Why pay for PPF & ceramic coating when you can just repaint?

[CoryARamirez]

Title. I’ve been thinking about this a lot considering how pricey reputable PPF/ceramic coating installations are. You could find reputable body shops to repaint the vehicle for a similar price!

E: title should read “coating” not “costing”. Sorry!

 

[PeteOC]

My train of thought as well, but as with every vehicle I've owned up to now, I will probably just live with dings and dents after owning the vehicle for 4 years, which has been my average for 7 cars so far, rather than repaint.

 

[rjpjnk]

My thoughts as well

 

[Ritzcarlton123]

You plan on repainting the front bumper, hood, and front fenders after every ding? Cause PPF reduces the need to do this.
Ceramic makes the car easier to wash (sometimes I only need to spray water) and it says cleaner longer.

 

[CoryARamirez]

You plan on repainting the front bumper, hood, and front fenders after every ding? Cause PPF reduces the need to do this.
Ceramic makes the car easier to wash (sometimes I only need to spray water) and it says cleaner longer.

Of course not, but after 4 years or ownership and I’m planning on keeping the vehicle? Sure why not.

PPF might not even last that long and will start peeling/lifting. Coating would need to be reapplied too. Doesn’t make economic sense to me

 

[rjpjnk]

I feel the same way about slipcovers on sofas.

 

[artnalex]

It’s a fair point, in my mind. But the cost to paint your car is in the future….so whatever price you think it may be today…it is likely to increase over time.

Also, if you don’t mind driving around with paint dings, then another reasons to wait. I’m not a fan of paint dings, so I protected with PPF.

 

[E90alex]

It’s always better to keep OEM factory paint if possible. Factory finish is baked/cured at very high temperatures not possible at a body shop.

Also there’s always the issue of getting a 100% color match, especially after a few years when the paint has faded. Eagle eyed shoppers second hand would be able to tell if it’s repainted and might assume there was some type of accident that wasn’t reported.

 

[csrpenfab]

Paying $1000 for ceramic is pretty crazy. I did mine with Avalon King DIY products and did two coats for well under $100 all in. Having paid a pro $1000 to ceramic coat my wife's Audi Q5, I can honestly say my DIY job turned out better too!

 

[artnalex]

PPF might not even last that long and will start peeling/lifting. Coating would need to be reapplied too. Doesn’t make economic sense to me

FYI - My XPEL Warranty is good for 10 years.

 

[8rain]

It's also a question of how good your car looks throughout, and ceramic certainly makes it easier to clean in addition to improving the appearance. Certainly not necessary, but layers of added protection. My M3P is a dream car for me, so keeping it as pristine as possible is worth it. The thing I'm looking forward to most is the windshield protection film, which on my commute will be a game changer. I had another car for four months and it had a dozen windshield blemishes (no cracks, though). Windshield protection film would have protected from all of them.

 

[brancky3]

Paying $1000 for ceramic is pretty crazy. I did mine with Avalon King DIY products and did two coats for well under $100 all in. Having paid a pro $1000 to ceramic coat my wife's Audi Q5, I can honestly say my DIY job turned out better too!

Completely agree. I used cquartz on my last couple cars and it's pretty easy to do (but pretty time consuming)

 

[sundaydrive]

Going a bit further into ceramic on top of PFF...

So, I just got some clarification straight from Gtechniq today regarding ceramic coating on top of PFF. Even though Crystal Serum Ultra (can only be installed by authorized dealer) comes with a 10-year warranty, it is only valid if the coating is topping clearcoat, not PFF. Reason being PFF, by nature, is a loose substrate and will not bond as strongly. He said you could probably get 2 years out of the Ultra coating if kept up with properly on PFF.

They make another product called Halo which is made for PFF, but that will also only last 2 years, after which will need to be reapplied. He mentioned Halo is very easy to apply, and can be done by anyone.

If you have the desire and patience it may be much more prudent to learn how to paint correct the car and DIY ceramic coating with something like Crystal Serum Light. If you can't live with chips, or want the protection, then get just the high impact areas with a focus on the installer to paint correct the whole car so you can DIY coat afterwards.

 

[Ritzcarlton123]

Of course not, but after 4 years or ownership and I’m planning on keeping the vehicle? Sure why not.

PPF might not even last that long and will start peeling/lifting. Coating would need to be reapplied too. Doesn’t make economic sense to me

Plenty of people on the road with PPF that is over 5 years old without any yellowing or peeling. The initial ceramic coating will last 2-6 years depending on the layers you put on. Probably even longer if you do a yearly maintenance coating.

 

[thesmokingman]

Repainting is better is a fallacy. To get a better paint job than factory you'd have to spend a grip and then it invites chances for a whole host of other possible issues related to the paint job. Not to mention reprays cannot be cured like a factory job, etc etc. There's also the issue of value loss with a respray. This idea of respraying just because one hates the idea of PPF is ludicrous really.

 

[Mateo83]

You can be PROactive or REactive. Do you want to invest in preventing the problem beforehand or be chasing your tail for chips, cracks, attempting to match sun faded paint, etc later.

 

[rjpjnk]

When PPF gets dinged by a rock does it leave a visible mark? (In the PPF, that is)

 

[thesmokingman]

When PPF gets dinged by a rock does it leave a visible mark? (In the PPF, that is)

It depends on the impact but generally any marring will go away once it gets some heat like via the sun and the material will return to its original shape, voila self healing.

 

[rjpjnk]

If that’s the case, and it really does heal so there is no noticeable ding, then it sounds like I might like it. I was afraid it would get beat up and dull over time.

 

[thesmokingman]

If that’s the case, and it really does heal so there is no noticeable ding, then it sounds like I might like it. I was afraid it would get beat up and dull over time.

I opted to not get it done on my STI and I was sorry as hell after 5 years. The front end looks like it has been thru a warzone, I beat myself up for not doing the PPF. I then did it on our Legacy and that car was perfect. When I sold it we got more than market years before this craziness. I actually had dealers contact me to buy that Legacy GT, apparently it was a highly sought after Subie. On the wife's Tribeca I had the PPF installed again. Part of it went yellow a few years later, and it was replaced under warranty. I don't remember what product it was even, not that it matters now. The Tribeca we sold again for over market value and I'm sure it did not hurt to have PPF on it since the paint under it is immaculate. We sold the Tribeca and got a MYP. PPF was one of the first things I did to it.