PPF or not PPF

[DayTrippin]

Yes, I did look into Llumar. In the end I think the installer is the most important part when talking about the top level films. Xpel clearly yellows the worst of the top and has more an orange peel effect.

I went with STEK as the hydrophobicity seems to last the longest. I am totally against Xpel now that they changed the warranty earlier this year. IF you choose to ceramic coat over their film, if you don't use their ceramic coating they can (likely will) void your warranty. So a hard pass for me.

 

[DayTrippin]

Very true. What’s the end game? Are you preserving the car so that years down the road you plan to take it off and enjoy it then? Are you preserving it for the next owner?

Recently a friend and fellow car guy said you never get the value of PPF dollars on the back end. Dealerships won’t pay you for PPF on trade - rock chips are the norm in their world as part of the typical wear and tear. But again I say that I’m glad people have the option and can vote with their dollars if they choose to.

Almost no added value on resale. I knew that going in. For me the time savings and keeping the car looking nice, and longer, were key drivers. Not to mention I've seen how bad cars can get beat up at the strip and track. Since I planned to do track events with mine, there was another reason to do it.

Everyone has a different use case. If Tesla paint wasn't truly so crappy, I might never have done anything but the bumper and maybe hood. Then with the S and its wide haunches, the front of the rear quarter panels just get sandblasted. You know it is bad when the factory actually puts PPF there...

 

[CTruck_BMW]

To me, it’s simple…. I don’t track my cars, and the reason I got full PPF is to enjoy a scratch-free car with self-healing properties. The dark blue paint shows scratches like nothing else, and it’s really worth it for me to always look at the car and see a perfect gloss free of scratch.

If I accidentally use a dirty sponge to clean the car and induce scratches, I simple pour a bucket of hot water carefully on the hood or panels and it’s all crystal clear again; or I simply park it under the sun the next day.

Protection is one thing, but again, gloss and self-healing were my main interest. I got Llumar Valor (SunTek Reaction) 12 years Warranty because of the built-in ceramic layer, which makes washing the car way easier.

 

[Resist]

I've never had PPF or a ceramic coating on any vehicle I've ever owned in 50 years of driving. I have however used expensive wax systems that I applied myself. But it's all so time consuming and if you don't do it yourself it's expensive to have it done. I owned my last Tesla almost 5 years and decided not to do PPF or ceramics and yes it had some minor front end nicks but considering it was mostly highway driving it was pretty normal. It had more windshield nicks than paint nicks. Now I have a new Model Y and was thinking about doing PPF but after a lot of research I think I will pass on it again and just keep it clean and waxed. It won't protect against door dings anyway, which is my biggest concern and a ceramic coating won't protect the wheels from curb rash. Although I might try putting on ceramics myself just because it makes it easier to clean. At this point in my life it makes no sense to spend a ton of money to keep a car's paint in like new condition, if PPF was way less expensive then sure I'd do it. But unless you don't drive the vehicle, it will get nicks and as that video pointed out, it's easier and less expensive to get them touched up than redo PPF all over again. Up until today I wasn't quite sure about not doing PPF, but now I am. No PPF for my car and save the money for touch ups if and when it's really needed, but by then I might be ready for my next new car.

 

[zoomer0056]

No PPF for my car

Yup. PPFed my whole car myself. I've never done this before, it was a great project. I learned some things, met some good people and bought some new tools. Its been almost two years and its doing its job. Yesterday it was washed and I put a ceramic sealant on to bring back some slickness. My wife doesn't understand. She's always saying "It's just a car".

