Considering Paint protection film (PPF)

for those with experience, what other protection stuff are you guys using? was wondering if people
1) use ppf equivalent for windows/glass. is that even a thing?
2) will be tinting all the windows, including the canopy
3) will be installing additional UV/heat protection film since some people seem to be having cooling issues

thanks!

Impatient7536 said:

for those with experience, what other protection stuff are you guys using? was wondering if people
1) use ppf equivalent for windows/glass. is that even a thing?
2) will be tinting all the windows, including the canopy
3) will be installing additional UV/heat protection film since some people seem to be having cooling issues

thanks!

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My detailer uses a number of different ceramic coatings on top of the PPF (Xpel, Ceramic Pro, and FeynLab) and all three have treatments for glass, plastic, wheels, etc. His preferred is the FeynLab and that is what he used on my Dream P for the glass, wheels, and plastic. He also uses Xpel tint but I chose to not apply since he told me to do it properly he would have to remove the door panels and I didn't want to do that. I live in Northern CA (Bay Area) and we don't have that many days that are extremely hot and thus far I haven't seen any problems with excessive heat in the car even with the occasional external temp in the mid nineties. But then again I don't live in Arizona!!

I tinted 50% windshield and 20% sides and back because 1. I like the look (most important point lol), 2. Amazing sun glare reduction (even direct sun into the eyes is tolerable with a bit of squinting), and 3. More heat rejection (I think it makes a significant difference especially if you’re a generally heat-intolerant person).

SaratogaLefty said:

My detailer uses a number of different ceramic coatings on top of the PPF (Xpel, Ceramic Pro, and FeynLab) and all three have treatments for glass, plastic, wheels, etc. His preferred is the FeynLab and that is what he used on my Dream P for the glass, wheels, and plastic. He also uses Xpel tint but I chose to not apply since he told me to do it properly he would have to remove the door panels and I didn't want to do that. I live in Northern CA (Bay Area) and we don't have that many days that are extremely hot and thus far I haven't seen any problems with excessive heat in the car even with the occasional external temp in the mid nineties. But then again I don't live in Arizona!!

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thanks! there's so many options and functions, it's hard to keep track. i keep hearing mixed results on the air's ability to cool down the car and keep heat out, so am lowkey worried. i live in socal, so while it's not a MUST like those in tx or az, it's also just hot enough to make me look for secondary aftermarket options

Demosthenes said:

I tinted 50% windshield and 20% sides and back because 1. I like the look (most important point lol), 2. Amazing sun glare reduction (even direct sun into the eyes is tolerable with a bit of squinting), and 3. More heat rejection (I think it makes a significant difference especially if you’re a generally heat-intolerant person).

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interesting, any reason why your sides are less than the windshield? don't most people do darkest back sides and back, then the highest they can get away with for front and windshield?
for the windshield, did you do the whole thing? or only the top strip? thanks for the feedback

20% sided means only 20% of light can get through so the lower the number the darker the tint.

hydbob said:

20% sided means only 20% of light can get through so the lower the number the darker the tint.

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omg, im stupid...TIL that makes a lot more sense

Impatient7536 said:

omg, im stupid...TIL that makes a lot more sense

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It's not stupidity, it's being a noob. I was there once, but this forum has enough experts to make us all knowledgeable!

Impatient7536 said:

omg, im stupid...TIL that makes a lot more sense

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100% the same question I asked my tinter when he suggested that combo LOLOL

I tinted the entire windshield and basically all glass surfaces.

Can we please get some cost estimates for full body PPF?

I know @bunnylebowski mentioned some DIY solutions for hydrophobic something in another thread. This is all new for me, so would appreciate some real numbers if possible.
Thanks!

Volund said:

Can we please get some cost estimates for full body PPF?

I know @bunnylebowski mentioned some DIY solutions for hydrophobic something in another thread. This is all new for me, so would appreciate some real numbers if possible.
Thanks!

