PPF vs Ceramic Pro vs Nothing

[FatherTo1]

Like pt19713 said, I am not talking about PPF on part of a panel like the factory option PPF for the rear doors (I hate that look) I am talking about doing the front clip, and rear doors but leaving the front doors and hatch without film. When looking at the car would I be able to tell the difference between the un-filmed front door and the filmed rear door?

Keith

My guess is yes, only because on cars that have the full PPF applied I can see a rainbow effect sometimes and the shine/gloss looks a little different. It is probably a little less noticeable if the PPF is wrapped around the edges to hide the lines but I'd still think the difference between whole doors would be somewhat noticeable.

 

[hookups]

Okay, good advice. I don't want to get ahead of myself and end up like this poor guy and his Bimmer:

Oh man, that ceramic coating job is painful

 

[SpicyPaneer]

Great explanation. I personally would get the full body, your already spending $50k plus for the vehicle, why not make it last... the body will outlast the battery..

 

[RyFreddy]

OP- I'm torn as well. I had scheduled partial PPF with my tint appt next week but just cancelled the PPF until I think through this a bit more... Then, I was thinking ceramic would be best since I got "sold" after reading posts about the "5-layer glass-like hard barrier" it provides, but I now seem to think that is not as accurate as I thought in my head.

You can't take PPF through a car wash, right? Or if you do, do a touchless/DIY instead of a typical automatic car wash? That's what's confusing me. I don't wash my car myself in my driveway at all. I'm not opposed to it, but rarely have the time. Auto car washes are just convenient for me, but I guess that is what creates swirl marks (so I've read). I also live in MN so I like to quickly/conveniently run through a car wash to get the salt/grime off in the winter months. I was then thinking for $2-4k total for PPF or ceramic, I may as well take it to a detailer and have them claybar/wax/buff/polish quarterly for $250 and just do Opti-no rinse and maybe a spray ceramic myself in the summers. Ugh.

 

[pt19713]

Like pt19713 said, I am not talking about PPF on part of a panel like the factory option PPF for the rear doors (I hate that look) I am talking about doing the front clip, and rear doors but leaving the front doors and hatch without film. When looking at the car would I be able to tell the difference between the un-filmed front door and the filmed rear door?

Keith

Personally, I can't tell unless I'm 5" from the panel and looking at it from an angle. There is a small amount of shine/gloss reduction with the film but most people wouldn't notice. I have a graphene coating on mine, so that helps adds shine to the finish. From a distance, it looks perfectly normal. In the below image, can you tell where the PPF is?

 

[SJROSSO]

Based on the informative feedback I will probably go with a full PPF. Additional reasons: 1) intend to keep the car for some time, 2) I notice careless nicks and scratches throughout my current car, and 3) this will be my first car that will serve a purpose beyond taking me from A to B.

My only remaining question is whether getting the PPF immediately after delivery would interact with the relatively fresh paint.

 

[laservet]

I did the lazy route, since the quote I got from local detailing shop for Ceramic Pro was $1800. I am not treating my car like a show car but I do want to reduce the amount of cleaning I have to do. So I get the car hand washed today and then applied The Last Coat v2. No idea if it does what it claims but it can't be worse than nothing, right?

I also use The Last Coat v2. Happy with it so far after a year.

 

[pt19713]

Based on the informative feedback I will probably go with a full PPF. Additional reasons: 1) intend to keep the car for some time, 2) I notice careless nicks and scratches throughout my current car, and 3) this will be my first car that will serve a purpose beyond taking me from A to B.

My only remaining question is whether getting the PPF immediately after delivery would interact with the relatively fresh paint.

They usually recommend 30 days. By the time you take delivery in NJ, it'll be around 21 days after the manufacturer date. You should be OK but if you want to play it safe, wait a week after delivery.

 

[Fourdoor]

Based on the informative feedback I will probably go with a full PPF. Additional reasons: 1) intend to keep the car for some time, 2) I notice careless nicks and scratches throughout my current car, and 3) this will be my first car that will serve a purpose beyond taking me from A to B.

My only remaining question is whether getting the PPF immediately after delivery would interact with the relatively fresh paint.

Pretty good chance the car you get has been sitting on hold for weeks or longer, so the paint isn't exactly "fresh" any more. Putting on the PPF doesn't look that hard, with pre-cut kit... am I fooling myself? Best quote I got for the whole car professionally installed is $8,000 vs $3,500 if I do the labor myself.

Keith

 

[Fourdoor]

They usually recommend 30 days. By the time you take delivery in NJ, it'll be around 21 days after the manufacturer date. You should be OK but if you want to play it safe, wait a week after delivery.

How can we check our actual manufacture date so we can make sure the car paint has "cured"?

Keith

 

[pt19713]

How can we check our actual manufacture date so we can make sure the car paint has "cured"?

Keith

You can ask the sales advisor for the exact date. The sticker on the door will only provide the month and year if manufacture.

 

[hookups]

Pretty good chance the car you get has been sitting on hold for weeks or longer, so the paint isn't exactly "fresh" any more. Putting on the PPF doesn't look that hard, with pre-cut kit... am I fooling myself? Best quote I got for the whole car professionally installed is $8,000 vs $3,500 if I do the labor myself.

