Question About PPF

[Tank5670]

So I’ve been reading a lot about PPF and ceramic coating, but I can’t see to find a solid answer.

I may be about to purchase a CTR and will for sure ceramic coat it, but is it worth it to install PPF on the hood and possibly the roof? If so what brand is superior?

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[Phy]

Ceramic coating helps keep the car clean from dirt, PPF protects against physical damage. Not much reason to put PPF on the roof, unless you're doing the entire car. Most of the time it's installed in high impact areas like the front bumper and fenders.

 

[SmokeGhost]

i have a "full front" ppf from suntek. it heals in the sun or with heat. i recommend it if you drive in truck country or track often.

 

[chomdh]

i have a "full front" ppf from suntek. it heals in the sun or with heat. i recommend it if you drive in truck country or track often.

Full hood and fenders or do you have visible lines where the film stops? What was the price?

 

[WindJunkie]

PPF is more important than ceramic coating IMO, though both are important for different things. I PPF'd my second CTR after I didn't PPF or cermaic coat my first CTR. My first CTR I put 18k miles on it and had about a dozen or so rock chips mainly on the front bumper, mirror caps and hood.

On my second CTR, I PPF'd the front bumper, grill, headlights and mirror caps, I am already regretting not getting the hood PPF'd after a small chip is evident at just 4k miles. I did a DIY ceramic coat, and it's well worth the investment. Washing and drying the car is ridiculously easy when the car is ceramic coated. DIY video I made is here:

My recommendation is to PPF the mirror caps, front fenders, hood, grill and headlights. I wouldn't worry about the roof or anywhere else on the vehicle, in my experience I don't see chips becoming a problem. The tailgate does get a decent amount of dirt build up, so you could consider PPF'ing that area.

For brands, I got Xpel PPF, my job cost me $1300. I think 3M and Xpel are the most popular brands for PPF

 

[SmokeGhost]

Full hood and fenders or do you have visible lines where the film stops? What was the price?

price is different depending on location and installer, so i have seen in this forum.

they did the entire front bumper, all lights, hood, mirror caps and fenders. price was 1400.00.
with a 20 year warranty for the suntek film.

you can see edges when you get close. close like one would be while waxing your car. from 5 ft i dont notice it and i have 20/15 eye sight.

 

[TimberWolf]

My experience with PPF and ceramic coating:
I ceramic coated my Civic 4 years ago (Oct. '17). I did it myself, using Gyeon Q2. I had full body PPF installed on my NSX, mainly because the optional Andaro paint was a $7300 option and it was a multi-stage paint system that I wasn't sure other body shops could really match if it ever needed touch-ups.

From my experience, PPF >>> Ceramic coatings.

The durability of the coating was a bit of a disappointment. Of course, this will depend on how and where you drive. On my Civic, the coating pretty much wore off on the lower half of the car after one winter. The sand and salt that they use as a traction aid basically sand-blasted the coating off. Funny thing is, the coating on the top half of the car is still there, 4 years later, and still does its job. Now your experience may be different if you live in a warm climate, or you don't drive your car in the winter, but IMO ceramic coating isn't really worth the price if you are willing to use a sealant every few months. The one impressive aspect of the ceramic is its chemical resistance. With wax or sealants, anything stronger than car soap tends to strip it away, forcing you to re-wax the car. So things like bug and tar remover will remove the sealant as well as the bugs. With ceramic, it won't affect the coating. And of course, the coating does absolutely nothing to protect the paint from debris or scratches. Don't believe the hype about its hardness.

PPF, on the other hand, excels at protecting the paint against debris. Now, there will still be gaps where the film doesn't cover everything, and it isn't as pretty since you will see the edges of the film, but if I were to do it again, I would go full-body PPF.

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