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Here in San Diego CA as of 2020, a full body PPF wrap was over $7000. Ceramic coatings including wheels was about another $10000 more. Tinting of all windows including the entire windshield, about $1200.

I’d wager all these prices have only gone up from those levels.

I’ve had three vehicles “wrapped” and coated. On all three, I only did partial wraps, since I found full body wraps far too expensive, but ordered ceramic coatings over the entire body plus the wheels.

I myself would never, ever attempt to apply ceramic coatings on my own. That’s what professional detailers are for.

Volund said:

Can we please get some cost estimates for full body PPF?

I know @bunnylebowski mentioned some DIY solutions for hydrophobic something in another thread. This is all new for me, so would appreciate some real numbers if possible.
Thanks!

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I got front hood/bumper/fenders/mirrors with SunTek PPF for $2100 then did Adams Graphene ceramic spray myself on the remainder of the car for $60 (bottle cost $30, supplies and then some polish to correct some errors was another $30). There’s many self applied ceramic/Graphene spray options, I’d recommend the ScottHD videos comparing them and ease of application, etc. For the shop to do Ceramic Pro on the full car it would have been $1100 and they told me 10 days to cure, but @Dortreo had the same ceramic applied at his shop and they did it in 2 days so not sure why the difference. I didn’t see the point of putting ceramic over the PPF though because it’s already hydrophobic and super easy to clean. Wash wise comparing my PPF to my DIY ceramic job I’d say the PPF is maybe 20% easier to clean, but the ceramic is great. Appearance wise I’d made a few mistakes with the ceramic (you need perfect lighting and also a couple hours of uninterrupted time to make sure you catch and remove any high spots before it has cured), but was able to fix them all with a few barely barely noticeable exceptions. I figured a misapplied ceramic that last 6 months to a year is no big deal because it wears off anyway, so you can have a pro do it later if it’s not perfect, but it may involve paint correction. It all depends on how much time versus money you want to spend and how much of a DIY person you are. If you do go DIY ceramic route send me a message and I’ll send you the tips I learned which I shared with another member. It’s too long to post and this post is already too long haha.

Definitely don’t try to apply the pro ceramic though (it comes in concentrated small bottles and lasts years), you want the spray bottle stuff that lasts 6-12 months.

Volund said:

Can we please get some cost estimates for full body PPF?

I know @bunnylebowski mentioned some DIY solutions for hydrophobic something in another thread. This is all new for me, so would appreciate some real numbers if possible.
Thanks!

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My list is full front PPF with ceramic pro on entire car, tinted windows 30-40% sides and rear, 70% front, and satin black wrapping the light gray/silver pieces on the nose and lower sides of the car.

scubastevo80 said:

My list is full front PPF with ceramic pro on entire car, tinted windows 30-40% sides and rear, 70% front, and satin black wrapping the light gray/silver pieces on the nose and lower sides of the car.

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I read on this Forum that his detailer told him no to put a ceramic coating over his PPF because it made it more difficult to remove the PPF and in doing so, could damage the paint. Before reading that, I had heard about putting ceramic coating over your PPF. Has anyone else heard of this problem with putting ceramic over PPF?

steveairgt said:

Obviously you like Xpel and that’s great. On the cars you’ve had done does it really look almost brand new, yesrs afterwards?
Is it really as easy as they say to clean? Do you see dings or marks from pebbles hitting it after driving on road trips ?

Do you ever see a need to go back in to have them repair something like getting dinging in a parking lot; someone hitting your door?

I’m considering getting about the same work done as yours. What’s this costing you may I ask?

Sorry for all the questions.
Thanks

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I had my Fisker Karma fully wrapped with Xpel Ultimate when I got it 10 years ago. A few months ago, I got sideswiped in a parking garage. Huge scrape on the wheel flare, I thought for sure it had scraped off a layer of paint. I can't find the before pictures, but it was bad, about 30cm long along with a gouge on my wheel. My wrap guy pulled the Xpel off and said it did exactly as it was supposed to. Rewrapped it, and you can't even tell, other than a slight deformity on the wheel flare. You can see that the paint still looks good as new, 10 years in.

