PPF and ceramic coat pricing??

[Angeloand]

The price you’re paying for PPF is a bit on the high end. But nationwide prices are relatively high.

Ceramic coating price is decent. But still far more than what it’d cost to do it yourself. Ceramic Pro 9H is the much cheaper option compared to CQuartz and Gtechniq. Cquartz will generally look better and preform better than 9H.

You should also know, if you’re selecting Xpel PPF with 9H nano coating, you will void your warranty from day one; it contains SiO2 and TiO2 for hardening.

Highly encourage looking at STek Dynoshield and HEXIS bodyfence, both have ceramic coat embedded in their PPF.

Wow, thanks for the heads-up on the XPEL PPF and ceramic coating. That is the quite odd as to why this location is packaging XPEL with 9H.

Maybe the 9H is used on the rest of the body outside the PPF area. Now I'll have to make sure with them and other locations.

Any opinions on which package of ceramic coating is necessary and worth it? I read CeramicPro isn't so great and you typically don't need more than one base layer of ceramic coating. I was looking at DIY CQuartz and may end up doing that myself if there's no decent package pricing involving it.

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[Azkyrie6]

Wow, thanks for the heads-up on the XPEL PPF and ceramic coating. That is the quite odd as to why this location is packaging XPEL with 9H.

Maybe the 9H is used on the rest of the body outside the PPF area. Now I'll have to make sure with them and other locations.

Any opinions on which package of ceramic coating is necessary and worth it? I read CeramicPro isn't so great and you typically don't need more than one base layer of ceramic coating. I was looking at DIY CQuartz and may end up doing that myself if there's no decent package pricing involving it.

It’s a liability and profit thing. Last thing I’d want for you is you ride around with xpel for a couple of months then come to find some yellowing, ppf cracking and your warranty is voided. Very easy for them to go to your installer and find documentation you used 9H ceramic coat.

The issue with the pricing is you’re only getting one layer and there’s no mention of ceramic coat sealant (typical to get full treatment at those prices), residue removal and streak-free smooth finishes.

The thing with cheap ceramic coat brands, they look good at first, but as water spots and minerals accumulate, they sort of burrow into your coating. So you’ll be driving around with those minerals/hazes that you can’t wash off unless you remove the ceramic.

Lastly, I don’t know if your intention is to put ceramic coating on top of the PPF, conventional ceramic, nano or graphene form very hard surfaces. You may want to look into ceramic coats made for PPF that are malleable. They won’t crack and will fill in the porous ppf nicely. Gtechniq HALO and CQuartz SKIN are two great examples.

you're already investing time into properly maintaining your car for ceramic coating. Now is the time to reinvest into getting yourself into polishing and performing your own coating installs.

If you prefer not to, get PPF with embedded ceramic layers. The cost of partial ppf with cost of ceramic coating is going to add up to a similar amount anyway plus you get to ppf your whole car for a similar price

HEXIS warranty:
https://www.bodyfence.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Garantie_Bodyfence_anglais.pdf

3 year comparison of PPF wear and tear:


This guy has 31 videos on the wear on different ppf brands. I’ll let you decide on which you think has the best quality. Just know that PPF or ceramic does require maintenance care from you. Though it will be much easier when everything is done right. Otherwise your ppf and ceramic will look awful, that it would have been better to go with factory paint and some rock chip wear and tear

 

[ender_ong]

Anyone in the Bay Area have recommendations or can chime in on how much they paid for front ppf and ceramic coating?

Ceramic Pro Bay Area / EXCLSV Motorsports in Martinez

“First package is called Ultimate Armor. This consists of a combo protection. The full front of your vehicle (hood, 2 front fenders, front bumper, headlights, signal lights and side mirrors) will be protected with our Ceramic Pro Kavaca paint protection film, which has 3 benefiting properties,. 1 it's ceramic pro coated, 2 it's is high gloss and 3 it is self healing, if a scratch appears you simply apply heat to the PPF and the PPF returns to its normal state. Then the 2nd half of protection is Ceramic Pro coating, which gets installed on all the other exterior panels, windows, plastic trimmings and wheel faces. $4200

 

[Angeloand]

Ceramic Pro Bay Area / EXCLSV Motorsports in Martinez

“First package is called Ultimate Armor. This consists of a combo protection. The full front of your vehicle (hood, 2 front fenders, front bumper, headlights, signal lights and side mirrors) will be protected with our Ceramic Pro Kavaca paint protection film, which has 3 benefiting properties,. 1 it's ceramic pro coated, 2 it's is high gloss and 3 it is self healing, if a scratch appears you simply apply heat to the PPF and the PPF returns to its normal state. Then the 2nd half of protection is Ceramic Pro coating, which gets installed on all the other exterior panels, windows, plastic trimmings and wheel faces. $4200

I'll look into them, thanks for the recommendation. Have you had their work done on one of your cars that you've had for at least a year? From the video posted above, in that test, they noticed discoloration as soon as 6 months after installation. Is your PPF still holding up well?

