Ceramic coating recommendation.... for a car

Shaps

Shaps

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Nov 4, 2019
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Long Island,NY
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2010 Sundancer 500
2015 Brig Falcon 330T
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Twin Cummins QSC550 w Zeus Pods
Not sure where on the forum to post this, if needs to be moved please let me know.

Son bought his first new car and wants to get it ceramic coated and i have no first hand knowledge. I know a lot of it is prep, but outside that.
So, for those of you who have done this, is there a particular brand you would use? Are there brands to avoid? What about the companies that apply the coating?

Thank you!
 
If he's going to have it done, find the highest rated place locally he can afford. If it's a daily, he doesn't need to have the paint corrected to a mirror finish.

Ia number of guys on the F150 forum swear by the spray on, buff off Turtle Wax
 
Not entirely relevant (more adjacent?) - have your son get the 3M clear film applied to the front of the car. Best money you can spend on a brand new car, in my opinion, if it's going to be driven. Stop the dings before they start...
 
Stee6043 said:
Not entirely relevant (more adjacent?) - have your son get the 3M clear film applied to the front of the car. Best money you can spend on a brand new car, in my opinion, if it's going to be driven. Stop the dings before they start...
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Jus Cruisin said:
If he's going to have it done, find the highest rated place locally he can afford. If it's a daily, he doesn't need to have the paint corrected to a mirror finish.

Ia number of guys on the F150 forum swear by the spray on, buff off Turtle Wax
Click to expand...

Thank you both.
Definitely doing PPF up front regardless of the ceramic coating.
Going to have it professionally done.
 
Shaps - its all about the prep and the professionals doing the work. Call the local Porsche dealer near you and ask where they all get it done. I guarantee they know the best shop in town.
 
mdolesh said:
Shaps - its all about the prep and the professionals doing the work. Call the local Porsche dealer near you and ask where they all get it done. I guarantee they know the best shop in town.
Click to expand...
Like it! Thank you!
 
Or find out where a local Tesla delivery center recommends. The detailer that did our Tesla 2-3 Tesla's in the shop every day.
 
I own 5 vehicles and paid to have 3 of them ceramic coated 3 years ago from a local IGL Kenzo company which was supposed to be top of the line back then.

All cars including the uncoated are no different now. Florida Bugs are just as hard to scrub off of the coated cars as the uncoated ones. Nothing magic or long lasting about ceramic coating when it comes to the Florida sun.

Opinion: Ceramic coating is the snake oil of this century.

For the PPF, if the installer is a butcher your car will have razor blade cuts in the clearcoat where they trim causing rust down the road. I looked at a Hellcat that had PPF and could see every cut the installer made in the paint. I passed on the car because rust is imminent in the near future.

I had PPF installed on the hood of my daily driver and it bubbled and lifted at the compound curves twice. The installer added an adhesive. Who knows how it will affect the paint underneath if it is ever removed.

Opinion: PPF is not worth the risk of a poor install.
 
Shaps said:
Not sure where on the forum to post this, if needs to be moved please let me know.

Son bought his first new car and wants to get it ceramic coated and i have no first hand knowledge. I know a lot of it is prep, but outside that.
So, for those of you who have done this, is there a particular brand you would use? Are there brands to avoid? What about the companies that apply the coating?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Go to www.XPEL.com

They are the leader in PPF and ceramic coatings. I’m having mine done with their Fusion marine grade ceramic coating. It’s a higher solids content ceramic specifically formulated for gelcoat.

Look up Find an Installer tab on their website and look in your area for authorized XPEL dealer.
 
I agree with the snake oil of the century. These guys with high end cars putting the PPF AND ceramic. On cars that will live in the garage under covers and see 1K mi or less a year. If your a fanatic about your car I say put the precut PPF on the front facing panels only. Spray wax every couple washes to keep it slick and pocket the cash.
My opinion as a bump and paint guy.
 
Ken Wolkens said:
I own 5 vehicles and paid to have 3 of them ceramic coated 3 years ago from a local IGL Kenzo company which was supposed to be top of the line back then.

All cars including the uncoated are no different now. Florida Bugs are just as hard to scrub off of the coated cars as the uncoated ones. Nothing magic or long lasting about ceramic coating when it comes to the Florida sun.

Opinion: Ceramic coating is the snake oil of this century.

For the PPF, if the installer is a butcher your car will have razor blade cuts in the clearcoat where they trim causing rust down the road. I looked at a Hellcat that had PPF and could see every cut the installer made in the paint. I passed on the car because rust is imminent in the near future.

