mentioned "9 year"
is that a literal expectation of life?
what would happen if you hand washed?

I believe it's an expectation of life and part of the guarantee.
I think there are 3, 5, 7, and 9 year products. For all I know it could be the same stuff, but that's what they claim. Should hold up to hand washing, but I haven't felt the need to do any kind of scrubbing. I know that to remove a small patch of the treated ceramic area, to apply the PPF that they put between the car's paint and my HOV lane sticker, they needed to use a special chemical to remove the ceramic coating so the PPF would adhere to the paint.

 

[aydyn]

I skipped PPF and got a 9 year ceramic coat. Very happy with the results. 2000 miles of driving and no chips. I think I've washed the car twice and it looks great. I haven't used a sponge or done any scrubbing. Just foam blade, rinse, and leaf blower dry off.

You’ve been very lucky but I would caution people reading your post Toni derstand that ceramic does absolutely nothing to prevent chips. There is a reason PPF exists there is simply no coating that adds similar protection.

 

[derkan]

OP, I also opted for ceramic coating without PPF. I was more worried about making the car look shiny and clean (and ease of washing) than protecting from chips. I should note that little chips don't bother me much and are mostly not noticeable (especially to others) from a distance, so I consider them battle scars. The ceramic coating seems to have brought out the depth of the midnight silver metallic paint and it looks sparklier. I was told it protects the color to some degree, especially red. I went with Ceramic Pro "Gold Ultimate Package" (lifetime warranty) and I agree with the other posters who mentioned that pro shops can do paint correction very well. I took my car in as soon as I took delivery and they found LOTS of halos, swirls, little scratches, droplets etc on the paint and fixed ALL of them (I had only noticed a handful). Now, looking at it with a strong LED light, I can see no imperfections, nothing, nada.
I went to Ultimate Custom Car Care in OC and couldn't be happier. I also take my MX there.

 

[dek526]

You’ve been very lucky but I would caution people reading your post Toni derstand that ceramic does absolutely nothing to prevent chips. There is a reason PPF exists there is simply no coating that adds similar protection.

yes the ceramic coat does NOT protect against rock chips. people should understand that it only makes washing/drying easier.

the longer the warranty period just simply means more coats of the coating

 

[paulvinh]

yes sir! let him know derek referred you

Is this the one in El Monte?

 

[paulvinh]

yes the ceramic coat does NOT protect against rock chips. people should understand that it only makes washing/drying easier.

the longer the warranty period just simply means more coats of the coating

Does it protect from swirl marks? And keeps it shiny

 

[dek526]

Does it protect from swirl marks? And keeps it shiny

no he’s based out of OC but he’s mobile. yes it will help with swirl marks to a certain extent. it does bring out depth in the paint. real protection is ppf but a ceramic coating helps make washing easier as the paint beads like crazy thus reducing the effort required to dry and helps minimize spider webbing. a yearly topping is required to maintain the warranty for my ceramic pro so it isn’t totally maintenance free. ed is cool and you can contact him for any more detailed questions you have.

Five Star Auto Spa - Laguna Niguel, CA

 

[Brian's ReX]

My experience has been that the coating makes the surface of the paint so slippery that dirt hardly adheres to it. So, even though I've had my coating for about a month, I've only had to wash the vehicle once in that time.

And I'm kind of a 'freak' about keeping my things shiny and clean!

Before the coating, I was washing more than once a week.

 

[phtp]

I would wrap the front end. If you're a DIY like myself, it's pretty easy to apply PPF which would save you a lot of money. Especially the front hood since it's mostly flat. I used Expel. I'm also DIY-ing the Ceramic coat on top of the PPF.

Where are you getting the material from in Canada? Xpel, Suntek, 3M or something else?

 

[voip-ninja]

The biggest problem I see with ceramic is that it will still eventually scratch and it has to be sanded off if you want to do a full reapplication or change products.

I just don’t know that I can make the jump to ceramic.

 

[Falcon3]

Where are you getting the material from in Canada? Xpel, Suntek, 3M or something else?

I bought it from XPEL Paint Protection Film from PaintProtectionFilm.ca

 

[java]

On my Model S that I had, I did ceramic coating but not PPF due to cost.

On my Model 3, I did ceramic coating and a "mini" PPF, which just covers front bumper, headlights, and side mirrors, as those are the areas most likely to get rock chips or other damage. The mini PPF cost was more in-line with what I was willing to pay.

Where did you get it done? I'm in the Houston area and looking for recommendations.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Where did you get it done? I'm in the Houston area and looking for recommendations.

Vive Auto Detailing Houston, TX | Nano Ceramic Coating Houston, TX