PPF and ceramic coating longevity tests

[yhenry]

While I was researching the subject, there's a lot of marketing hypes and sales pitches from people selling them, and 3rd party experiences of product performance and longevity is really hard to come by. Then I came across this ScottHD youtube channel. He's been doing long term testing of various PPF and ceramic coatings products by exposing all the different products to the same outside element conditions and reporting on their performance overtime. He even tabulated the results for ceramic coating in a google sheet here.

I thought I'd share this resource.

 

[Mata Hari]

Thanks for this!

 

[EVCar]

While I was researching the subject, there's a lot of marketing hypes and sales pitches from people selling them, and 3rd party experiences of product performance and longevity is really hard to come by. Then I came across this ScottHD youtube channel. He's been doing long term testing of various PPF and ceramic coatings products by exposing all the different products to the same outside element conditions and reporting on their performance overtime. He even tabulated the results for ceramic coating in a google sheet here.

I thought I'd share this resource.

Would it be possible for you to give us a 30-second summary of the findings from his research?

 

[SDHacker]

Would it be possible for you to give us a 30-second summary of the findings from his research?

Sure. Products available to professionals are more consistent batch to batch and are likely to perform in the real world according to their claims since the shops would likely drop any that are causing them problems. There are more recent versions of the spreadsheet available. The spreadsheet if handy because it provides links to the videos and you can just pick the last video in each series to see the end results.

Consumer grade products are less consistent batch to batch so batch1 might last a year while batch2 only lasts 2 months. There are some real bargains in what he calls "Chinese" products that actually perform well in his tests (available on Amazon). There are also products that only last 1 wash.

If you want to do your own ceramic coating, the best combination of durability and ease of application is Griots Garage 3-in-1 Ceramic spray. Lasts 8 to 12 months but I would reapply every 6 months. What Scott calls "failed" is when there is zero protection left. We would all reapply when the product is "weak".

If you are OK with using the concentrated form, Nanobond and NanoAge tested well - lasted through the end of one of his tests at 2 years and is only $37.

Remember that the hoods he uses are left outside so if you garage your car, park in a protected structure at work, durability will be greatly increased.

 

[yhenry]

Sure. Products available to professionals are more consistent batch to batch and are likely to perform in the real world according to their claims since the shops would likely drop any that are causing them problems. There are more recent versions of the spreadsheet available. The spreadsheet if handy because it provides links to the videos and you can just pick the last video in each series to see the end results.

Consumer grade products are less consistent batch to batch so batch1 might last a year while batch2 only lasts 2 months. There are some real bargains in what he calls "Chinese" products that actually perform well in his tests (available on Amazon). There are also products that only last 1 wash.

If you want to do your own ceramic coating, the best combination of durability and ease of application is Griots Garage 3-in-1 Ceramic spray. Lasts 8 to 12 months but I would reapply every 6 months. What Scott calls "failed" is when there is zero protection left. We would all reapply when the product is "weak".

If you are OK with using the concentrated form, Nanobond and NanoAge tested well - lasted through the end of one of his tests at 2 years and is only $37.

Remember that the hoods he uses are left outside so if you garage your car, park in a protected structure at work, durability will be greatly increased.

The spreadsheet is good for filtering out all the low performers. That said for the store bought ones, I see the Carpro cQuartz consistently outperforms many of the pros only products, and generally last 2+ years.

My take away is that once you filter out the low performers, the best store bought is on par with the pros only, the main value of pros application is the paint correction and prep works. If paint correction is not needed, then the pros only does not have a noticeable advantage in terms of longevity.

 

[EVCar]

The spreadsheet is good for filtering out all the low performers. That said for the store bought ones, I see the Carpro cQuartz consistently outperforms many of the pros only products, and generally last 2+ years.

My take away is that once you filter out the low performers, the best store bought is on par with the pros only, the main value of pros application is the paint correction and prep works. If paint correction is not needed, then the pros only does not have a noticeable advantage in terms of longevity.

Thanks for the info.
Have you or anyone used the Carpro? Ease of application?
Also wondering if a different brand can be used on a ppf that has already been treated with another product.

 

[yhenry]

Thanks for the info.
Have you or anyone used the Carpro? Ease of application?
Also wondering if a different brand can be used on a ppf that has already been treated with another product.

I don't have any personal experience with these products.

My PPF is 3M which comes with some hydrophobic, I'll see how that fair first. Based on the reviews, I expect the hydrophobic would be weaken after 6 months - 1 year. I'll probably apply Carpro over the PPF after that.

 

[SDHacker]

Thanks for the info.
Have you or anyone used the Carpro? Ease of application?
Also wondering if a different brand can be used on a ppf that has already been treated with another product.

Assuming you already have a ceramic coating, it is far better/easier to maintain that coating than to have to remove the old worn coating before you apply the new one. Once the coating cures, it should reject any additional layers which is why the old one has to be removed. If it was going over paint, pretty easy to polish off the old coating but you have to be careful not to mess up the ppf. So check if the coating you already have has a maintenance product and use it every 4 months or so. Almost all the pro applied coatings have an easy to use spray maintainer.