PPF vs Ceramic

[Pneking]

Just had mine ceramic coated last week, with full paint correcting, night and day difference

[miiipilot]

Should be getting my car back soon from PPF
Went with:
Full Hood
Bikini fenders
Full front clip
Mirrors
Lights
A-Pillars
Door handle cups
Rocker panels Inc the high kick areas getting into the vehicle
Lower doors (the body line will be the ppf line )
Front of rear wheels *see pic* my installer said there wasn't a template, so that's custom
Area behind rear wheels
Luggage area on bumper

Legal OH tint

Whadda you guys think of that line in the pic?

[chris719]

Originally Posted by miiipilot

Should be getting my car back soon from PPF
Went with:
Full Hood
Bikini fenders
Full front clip
Mirrors
Lights
A-Pillars
Door handle cups
Rocker panels Inc the high kick areas getting into the vehicle
Lower doors (the body line will be the ppf line )
Front of rear wheels *see pic* my installer said there wasn't a template, so that's custom
Area behind rear wheels
Luggage area on bumper

Legal OH tint

Whadda you guys think of that line in the pic?

The only thing I would say is I regret not doing the full fender on my F87 M2C. I have rock chips just above that line you are showing.

[miiipilot]

Originally Posted by chris719

The only thing I would say is I regret not doing the full fender on my F87 M2C. I have rock chips just above that line you are showing.

Ugh really
I had my F87 and only wished the factory ppf there fully covered that area. My G87 is not a DD. Hopefully I'll be good to go, but it's better than nothing.

I'm sure I'll regret not getting full ppf, but changing jobs... money got tighter

[spicyB48]

I would get front only PPF, that is where most paint chips happen. Ceramic coatings look great (shiny!) and provide plenty of paint protection. Ceramic on the wheels is a great thing to have, brake dust won't stick.

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Bimmerito

I would get front only PPF, that is where most paint chips happen.

Not on an M2. My PPF on the rear arches is pretty blasted at only 8k miles. My front PPF has one mark.

[ROASTM]

Originally Posted by chris719

Not on an M2. My PPF on the rear arches is pretty blasted at only 8k miles. My front PPF has one mark.

Would agree with this. I went with full PPF on my M2C, as it's a long-term keeper (presumably lifetime), and have no regrets. The number of rock chips that I'd have on the rockers rear quarters would be quite high without, and even with the stock PPF in front of the rear wheels - it's not nearly high enough. If you're going to pay for PPF, I think the minimum coverage is full front bumper/hood/mirrors, and increasing coverage in front of the rear wheels.

[KevinGS]

Looking back, if I had to do it all over again, I would do the full paint correction, PPF the whole car (and windshield), and skip the ceramic portion of the job. I wish I would have protected my doors and the rear quarter panels as well. They will eventually get nicked by a rock too, and the quarter panels will get sprayed by rocks coming from the front wheels (especially if one has front spacers).

To me, ceramic is a "nice to have" and can be self-applied by an enthusiast with 85% of the same effect (the same can't be said for PPF). And it can be done later, it doesn't have to be done immediately (again, the same can't be said for PPF). And really, you can get a similar visual effect with some really good wax, it just won't last nearly as long.

IMO, ceramic coatings are bit overrated. But for people who like clean, chip-free paint, PPF is a bit underrated, but doing the full car ain't cheap. Though if you drive spiritedly or on the track, worth every penny. If you drive like a grandma 90% of the time, avoid driving behind all trucks (especially dump trucks) and generally don't tailgate, then, no, you don't need PPF.

[Chilled]

I would say the only reason to go ceramic is if you don't care about the paint condition but just would like it to look clean. It is not going to protect you against rock chips or parking lot brush buy.

Originally Posted by KevinGS

To me, ceramic is a "nice to have" and can be self-applied by an enthusiast with 85% of the same effect (the same can't be said for PPF). And it can be done later, it doesn't have to be done immediately (again, the same can't be said for PPF). And really, you can get a similar visual effect with some really good wax, it just won't last nearly as long. [/I]PPF.

I would say PPF can be a DIY, I did mine in 3M 200 Series pro. Never wrapped/ PPF'd before and fit the entire X into a 1.82m x15m roll. The main thing is be upfront with your self on what you hope to achieve.

For me it was

• DO NOT SCRATCH THE CAR
• Have some film on it.

I achieved it and some.

The result was allot better than the crap in the "check my PPF threads" in F90 and others. Only a couple of the corners have slight issues, I need to point them out and you need to be with arms reach. Otherwise you wont notice it.

The main issue with my wrap was I was not able to get the water/air out of the touch to clock sensors and they got slightly ghostly.

[Chilled]

It's easy to say the job is not that bad for a first attempt when critiquing your own work. So sharing where the bodies are buried on this one. The car had no paint prep, just a simple wash and some clay bar action.

Please keep in mind that I have over 3m of material left and all of these issues can be fixed. I cant be bothered as I think they are good enough. Most of the mistakes made was because i kinda rushed some thing or was doing it at like 12AM.

The camera did have issues with focus, so some shots are blurry af.

The door handle air bubbles on the touch sensor.


Same sensor from a distance


The edges on the hood and fender.


All the door cups have slight veiny lift/glue lines. Had to capture in picture, as the light needs to bounce of them correctly for you to see. If you are not looking for them, you wont see them.


The front bumper. I smeared out myself and the reflection from the floor is making the film look like its dull/sanded. Its not, thats just the floors reflection.
The entire bumper is a single piece.


The lower grill, no lift lines.


The fog lights have a separate insert piece to there is a ppf line and a slight air line right on the edge in the front. Not the best looking, but give the best coverage.


Center lower grill. No inserts, the inner corner does not have any cover, but i'm ok with it. I'll put a piece over it, one day.


I fully wrapped under the bumper all the way to the edge of the paint. You cant see any of it, yes it not the prettiest but give full coverage to all the painted surface underneath. There was to much material and stretching was not an option, so I had to cut and lay on top. Not visible side on, only if you are looking from underneath.


I accidently tore the ppf on the rear upper trunk area when i was pealing off the excess. Didn't bother to replace it.


Also I messed up the edge on this panel.


From a distance.


I also PPFd all the lower door frames, front and rear. The rear were a massive PITA. Much worse than the front or rear bumpers.

On the drives side rear i had to remove the 1" peace that buts up against the door seal (coloured orage) as I could not get it to stay put without bubbles. Below the door latch, its covered.


The lower section has some seam lines and does have overlap lines from the lower piece. Doing the entire frame in a single piece and removing the overlapping seams would have been possible. However I decided to do it in two as the single would of waisted allot of material. A

Also have a GS so having more PPF for when the sub woofa jumps in is always welcome.


Oh and I PPF'd the -negative terminal area.

[Forzanerazzurri]

Honestly that's not bad at all. PPF is never 100% perfect anyway no matter how good you are.

[MADBMWX5MC]

^I agree with that assessment. They key is you had a few pieces that were seamless, I had my 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee done and that was not the case at all.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by Forzanerazzurri

Honestly that's not bad at all. PPF is never 100% perfect anyway no matter how good you are.

Agreed, even if the PPF is done by a quality shop you always need to come back for some small repairs.

[Chilled]

Cheers for the feedback. Much appreciated.