Opinions on PPF (XPEL) and Ceramic Coating

[Hondasport]

I’m still waiting on my CTR to come in. I currently have a VIN but no ETA. For the past few months I have been planning on getting the full front clip protected with XPEL Ultimate then getting Opti-Coat ceramic coating on the whole car. Recently, I’ve been considering having the whole car protected with XPEL and no ceramic coating. The cost of getting the whole car covered with XPEL is almost twice the cost of XPEL on the front end and ceramic coating. I’m willing to accept the difference in price between the two, I’m just not sure which to choose. Which option would you choose and why?

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[Ramster]

I've got my hood, front bumper, fenders, and mirrors covered in Xpel Ultimate on top of Ceramic Pro 9H gold on top of it, if you’re paying a shop to do it make sure they put the right amount of layers that you’ve paid for and as for Xpel PPF make sure your installer wrap the edges, it’ll look so much more cleaner or request for a bulk install instead of a precut install. I’m in the middle of getting mine redone due to install error and found out they only added 1 layer of ceramic on top of the PPF when I’ve paid for 5 layers. My advice is do your research on both and make sure whichever shop you go with gives you an exact breakdown on the invoice on what was applied to your car because it’s expensive and you want to know what was done. Only reason I went with both is because I plan to keep the car for a very long time and the maintenance to clean the car is rather easy and simple when your car is coated.

Keep in mind Ceramic coating isn’t going to protect your car from rock chip etc, that’s what the PPF is for. As for getting the whole car done with PPF if you can afford it I would go that route and just do a single or two layer of ceramic on top of it, it’ll make the car look amazing.

Here’s a few pics of what it looks like with both PPF and Ceramic after a simple wash.

 

[stevescivic]

I just recently picked up my CTR and I did the whole front in XPEL equivalent film (can't remember the film but it looks good). Wrapped the entire front of the car including full bumper, lights, fogs, full hood, full front fenders, roofline, A-pillars, door cups, mirrors, trunk lip, full rockers including lower and even the rear wheel arches for added protection. Only thing I didn't cover in PPF is hatch, full roof and the doors. I also tinted the back 3 windows in 20% ceramic tint. In total it was $2100 CAD including taxes and the job was done very good.

The next step is to now apply my own CQuartz coating (it can be applied at home IF you have the right equipment to correct your paint (mine will need a tiny bit of correction). The Cquartz locally isn't overly expensive. Maybe $120? Similar application like wax where you apply and then remove with a cloth. I went this route b/c wrapping the whole car could've cost a lot AND in my locality nobody has done a full "machine pre-cut" film. It has to be cut on car and I have a MAJOR aversion to that for fear of them knifing up my paint.

The rule I've followed with my new car is to not sink more than 5% of the car's total value in PPF and other fancy coatings.

So doing what I did was a decent balance of cost/protection/practicality. I don't drive in rain, I don't drive in winter and I'm certain some moron in the parking lot will eventually ding/dent my car and it won't really matter how much PPF or ceramic coatings I have... a dent is a dent and a scratch is a scratch.


@ Ramster - VERY nice looking CTR!

 

[erbee]

Not doing anything , when it's time to sell just get it repainted for $200 per panel .

 

[Night Fury]

Not going against the trend of the paint protection options, but I think is good to note:
-Ceramic coating is scratch resistant but it is not scratch proof, like it was mentioned before.
-If for some reason your have to remove the ceramic coating, you end up paying more than what you paid for install it.
-A partial film installation can protect better.

 

[boosted180sx]

You should coat the car whether or not you do a PPF anyways.

I personally ceramic coated the car mainly because it sits outside and don't want to be claying/waxing so often and just PPFed the b and c pillar gloss black trims because they get swirled just by breathing on it.

 

[erbee]

You should coat the car whether or not you do a PPF anyways.

I personally ceramic coated the car mainly because it sits outside and don't want to be claying/waxing so often and just PPFed the b and c pillar gloss black trims because they get swirled just by breathing on it.

Similar material on Jet black iPhones....

 

[17CivicTypeR_Brian]

I personally chose NOT to clear film but instead to only Ceramic Coat simply because my work/life habits changed and I no longer really drive my car on the highway...so I didn't feel like I needed the same chip-protection I may have opted for if I was still driving the interstate daily.

