I am getting ready to have a paint correction and ceramic coat done on my Z06 and I wanted to get some feedback on PPF. Do you use it? What parts of the car? I also have ACS rock guards front and rear installed, but I do plan on tracking the car so I think I will need some PPF. What are your thoughts?

TIA!!!

 

I use it and wouldn’t own a car that I plan on keeping long term without it. It’s not cheap so you need to be honest with yourself about reasons for getting it.
If you’re going to drive your z and sell it in a couple years I personally wouldn’t bother. I will never sell my z so I viewed it as a good investment. At a minimum I would do everything forward of the windshield, a pillars, lower rockers, and in front/behind rear tires.

 

Paint correction and ceramic coating will give your paint a super slick shine and help wick away water spots, but it won't protect from rocks or other small debris from jacking up said super slick shine when driving, especially on the interstate. Having rock guards and side skirts helps a bit on the sides, but not the front clip or rear quarter.

Agree with Shokway. Front clip, A pillars, rockers and around rear tires. It's an investment, so only if you plan to keep her for a while...

 

My entire ZR1 is coated in PPF (Xpel). Makes a huge difference.

 

If you are going to track the car and want it to stay looking nice, IMHO, you need to do the whole car. My experience is that tracking is like driving into a sand blasting machine. It's expensive, but if you don't do it you are throwing away the money spent on paint correction and ceramic coat.

 

I agree with @TradedMyWife4AVette 's description what ceramic and PPF do for you.

I installed ACS rock guards, a Stage 2 front splitter, and full side skirts before having my Z fully corrected, leading edges coated with XPEL Ultimate Plus PPF, and the entire car ceramic coated with Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra and EXO Hydrophobic Coating. 10K miles later, I remain happy with the result.

 

I agree with the others. First thing I did to my car was paint correct and ppf the entire car, including the side skirts. I used the lumar valor ppf which has the ceramic coat built in and I love it. It looks amazing and is extremely hydrophobic. It's not cheap but it's a great investment.

 

After learning how to paint, I would never get it again.
However, I did wrap my whole car in XPEL (prior to learning how to paint) and I can confidently say that it's easy to clean and looks brand new every time, which catches people's attention (you can tell).

I would only get it on a non-white car (mines black).
**drawbacks include not being able to repair it when a rock inevitably hits it, causing a tear in several spots... in order to repair this, you have to replace the panel piece which costs = replacement + labor to remove current defective xpel piece.

 

I agree with TradedMyWife4AVette. My 17Z vert is my dream car so she is a keeper. I installed 4 ACS XL rock guards and they help a lot. With the Z07 stage 3 aero they blend well. I went with Expel on everything except the rear end. Paint correction and ceramic coat to finish. I plan to PPF than when I take her in for ceramic tint all around. Hand wash and dry and I only worry about the rear end where the PPF isn't installed. The shine brings many compliments

 

I did the whole car because it’s black. So easy to care for now. No scratches or swirls. With the wrap the car does not seem to get dirty as fast.

 

Thanks for all the input! I will have to say, I am coming from a BMW background where I used to track M3s and this forum is so much nicer! You guys really are helpful!

That being said, I think I will probably go ahead and finish getting the stage 3 aero and then do the ppf and ceramic. My car is black, so depending on the price I may get the whole car covered!

Thanks!!!

 

Good morning!

Here's a bit of info on both Ceramic Coatings and Paint Protection Film; while they serve different purposes, both are beneficial!

Should I get PPF or Ceramic Coatings on my car? FAQ Series by ESOTERIC.


With PPF & Ceramic Coating, after a 5400 mile road trip this Stingray cleaned up easily after a quick and painless maintenance wash!



Please don't hesitate to reach out at any time with any product or detailing-related questions! You can reach our Product Support line at 614.855.2573 or via e-mail at sales@esotericcarcare.com

 

I put PPF on my 15Z right after I took delivery. I covered the front fascia/splitter, the front of the front fenders/hood, the bottoms of the doors (up to the crease in the door), the mirrors, the side skirts, the rocker panels, the area around the rear brake duct and rear quarters. No matter which front mudguards you purchase debris will fly off the front wheels, pass below the mudguards and over the side skirt to hit the side of the car near the rear of the door and the brake duct area.

Over the following 7 track seasons, I found I the following shortcomings with what I chose to cover. First, debris hitting the doors starts about 3/4 toward the rear of the door and traverses the door at about a 45-degree angle toward the door release opening. This is different than my C5 and C6 where I only had to cover the bottom of the door. That means the complete door has to be covered.

The area around the brake ducts takes a lot of hits and the PPF has quite a few impact marks where small stones tore the film although it is hard to tell if the tears are completely through the film. The front splitter and fascia take a real pounding as well and have plenty of scuff marks on the surface of the film (and NO, Expel isn't self-healing when it gets hit by something at 150 mph and Expel won't cover the damage). I have had two impacts toward the rear of the hood where I didn't have film installed. One left several scratches about 6 inches long that penetrated through the clear and base coats, the other scuffed the clear coat. Adding film to that area would protect the paint from the scuff but I am pretty sure whatever caused the deep scratches would have torn through the film and still penetrated to the primer. After my last track event this week I was inspecting the front of the car and I will need to have the film on the front fascia replaced as the accumulated damage is degrading its ability to protect the finish.

One thing I can say about the film is it tends to hold things together if you have a serious impact with an immovable object. When I put my car backward into VIR's Turn 10 tire wall at about 90 mph several years ago the Expel kept the rear quarter together even though it was clearly broken in 3 places.

Bill