umm lol you don't ceramic beneath PPF, it won't adhere. You ceramic on top to protect it from UV damage.
thats right - but over the years there have been owners getting their cars done and it being vice versa.
Are u still struggling to understand that ceramic doesn’t provide any shine and the paint prep does, whereas the carnuba does impact and bring out shine in the paint? Or u still not clear about that? By the way how old are you? Im 43. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So bottom line - What’s the better way to go if you care about the paint of your car? I have a rosso portofino color and it’s about to arrive- What do I do?
I live in Las Vegas and I wax my cars. I have seen a lot of cars that look great with a coating on them but I prefer wax. I also don't use ppf, it all yellows here and wrecks the paint when removed. This is my actual experience as a 25+ year Ferrari owner. YMMV
I've learned some stuff on this thread and appreciate the information. If I understand correctly, ceramics cars are much easier to wash and need far less waxing. But more expensive to apply and if a scratch happens, it cannot be polished out (but requires the removal and reapplication, which is expensive and can degrade the paint) Did I get this right?
If it were my car, I would find the best detailer around, have the new paint corrected (it is usually a mess from the factory and dealer prep), fully wrap the car, and then put the ceramic on top of the film. Then you have perfect paint, protected from scratches, and the film will be easy to keep clean without worrying down the road if the coating has issues. Make sure the film installer is very good, and for sure look at some cars the shop has done first to make sure their wrap is invisible. I went with a detailer north of Boston that has a national reputation as being among the best for detailing for my former grigio California 30, but the film install they did was subpar, visible seams everywhere. A seam or two on difficult areas, like the side mirrors, or the points at the top of the hood, is no big deal, but some installers just print the template and do not wrap the edges or put seams in obvious places to make it easier.
Err…kinda. The new Ceramics these days have a final coat applied that adds the depth and reflection we all lust for. Typically its 4 layers ceramic, with one top layer of whatever that brand calls their reflection enhancer. The paint is now UV protected and has a hard shell to act like a sacrificial barrier on top of the clear coat that was previously corrected of all scratches. The final coat of the shine enhancer lasts approx one year of normal use. The detailer is supposed to include the annual maintenance into the price or may charge a-la-carte. In any case, it's something you can do yourself with "Carpro Reload" after a wash. The shine and depth you get blows any wax out of the water. Also, never wax on top of your ceramic to try and enhance the shine, it just creates a surface for contaminates to adhere to and then you have to acid wash the wax off…ask me how I know lol. If you get a bad scratch (deep) in your ceramic, it's not the end of the world as it just saved your clear coat or worse, your paint, from damage. The typical fix is a wash dry of the car, and panel buff of the affected area with a wool pad to remove the ceramic. The paint is then corrected with a light compound with similar abrasiveness of a cleaner wax. The surface is then cleaned with alcohol and then the ceramic is reapplied. This process is not typical as the ceramic does not scratch easy and protects during contact with normal washing routine. I have a gloss black car, the absolute worst paint to keep up, and it's 100% fine. Paint with metallic or pretty much anything other than gloss black with hide said scratch anyway. To really protect your car you can get the entire car covered in PPF and then ceramic on top of that. The new PPF these days does not yellow and self heals as well. Stay away from 3M PPF... That's all I have for now.
Ppf the whole thing and ceramic if its gonna see the elements and lots of miles Carnuba or sealant for s recreational garage queen or rare valuable cars Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
All the ceramic does is make washing easier and adds protection from elements. It doesn’t help with scratches. If u had a car that was outside al the time you wld want ceramic on it but better to put ceramic on the ppf so you never have to aggressively polish the ceramic off when its time to redo everything Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And despite when any ceramic disciple might want you to believe - carnuba js the winner for maximum depth of color and shine. Plenty of top caliber detailers will tell you what they do for concours prep etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
complete and utter crap, not scientifically or practically proven, ever. you just dont know what you are talking about. 100% false.
Ok so bottom line we might all have to agree on this... this guy is a “fill in the blank”. I will tell you at age 52,by the way “Sir Carnauba”, (only because he asked) that I have owned a lot of cars and detailed them and had them detailed by professionals. I have used all manner of waxes and I have never seen the results I have with a ceramic coating properly applied. Since I started this thread I have spoken with a couple of the top Detailer’s in Atlanta and they all agree Ceramic is the way to go now and in the future. They stake their reputations to it. And unlike “you know who” they have dealt with thousands of cars. Also, not all films yellow. The new films are really good. Check out Suntek. Fantastic for dark cars. Also Ceramics do provide SOME protection from very fine scratches due to the hardness of the surface. It will not protect against deep scratches. Like Fireman said at least it protects the clear coat. Wax does not do this. Finally, my recommendation is to have the front Half of the car PPF then do a 10 year rated Ceramic coating on the entire car. My Detailer used Gtechniq. It is popular here in Atlanta but there are other great brands. Total car wrap is overkill but does provide max protection. And oh yea... Mr. Fake news... no matter how the wind blows the mountain can’t bow to it!!! Can you feel what the rock is cookin??!!!! Woooohoooo!!!
ive been around here a long time - go ahead and create a "this guy is an ******* poll" and lets see what the results looks like. i have a platinum winning f40 and two dozen other cars that i maintain for reference of experience, and i have a current 3 years test between ceramic and carnuba on the same hood. what do yo have? a bunch of conversations with top detailers who stake their reputation? you mean guys who get paid to put ceramic on? i see. ive spent alot of money making mistakes and learning from different circumstances...i share them here with people so they can benefit from my experience. i dont pick one method and back it because its the one i picked. ok. cool.