Ceramic, PPF and Paint correction questions

These are absolutely the current state of the art procedures.

Prices vary, but I see these as fair for a competent shop. I intentionally paid considerably more for a shop that I consider the best nationally. And if you’ve not had ceramic coating before, you’ll be delighted at how easily it cleans up — night and day relative to an uncoated car.

Now, what I don’t know is the susceptibility of classic Italian paint to lifting, if and when you remove the PPF. I’m confident enough in the modern F paint and modern film that I covered the whole car. But given that you value the classic original paint (as I would!), I’d think carefully before doing PPF.

Best of luck!

 

Here’s a discussion of the issue (below - hope the link works). The fact that no one guarantees removal is telling.
Again, I jumped in and did it. But I was protecting well-cured factory-new paint.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/index.php?threads/Has-anyone-actually-seen-ppf-removal-pull-factory-paint%3F.682419/

 

Those are very competitive quotes. Here in the MidWest, prices for similar work are higher.

 

When I took my 599 to Esoteric Detailing in Columbus OH for exactly the same procedure it was considerably higher.

 

Are they only doing paint correction on the panels that are having PPF installed Nick?, seems strange if they are.
I have done a few cars now for my customers where they only want a " Front End PPF Installation " and then Ceramic coating to the rest of the car.
With this i prepare and machine polish the whole of the car, how far the customer wants to go with paint rectification can vary from car to car.
Once machine polished the car gets its PPF installed, i usually recommend the full hood / bonnet, front valence, both front wings, wing mirrors, and the A pillars.
Once returned i then apply a 2 stage ceramic coating to the car, be aware that you have to use a specific ceramic coating for PPF.
This was the price for a 2009 Aston Martin DBS:
Full front end PPF Installation only, as mentioned above - £2000 including VAT from a reputable installer.
Dependent on the paint rectification level, anywhere between £600 - £1000.
Coating of paint with Gyeon Quartz Q2 Syncro and Gyeon Quartz PPF - depending on size of car £500 - £700.

How long the ceramic coating ( paint only ) will last depends on a few factors:
1. Is the car driven daily and is it left outside to the elements at all times?
2. How is the car maintained / washed?
3. Has the ceramic coating been applied correctly.

In my experience, if the car is correctly maintained and washed correctly, and garaged for most of the time, the ceramic coating should easily last 2 years / 3 years.
4 years for ceramic, could be possible i suppose , but i would be sceptical myself.

 

My 2 cents…. Much of the life of a ceramic coating is due to 3 things- the quality of the ceramic, is the car outside/protected/etc and most important is I always put an overcoat on after every wash. I firmly believe that sacrificial layer will do more to give longevity than anything. I keep my cars protected to weather exposure and I will easily get 4-5 yrs

 

You start to lose the beatding effect, and you will notice the luster start to fade

 

I recommend only committing to the paint correction first - see how that turns out.

If it doesn't look fantastic, then you don't want to do PPF over the top of that.

Letting the shop know you'll do "the rest of the job" only if the first phase turns out well just MIGHT encourage them to do a better job, huh?

Kevin

 

Ppf and ceramic make no sense unless daily driver and even then i wldnt do that

 

I don't know, buddy... I could catch a rock while headed to an ice cream cone with the top down and then be sad!

Kevin

 

Well Nick, if you have seen the result of their work and are happy, then - you pays yer money and takes yer chance, as the saying goes.
For me alarm bells ring in the wording on the quote - eg 1 hr of complimentary polishing - ??
You need to ask to what level of paint correction do they achieve before they install the PPF?, like wise with the Ceramic coating.
I dont see any indication either of time taken to perform the above?
And as regard an 8 year package on the ceramic - i dont know of any other reputable company that offers this?, unless you have to go back at certain intervals for a top up?

 

What has more effect on ceramic longevity? Quality of ceramic used, element exposure, washing technique,?

 

I would go with the quality of ceramic used Dan really, include with this poor preparation of the paint and poor application, results in a waste of time and money.
I will not apply any ceramic unless the paintwork has undergone at least a stage one machine polish, and this applies to brand new cars too.

Another vital aspect of ceramic application is the temperature and amount of moisture in the air, most ceramics do not like humidity when being applied, so always try and apply ceramic inside a stable warm garage / room.

A good quality ceramic coating will nearly always specify that the paint is left to cure for at least 12 hrs in a warm environment and must not come into contact with water during this time.

 

Ad,

Looks like you "know your stuff" - do you have an opinion on the film used?

I'm looking at two providers - one uses 3M-G200 the other uses Kavaca - interested in your edumacated feedback!

Kevin

 

Hi Kevin - i cannot comment on this my friend as its not in my remit.
I dont think you can go wrong with 3M or Avery Dennison as these 2 are the main companies who produce vinyl wrap or PPF for most installers???
When you are spending your hard earned cash i always do two things, go and visit the company and see their work upfront and then back this up with recommendations.
If you can go and check out a car that has had the film applied for over a year. Look for the film lifting around the edges of panels or around tight curves etc, are there any signs of the film fading due to sunlight exposure?

 

Next month my car is scheduled to have the Xpel Ultimate Plus put on my car, just the front spoiler/valance. Xpel is supposed to be one of the best.

 

Aerosurfer, did you pull that trigger, any results (or learning) ?
I had my paint corrected and ceramic coated about 5 years back. It looked fantastic and lasted maybe 2 years. It currently looks like hell and am considering correcting it once again and going full PPF.

Anybody work with LA based shop they can recommend ?
I will ask FastCars if they can do it (or it they have a sublet they can recommend) next month when I am getting my annual service.

 

Interesting and thank you for the update. I figure I may just do the hood, top and trunk because that is where it looks the worst and I see the most swirl. Between daily driving it and keeping it outside 24/7 under the CA sun it needs some level of protection on the major surfaces I am thinking. The front bumper can get chipped up all day long. Eventually I will spray it.

Interesting about the old paint potentially coming off, that makes a lot of sense. Your shop did some great work. Looks killer.

 

Now I'm frightened to death. Just bought a low mileage manual GTS with full PPF applied 4 years ago at a cost of 6k !!! It looks great but now I'm worried it will take off the original paint one day.

 

My F430 has PPF, we just had my wife’s AMG SL55 done and her daily driver Camry PPF’d also. If you take care of the PPF and ceramic like you would your paint, it will last longer than you have the car. Follow the directions of the PPF installer. He will probably tell you to only hand wash it with the proper stuff so it won’t damage the coatings.
You really shouldn’t worry about it. The new PPF lasts a long time.

 

How long do you keep your cars? All PPFs need to come off before the adhesive gets hard especially on plastic bumpers and where there are tight folds and near edges. This time period varies greatly depending on inside/outside parking and weather. I would peel that stuff off after 5 years depending if you care about your paint getting pulled. If its a special car or paint and its a weekend car then only do the front if at all. And never do headlights.