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Just curious on peoples opinions/experiences on ppf and ceramic coat. I live in MA so the roads take a beating. I’m debating on just ceramic coating and not doing ppf. I’ve seen some ppf that looks yellowed and obvious. Little hesitant on making that purchase.
Depends on who you ask. Personally, I am tired of seeing the lines of the ppf on my commuter car. This happens when you wax or polish the car. But it does help with light rock chps. The others just tear through the film anyway.I've done the film on every car so far. I usually took the film off after about 5 years because it gets beat up, shows chips, ect. If your car is out in the sun a lot and you take the film off several years later, the paint will be a different shade under the ppf from the rest of the car. I did just ceramic coat on my Z so far and it's been great.
Ceramics makes it so you don't have to wax and polish so much if waxing not your thing,, will not repel rocks.. PPF is designed to deflect some small debris, but will not stop everything obviously.
Really depends on how much protection you want, XPEL will look good, and give some protection from rock chips. My C7 is a damn rock magnet, my C4 gets almost none, I don't understand it.
You can have the film put on professionally and do a ceramic yourself over it, that is an option. It'll look good and be protected.
Ceramics to me are more to save time having to wax the cars every couple months to keep them shiny, the ceramic coating lasts years and I don't have to do anything to it but wash with the right product.
Just curious on peoples opinions/experiences on ppf and ceramic coat. I live in MA so the roads take a beating. I’m debating on just ceramic coating and not doing ppf. I’ve seen some ppf that looks yellowed and obvious. Little hesitant on making that purchase.
thanks
As noted above, PPF & Ceramics protect against different things and serve different purposes. Ceramics make your paint easier to keep clean and protects it somewhat against the chemical and environmental elements of driving. PPF protects against physical impact, providing a certain degree of chip prevention along with self-healing characteristics that can reduce the appearance of swirls and light marring of you surface.
With a modest investment in time & materials and a bit of research, a quality ceramic coating can be relatively easily applied by any DIY-er if they so choose. A coating such as Kamikaze Miyabi is not only excellent performer, but quite probably one of the easiest true ceramic coatings available to a DIY-er:
The MOST used coating in our shop | KAMIKAZE Miyabi Review and Demo
As for PPF, that's something that is generally best left to experienced installers. Here's a bit of an overview of a PPF installation on a new C8: C8 Corvette PPF, Tint & Ceramic Coating
As with many things, there is no universal BEST method to protect your vehicle that will meet the wants, needs and budgets of every person. Climate, vehicle usage patterns and maintenance preferences are but a few of ths considerations that come into play when choosing not necessarily the all-time BEST approach but rather the best approach FOR YOU. It's a very subjective topic with no single greatest strategy, simply too many variables and personal preferences. Ceramics and PPF can provide definite benefits however should you find they meet your needs.
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Just curious on peoples opinions/experiences on ppf and ceramic coat.
It depends on what your goals are. If you want protection against scratches, rock chips, etc., then install PPF. If you just want to make the car easier to clean, ceramic coat it.
If rock chips are your concern, ceramic coating won't help I don't care what the pro's say. It's not going to magically stop scratches and chips. Will the car almost always look clean and be easier to clean? absolutely. If you want to protect against scratches and chips then PPF if your friend.
Depends on who you ask. Personally, I am tired of seeing the lines of the ppf on my commuter car. This happens when you wax or polish the car. But it does help with light rock chps. The others just tear through the film anyway.I've done the film on every car so far. I usually took the film off after about 5 years because it gets beat up, shows chips, ect. If your car is out in the sun a lot and you take the film off several years later, the paint will be a different shade under the ppf from the rest of the car. I did just ceramic coat on my Z so far and it's been great.
It is more common practice these days to wrap PPF around the edges of a hood or fender so you see no lines.
I had both two 2011 Vettes with 10 year old PPF that was removed and replace with no issues. Yes the installer did the customary warning that pulling off old PPF "could" damage the paint but as Fyrarms stated if the paint is good underneath this won't be an issue.
PPF pros:
slick, glossy look, rock chip protection
cons: can be costly to remove and reapply when rock chips penetrate
Ceramic pros:
glossy finish easy to wash and maintain
Cons: appearance may not last after a few washes, can be costly to apply and remove for rock chip, repair and repaint.
I am in the middle of removing all the "partial" PPF off my '03 C5 coupe I bought back in January. Not sure when the one previous owner put he PPF on or which brand it was, but it is likely 20 years old, so is a nightmare to remove (my local wrap/PPF dealer would not do the removal). Using a 220v box heater, IR hand held heater, heat gun and plastic razor-scrapper I get an inch or so off at a time, then cleans up nicely with RapidRemover. Though very few miles (just 7K), there were several dings in the front bumper PPF and in some areas it was starting to delaminate from itself, but the clear coat is pretty much brand new underneath. The photo shows half the bumper done and there was not a single chip or scratch, pretty amazing (though only 7000 miles on it). Used the box heater to keep areas warm, then the IR from 12" away for a few seconds, then the heat gun as I was scrapping (occasionally some nice size pieces would com off). The PPF did an amazing job, but you need to remove/replace it every 5 years or so.
I would never wrap a car, to me it’s like tossing money away. Ceramic coat it and enjoy it, people spending 4 or 5k just seems crazy. Unless you live on a gravel road…… then you shouldn’t of bought one at all🙄
I am in the middle of removing all the "partial" PPF off my '03 C5 coupe I bought back in January. Not sure when the one previous owner put he PPF on or which brand it was, but it is likely 20 years old, so is a nightmare to remove (my local wrap/PPF dealer would not do the removal). Using a 220v box heater, IR hand held heater, heat gun and plastic razor-scrapper I get an inch or so off at a time, then cleans up nicely with RapidRemover. Though very few miles (just 7K), there were several dings in the front bumper PPF and in some areas it was starting to delaminate from itself, but the clear coat is pretty much brand new underneath. The photo shows half the bumper done and there was not a single chip or scratch, pretty amazing (though only 7000 miles on it). Used the box heater to keep areas warm, then the IR from 12" away for a few seconds, then the heat gun as I was scrapping (occasionally some nice size pieces would com off). The PPF did an amazing job, but you need to remove/replace it every 5 years or so.
I have a 2000 vette w/<14k miles (magnetic red), so partially guilty here of my own comments. But, crazy somebody coated that, it only went 7k miles after 20 years, and now you are spending time removing the coating. How many hours do you have into it? The left looks like hell. Used as it was, seems better to have been left alone.
The left looks like hell. Used as it was, seems better to have been left alone.
The left side is what his paint would have looked like if not protected by the PPF. The right side is what is under the removed PPF. Literally, the PPF saved his paint.
I have a 2000 vette w/<14k miles (magnetic red), so partially guilty here of my own comments. But, crazy somebody coated that, it only went 7k miles after 20 years, and now you are spending time removing the coating. How many hours do you have into it? The left looks like hell. Used as it was, seems better to have been left alone.
At maybe 20 years old the PPF was breaking down & starting to delaminate, and as you see on the left it was pretty rough & grizzly, so I had to remove it. The PPF was on the full front, lower doors, rockers & lower fenders, a real PITA but I got it all off bit by bit over a couple of weeks. The heat gun and plastic razor scraper worked great and as mentioned RapidRemover did an excellent job at removing all adhesive residue. I'm not exaggerating that the paint was like brand new underneath, not one single ding, chip or scratch.
After much thought I will not put the PPF back on (just looks crappy compared to the paint), but will do a nice polish, then DIY Feynlab Original Ceramic coating with their Overcoat topper.
Ceramic coat vs ppf
