Ceramic Coating - worth it?

No

 

No ,
Go buy your own for £40$45 and do it yourself it’s easy
Then the answer is yes 100% makes it so much easy to clean and will last 2/3 years
Just prep it well before you start

 

995! They are having a lend. PPF much more effective

 

If you’re looking for chip protection, you want ppf. I personally think ceramic coating is worth it. It protects the paint and carbon better than classic wax products. Helps with “spider webbing” you get if you clean improperly. I’d recommend ppf front of car and rockers then ceramic coating the whole car. Or ppf entire car if the budget allows. jmo though

You can ceramic coating yourself but it’s labor intensive and must be done correctly or else you get rainbows in your paint. Nobody wants that.

 

ppf then ceramic coating over the top. you won't regret it.

not sure i would go with dealership as they will likely bilk you.

 

100% this....

 

I do not know how it is in the UK but here in the USA dealers normally do not do a good job and use great products to detail cars. Always do your research and take your car to. professional detailer....OR....learn on line to do it yourself with the correct tools and products. I've done both. My F8 was professionally done PPF fully and ceramic coated but my other 2 vehicles I took the time and did myself like Ive done on other cars I have owned.

My 488 and before it many Porsches were only PPF'd/Ceramic coated for the front bumper and mirrors and they least of the car is only ceramic coated. I noticed normal road grime and dust to adhere more to the parts of the car that were not PPF'd. So on my F8 I PPF'd the entire car and then ceramic coated. On normal sunny day drives it seems like dust etc does not stick to the car like it did my others.

 

no protection against chips ,
I get all my cars ppf’d your best just getting the bonnet bumper lights wings and sills (high impact areas ) then coating over the top ,
The coating just makes it easier to clean dirt won’t stick
The key is in the prep take it to a dedicated shop the dealer normally does a terrible job you really need any imperfections polished out first

 

lol after all that
Simple then just ceramic coat yourself over the top just panel wipe down and clay bar first . Make the ppf easy to clean

 

There are really two questions being asked here.

1. Should one get ceramic coating (with or without PPF)?

and

2. Is it worth it to get ceramic coating on a Ferrari 488 Spider (a car that retails for around $300k, give or take).

As to question No. 1, yes, especially if you like that "wet" glossy look.

As to question No. 2, if you've already spent 300k on a car, what's another $1000 to $3000? Which is literally something like 1% of the total purchase price of the car (if that).

 

I just got it done.

It’s about a grand. It’s worth it. Even When you quick wash your car, it always looks great

 

To further the point, I have this bird at the lake house who Sh1ts on my car every single night. Since the car is ceramic’d, all I do is spray it off, or presoak it then spray it off, Mach it for a couple of minutes then presto! It’s perfectly clean again. Black is tough to keep clean anyways…. Now, where’s my gun?

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Ceramic coat is great. You can just pressure wash the car or blow it after a drive without needing to get the soap and bucket out. That means you'll end up with less swirls and imperfections in the long run.

It offers zero chip/scratch protection though... One thing to keep in mind is if you're going to do it then have the car clay bar'd/decontaminated first, or even a full paint correcting detail depending on the paints condition and appearance. Ceramic coat will 'lock in' whatever's underneath so it pays to start with a perfect base.

Most PPF's are hydrophobic these days so you don't really need to ceramic a car with film on it.

 

Oh and do your wheels as well! Keeps them looking nice.

I have GTechnic on my 550 and it even dials up the gloss factor.

Highly recommended and you'll pay half as much (and get a better job) by going with a private detailer over a dealer...

 

ppf entire car then ceramic coat and reapply ceramic coat when it wears off.
This is the ideal / best method.
ceramic coating does nothing for stone chips, one stone chip will prove that ppf is 'cheap' in comparison.
Please ppf. this happened to me for one vehicle, it's not a super expensive vehicle but I regret not doing it so much due to stone chips which bug the life out of me and would have been so much cheaper to ppf the entire car than respray the front end.

ppf also helps protect the paint when the car is cleaned / polished.

Now I would go so far as to not drive a vehicle and save for the ppf, or drive it very slow!
You can then apply the ceramic coating later yourself to save money, see how that goes and if you balls it up get it done by a professional, if not then you'll save some money even into the future when you reapply the ceramic coat.

I would say ppf is essential and ceramic coat is secondary but well worth it and can be done yourself. ppf needs the pro's and not the 'cheap' method.
if you really want extra protection ppf, then wrap then ceramic coat! but this is expensive.

 

You don’t ceramic coat over PPF.

 

I love to stay open minded and love to learn but a lot of people do ceramic over ppf

 

The only guys putting ceramic coating over PPF are the guys that are taking advantage of their customers. The entire front of my car is PPF’d. That is where my ceramic coating stops.

 

PPF is porous. Ceramic coating over PPF works great, adds extra protection to the ppf from elements and dirt and water basically rinse off. Add's an extra dimension of depth and shine too.

 

I recently heard about a company called Revivify that offer a coating product that cures thick and offers scratch and chip resistance. Not a film that requires the car to be wrapped, it's rather a 2-stage coating that acts like PPF but is applied like a ceramic coat.

Could be a more cost effective option than going the custom PPF route (if you have a car that hasn't been stenciled and has to be custom cut to the car).

 

YES, YOU ABSOLUTELY DO!!!! I really can't believe that in 2025 people still don't understand ceramic coating, detailing, paint correction and PPF still.... Wash the car, do chemical decontamination (iron and tar removers), do mechanical decontamination (clay bar), do at least a two step paint correction with microfiber pad/compound and foam pad/polish and do it right- correcting every square inch (6",3" and 1" pads and machines).. then use an IPA (isopropyl alcohol solution) to remove any residual polishes etc. Wash and dry the car again. PPF the areas you wish or entire car. Then ceramic coat the entire car with a PPF formulated ceramic coating. Ceramic the wheels of course as well. Ceramic ALL plastics (cerakote or g-techniq or Gyeon trim are all good ones for plastics) Ceramic all the glass also with a glass coating or just use the topper if the coating you chose for the body is a two layer system. Lastly, seal all rubber moldings etc with something like Carpro Perl or VRP. And dont use tire shine products.... use a coating like Gyeon Tire or Carpro Darkside. Enjoy.