Ceramic Coating & PPF Cost

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Kahuna

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No worries, we're happy to help. We hope you choose XPEL for your future protection needs.

I love your product and had the whole front done on my GT350. I just cant justify the quotes on the Raptor. I would need to get the whole truck done.

Instead I traded a black GEN1 for a white gen 2 so the trail stripes would bother me less!

Anyway I hope you help motivate the installer to fix the guy above's issues.

K
 

FerdFteen

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@HawkeyeRaptor1 getting back to your question, I just had a stage 1 paint correction, then Suntek Ultra installed on full front end, fenders, A&B pillars, and rocker panels. Entire truck was then coated with Feynlab Heal Lite which is a 5 year ceramic coating. Cost came out to around $3800.

I'd spend some time on different Tesla forums. I found those guys tend to be more into PPF and coatings than most of the BMW/Mercedes/etc. crowd. You should be able to get info on quality installers in your area if you troll around for a while. Good luck!
 

SSWIM

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I love your product and had the whole front done on my GT350. I just cant justify the quotes on the Raptor. I would need to get the whole truck done.

Instead I traded a black GEN1 for a white gen 2 so the trail stripes would bother me less!

Anyway I hope you help motivate the installer to fix the guy above's issues.

K

I had the entire front end, ie. full hood, fenders, grill, done along with all door pockets, a pillars and roof (windshield to sunroof) done for 1K. I was quoted 4K to do the entire truck. Almost wished I had. Truck is Leadfoot. I may have it done anyway as it really does protect the paint when using the trucks. The Ceramic coatings are great for ease of cleaning and bring great shine to vehicle, but don't really offer near the protection of the XPEL.

Sam
 

Kahuna

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I had the entire front end, ie. full hood, fenders, grill, done along with all door pockets, a pillars and roof (windshield to sunroof) done for 1K. I was quoted 4K to do the entire truck. Almost wished I had. Truck is Leadfoot. I may have it done anyway as it really does protect the paint when using the trucks. The Ceramic coatings are great for ease of cleaning and bring great shine to vehicle, but don't really offer near the protection of the XPEL.

Sam

Yeah, I just don't understand how these installers can justify the best part of $1000 dollars a day labor to install and $4k seems like one of the lower quotes. It's not rocket surgery.

Same goes with ceramics.
 

SSWIM

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I do not know, but have been told the material is not cheap. As far as the install. I think a good installer is really important. Kind of like anything. The more experience the better. The ceramic is all about the prep.

Sam
 

ademarco

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5 Point Detail in San Diego did full front Xpel, fender flares in Suntek since it is Matte, Pentagon IR tint windshield and all windows, and Ceramic Pro lifetime (4 coats of ceramic) for $4600 with military discount. Truck looks amazing and the Leadfoot stays cleaner longer. I recommend to all cars if you plan to keep it past 5-8 years. If you take it on trails then, probably best to do full Xpel, but that would have been $6k+.


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Badgertits

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Sounds a little high but tough to tell really w/o exact details of what will be covered.

For some comparison:

2003 Corvette Z06 - had 2/3 of the hood (including pop headlights) the entire front bumper, 2/3 of the front fenders, & the mirrors done w/ Xpel ultimate + tinting 3 windows = $1400 all in, that was 5-6 years ago.

Had my 2018 Ford Raptor just recently done, did the grill/light surrounds (any plastic/painted trim on front end excluding front bumper), "large" partial fender coverage, & "small" hood coverage (like the equivalent of bug shield size 4") + the 4 black plastic b-pillar (not sure if right term) door trim pieces in Xpel ultimate, + tinting front 2 windows in ceramic to match the rear = $680 all in, that was like 3 weeks ago.

Both times the installer was a very high end reputable shop.

You do not need "paint correction" on a new vehicle prior to doing this, if anything you'd sorta wanna do the opposite from what I've told if you want it to last a long long time. You SHOULD claybar the entire vehicle, maybe even twice on a new vehicle if theres alot of rail dust or an older vehicle w/ alot of tar/oxides, then alot of installers use dawn or some other alcohol based solvent that will REMOVE any and all paint/polish prior to installing the PPF. This way the PPF adheres much better & the claybar is a preventative measure to get any unseen specs of dirt/dust/tar/sap & eliminate any residues. Some installers do wax the vehicle prior to install.....so the film is easier to remove down the road.

Do you want the PPF to be more easily removed? Don't think so.

Lastly, in terms of performance, my wife literally backed her MDX up & over the front bumper of my Z06 when her foot slipped off the brake in our tandem style garage. There were DEEP gouges in the film as well as heavy smudging/rubbing marks of plastic (in the pic it looks like shadows of clouds but is actually smudged rubber) & I was praying the paint was fine underneath....well after a couple pours of scalding hot water, sitting in son, then a buff/polish by a body shop & the gouges nearly disappeared (see attached). Also - had a heavy rubber chaulk block fall off a truck on hwy tumble down road & SMASH my front bumper on vette right around where the intake hole (where fog lights are on non Z06 models) - again, the rubber smudged buffed out, & miraculously no damage to the plastic bumper except for the smallest sliver of a crack in between where 2 pieces of film met - in other words, without the film the bumper would've certainly cracked & required body/ins. work.


Hope that helps.
xpel dmg (1a).jpg xpl dmg post buff1.jpg
xpl dmg post buff2.jpg
 
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POOPonYOU

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Found in local shop in Downey, California that charges $1500 for the entire hood, fenders, bumpers, lights and side view mirrors. They use XPEL. They also charge $1300 for Ceramic Pro Gold. I'm scheduled to get mine coated on Monday. Will take 3 to 4 days. Best price I've found in SoCal.
 

ademarco

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Found in local shop in Downey, California that charges $1500 for the entire hood, fenders, bumpers, lights and side view mirrors. They use XPEL. They also charge $1300 for Ceramic Pro Gold. I'm scheduled to get mine coated on Monday. Will take 3 to 4 days. Best price I've found in SoCal.
It is similar going rate for Xpel front $1500, Ceramic Pro $1500, Pentagon IR tint windshield and all windows $1000, Suntek Matte $600 for fenders. Lightbulb heat test for tint convinced me that the IR tint really makes a difference, but pretty high compared to average ceramic tint at $400 job. I had to leave it for a week since they put 4 coats of ceramic.


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cayenne

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You do not need "paint correction" on a new vehicle prior to doing this, if anything you'd sorta wanna do the opposite from what I've told if you want it to last a long long time. You SHOULD claybar the entire vehicle, maybe even twice on a new vehicle if theres alot of rail dust or an older vehicle w/ alot of tar/oxides, then alot of installers use dawn or some other alcohol based solvent that will REMOVE any and all paint/polish prior to installing the PPF. This way the PPF adheres much better & the claybar is a preventative measure to get any unseen specs of dirt/dust/tar/sap & eliminate any residues. Some installers do wax the vehicle prior to install.....so the film is easier to remove down the road.

Do you want the PPF to be more easily removed? Don't think so.

If you don't like swirl marks and don't want to "lock" them under the PPF you absolutely do want to do paint correction. Even a brand new vehicle is often covered in swirl marks. I don't think you completely understand what others are referencing on some of these big installs...

You are correct that any sealant or wax will be stripped before the PPF is installed, but polish isn't a wax or sealant. It's a micro abrasive used to remove the swirl marks and paint defects already in the clear coat. Then the PPF is installed, and you can install a ceramic based coating on top of the PPF just like you would paint. So the proper steps are Paint Correction then PPF then Ceramic Coating if you are going to do all three.
 

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