I'm trying to decide on PPF/ceramic. Only ever had PPF on my wife's first gen Lexus IS 250. That one did the job, but really showed it's age over time with rips & cuts. Looks like I have a few shops nearby that do a good job. Questions for you: do I need to completely avoid auto car washes if I get ceramic? Any special procedures for hand washing? Did you also do the interior? I actually keep my cars really clean so not sure I need interior protection. And, ballpark, how much $$ did you invest in the PPF & ceramic ... understanding of course, prices can vary widely regionally. I will be keeping my S for 10 years min, btw. Thanks for any input!
Sooo… I really went back and forth with this. We are LAZY, so I really had to think about this. Besides a Volvo, I have been a die hard BMW driver, but said bye Felicia a few years ago and never invested in PPF or ceramic. So, back to the PPF. I researched the three main ones, Xpel, SunTek, and 3M. I went with SunTek with a 12 year warranty. It was $2100 for full front. As for the ceramic, I was/am still on the fence, but the company was doing a special and included their basic package that included their ceramic coating that lasts a year. This way I figure I’ll see if I can not be lazy for a year.
As for automatic car washes, I was told NO!!! (Sigh) They said even if you go to one where you do it yourself, take your own brushes, etc. I’ll just invest in some good mits, towels, and maybe a foaming cannon. They said those are fine. They said if you do car washes it will degrade how long the ceramic lasts. They also said it can damage the PPF.
The interior… I asked how much for the interior and the said $500. Then they asked what I was concerned with. I said jean transfer. Nobody eats or drinks in my car. They said honestly, buy some leather cleaner and just clean the seats once a month or so; save your money. They also made the comment that they’ve noticed the cheaper the jeans the more the transfer; which I thought was interesting.
Having picked up the car, the PPF reminds me of window tint; it needs to cure. Oh, I also had them add strips on the back where you’d add luggage. They did that for free; I had quotes of $125 or so. They did tell me don’t do anything to it for a week, especially if I was keeping it in the garage (which I am). If I was keeping it in the sun, 3-4 days. Usually I’d cringe at the thought of plopping $2k down on something like that, but honestly when I went to pick it up it sparkled… no regrets.
Happy to answer any other questions.