 

[ender_ong]

I'll look into them, thanks for the recommendation. Have you had their work done on one of your cars that you've had for at least a year? From the video posted above, in that test, they noticed discoloration as soon as 6 months after installation. Is your PPF still holding up well?

PPF is about a week old so too early to tell. I did a variation of the option I posted: full front PPF + PPF side skirts + ceramic everywhere else + 70% tint all around.

This is the first car I’ve had this done ever and with them. Personally, I trust this detailing shop and believe that they will stand behind and rectify any defects that might pop up in the future.

if you check them out tell them Andrew white Integra type s sent you.

 

[Azkyrie6]

I'll look into them, thanks for the recommendation. Have you had their work done on one of your cars that you've had for at least a year? From the video posted above, in that test, they noticed discoloration as soon as 6 months after installation. Is your PPF still holding up well?

One thing to note is as the guy was testing all the PPF, there’s no maintenance done on them, no ceramic coat protection and all left in the sun for three years. So he’s only pressure washed them 31 times to make those videos. What’s clear is the self-healing properties becomes less effective and there is yellowing. Swirl marks, haziness and orange peeling become apparent, some brands much worse than the top 3.

This all becomes important that you pick a ppf with good warranty you’re not likely to have voided.

 

[RCX]

Getting tint, Stekdyno full front, mirrors, skirts, door pillars and cups. Stekblack roof. Rest 9H and topcoat.

$3487can.

This guy has done all my cars, DD FK8 was 5.5yrs old (xpel and 9H), five winters, and looked like new when traded in. Warranty decontamination and refresh each year. And I washed the car. Never garaged, tempo in the winter.

Owner and his girlfriend do all the work.

 

[imcrspy]

Full front end PPF, full car ceramic coat, and full tint (70% front, 35% rest). Paying $3250. No paint correction, just wash and claybar.

 

[Midnight_VTEC]

Just do the PPF, ceramic coat yourself with something like DIY Detail 3, 5, or 8 year coating. It’s not hard just take the time to do the prep right.

 

[Azkyrie6]

Just do the PPF, ceramic coat yourself with something like DIY Detail 3, 5, or 8 year coating. It’s not hard just take the time to do the prep right.

agree with DIY ceramic coating. Although most of the best products lasts just a little over 2 years. Beyond that will require the ceramic coating that needs multiple layers, two weeks curing process and technique in application; some of which are only sold to qualified vendors

 

[imcrspy]

$3250 is way too much. Tint should be $350 to $500 with windshield. I don't think you need a full front end but that should be $1000. Not sure about ceramic coat pricing.

Was quoted $2000 for front end PPF, $650 for tint ( Llumar irx ), and $600 for full car ceramic (including brakes, wheels, fender liner). This includes full clay bar and any paint correcting needed. Honestly didn't seem that bad to me. It's too late to do anything now anyways, but i'll post pics once I get my car back (said he needed about a week to finish everything). It's a friends shop so I trust he's taking care of me.

 

[Azkyrie6]

Was quoted $2000 for front end PPF, $650 for tint ( Llumar irx ), and $600 for full car ceramic (including brakes, wheels, fender liner). This includes full clay bar and any paint correcting needed. Honestly didn't seem that bad to me. It's too late to do anything now anyways, but i'll post pics once I get my car back (said he needed about a week to finish everything). It's a friends shop so I trust he's taking care of me.

price could be the midrange towards the high side. But it isn’t outrageous. Part of it is subjective. Most of the cost is in the labor and not the products.

do you prefer not to decon, de-iron, claybar and paint correct yourself? Then yes it’s worth it.

do you prefer not or do not have expertise in applying ceramic coating and PPF? Then yes it’s worth it.

did your installer use quality ceramic, quality PPF film along with a quality installation free of dust, bubbles, clean wrapping around the edges and no high spot streaks? Then yes it’s worth it

will you be doing the minimum required maintenance on ceramic and PPF? If so then it’s worth it.

It comes down to you feeling you got your moneys worth and are happy with the result

 

[optronix]

agree with DIY ceramic coating. Although most of the best products lasts just a little over 2 years. Beyond that will require the ceramic coating that needs multiple layers, two weeks curing process and technique in application; some of which are only sold to qualified vendors

I fell victim to the "qualified vendor" ceramic coating a few years ago, and ended up paying over $1200. I feel like an idiot now, but it's easy to forget that back then there weren't the same types of DIY products available on the market.