Keith

You’re fooling yourself. There was a thread here or on Reddit, I forget, where the guy decided to save himself some money and did it himself. Didn’t work out well too well.

 

[RyFreddy]

I think I changed my mind again and might go partial PPF (hood, bumper, mirrors, rockers, rear loading bumper). The installer said touchless washes are fine, which will help in winter months in MN. Seems like I should take his word for it and ensure they're able to repair anything.

 

[Yungcotter]

Pretty good chance the car you get has been sitting on hold for weeks or longer, so the paint isn't exactly "fresh" any more. Putting on the PPF doesn't look that hard, with pre-cut kit... am I fooling myself? Best quote I got for the whole car professionally installed is $8,000 vs $3,500 if I do the labor myself.

Keith

Its not too terrible but is definitally harder than it looks. I paid someone to do it this time around .

A few years go my friends and I did MY S4 and his Model 3 with body fence PPF that we got from Metrorestyling.com. From what I have seen from the installers teslas are relatively easy to wrap as they don't have too many complex shapes. Doing the Audi hood was a bitch to stretch the material in some spots. Half of our problem was working outside and keeping dirt off of the film. That being said if you have the time you can do it your self 3X + over before you get to what a pro will charge. We paid under 1000 for 60 yards of PPF and maybe another 100 on other accessories to install and pizza and beer.

They turned out okay my S4 only had one piece around the headlight peal back till i turned in that lease after 3 years. His model 3 is still going strong.

 

[SJROSSO]

I figure I post updates since I was the one that started this poll/thread. Went to speak with the detail shop today and I settled on the XPEL Full Front PPF + whole car ceramic. This allows me to add tinted windows, Xpel wheels and painted calipers. The shop actually advised me that a full wrap might be overkill. Was invited into the shop where some calipers were being painted. Also viewed a full corvette PPF and frankly I couldn't tell there was a PPF on there. Seems like a reputable operation.

 

[Fourdoor]

Its not too terrible but is definitally harder than it looks. I paid someone to do it this time around .

A few years go my friends and I did MY S4 and his Model 3 with body fence PPF that we got from Metrorestyling.com. From what I have seen from the installers teslas are relatively easy to wrap as they don't have too many complex shapes. Doing the Audi hood was a bitch to stretch the material in some spots. Half of our problem was working outside and keeping dirt off of the film. That being said if you have the time you can do it your self 3X + over before you get to what a pro will charge. We paid under 1000 for 60 yards of PPF and maybe another 100 on other accessories to install and pizza and beer.

They turned out okay my S4 only had one piece around the headlight peal back till i turned in that lease after 3 years. His model 3 is still going strong.

So, you didn't use any pre-cut kits you just ordered rolls of film and cut them to fit?

Keith

 

[Yungcotter]

So, you didn't use any pre-cut kits you just ordered rolls of film and cut them to fit?

Keith

Nope we did the bulk install method. if I had to do it again I would do a kit for the bumper as that is the hardest part and what turned out the worst ie most noticeable, the other panels are pretty easy. Keeping it clean is the hardest part if you have a clean garage you can work in you're ahead of the game.

 

[Donncha]

OK so I've read quite a few posts here about PPF, Ceramic and other paint related stuff. Learned a lot. Also learned there's no clear answer as to what's worthwhile. So I'm going to post a straight (and real) hypothetical question in the form of a poll.

I got some quotes and the bottom line is the following:

- $3,500 Front Xpel PPF (full front bumper, front fenders, hood, mirrors & lights) + full ceramic pro,
- $6,500 for Full Xpel PPF + full ceramic pro, or
- drop the ceramic pro @ $1500 less.

Financial context: Budget is not unlimited but will spend the $$ if worth it.

Thanks Everyone!

Bottom line: it's still a car and you'll be trading it in 5 years (if its not totaled by then).

 

[SJROSSO]

Bottom line: it's still a car and you'll be trading it in 5 years (if its not totaled by then).

I average 10 years per car and have had 4 thus far.

 

[11046]

Yes. Prep is key to a good coating. I use a medium grade clay bar. Griots, Mothers, Meguiars, MATCC all make good clay bars. You'll want the beefier ones around 100 grams. Depending on the condition of your paint, you may need a 2-step correction. My Y has 7000 miles so most of my panels only needed a 1-step. The driver's rear door and quarter panel had some scratches from people rubbing up against it, so I did a 2-step on those two panels. I use a Griots G9 orbital polisher, Meguiars M100 rubbing compound and M210 polish. If I had to do it again, I'd go with Meguiar's M110, which is formulated for orbital polishers. I use Hex Logic pads. Most of the panels I use the blue and green pads for light and medium cutting, orange pad for heavy cutting.

The main thing I've learned is to apply it light and let the polisher do the work. Mask off any trim you don't want to have polish touch, such as the plastic wheel well trim, the plastic below the rocker. There are lots of good videos on YouTube to show various techniques and tips. Overall, I'm really happy with the Turtle Wax Graphene spray. The shine and slickness it provides for a consumer grade product is really good. I know it's not going to last more than 6 months but it takes less than 45 minutes to reapply.
View attachment 664580

What about

Adam's UV Graphene Ceramic Coating?​

Anybody familiar with this? Youtube video makes it look fairly easy, and a DIY kit too.