For those that have had ceramic film professionally applied to your vehicle, was it worth it? Give me your feedback. Keep in mind my vehicle sits in a garage the vast majority of the time. It is only outside when being driven and I don't have a daily commute.
I'm definitely doing XPEL PPF on the front of the vehicle, headlights and mirrors. I'm considering having ceramic done on the rest of the vehicle.
I don’t think ceramic PPF is worth the $, especially for a vehicle that doesn’t sit in the sun. Wife’s car has 3M stuff and it’s been great after 80k miles.
Oh you mean ceramic coating. All comes down to who is applying it and what products they are using. Extremely wide range from shit they apply at the dealership to get an extra $500 out of you to places like Ammo NYC using very high end stuff.
Ceramic coatings aren't worth the money in my opinion. we had Xpel put on the whole front of the car and then everything else ceramic coated. It doesn't seem to have helped protect the paint really and the car is only hand washed and dried. We still get the little black dots everywhere from mulch spurs that are hard to clean off, along with anything else. I would save your money.
I do want the front protected by the XPEL PPF from stone chips. Trying to decide on ceramic for the rest of the car for cleaning ease and longevity but since my vehicle isn't a daily commuter and never is outside except for when it's being driven it sounds like that extra cost would be a waste for me.
Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like based on the limited use of my vehicle the ceramic on the rest of the vehicle would be a waste of money. When I was working my van would get the black dots from mulch spurs. Drove me insane trying to figure out what they were and where they were coming from. Once I finally figured out that they were coming from the mulch and parked in a different location problem solved. I heard someone call it artillery mold and can be shot out from the mulch a good 10 to 15 feet.
CB hit the nail on the head here. A proper application by a professional can be a game changer, especially if you have a dark or black car.
You’d never get an argument on this one from me. My jeeps almost 9 and spent a lot of time off-road and a lot rubbing against tree branches, etc. been wrapped in 3M clear since it was about 6 months old, panels get”too” scratched up I just peel off and replace it. There has been a couple large branches make their way through the clear bra but could / would have been a lot worse.
I have PPF with ceramic coating on top. You cannot beat this combo. My vehicle is dark in color and it takes several days of rain for you to see dirt on the paint surface. It's very repellent and makes it a breeze to wash. Good quality ceramic coating with a surface prepped and the coating installed by someone that knows what they are doing is worth every penny by itself. The PPF film is for the ultimate protection.
If you like doing this type stuff yourself, the Griot's Garage, 3 in 1 ceramic wax, is an excellent product, and easy to use. mate that with their ceramic speed shine for touch ups, and dust offs, and their ceramic soap (doesnt suds up hardly at all), mixed with their Brilliant shine soap (for lube and bubbles)... it is hard to beat that line. for exterior washing, and protection. like Frank's Red Hot... I put that shit on ERRRYTHANG! Ski
Ceramic coatings are about making the vehicle easier to clean. It is not paint protection. If you want protection put PPF on it. Know going into it that it is not a lifetime product and will need to be removed and replaced at some point. It gets way pricier the second time. Way more labor involved to remove the old PPF.
I’ve had XPEL on the front of two of my last cars that I use for covering my territory. Strongly suggest that for paint protection. The car is garage parked almost all the time (most hospitals I cover have parking garages, and always home garage). I really never thought about needing the ceramic on the rest of the car. I drive 40+k miles per year and the car looks new.
I had the Turbo GT ceramic coated and couldn't be happier with it. They do a paint correction first, then apply the ceramic coating to the entire car (windows, lights, everything). They even removed the wheels and coated the brake calipers, and entire wheel. It looks amazing, and will stay looking new for a long time. It was $2,000, but it is the 4-layer nano technology Ceramic, and it comes with a lifetime warranty. Any time I want (but he requested I do it at least once a year) I can bring it in and they will do a "health check" on it and redo any places that become thin. As they said, having quality product and doing it right is the key. I was in a hurry so the shop shut down other projects and all of them concentrate on mine. Even with 6 guys working on it, it still took 4 hours just to do the prep work. And it was done inside an enclosed room with a vacuum on it (to keep dust particles and shit away from the car). Then once it was applied, they surrounded the car with heat lamps and let it cure overnight. I couldn't be happier with the results. Personally, I suggest that everyone get it done. Well, that is if they care about how their car looks. For some people the car doesnt make a shit and is just a way to get from point A to point B. For those people, it isnt worth it. But if you take pride in your vehicle, I say get it done.
Both of my cars, the Jaguar and the Corvette are ceramic coated and the Vette has PPF film which is also ceramic coated on the front half of the car. Both of these cars sit outside as the Italian bikes own the garage. It was professionally applied. Make sure that the PPF film you use is also ceramic coated. Mine was done by Ceramic Pro which uses ceramic coated PPF. The secret is to have this done by somebody who knows what they are doing. You can have the very best materials but you will get shitty results if it is applied by a poor technician. It makes keeping the cars clean a lot easier. Most of the time I clean them off with my pressure washer(no soap) and wipe them off with microfiber towels. I will never own another vehicle and not have this done to it.