I assure you and anyone who's willing to listen, whatever product was put on the Boxster I had done for $1200 3-4 years ago had no distinguishable difference in appearance or "hydrophobic properties" than the $170 bottle of AMMO Reflex Pro I've used on 4 cars since... or even the $50 bottle of Chemical Guys Hydroslick I used once.

Whatever claims of longevity are horseshit too. Did we all forget what it was like 5-10+ years ago before "ceramic" was a thing? We used wax. And it worked great. How hard is it to just treat DIY ceramic as an annual or semi-annual wax job? It's exactly the same process, arguably easier and less messy. I've gone as long as 8-9 months without noticing any significant drop off in how well the coating looks/beads water, so I'll save the $400+ dollars and "guarantee" that it'll somehow last forever.

And how the hell is a 2 week curing process ever practical in the real world? That's insane. So you can't drive it in rain and have to leave it indoors for 2 weeks?

L.O.L.

I feel the same way about outrageous ceramic coating costs from detailers as I do about paying markups.

 

[Azkyrie6]

I fell victim to the "qualified vendor" ceramic coating a few years ago, and ended up paying over $1200. I feel like an idiot now, but it's easy to forget that back then there weren't the same types of DIY products available on the market.

I assure you and anyone who's willing to listen, whatever product was put on the Boxster I had done for $1200 3-4 years ago had no distinguishable difference in appearance or "hydrophobic properties" than the $170 bottle of AMMO Reflex Pro I've used on 4 cars since... or even the $50 bottle of Chemical Guys Hydroslick I used once.

Whatever claims of longevity are horseshit too. Did we all forget what it was like 5-10+ years ago before "ceramic" was a thing? We used wax. And it worked great. How hard is it to just treat DIY ceramic as an annual or semi-annual wax job? It's exactly the same process, arguably easier and less messy. I've gone as long as 8-9 months without noticing any significant drop off in how well the coating looks/beads water, so I'll save the $400+ dollars and "guarantee" that it'll somehow last forever.

And how the hell is a 2 week curing process ever practical in the real world? That's insane. So you can't drive it in rain and have to leave it indoors for 2 weeks?

L.O.L.

I feel the same way about outrageous ceramic coating costs from detailers as I do about paying markups.

hey don’t feel bad, I’m pretty sure we’ve all fallen victim to buying snakeskin oil at some point lol.

majority of ceramic coating are marketed with overpromises and little delivery with tons of fine print caveats. Which is why the best stuff lasts at most a little over two years. Unless you garage your vehicle everyday and only drive it at night, never have any abrasion on your car whatsoever and bring your car in twice a year for detailed to clean up and use sealant. Not practical as you said.

DIY ceramic projects are fine, looks great as one learns the process and practices. The marketing reminds me of when clear bra PPF used to be a luxury feature for luxury vehicles. It was sold as “military grade protection for helicopters”. Yeah it had an unintended effect that people figured out it could be useful for cars. Although PPF technology has gotten a lot better but it’s not bulletproof and has limitations.

most folks will do just fine the old school way, touch up paint, washing and waxing. For any car enthusiast learning these or ceramic is a must. For those who don’t like it will spend lots of money paying others or have their nice vehicles turn in trash condition anyway

 

[ITS_320]

I think the issue with most of the ceramic and coating marketing is that the claims don't match the care regimen to get the life out of the product.

The products are advertised as "set and forget" and this sucks a lot of people in with the idea that they can just go to a drive thru carwash and everything will just spray off. That may be true the first 60-90 days but fall out contamination gets in a coating just like it gets in to clear coat. If you park outside or subject the car to abrasive wash techniques, the coating degrades just like a clear coat would.

So the fine print usually has care and feeding guidelines to keep the coating freshened up. Which ironically usually involves just more expensive versions of detail sprays or spray wax type products to "freshen" the coating. By the time you add in that cost, plus the manual cost of either washing it yourself or paying someone else to do it, the maintenance on the coating isn't saving you money and may even add to the total with the initially higher price of a coating.

On the flip side, if you garage the car and don't have to park it in an unfavorable area when you have the car out, the coating will last for a long time. But then again so will any wax in those favorable circumstances. So again, how much are we really saving here?

My 2c, I think front end PPF is worth it if you have to drive interstates in the winter for work. The PPF keeps the road rash abrasion off of the front end front all of the sand/salt kick-up at highway speeds. Take the $600 or so that you may spend on a "coating" and instead get the car tinted with a quality ceramic tint. That will last longer than a coating and go the distance to keep the car cool and protecting the leather from UV fade/heat decay. And buy a gallon of spray wax and wash your own car.

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