Educate me on PPF, Ceramic coating and Paint Correction

It's the thickness of the adhesive layer under the film that fills the defect so the film having good clarity has nothing to do with if you would see a defect

 

We discussed the concept of paint correction in detail, he wrote “full paint correction” on the invoice, but no, I did not see the car before the PPF was installed. I assume he did it, just like I assume my oil is changed by the dealer, even if I do not see them do it.

 

We use STEK exclusively and its the same effect.

 

Would look fantastic without a rear numberplate

 

I suppose it depends on the definition of paint correction it could be a minor decontamination correction required and not a crazy in depth correction, as long as its done the job and the car looks great then that's all that matters I suppose

 

Lol, we have nothing to gain by recommending not to do it, it's just good people can save cash, I hate it when people take advantage of someone's passion to extract more cash from the customer

 

I think we can agree on that. I doubt it was a “concours” level correction effort. It was probably a “just enough is good enough” approach which is fine for my purposes and expectations. Both my cars that he did look fantastic. The Performante looks indistinguishable from showroom new despite being 30 months old, and my 15 year old Ford GT looks the same. And like I mentioned before, I love not having to ever wash the cars. Saves me a ton of time.

 

It’s a shame not to perform paint correction prior to clear mask or ceramic coating. Finished paint from factory could still use some polishing. I participated in a couple of detail shop demos showing the differences between paint correction and not. I have had my cars done both ways. Based on what I saw and my own experience, for me it’s a no brainer. I would only skip it if I didn’t want to keep the car but a few months. If you want to enjoy looking at the car as much as driving it then a reasonable bid is worth looking into.



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Well it's clear to me after all these replies that there is no clear answer-too many variables-paint condition,driving habits, and how long you'd expect to own the car.

 

Paint correction is when a car gets it's paint restored to the point of looking brand new. It is generally something that is done after a detailing which involves having the car completely and properly washed and cleaned. Paint correction involves lots of buffing. It also isn't meant to cover major paint chips or eliminate tons of deep scratches but rather eliminate swirl marks, get rid of isolated lighter scratch marks, etc. which are known as surface imperfections. This will set you back typically several hundred.

Ceramic Coating is a used typically by high end car wash places or more so detailers. They apply a liquid that basically bonds with the paint of the car and is supposed to make the car paint shine like no tomorrow (think uber glossy!) and make it much easier to clean the next time around. The cost of this varies from several hundred to maybe $2k for one applications - the lower end last about 1-2yrs while the higher end I believe lasts 7-10years? This doesn't prevent scratches or rock chips!

Paint Protection Film (PPF) - aka clear bra - is a transparent film that goes over portions of the car or can go over the entire car. The entire purpose of this is to prevent scratches or rock chips from damaging the original paint. However, this doesn't prevent someone with an obvious intent to key a car or say hitting/scraping against something really badly as it will simply go through the film and damage the paint anyway. You can also have clear bras on your front windshield to prevent small cracks. Depending on the quality of the film, how good the installer is, and how much of the car you are covering look to spend anywhere from about $1,500 to $6k.

The order you typically do this is

a) get a really good car detail to clean the car
b) have your car undergo a paint correction IF needed
c) apply ceramic coating after all paint correction has been completed

OR

a) get a really good car detail to clean the car
b) have your car undergo a paint correction IF needed
c) get a clear bra done

OR

a) get a really good car detail to clean the car
b) have your car undergo a paint correction IF needed
c) get a clear bra done
d) get the ceramic coating on top of the clear bra



If I got anything wrong please feel free to correct me. Hope this helps.​

 

Well Lucky Dice -that was well stated and in clear terms that anyone can understand.Thank you!

 

Bentley I owned before and after correction, this is a light correction I go for 90% with mf pads and finishing paste never cut paste. Despite what deltailers say you can get this done very quickly and yourself but, just be careful of the edges as you can burn through Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Car was 2012 from memory and this was from 2017 Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So what brands are we liking for ceramic coat? Xpel has one now. Any experience?

 

It depends if you are applying yourself or via a certified installer, is this over ppf or on paint?

 

Well, one car may be full PPF, and another partial. So both on PPF and on the paint. Likely done by the installer.

 

I have halo over my ppf, seems to work fine, I cant comment on professional install as I do mine myself but I can say I have gtechniq csl and exo on my 991 and cayenne, the cayenne lives outside and is still going very strong after 12 months in the rain and use as dd, it does not go to the local car wash though which makes a big difference as some of these car washes use truck wash will kills coatings. I do highly recommend the csl and exo [emoji1360]

 

There is a "clear" answer but very few want to believe it. We just did a beautiful 812 Rosso Fuoco which had some slight scratches, not very deep but very visible (sucks as this is a brand new $500K+ car), none of thee imperfections are visible after PPF - NONE. It looks incredible. I guess we could have charged another $1000+ but a good shop wont take advantage of people like that.

https://www.instagram.com/stories/glaswerksdmv/

 

Thanks for the clarity.So what do you do to preserve the ppf----- wax? or self applied sealant or coating like F11(which I use on my 2019 488 spider since new on top of PPF on front ,rockers and wheel wells etc.

 

Coating is warrantied for 10 years with STEK. I doubt it lasts that long if you daily but the way most are used you're good for a while.
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is it advisable to clear bra the entire car including the non-impact areas and then ceramic coat it, or do most people just clear bra the high impact areas, and then do paint correction and ceramic on the rest without the clear bra?

 

I have done it both ways. GT3 and 812 had full body wrap and Pista just front. All covered with ceramic after. For me the more protection, the less worry. I would love waxing my cars but don’t have the time to keep up. So having the layers brings peace of mind and the ceramic coating really brings out the shine and helps with washing and keeping it clean. The main determining factor for me has been cost. If you can afford the extra protection, you might want to consider it.

 

812 is currently getting paint corrected, and ppf on front entire front and rear panels behind wheels as well as the CF around the exhaust. Ceramic on the whole car. Pista just arrived and will be getting a full PPF and ceramic since the entire car is covered in pricey CF and crazy paint work.