Ceramic coating and PPF....

Daraiders76

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Is anyone doing ceramic coating and skipping the PPF? I was leaning towards doing PPF but I do not like the fact that you can see where it stops. I have a family member that owns an auto body shop and he was saying how he doesn't care for the clear wraps as he feels it takes away from the car because of the same thing I was thinking. Ideas?
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Is anyone doing ceramic coating and skipping the PPF? I was leaning towards doing PPF but I do not like the fact that you can see where it stops. I have a family member that owns an auto body shop and he was saying how he doesn't care for the clear wraps as he feels it takes away from the car because of the same thing I was thinking. Ideas?
I live in an area where PPF is virtually impossible to come by. Odds are I’ll be going only ceramic coating.

PPF does far better in rock/debris damage mitigation. You can ceramic coat the top of most PPF, though not all. Seamsare visible if you look just right at them but otherwise are not visible. There are various glossy levels of PPF as well.
 

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Old wraps used to not have the gloss that the paint does, but my last wrap looks great as glossy as the paint (3 years in.) If you are concerned with the seam they can do the full hood, fenders (just more expensive) cut on car, not computer cut templates.

If you want to protect from the road rash, chips nothing beats PPF.

I wouldn't do PPF if I was leasing or not keeping the car beyond 3 years.
 

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Is anyone doing ceramic coating and skipping the PPF? I was leaning towards doing PPF but I do not like the fact that you can see where it stops. I have a family member that owns an auto body shop and he was saying how he doesn't care for the clear wraps as he feels it takes away from the car because of the same thing I was thinking. Ideas?
All I can say is that my last 2 cars had the clear wrap partial front (“bra”) and unless you looked carefully iat a certain angle, the lines were invisible. Also, I plan to apply a ceramic coating after the PPF and Xpel lets you do that as you can coat over the film. Ceramic will not stop chips or scratches; you need a protective film for that. The newer films even ”self heal” when heated to remove mars and scratch lines. If you’re adamant about the PPF having a line then either wrap the entire car or don’t do the PPF.
 

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If you want to protect from the road rash, chips nothing beats PPF
This.

If I can get a proper job done out here, that’s what I’ll do, then ceramic cost the whole car
 


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I'm skipping PPF mostly for cost but also am not a fan of (possible) seams being shown. I'm getting Feynlab's Self Heal Lite (self-healing ceramic) put on next week. Shows/has some of the best gloss and hydrophobic properties I have read/seen around and can "self heal" light scratches, like from wash-mitt swirls, in the sun. Still no real protection against rock chips like PPF would give but at least I can get the whole car done for a reasonable price and on top of that I do not have to worry about seams (altho I am sure a good shop could do well with these).
 

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I'm skipping PPF mostly for cost but also am not a fan of (possible) seams being shown. I'm getting Feynlab's Self Heal Lite (self-healing ceramic) put on next week. Shows/has some of the best gloss and hydrophobic properties I have read/seen around and can "self heal" light scratches, like from wash-mitt swirls, in the sun. Still no real protection against rock chips like PPF would give but at least I can get the whole car done for a reasonable price and on top of that I do not have to worry about seams (altho I am sure a good shop could do well with these).
Can anyone share some $ numbers for PPF & ceramic. I have a quote to apply PPF to entire front, including mirrows, and ceremic on the remaining part of the car. $3200. Sounds high.
 

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Can anyone share some $ numbers for PPF & ceramic. I have a quote to apply PPF to entire front, including mirrows, and ceremic on the remaining part of the car. $3200. Sounds high.
We had a quote for XPEL full front and XPEL ceramic on the rest. It was just under $3,000. A lot depends on your area. This was Denver, CO.
 

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I can't justify the cost of PPF. It's a car, not a collector showpiece. Chips and scratches are bound to happen and doing PPF is not going to net you any better resale value.

I have seen two C8's side-by-side. One had PPF and ceramic, one was only ceramic. The PPF was noticeably less vibrant, dull even.

I will send my GTPE for ceramic.
 

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I got mine done using Xpel Ultimate. Full front bumper and hood, headlights, side mirrors, A-pillar, rocker panels, all fenders (black trim area), partial rear bumper, 4 inches in on the pano roof. Total price $2,200.

The price is high, but I commute on the freeway 60 miles a day during the work week. My old car got really beat up from rocks mostly on the hood. I keep my cars for 10 years or more so it was a worth while investment for me. I thought I was going to have a problem with the seems, but it really isn't noticeable unless you know where to look, and it needs to be at the right angle. The finish looks just a good as the paint, there is literally no difference in glossy level.

Ceramic coating is a nice to have, but not a must have. The protecting the paint from road debris is much more important to me then the minor paint protection provided by a ceramic coat. Not to mention my car is in the garage when I'm at home, so I'm less concerned about the elements.
 

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$995 for front clear bra in XPel Ultimate.
 

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I had the full front XPEL ultimate + carbon fiber wrap on the grill done for about $2100. I did AvalonKing Armor Shield IX ceramic coating as a DIY, less than $100 including supplies, on the rest of the car. The prep work was not bad since the car was new, and the results are great.

I ended up doing the ceramic coating on my wife's LEAF also, but it needed a lot of prep work, including substantial polishing. It is very shiny now, rock chips and a few large scratches included.
 
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I did ceramic only, Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra, professionally done. Most of my driving is local, not highway. It looks great and makes it really easy to keep clean.
 

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Is anyone doing ceramic coating and skipping the PPF? I was leaning towards doing PPF but I do not like the fact that you can see where it stops. I have a family member that owns an auto body shop and he was saying how he doesn't care for the clear wraps as he feels it takes away from the car because of the same thing I was thinking. Ideas?
I will do lite paint correction and Ceramic on my GT whim I get it. I just did it on my X6 and it looks great. Cost $1450.
 

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I will need to get a quote on a nose and mirror PPF to see if I want to go through with it. If I decide to go with a PPF I'll get one of the temporary paint protection coatings on the front of the car and the mirrors until I can get an appointment for the PPF. I'm definitely going to do an at-home detail/ceramic coat on the rest of the car after I get the car.
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