New car - XPEL or ceramic?

Do a search (top right) and you will find enough to keep you reading for a week at least.

 

Both ... paint correction, film the entire car, top the film with ceramic. Just make sure you get a great film installer ... look closely in person at other F cars he has done, look at the seams, if any, and be sure he is wrapping the edges everywhere he can, and that the spots where he can’t, you can’t see the edge because he got it right on the line.

I had my first California done by a shop near Boston with a national reputation for detailing, and there were visible edges and seams everywhere. My current car had the front end done sublet through the dealer in NY and it’s hard to tell it was wrapped. The installer is the most important part of the equation.

 

+1^ i had the film then ceramic done on the entire car. it's expensive but you won't regret it especially if you are ordering a new car. the car always looks clean and no swirl marks!!!!! once you get this done you'll never go back

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/ceramic-coating.601587/page-2#post-146735986

 

Do Xpel or similar for protection. Do the entire front end, mirrors and rocker panels. You can have ceramic coating applied over it if you'd like but if you're if your main goal is protection Xpel like coverage is all you need.

 

If it’s to protect against rock chips then a PPF, Xpel, Suntech, etc.
if it’s to keep from waxing, sun damage, etc, , then Ceramic

I really need someone to explain the logic of putting ceramic over PPF. What does that do?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

it makes the car easier to wash without putting ceramic on the paint. to get ceramic off and reapply when its time, you need to compound or wet sand heavily so in my opinion putting ceramic on paint is long term crazy

 

Xpel without a thought.

 

Depends on the paint. XPEL is thick and will change certain paint colors more than others. In fact, all films impact color to some degree. Ceramic on paint does concern me for the issues addressed above. Seems when they came out it was a very popular solution to waxing but the impact on the paint itself is unclear to me. For that matter, pulling off the PPF years later has also been known to pull off paint especially on bumpers. Does deserve a thought IMO.

 

i think it all depends on mileage/usage. for a daily driver or an FF ur gonna put 5k+ plus miles a year, i say ppf and if it pulls some paint sobeit. over a few years and 25k miles ur gonna have scratches and nicks on the front bumper, that's a fact. if its an f40 dont use ppf or ceramic.

so on a new ferrari that ur gonna drive 2k miles a year, id ppf the bumper and high impact areas. if ur gonna drive it 300 miles a year id stick with traditional carnumba or sealants.

 

Best logical thought re this matter

 

You absolutely DO NOT have to, nor should you ever need to, wet sand to remove a ceramic coating. I owned a professional detailing company and have used these extensively, and to remove you do need to polish it and sometimes compound if the coating is relatively new. Most times however, it is a light compound polish to remove trace amounts. I know you are very anti-ceramic coating biased, and that is fine, but please be certain you don't provide false information because you feel it is not necessary. Also, it makes the car easier to wash WITH ceramic than without it, and that's a fact.

 

im not provoding anything thats false. ive had ceramic removed from 3 cars. i know exactly what it takes to take modesta, ceramicpro off a car. maybe the more retail ceramics are easier to take off, but i have never and wld never try putting ceramic on myself.

 

thanks. also fwiw quite a few new ferraris get sprayed and resprayed once they get to FNA. respraying a front bumper after 10 yrs is acceptable as long as its done by someone well respected. so the whole idea of cermaic preventing the need to respray is a fallacy. drive 50k miles with ceramic and no pff on a bumper and you will need a respray just like if it never had ceramic.

so you need to know what your hedging/protecting against.

 

Thank you. On a new car with 1K miles/year, if you PPF the front and wax the rest after any correction can you also wax over the PPF for lets say Suntek? How aggressive a wax can be used on the PPF - cleaner/wax too aggressive? Thanks.

 

you cld ceramic over the ppf and then wax or sealant over the non ppf areas. you can also wax or sealant over the ppf...depends how crazy you want to go. at 1k miles a year id ppf and leave it. how many car washes a year is that 2 or 3 maybe?

 

Yes, 2 or 3 a year is exactly correct. What is the story with paint sealant if you don't mind me asking. Something between a wax ceramic? Is it safe on 3-layer paint? Thanks.

 

I use the appropriate Zymol wax and this stuff. https://www.zymol.com/concours.aspx

Glaze and sealer are fairly interchangeable terms.

 

Thanks Marc. I have used the Zymol Carbon on other cars and found it to be a lot of work but smells great and good to apply with bare hands. Are you saying that sealant is just a really good show wax like Concours and not a category of protectant unto itself? Sorry for the seemingly dumb question.

 

The nomenclature is nuts from brand to brand.

I polish (some "sealers" are actually polish) wax and glaze. YMMV If you let the Zymol Concours dry, you will regret it. The stuff will beat you up. Great depth with a natural look. Pure carnauba or carnauba glazes give a depth that can't be duplicated with the new miracle coatings. The other beauty of carnauba is how easy it is to touch up at shows.

I use 3M polishing products and Zymol waxes and glaze depending on the car.

 

https://www.autogeek.net/qude101.html

For garage queens i use zymol.
For cars that see the elements i use a sealant.
For cara that have ppf i use ceramic.
I never put ceramic on paint anymore.

My preferred cocktail for my f40 when going to concours: zymol hd clense, 3m imperial hand glaze, and then zymol ital.

In my humble opinion 3m imperial hand glaze is the most underrated, under appreciated, and under advertised detailing product on the face of the earth.

 

Expel is better the other brands. IMO. Also they have a 10 year warranty. Had expel on my 2013 458 Spider and started to get worn looking after 28k miles. The installer replaced the film and only charged for labor. The ceramic over film is great. Easier to clean bug and birdsh..it without much pressure.

 

I second your opinion!!! I have been using whatever the current version of 3M Imperial Hand Glaze for almost 40 years.