PPF and Ceramic?

[CBNash]

She's finally here!!! 6-8 weeks that turned into 4 months

I'm considering a full PPF wrap and ceramic coating to keep her this beautiful.

Thoughts, feedback, experiences?

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[HighVelocity]

Don't forget the bubble-wrap skin.

 

[Magic88]

If you're going full ppf, just have them polish the paint before they apply the film. No reason to ceramic the ppf as rocks will ding up the film no matter if it's ceramic'd or not. Kind of a waste of money

 

[MilesTeg]

Full PPF wrap is great.

Skip the $$$ ceramic though -- just a waste on top of PPF.

You'll still want to apply a sealant once or twice a year to the PPF though. It will still collect contaminants just like bare paint and the sealant will help reduce that.

 

[CalvinT]

Do one or the other. It makes no sense to me to do both. It all depends on what you want. If you don't plan on going off road much, get the ceramic coating. If you want pinstripe protection get the PPF.

Bear in mind that both are temporary and need to be reapplied after a while. You have to remove the PPF to reapply, you can put ceramic over old ceramic.

I go off road, but I got the ceramic coating. It was cheaper than PPF. IMHO it looks better than PPF and sheds dirt. The shop gave me a six year warranty.

I did have PPF put over my headlights. It helps keep them from turning yellow.

I just keep an eye out for branches.

 

[CBNash]

Do one or the other. It makes no sense to me to do both. It all depends on what you want. If you don't plan on going off road much, get the ceramic coating. If you want pinstripe protection get the PPF.

Bear in mind that both are temporary and need to be reapplied after a while. You have to remove the PPF to reapply, you can put ceramic over old ceramic.

I go off road, but I got the ceramic coating. It was cheaper than PPF. IMHO it looks better than PPF and sheds dirt. The shop gave me a six year warranty.

I did have PPF put over my headlights. It helps keep them from turning yellow.

I just keep an eye out for branches.

Thanks so much for the info!

 

[CBNash]

Full PPF wrap is great.

Skip the $$$ ceramic though -- just a waste on top of PPF.

You'll still want to apply a sealant once or twice a year to the PPF though. It will still collect contaminants just like bare paint and the sealant will help reduce that.

Thanks so much!

 

[HYO SILVER]

She's finally here!!! 6-8 weeks that turned into 4 months

I'm considering a full PPF wrap and ceramic coating to keep her this beautiful.

Thoughts, feedback, experiences?

03/2025 I did PPF on the Body except the tailgate (not enough surface area with the spare tire to warrant $500). I did a ceramic coating on the hard top to protect against the Florida Sun So far after several about 8 off road adventures throught the East Coast it has held up better than expected. My last trip to Alabama Stoney Lonesome did end up with a couple of tears on 2 body panels. It will definitely be more expensive to remove the PPF and reapply. Still debating when to do it or just keep going till it justifies the price. Overall though I think it was a good investment. I also did the PPF on my windshield which has dramatically improved the protection on the highway debris

 

[CBNash]

03/2025 I did PPF on the Body except the tailgate (not enough surface area with the spare tire to warrant $500). I did a ceramic coating on the hard top to protect against the Florida Sun So far after several about 8 off road adventures throught the East Coast it has held up better than expected. My last trip to Alabama Stoney Lonesome did end up with a couple of tears on 2 body panels. It will definitely be more expensive to remove the PPF and reapply. Still debating when to do it or just keep going till it justifies the price. Overall though I think it was a good investment. I also did the PPF on my windshield which has dramatically improved the protection on the highway debris

Awesome! Thanks so much! Honestly, my installer is giving me a peek insane (in a good way) for a whole lot of work. I just want to be sure that I won't regret the investment down the road. But I also don't want to regret NOT doing it while she is super new and fresh.

 

[HYO SILVER]

Awesome! Thanks so much! Honestly, my installer is giving me a peek insane (in a good way) for a whole lot of work. I just want to be sure that I won't regret the investment down the road. But I also don't want to regret NOT doing it while she is super new and fresh.

It's definitely not cheap, but i had it done after my first trip to Beasley Knob in Georgia a few months after getting my Badlands SAS. PPF does not prevent damage but any light pin striping can be worth the price. My PPF damage was partly due to roots sticking out on tight turns but was limited to that, NO paint damage. Good Luck. I am in South Florida if you need a recommendation for a shop.

 

[CBNash]

It's definitely not cheap, but i had it done after my first trip to Beasley Knob in Georgia a few months after getting my Badlands SAS. PPF does not prevent damage but any light pin striping can be worth the price. My PPF damage was partly due to roots sticking out on tight turns but was limited to that, NO paint damage. Good Luck. I am in South Florida if you need a recommendation for a shop.

Thanks again! I've got an awesome guy up here. He is giving me an awesome deal on a TON of work (full PPF, ceramic coating, front window tint, windshield tint, infotainment protection), but the price tag is still not cheap. Just want to be sure I'm not jumping the gun bc she's so new and pretty. But also, really want to KEEP her looking that way.
Just tying to make the best decision at the best time.

 

[bravely]

She's finally here!!! 6-8 weeks that turned into 4 months

I'm considering a full PPF wrap and ceramic coating to keep her this beautiful.

Thoughts, feedback, experiences?

Mine took 18 months. took it straight to the ppf shop. did a full wrap, but did not do ceramic. 3 + years old & it still looks new

 

[MilesTeg]

Awesome! Thanks so much! Honestly, my installer is giving me a peek insane (in a good way) for a whole lot of work. I just want to be sure that I won't regret the investment down the road. But I also don't want to regret NOT doing it while she is super new and fresh.

PPF has several pros and cons that you should consider:

Pros:

• Protects the paint well from light to moderate damage like swirl marks, rock chips, pin striping, water spots, bumper scraps, etc.
• Self repairs light damage it takes -- just park in the sun for a while and it will "heal". Not ALL PPF does this, but Xpel and similar do.
• Easy to wash and maintain. Way less maintenance than "bare" paint.
• Keeps the vehicle looking very good for a long time.

Cons:

• Expensive
• Will never look as good as well cared for "bare" paint. The film just does not have quite the same look as "bare" paint. You'll also see various minor imperfections from install -- from bubbles to stretched film, etc. Some are warranty/install guaranteed, some are not.
• Edges collect dust -- good installers wrap the film around edges but where you see the "back" of panels (doors, tailgate, etc.) you'll see the edges and how it collects dust.
• Can't use a car wash unless it's touchless. But no one who cares about their car/paint enough to put PPF on it uses a non-touchless car wash anyway, hah.
• Needs to be replaced after 5-10 years (depending on brand, usage, climate, etc.)
• Can cause damage to the paint when removed, if not done skillfully or if it's left on too long before being replaced.

PPF isn't a slam dunk, especially not a full wrap. I full wrapped my offroad vehicle because its pros out weigh its cons in that scenario, for me. My Bronco would already have many rock chips, pin striping, and other trail damage if I had not done PPF.

However, on my Mustang, I would not do a full wrap. It's a car I intend to keep forever, so PPF would need to be replaced several times (at very high cost) to keep it looking good. Instead I just do the typical bra/leading edge protection that can be economically maintained. It will be cheaper, in the long run, to just have the car repainted when/if I feel the need than to replace PPF several times over the life of the car.

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