Hey guys Ran through the game plan with my detailer, wanted to ask some of the more experienced guys on here a couple questions and learn from collective experience. Probably sounds more OCD than it needs to be, but going to force field this car so I just don't have to worry too much about driving the wheels off of it. I'll get it detailed every month or two. Not going to be a concours type deal - Any specific do's or don'ts, or things to watch out for, when it comes to the full body clear bra? (Going with Suntek Ultra) - Did you guys film the headlights? I know there are risks of delamination on the Porsche 911s but no clue if this is a thing with modern Ferraris. - Do you guys use a car cover? Unfortunately I don't have my garagemahal quite yet (it's on the list) and I use the underground parking garage in my apartment building. Only time I was thinking about using a car cover is when I leave for work trips that are typically a week every month or two. Still leaning towards not using the car cover, as I doubt I'd have the time to quickly detail the car before putting it on. My detailer warned me that the car cover can impact the ceramic coating and film to reduce the sheen and even in some cases leave very small indentations or divots that you may or may not see Any input appreciated thanks fellas
ppf everything. put ceramic on the ppf, not on the paint. avoid car covers at all costs. they only carry downside.
Thanks, I have some experience after going through this last year on my 911. Did the ppf and ceramic coating all on top, loved it. Just wondering if any specifics/semantics different for Ferraris, such as the headlights Re the cover appreciate the tip, leaning very much towards no car cover and just hoping people can respect my car / leave it alone just as I do theirs
yeh def - having a cover invites people to try and look underneath. better off with no cover, people can see the car and not go up too close etc. also covers are notorious for moving dirt around paint in an abrasive way. with the ppf and ceramic you will have done everything you can to prevent damage from the elements and stupidly of people.
Suntek Ultra on my entire car including the headlights; the car looks great and no problem whatsoever with headlight delamination. I use a car cover religiously in my garage; no problem with scratches but it's always clean when the cover goes on. In a shared apartment garage, I would definitely use a cover, but one without the Cavallino. My $0.02.
I believe the delamination issue on the newer 911s is if the film needs to be removed; I have not heard of a problem on a Ferrari.
I did not film the headlights although it was not presented as an option. If I’m not going to drive for a few days or more, I will cover my garaged car once cold and after a quick detail. My motivation is to keep it sparkly so when I return for the unveiling, it’s looks good. Takes a little time and certainly not essential, but I enjoy it. I was not warned about covering the ppf’ed and ceramic’ed car by either the installer or applicator. Perhaps it is a known possibility with the product your guy uses, or perhaps my guys are unaware? Regardless, i have not observed any imperfections as result of using a cover.
Hope this helps. Not sure on the Suntek but I went Xpel Ultimate and then CQuartz finest reserve. Reason was I was 100% confident with the installer and that's the most important part. He new very well I was anal due to past history on cars. Now believe me you cannot achieve 100%. Its a fact. You can get close but never 100%. Reason is that its a film. It can and will be stretched to a certain extent and that's it. e.g side air intakes at the bottom of the opening the film will be cut. It will have some paint not covered. You can fill it in but looks Mirror is about 6 pieces and that's where you see real skills of the installer Not sure on the suntek but xpel has an excellent library of all cars. The film is cut to the shape , NO blades on the car. Saying that there are parts that are not covered. e.g under the sills and bumpers. Seriously they are the parts that will get gravel rash. Get them to lift the car and cover all painted parts. BTW all 4 wheel arches have a thin film from factory, they should remove them. Next I had them apply the film to the door jamb where the lock is and down the whole sill. Basically I asked that every painted panel be covered and they did. ALSO THE LIGHTS. Lastly did Ferrari give you a small sample of touch up paint ? If not get it. You need to do that before anything else. The installer might find a chip or 2. I had 2 little ones on the bottom spoiler. One thing I really liked was my installer with me there went over the car with a light taking 2 hrs looking at every single part of the car. It was so good that it didn't need any prep work just a full wash. Don't know if this was the case as I have Rosso Corsa Metallic and Ferrari spent more time on it but it was outstanding and the dealer said also. No car cover for me as its my art show stopper. If I cant drive her I want to perve My beast lives in a climate controlled show room with enough insulation to do a couple of small houses. The least you touch the car the better. But again im anal and use filtered water to wash with foam and then blow dry her down.
My car Thought : water has minerals , fluoride , crap etc. You wash then rinse with the water. You must dry it or you will get water spots. But using filtered water = no spots and with the film and ceramic you just blow it away and dried.
Im in Australia. Cost was about $750 AUD. I dare say you should have someone doing this in your country ? https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwji6ZXc6LrjAhWC73MBHUuVACMQFjAAegQIBhAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.clarencewaterfilters.com.au%2F&usg=AOvVaw1v7gWFoxTau7r5EkchOrAd Its under window cleaning and car detailing water filters. I just bought a trolley and bolted it to that. They also supply a TDS meter , that indicates when you have to change the active resins ( Total Dissolved Solids ) I can and will swear that filtering the water is the best thing, actually any car
I will have a look certainly, thanx Angelo Found the description; seems that you also need these extra's, or at least the filling stuff Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I would definitely go with Suntek Ultra. Great self healing properties and more "clear" than Xpel. From what I've seen, the Suntek also tends to dry out less and yellow less than the others. Stay far, far away from the thick 3M films. They yellow a lot and dry out fast, not to mention just look overall bad.
Just went with XPEL and love it so far, we did the whole car front and back including carbon fiber door sills and headlights. Looking into doing the windshield protection film, anyone have any feedback regarding their experience with that on their car?