FastEddi3 said:

I had my Fisker Karma fully wrapped with Xpel Ultimate when I got it 10 years ago. A few months ago, I got sideswiped in a parking garage. Huge scrape on the wheel flare, I thought for sure it had scraped off a layer of paint. I can't find the before pictures, but it was bad, about 30cm long along with a gouge on my wheel. My wrap guy pulled the Xpel off and said it did exactly as it was supposed to. Rewrapped it, and you can't even tell, other than a slight deformity on the wheel flare. You can see that the paint still looks good as new, 10 years in.

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Wow that still looks brand new. I can't even tell its ever been touched

What was the cost for your XPEL Ultimate wrap?

Volund said:

Wow that still looks brand new. I can't even tell its ever been touched

What was the cost for your XPEL Ultimate wrap?

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It was around 5200 or 5600, I think, 10 years ago. For just the new piece, it was 800. You can see the wrap on the rear door, is still the original wrap, still looks pretty good. In person, you can tell that it isn't quite as reflective as the new wrap, but I think only if you are looking for it. My wrap guy did suggest that I consider rewrapping the rest of the car. He said that after 10 years, the wrap starts to break down, and if you have to strip and replace it, it will start to come off in small pieces. The parts he took off recently pretty much came off in a couple of big pieces. I didn't get a quote on redoing the whole car, might have to do that. Be interesting to see how much it would be now.

Volund said:

Can we please get some cost estimates for full body PPF?

I know @bunnylebowski mentioned some DIY solutions for hydrophobic something in another thread. This is all new for me, so would appreciate some real numbers if possible.
Thanks!

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I’m in San Diego and got two quotes, both very similar. 7500$ for full PPF XPEL Ultimate Plus, 500$ for additional ceramic on top, 1550$ for 3M Ceramic IR, 400$ for full interior ceramic coat.

Demosthenes said:

I’m in San Diego and got two quotes, both very similar. 7500$ for full PPF XPEL Ultimate Plus, 500$ for additional ceramic on top, 1550$ for 3M Ceramic IR, 400$ for full interior ceramic coat.

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I noticed you didn't mention tints, so you got 3M Ceramic IR instead? That helps with UV damage and heat dissipation right? You mentioned Ceramic on top, so I'm assuming that's on top of the PPF, so the 3M Ceramic IR is probably for windshields right?

And the full interior ceramic coat, does that help with internal door scratches, dash and stuff like that? I'm assuming everything except for the screens is probably covered

I just got quoted:
full body PPF $7500 XPEL Ultimate Plus
$2000 front clip PPF (bumper, lights, grill, black piano parts)
Ceramic Coating: $600 XPEL Fusion 4 year warranty
Ceramic Tint: $440-$650
Full interior coating: $400

SaratogaLefty said:

I don't know anything about Kavana. I have used Xpel Ultimate on two cars now and very pleased. In both cases I also had the cars ceramic coated after the Xpel was installed. That said, Xpel now has a new film called Fusion+ that has an excellent hydrophobic coating and thus doesn't really need a ceramic coating applied. Or if you want to spend the additional money you can still apply ceramic coating to it but its really overkill.

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My guy told me the STEK already has ceramic on it so is not needed. People like me would get front end PPF and rest Ceramic to save money.

CONVERSATION with the Company:
to confirm the Price quoted 1800 plus tax is for the complete front end except the Windshield, all 4 of the Door Handles and 4 of the Door Edges. How about the rear bumper and around the trunk area.

Confirming $1800 for the full front package you described. The luggage area on the top of the bumper runs $95. For $500 you would get the complete bumper protected.
$1400 to ceramic the remaining paint, trim and glass. Wheels off package adds $450 and that includes, removing the wheels, coating the wheel facings, inside barrels and brake calipers.
Bumper to bumper ppf is $7000. You don't have to ceramic STEK's DYNO Shield like other films; Xpel, Sun-Tek, 3M and Premium Shield.