DIY PPF on 2022 Blue Model S

Model S is one week old. I've spent the last four months YouTubing PPF. This first post is practice on the front license plate holder which I will not put back on. It's a good test piece for practicing several techniques. There are compound curves in the corners, edges to wrap and circles to cut...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[DayTrippin]

I've never had PPF or a ceramic coating on any vehicle I've ever owned in 50 years of driving. I have however used expensive wax systems that I applied myself. But it's all so time consuming and if you don't do it yourself it's expensive to have it done. I owned my last Tesla almost 5 years and decided not to do PPF or ceramics and yes it had some minor front end nicks but considering it was mostly highway driving it was pretty normal. It had more windshield nicks than paint nicks. Now I have a new Model Y and was thinking about doing PPF but after a lot of research I think I will pass on it again and just keep it clean and waxed. It won't protect against door dings anyway, which is my biggest concern and a ceramic coating won't protect the wheels from curb rash. Although I might try putting on ceramics myself just because it makes it easier to clean. At this point in my life it makes no sense to spend a ton of money to keep a car's paint in like new condition, if PPF was way less expensive then sure I'd do it. But unless you don't drive the vehicle, it will get nicks and as that video pointed out, it's easier and less expensive to get them touched up than redo PPF all over again. Up until today I wasn't quite sure about not doing PPF, but now I am. No PPF for my car and save the money for touch ups if and when it's really needed, but by then I might be ready for my next new car.

The Y has such a gaping maw that it seemed to be a magnet for getting smacked compared to my S or 3. I decided to do my Y, at least the front, after I saw a red one near my house that had quite a bit of chipping with low miles. It looked like a zit faced teenager with all the undercoat showing through the color coat from the chipping. So I did the front up to the fenders and it worked great. I sold the car and the owner finished off the rest of the car. Over 70k miles now and the car looks showroom new. That is with 95% of the miles on the highway at high speeds.

I didn't do my 3 and the smaller frontal area had a lot to do with that decision. I did do my Plaid completely and glad I did. I tend to drive it at higher speeds. It also flips up a lot more crap from the wheels under hard acceleration. How the garage is laid out my wife has to walk down along the side of it carrying all kids of stuff. I can't tell you how many times she bumps or slides along the car while going past it. It was definitely the right choice for that car.

The 3 I have no plans to do anything to. Someone drove across the nose and had to replace the front bumper. The body shop did a better job painting than the factory, and it has held up very well. Given the diminished value of the 3, and the price drops, there is no economic sense to do it. I am just going to ceramic coating so it will be easier to wash and call it a day.

 

[CleanDemon]

I simply go back to my question… Who are you saving the paint for? Seems like whoever you eventually sell the car to is the real beneficiary.

 

[DayTrippin]

I do it because I want my car to look nice and easier to maintain. I didn't drop 100k+ on a car to treat it like crap and not take care of it. I do have pride in ownership. I have a lot of trees that drop crap. It comes off my PPF much easier than on my paint. I plan on keeping the Plaid until it dies or at least 8 years.

Our 3 is the beater car for the most part.

 

[zoomer0056]

I simply go back to my question… Who are you saving the paint for? Seems like whoever you eventually sell the car to is the real beneficiary.

It's a question with an answer that some can't understand. A car with nice paint just looks and drives better than one with pock marks all over.

 

[Resist]

I do it because I want my car to look nice and easier to maintain. I didn't drop 100k+ on a car to treat it like crap and not take care of it. I do have pride in ownership. I have a lot of trees that drop crap. It comes off my PPF much easier than on my paint. I plan on keeping the Plaid until it dies or at least 8 years.

Our 3 is the beater car for the most part.

For me, it's too much work. Heck I can't stand working on my yard let alone my cars anymore. lol

But I like my cars to look nice as well, always have. Just don't want to spend all my free time messing with them, I'd rather drive them. Yet with that in mind I ever since my first Tesla I have been using a waterless wash/wax, usually right after I've driving the car on a trip. It always stayed in the garage so was pretty clean most of the time. I can't stand driving a dirty car, except one my Jeep Wrangler because well it's a Jeep. For the cost, PPF just doesn't make sense for me because as that video pointed out, if the PPF needed to be replaced it would cost way more money than paying a professional to use touch up paint and buffing it. And the PPF still wouldn't protect against bigger dings. Now as I said a ceramic coating would probably make more sense, just to make it easier to clean. We are all at different stages in our lives with difference priorities. For me right now, my time is more important but that doesn't mean I pay people to fix things all the time, mainly because I could do it better. But, knowing I probably won't keep my new Model Y Performance more than 6 years, it makes sense to not overspend on things for the car. Because I know that the Model Y redesign down the road might grab my attention.