Another recommendation for Suntek. My Huracan Performante is completely filmed with Xpel Ultra. However, with my 812, I went Suntek, partly because I could do the entire hood without the dreaded corner notches being exposed like they were on my F12, and partly because to the eye, Suntek looks a little “thinner” and less noticeable. I really like the result. To me, it seems superior side by side with the HP. That said, if Suntek is a 10, Xpel is a 9.0 or 9.5. The difference is nominal, and to casual observer, neither product is visible at all. For windshield protection, I once again chose Clearplex. I think it to be money well spent. I like filming the entire exterior of the car including windshield for the peace of mind it gives me driving in traffic or on a crowded highway. In an odd way, it almost feels like a suit of armor. Lastly, because it was mentioned earlier, here is the water filtration system I use for detailing. Works great. Works so good in fact, I chose not to ceramic coat my 812. I use filtered water, lightly air dry with a blower, and touch up with a micro fiber towel. That’s also the added benefit to film. Super easy maintenance. No paint correcting, no surface scratches, no swirls, and best of all, you can use quick detailer sprays between maintenance washes. I’m embarrassed, and borderline ashamed, by how seldom I was my cars. https://www.obsessedgarage.com/collections/water-filtration/products/dic-20-high-output-rolling-system
Something else to add. No cover! I've seen so much damage done by a supposedly "clean" cover. My guess is that you don't live in a low rent complex where others will have an issue with your material possessions. After a short while the others who park in your garage will be used to the car and don't think much of it. Besides, covers are annoying to use and it's just something that distracts from taking a quick drive etc. It's a car, make sure you enjoy it. Clear bra it and perhaps do the ceramic coating for added "depth". Have it detailed occasionally as you do, and just get out in it. Wear and tear is part of life for a car that is used, plain and simple, no shame in a bit of patina I'd much rather see that than a flawless garage queen with next to no mileage on it.
Thanks all for chiming in fellas, appreciate the tips and input. Brace yourself for a long post, hope this helps others as well researching this stuff for posterity sake Windshield film: As an update, I confirmed I have full windshield protection via car insurance (ok solid) and going to bypass the windshield film for now. I know that fitment will never be the same as the robots from the assembly line in Maranello on a new OEM windshield if it comes to that, but I had to replace my entire GT3 windshield last year and I honestly searched high and low and could not tell it had even been replaced Hoping for a similar experience *if* I need to replace the 488 one. The other reason I'm declining the windshield protection film right now is because I am deadset on ceramic tinting the interior greenhouse, to reduce heat in the cabin in Southern Cal (this is a night and day difference for me now as I was a non-believer, did it on my GT3 and now my 50th and will do it on all my cars). I have heard from installers that if you do a ceramic tint on the windshield, and then a film as well on the outside (so now two films on the same glass different sides), you can get a distortive effect and some haze when looking at the windshield from certain angles with certain lighting. Not sure I want that personally, but YMMV The two options I am aware of are Clearplex, which has been around for awhile and people have used it, and Exoshield which is an entirely new release from a different company. No one seems to know or have heard of Exoshield except for a select few installers who say it has a lot of potential and are just starting to offer it to clients. Can't speak to Exoshield, but apparently with Clearplex some people have not had great success with it which was off-putting when I researched this for my GT3 a year ago (of course conveniently now I forget why) Suntek vs. Xpel: I have heard with Xpel there can be some adhesive issues, and that there can be orange peel issues as well (this is just what I've heard, YMMV). But Xpel is thicker/more durable allegedly (I have no experience with Xpel). I had Suntek Ultra on my GT3 for full front/rockers/custom bits on side and rear. Suntek Ultra looked stunning, seemed to enhance the paint/make it more liquid. The problem I have with Suntek Ultra is that in my opinion, it tore much more easily than I thought it would. Just freeway/highway driving (ok a bit fast), debris had poked holes in the front hood of my Suntek Ultra film that was ceramic coated with CQuartz finest. Another on Rennlist had a similar experience where the film just didn't seem and feel that durable, but him and I likely drove our GT3s more than most Ferraris (not track) Suntek is now supposed to have this new thicker film called Suntek Ultra defense, which I am hoping is the best middle ground compromise between Suntek Ultra (and it's looks) and Xpel (and it's thickness/durability). I am hoping my installer can install it on my 488 and I can report back my experience, otherwise I am really torn between Suntek Ultra and Xpel as I will drive the 488 and hopefully hard!! Car cover: As of now don't plan on using a car cover, for just about the exact reasons Co-Pilota mentioned. Spending this amount of money for this whole force field stuff, I don't want to take any chances impacting the ceramic coating or film. Also don't want to have to detail the car every time before putting the cover on, as the effort I'm putting into figuring out this PPF stuff is so that I don't have to get the car detailed except every month or two. My detailer also was concerned when I brought up a car cover. The funny thing is I am considering putting an offer on a house as I type this, with the first thing done was taking measurements to make sure the 488 would fit in the garage which it did... fingers crossed it works out
Q: Can you connect the normal water hose on the system and use another hose to rinse the car direct and permanent ? I found similar systems here which creates so called "osmosys" water. It makes 200 ltr in 24 hrs clear water in a tank, not continue … Is yours a continue system or not ?
Its continuous. Tap hose to the unit and then out to wash the car. However I use a karcher after the filter to deliver the soap foam and then rinse. It has over one year washes before you need to change the 2 canisters of the resin and the central carbon filter.
Image Unavailable, Please Login May I suggest getting these also. Thief cant scan your place to find the keys