I see you're also in Central PA. I'm in York and was going to Middletown for my MBA, so on the highway a good bit. I also did some road-travel for work. If you plan to daily the car and have to use PA interstates, especially in winter, I'd highly recommend some clear film protection to protect the finish with Ceramic coat over top to make it easy to keep clean.
If you're like me (now) and driving 4-5 miles one way to work, rarely get over 35mph (and when you do, there's no other cars around to kick up stones), maybe you do some of the sides with film and ceramic coat the whole car.

For the times I do get it on the highway, I just avoid being around trucks and try to stay in front of a line of traffic. I limit my highway drives as much as possible and take alternate routes. Maybe not the best for fuel economy, and hard to get any roll-pulls in, but it's ok.

 

[boosted180sx]

Similar material on Jet black iPhones....

oh i know of that first hand ..... lol.

 

[secretaznman]

I did front partial PPF and ceramic coating on mine. I wasn't planning on doing the PPF at first but a shop offered it to me a price I couldn't pass up. I then spent the next two days prepping the paint and applying 2 layers of Cquartz UK on the entire car.

 

[Hondasport]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone.

@Ramster I definitely have one of the best shops picked out for the installation. They’ve been around a long time and have a great reputation. I also have two coworkers who had them install both the PPF and ceramic coating. You definitely sold me on the ceramic coating because my car will be the same color and that looks amazing. I may start with the PPF and do the ceramic later.

@stevescivic this will be my daily driver so I will be driving it in the rain and possibly snow if I don’t have a choice. I definitely fear some careless person opening their door into my car or damaging it on purpose. PPF won’t stop a ding but it will definitely protect against someone leaving a small scratch or trace of paint.

@17CivicTypeR_Brian I live near Harrisburg so all we have are interstates and trucks. Once winter sets in, there will be salt all over the roads well into March and April. PPF is definitely a must for me. We’ll have to have some sort of Central PA meet up sometime. There seems to be a lot of us on here.

Is getting the whole car wrapped in PPF overkill? I can always add ceramic later when I have more money. I’m just super paranoid about chips and swirls.

 

[17CivicTypeR_Brian]

I don’t think doing the whole car is overkill at all. Protect the whole thing!

Agreeing with the meet. I met 1 other so far at the Honda dealer but rolling in to a cars and coffee would be good. Keep an eye on the regional forum!

 

[UFO CTR]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone.

@Ramster I definitely have one of the best shops picked out for the installation. They’ve been around a long time and have a great reputation. I also have two coworkers who had them install both the PPF and ceramic coating. You definitely sold me on the ceramic coating because my car will be the same color and that looks amazing. I may start with the PPF and do the ceramic later.

@stevescivic this will be my daily driver so I will be driving it in the rain and possibly snow if I don’t have a choice. I definitely fear some careless person opening their door into my car or damaging it on purpose. PPF won’t stop a ding but it will definitely protect against someone leaving a small scratch or trace of paint.

@17CivicTypeR_Brian I live near Harrisburg so all we have are interstates and trucks. Once winter sets in, there will be salt all over the roads well into March and April. PPF is definitely a must for me. We’ll have to have some sort of Central PA meet up sometime. There seems to be a lot of us on here.

Is getting the whole car wrapped in PPF overkill? I can always add ceramic later when I have more money. I’m just super paranoid about chips and swirls.

You should still have your detailer paint correct / polish the entire car prior to wrapping...you want you car's paint to be a brilliant as possible before wrapping. I'm, supposed to pick up my car from detailer tomorrow evening with Xpel PPF on bumper and ceramic coat the entire car (including the PPF).

 

[Hondasport]

You should still have your detailer paint correct / polish the entire car prior to wrapping...you want you car's paint to be a brilliant as possible before wrapping. I'm, supposed to pick up my car from detailer tomorrow evening with Xpel PPF on bumper and ceramic coat the entire car (including the PPF).

Thanks. It’s already included in the price they quoted me.

 

[CEPA_Si]

What color is your CTR? If it is black I could very well see spending the money for wrap the entire vehicle if you plan to use it a lot. Any other color I don't see the point to do anything over a partial front with how the roads are around here. I just coated a 2018 Camaro SS 1le for a client last week that had Xpel ultimate and Xpel stealth on a majority of the vehicle. PPF should still be polished prior to applying the coating as most films have a light coating on them which if not removed prior to applying will cause improper bonding with the coating. Feel free to message me if you have any questions as I own a shop not far from you and only do Correction and Coating work and can likely answer questions you may have.

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