 

[sawood711]

I simply go back to my question… Who are you saving the paint for? Seems like whoever you eventually sell the car to is the real beneficiary.

For me it’s a $90k+ sports car that’s prone to chipping and denting easier than other cars. When I want to show it off in the years to come from I still want it to look great, not the horrible sand blasted look that you tend to see. I am doing it for myself to have a nice looking car now and in the future. It’s also easier to maintain. I feel like you’re spending almost $100k on a nice car, why not go the extra mile so that in 1-5 years it still looks clean.

 

[red2017s]

Had Xpel on 3 sports cars before we got our Teslas and loved it. I never liked washing, waxing or polishing my cars-----hated when I was young and hate it today (also too old to do it today)----think it goes back to when I was about 15 and my brother went away to basic training. Every weekend when he was gone I would back his 1967 GTO out into the driveway and wash and wax it, whether it needed it or not. Anyway, we put the Xpel on our S and 3 five and six years ago, respectively. Just wanted the cars to look nice all the time without having to go the car detailing route. To date, things have been perfect. Cars always look great--even in our New England winters. Certain few neighbors are constantly commenting on how nice the cars always look. No issue with the Xpel yellowing at all, and at most I put the Xpel cleaner on once a yerar (more like once every other year I ask the grandchildren to do it). Notably, the cars probably only get washed 2-3 times a year at most---and again, this is done by the grandchildren ages 12, 8 and 6, so you can picture how good these washes really are). These are probably the last cars we will buy, and I figured it was worth the money to us. And yes, you will not re-coup your PPF money if you ever trade your car in to a dealer (at least we ddin't when I traded in our corvettes--although in one private sale I did get my asking price (within a few dollars) because the car looked so nice due to the Xpel.

 

[red2017s]

PS----forgot to mention. One PPF installer added a ceramic coating over the Xpel. I did not ask for this 'extra' they gave me free because I was a good customer...........and I found it defeated the purpose of the self healing PPF (the ceramic scuffed, etc. and did not self heal). I had them take off the ceramic coating within 2-3 weeks. I know initially with my 1st sports car, the contact people at Xpel advised me NOT to put any extra coating of anything on the Xpel---just for this reason. However, over a few year's time more and more people were putting ceramic over PPF jobs, and I think Xpel gave-in and gave the OK to do this when folks asked rather than risk a loss of business as folks would skip the PPF and just do the ceramic type coatings. It has been 6 years since I looked into the pros and cons of all this, so maybe things have changed since then.

Bottom line--it is all a personal choice, but it sure is an indication that too many folks have way too much money that they have to find ways to spend it (my parents would not be able to fathom spending such sums on special waxes, ceramic and other coatings----never mind covering the car in a plastic blanket). A bucket, a hose and a little car soap was more than enough in the good old days.

 

[zoomer0056]

A bucket, a hose and a little car soap was more than enough in the good old days.

Yup. Halo is a flexible ceramic designed for Xpel. It works but not two years as advertised. Plastic blankets and coatings on top is not the end. It seems rediculous as I write this, but there is also a ceramic sealant that goes on top of the ceramic that is on top of the PPF that is on top of the clear coat that is on top of the paint that is on top of the primer that is on top of the metal.

Xpel is great for protection from rock chips. Halo ceramic makes washing so much easier. The ceramic sealant brings back some slickness as the ceramic begins to wear.