I had PPF installed on the hood of my daily driver and it bubbled and lifted at the compound curves twice. The installer added an adhesive. Who knows how it will affect the paint underneath if it is ever removed.

Opinion: PPF is not worth the risk of a poor install.
Click to expand...

The razor blades comment sounds terrifying. I found a company that had a pre-cut template for my vehicle. As far as I know there was no cutting involved. I guess I'm glad I wasn't there to watch the install :)
 
The entire front clip of my M3 is done with XPEL. The car is white and it would show every single bug or rock Chip if it weren’t protected. It still looks new and whoever installed it wrapped every edge where they didn’t have a pre cut piece.

I have been using Jescar power lock on my cars for a few years and really like the durability in the winter months. After every wash, I completely dry the car and then spray a nice coating of Beadmaker for extra durability and slickness. It seems to work pretty well!
 
We had my wife's Volvo XC90 ceramic coated when it was brand new and it still looks brand new four years and 60k miles later. Not a scratch or swirl in the paint other than a few rock chips. It cleans up very easily with an electric pressure washer and foam cannon/two bucket method. It does live in the garage when not being driven but I will have all of her vehicles coated from now on. The worst part was that the detailer charged $200 for the annual inspection to keep the coating warranty in place, I stopped taking it back after the first few years since all they did was wash it.

I've never waxed my Jeep in over two years and just use Beadmaker as a drying agent on it and the Volvo.
 
Skuza said:
I agree with the snake oil of the century. These guys with high end cars putting the PPF AND ceramic. On cars that will live in the garage under covers and see 1K mi or less a year. If your a fanatic about your car I say put the precut PPF on the front facing panels only. Spray wax every couple washes to keep it slick and pocket the cash.
My opinion as a bump and paint guy.
Click to expand...

There it is folks....good thing this wasnt the mentality prior to flight, moon landing, medical procedures....sir, your ignorance is on display.
 
Carver370 said:
The entire front clip of my M3 is done with XPEL. The car is white and it would show every single bug or rock Chip if it weren’t protected. It still looks new and whoever installed it wrapped every edge where they didn’t have a pre cut piece.

I have been using Jescar power lock on my cars for a few years and really like the durability in the winter months. After every wash, I completely dry the car and then spray a nice coating of Beadmaker for extra durability and slickness. It seems to work pretty well!
Click to expand...

The other poster who suggested purchasing a pre cut piece is ignorant of the methods used to apply PPF. 99% of all PPF shops use proprietary software that lists the year, make and model of the car, and it also has option for the length of the overlap of the edges so the installer can wrap over the edges showing no seams on the paint surfaces.

A shop can purchase a pre cut kit from XPEL at retail prices but XPEL dealers have access to this software to cut their own patterns on their own plotters.

PPF is a sacrificial layer to protect your paint from rock chips as well as harsh environmental contamination. It increases the resale value of the car. The #1 consumer complaint is rock chips. This industry has exploded such that both ceramic coating and PPF have moved into the marine industry.
 
El Capitan said:
There it is folks....good thing this wasnt the mentality prior to flight, moon landing, medical procedures....sir, your ignorance is on display.
Click to expand...
Your ignorance is the industry paycheck.
There is necessary and overkill.
 
A company called Ruddick's Detail here in Central Florida (https://www.ruddicksdetail.com/) takes care of my car. I look forward to my annual refresh because they always have several Mclarens, rare Porsches, R8's, Bugatti's and the like in their shop.
Regardless, they did the Feynlab ceramic on the surfaces, wheels, and brake calipers then on the paint impact areas installed Xpel Ultimate film. The windshield is treated with GlassParency.
Contrary to one of the other posters I actually get my car out on the track and run it hard; the protections have paid off.

As an edit - there is nothing worse than dust from track brake pads and they put out a lot of dust and it is corrosive - the dust pretty much rinses off the wheels and calipers because of the ceramic coatings.
Secondly, Ken who posted above is right on the bugs in our area; one known as the "love bug" if left on the paint will damage the paint and they are difficult to wash off if you delay any time at all. After I bring the car back from Sebring, for example, it is covered in love bugs. My experience is they wash off very easily due to the ceramic coating on the car.
Lastly, I have film on all of the car's leaking edges and behind the tires but not completely over the car. Rock chips are non-existant and tire rubber rinses right off.
I believe it is a big benefit to the car's finishes.
 
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Thanks again for all the replies.
He wound up getting the paint corrected then XPEL on all but the back portion of the roof.
Also had wheels and calipers ceramic coated (gyeon I believe).
Saw the car today and it looks amazing.
He already has a small rock ding in the film, so it obviously is doing its job.
https://www.detailersdomain.com/ did the work. They did a great job.
 
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