Ceramic coat or not?

[GleanStrateShady]

Originally Posted by Twixx007

New member here. I just placed an order for the new M3 G80. I'm definitely getting the front end covered in PPF (XPEL). I'm not sure if I should get the rest of the car ceramic coated. I've never done this but I've heard people swear by it that this is a good thing for a car of this price. I plan to keep this car at least 8+ years. Any opinions out there that have done this? Thanks in advance guys.

Twix, I recommend a full PPF in XPEL and ceramic coated. It is hands down the best decision. I use the G80 daily, so much easier to clean, especially with the Autobahn and all the possible nicks and tons of bugs. I got the peace of mind of going quickly to the wash rack and spray it off. If I don’t have time, 1. Hose the car down and wipe off the dirt, 2. Grab a bucket of water and a soft wet rag to wipe it off, and 3. Using 50% water/50% alcohol spray to get the bucks off the windshield and the grill. I am in Germany too, let me know if you have any questions. Message me.

[BrooklynGreyM3]

Originally Posted by GleanStrateShady

Twix, I recommend a full PPF in XPEL and ceramic coated. It is hands down the best decision. I use the G80 daily, so much easier to clean, especially with the Autobahn and all the possible nicks and tons of bugs. I got the peace of mind of going quickly to the wash rack and spray it off. If I don’t have time, 1. Hose the car down and wipe off the dirt, 2. Grab a bucket of water and a soft wet rag to wipe it off, and 3. Using 50% water/50% alcohol spray to get the bucks off the windshield and the grill. I am in Germany too, let me know if you have any questions. Message me.

Thanks! I already got the PPF and ceramic done back in March the day I took delivery of my G80.

[BrooklynGreyM3]

Originally Posted by theone210

I meant ktown

I used Foilsta for the PPF and Project Highgloss for the ceramic coating. I think these two guys do most of the high end cars in the area. I know he does A LOT of the new G80's. Both are within a 10-15 min drive from KTown.

[m4ml]

Bah, didn't realize this was an old thread... I'll leave my post here anyway...

If the only two options are ceramic coat or not (meaning PPF isn't an option), then absolutely yes, do it.

I did the Ceramic Pro Gold on my 2017 M4C, with the wheels off and calipers done as well. Not only does the paint look like you're looking through glass, but washing it is incredibly easy. Soap it up, let it soak, pressure wash, rinse, and blow dry. Hit it with some detail spray and wipe for any small spots (this isn't absolutely necessary because Ceramic Pro is self cleaning, but I'm pretty OCD about it). You're done. Never have to polish or wax. Do note that for the CP Gold you do have an annual maintenance on it that needs to be done or your lifetime warranty will be voided. It's a couple hundred a year, but makes the car look like it did the first day it was applied when done properly.

Like others have mentioned, the paint correction was a good chunk of the initial cost, but well worth it.

With all of that said... for my 2022 M4CX I'm going to do XPel Stealth with the XPel ceramic coating. I'm only doing the ceramic coating on the XPel because I absolutely love how easy ceramic coatings are to clean.

[corbs09]

Check out spray on graphene coatings, much easier to apply, last 3-6 mos and you can re-top it if needed. Its not such a huge investment and is way more DIY friendly.

[Chris_Edgar_86]

I got tanzanite on my m4 xdrive....Will be going in Tuesday next week for PPF/ Xpel Ceramic Coat/ Xpel Tint. To me the $4K for everything was worth it to protect my nearly $100K car.

[barryc365]

I got the ceramic and PPF done but what swayed me in the end to get both was that the price wasn't much different. Ceramic on its own was very expensive but as an add on on top of PPF it was only a few hundred…

A lot of the labor is doing the paint correction so you may as well apply ceramic after the car has been buffed

I paid $3k for front end PPF full ceramic including wheels and tints. Did pretty good I think at that price

[modat]

Originally Posted by Chris_Edgar_86

I got tanzanite on my m4 xdrive....Will be going in Tuesday next week for PPF/ Xpel Ceramic Coat/ Xpel Tint. To me the $4K for everything was worth it to protect my nearly $100K car.

Where in NJ did you get that quote? Is that for the whole car or just the front?

[merlin3008]

I applied Cquartz Lite by myself and I think it came out great! If you re good with a polisher and correct the paint to a level that makes you happy, I"d look into DIY.

[JDUNITNOW]

I really think I'm doing turtle wax or 303 graphene wax. I may ceramic coat wheels but PPF, ceramic coatings 2 bucket washing...blah, blah. I never done any of this stuff and my cars including my 04 X5 paint still looks good. This stuff is starting to get expensive and by the time you finish, you are in 3 to 5k.

[m4ml]

Originally Posted by Wyndi335I

I really think I'm doing turtle wax or 303 graphene wax. I may ceramic coat wheels but PPF, ceramic coatings 2 bucket washing...blah, blah. I never done any of this stuff and my cars including my 04 X5 paint still looks good. This stuff is starting to get expensive and by the time you finish, you are in 3 to 5k.

Although I can definitely appreciate the experience of hand waxing my car, a good ceramic coating requires nothing more than applying suds, pressure washing, rinsing, drying (blow dry if possible), and other than minor detailing, you're done. No waxing, polishing, two buckets washes, or any other blah, blah, ever needed. After 4 1/2 years of doing only this my paint still looks like I'm looking through glass without a swirl mark to be found (full disclosure: Ceramic Pro Gold does have an annual maintenance). It might not be worth it for some, but for me the cost was more than worth it.

[JDUNITNOW]

Originally Posted by m4ml

Although I can definitely appreciate the experience of hand waxing my car, a good ceramic coating requires nothing more than applying suds, pressure washing, rinsing, drying (blow dry if possible), and other than minor detailing, you're done. No waxing, polishing, two buckets washes, or any other blah, blah, ever needed. After 4 1/2 years of doing only this my paint still looks like I'm looking through glass without a swirl mark to be found (full disclosure: Ceramic Pro Gold does have an annual maintenance). It might not be worth it for some, but for me the cost was more than worth it.

I agree, the ease of maintenance is great with ceramic coatings. My fear is if I want to go to a car wash and I know this is frowned upon but I can correct the swirl marks. Ceramic swirl marks are harder to correct.