 

[Resist]

PS----forgot to mention. One PPF installer added a ceramic coating over the Xpel. I did not ask for this 'extra' they gave me free because I was a good customer...........and I found it defeated the purpose of the self healing PPF (the ceramic scuffed, etc. and did not self heal).

Getting something free usually means you spend an enormous amount of money with them over the years, so in the end...was it really free?

But you are the first person I have ever heard say that the PPF didn't self heal because it was topped with a ceramic coating. All the professional installers say the self healing properties still work. Could be you got a lousy ceramic product or it wasn't appllied correctly.

 

[red2017s]

Resist, the PPF under the ceramic held up fine, but the ceramic coating itself didn't hold up. There were two problem areas about the size of a half dollar. The 1st one the installer blamed me for not knowing how to properly clean a dirty smudge type blemish on a car---it was a bird drop[ping with grit in it (although I had been doing so for about 12 years at that time with corvettes); so when I got the 2nd grit filled dropping I brought it directly to the installer----and what do you know, their attempts to fix it didn't work either and only made it worse. And these weren't droppings sitting on the car in the hot sun for days---both were probably on the car for a few hours while I was babysitting at my son's.

FREE! And yes, you are 100% correct-----I spent quite a bit getting two cars about 90% covered (didn't do roof or top of trunk). Their pricing was in the same ballpark as two other quotes I got. And they were hoping I was going to get my son's sports car done as well......so the 'free' ceramic coating was not free.

You asked whether it was a poor quality ceramic or a poor application of it------could be.. Doing the ceramic was there main offering after everyday detailing, and it did look good on the cars they finished. However, it did not hold up on my car for whatever reason. For the Xpel application they had an arrangement with a place North of Boston that only did Xpel whereby installers from the Xpel place would come and do the job. It was the same pricing for me either way, but where I had it done was just 15 minutes from my house while the Xpel place was over an hour away and a pain to get to for dropping off a car for a few days and then picking it up again.

 

[CTruck_BMW]

There is no ceramic coating product that holds well on PPF. To me, I think ceramic on PPF is useless as the best approach is to do a ceramic spray application after every car wash and you should have a nice hydrophoic surface all year long without spendong too much, while also having a layer that you keep topping it off after each wash.

I like Griotts All-on-one ceramic wax which combines carneuba with SIO2, and works awesome as a drying aid and lubrication as I finish detailing the car following the wash. Works awesome with an excellend shine on top of PPF. Makes the car slick and easy to wash too. I use it also on my other cars that has no PPF.

 

[dn325ci]

I like Griotts All-on-one ceramic wax which combines carneuba with SIO2, and works awesome as a drying aid and lubrication as I finish detailing the car following the wash. Works awesome with an excellend shine on top of PPF. Makes the car slick and easy to wash too. I use it also on my other cars that has no PPF.

I'm not a PPF guy as I said, but +1 on the Griots ceramic - very easy to use and live with. Also, the Griots ceramic version of Speed Shine is a great lightweight ceramic, either post wash or just to clean/dust 1 or 2 days after a wash.

 

[NeuroRad]

Live and learn folks. In my experience you can do everything possible to protect your vehicle but some things out of your control will invariably cause damage. Flying rocks, debris, bird crap, etc. And don’t forget majority people on the road don’t care about their vehicle or yours. All kinds of people hauling trailers full of debris, rocks flying all over the place.

That being said, in less than 10k miles on my last truck the front end was full of rock chips that drove me crazy. Ppf on my model S has prevented that which is worth the cost FOR ME. in retrospect id ppf the front end only, not full vehicle.

 

[Resist]

red2017s - I'm sure you know what you are doing and have many years of experience doing it. Back in 2003 I started using Zaino on my Corvette and really liked the product. Obviously the first application took the longest, multistep process using the clay bar and all. After that it was easy touch up applications which kept the paint clean, slippery and even smelled good. I may have to get Zaino again for my Model Y Performance.