PPF Expectations

[optronix]

Cars nowadays do have pretty poor paint quality and need a good paint correction, specially some colors. I mean even a minor paint correction if done properly will take time. Say 4 hours and then a couple of hours for ceramic coating, probably longer if you also do wheels and calipers. But lets 8 hours, thats 187/hour. There is also materials. Its not cheap and I won't deny that its maybe more expensive than it should but if the detailer is putting in the time I can see why it costs so much. I have only got it done once and paid $1000 without wheels, car was used and paint needed some love.

I agree completely with Clark_Kent.

"Paint correction" is marketing speak for an hour with an orbital buffer on any new-ish car- and on MANY cars it is not needed at all.

I "corrected" my son's '12 Dyno Blue Pearl Civic Si. The paint was ok for 10 year old paint but... still 10 year old paint. It came out amazingly well, and I put a coat of Ammo Reflex Pro on it and it has held up strong for 2 YEARS OF NEGLECT since- it still beads water and looks great! Has not been washed since the day I did the work. I'm about to do it again in a couple weeks once this heat goes away; I'll take pics.

The whole process took about 4 hours- including washing, claying, IPA wipedown, cutting, and polishing. And I am no professional, having not used an orbital buffer for over 10 years.

But it's your money.

Sponsored

 

[evlsmurf]

I will say, even though my car had 15 miles on it when I brought it in for PPF, there were a ton of swirls in the paint. The dealer did not wash it, which is crazy it came like that from the factory.

 

[optronix]

I will say, even though my car had 15 miles on it when I brought it in for PPF, there were a ton of swirls in the paint. The dealer did not wash it, which is crazy it came like that from the factory.

It happens... possibly more so on cars that have long transits.

But.. I think I recall Savagegeese saying the paint on his car was pretty good as it came off the truck. His is Rallye Red.

My DE5 actually was pretty great. To my eyes, it didn't need a correction at all. I even let the dealer do their typical delivery routine on it- which I'm pretty certain did not include any paint correction!

Here are a couple pics I took immediately after delivery (the first few pics are in the dealer lot)- you can't REALLY tell from pics, and is there a possibility if you took a light pen to it you could find some swirls- maybe? But my personal standards are if the swirls are apparent in direct sunlight, and as you probably can tell from the pics they were not:

Others have shown evidence where there most certainly was significant defects in the paint, so YMMV. I guess I was lucky.

One more after ceramic applied (front is PPF'd):

 

[evlsmurf]

My wing was terrible. I was shocked how bad it was. The car was completely polished before being PPF'd and ceramic coated. I also have a variety of polishers and compounds to correct any issues.

 

[optronix]

I've heard the wings on the FL5s get scratched pretty easily, and badly... probably just softer paint used on them?

 

[arcticdc5]

Ended up paying a 5 star rated shop $2.8k to do the front, A-pillars, milrrors and partial roof. He did tuck all edges where he could and I was pretty happy with it. Also negotiated prices for paint correction, ceramic coating and window tinting as well. There is a 12 year warranty on the PPF which gave me some confidence. I am OCD with cleanliness and protecting the vehicles finish, so felt it was worth it and gave me peace of mind driving on the highway.

 

[Nothing]

Wash, decon, and 1 step correction is a must if you don't want a bad ceramic job. You usually don't have any more than light swirls or marrs from transit, but you don't want that under the coating.

You could do it yourself for cheaper, and if you're going to a "friend" or a lower cost place you could probably just do it yourself and come away with some new tools and still be cheaper. Ultimately it's skill and time. If you're not good with a.polisher or use an aggressive pad or polish, it might make the soft paint worse. If you don't IPA wipe everything you'll have poor adhesion or clarity, also if you don't get polishing dust off. If you move inconsistently while applying the ceramic, it might leave high spots. Newer formulas are easier leveling and even less cure time, but there's lots of steps to get wrong. Notwithstanding the bugs that land on your car during the whole process. If you aren't picky about it, don't pay a lot. If you are, you might still get rock chips; expectations.

Same with PPF. I'm surprised an installer that charged that much was willing to risk doing work without a clean space. But also cut short and overstretched. These cars don't have forgiving paint but that's a lot of poor marks in one job.

My installer just messed up PPF on the mirrors, wouldn't adhere fully on the mirror caps and fingers were forming on the bottom edge. When they went to redo it, it peeled some of the black paint off. They resprayed it but by the time I got around to reinstall after paint cure, I changed to carbon mirror caps, which adhered better.

 

[optronix]

If you aren't picky about it, don't pay a lot. If you are, you might still get rock chips; expectations.

Same with PPF.

I'm reading that your expectations include ceramic coating actually protecting from rock chips? I suppose there's room for me misinterpreting but that really does seem like what you're saying.

Again, I'm no expert here. Just a dude on the internet... but I really don't think there's science to back up this statement.

 

[Nothing]

I'm reading that your expectations include ceramic coating actually protecting from rock chips? I suppose there's room for me misinterpreting but that really does seem like what you're saying.

Again, I'm no expert here. Just a dude on the internet... but I really don't think there's science to back up this statement.

What I was saying is even if you are picky on your ceramic application you can still get rock chips - because it won't protect from that. So keep your expectations appropriate.

 

[egxflash]

I concur. A customer is a customer and a car is a car. They should treat every car like it's a Lambo.

Note, I have bought a car from them, use their service department, and I buy parts from them. Plus, I have referred new customers. They knew if they did a great job I would have brought them more business.

Wait, you said you've bought a car from them....did you get your PPF done at the dealership???

 

[evlsmurf]

Wait, you said you've bought a car from them....did you get your PPF done at the dealership???

I bought my FK8 from the dealership. This is a huge motor company with a ton of different dealership brands. They opened up a dedicated department for PPF, vinyl wrapping, and ceramic coating. They at certified XPEL retailer with certified installers.

 

[Westhaver]

Ya I had 5 ppf done before with a good shop and they were all perfect. I recommend to take it to a reputable ppf installer before it snowballs. There is no way they can do a good job all of a sudden, I wouldn’t waste time with it. This isn’t an easy job, I would never attempt this myself that’s for sure.

If I remember correctly you are in NS, which shop did you go with for PPF?

 

[katch922]

If I remember correctly you are in NS, which shop did you go with for PPF?

I did NDR tint, its good quality film and decent work done.

 

[katch922]

And fyi, i did darkest legally allowed in rear & i think 50% fronts.