PPF and Ceramic Coating

[PNW_AJ]

Hey there,

My ford dealer included the ceramic coating on top of the purchase of the 2020 raptor. 2 questions.

Has anyone had their dealer do this?

Should I do PPF then Ceramic first, PPF only or Ceramic only? I live in the PNW and rains a lot here.

 

[4rdFan]

My truck did not come with ceramic coating from the dealer. However, there are dealers out there that have ceramic coating as an additional paid option on their trucks.

It's a waste to put PPF on top of ceramic coating. Usually, it's you'll have PPF installed and then ceramic coating.

In your situation, I would talk to your PPF installer and see if the ceramic coating (that is installed by the dealer) will affect the adhesion properties of the PPF. If it does, then you have the option of stripping the dealer-applied ceramic coating then installing PPF and then the ceramic coating. If it doesn't, then install PPF with another layer of ceramic coating applied on top of everything.

 

[Troutrad]

You should ask the dealership exactly what product and procedure they are doing. A good ceramic coating on a Raptor would likely cost you over $1000 bucks. It’s a pretty specialized gig and I wouldn’t pay extra to have a dealer rub a little product on your truck. No matter how new, there should be at least a 2 stage (but usually 3 or even 4 if you need/want any paint correction) paint prep before the coating is applied. I suspect they did something like F11 or TLC...not dissing these products at ALL but they are NOT what most people think of when they get a ceramic coating. If you paid a couple hundred bucks, that’s probably all they did.

At 2k miles, i decided to do ceramic coating myself. I was quoted locally a price of $1400. My cost ended up being a little under $220 but I bought an extra bottle of the ceramic coating that I really didn’t need so you should easily get in under $200. This included step 1: Complete wash with Dawn soap 2: Modified Clay Bar (took easy route with Griots Garage Fine Surface Prep Mitt and Speed Shine for lube). 3: Final clean with CarPro Eraser (or you can make yourself a dilute rubbing alcohol solution). 4: Ceramic Coating I chose was the Avalon King Armor Shield IX. I used 2 1/2 bottles to do the 2 coats I wanted. I’d bought 4 bottles but I really think all you need is 3 for a double coat, only 2 if you’re going to do a single coat.

I did 2 coats to all paint surfaces and 3 coats to more at risk surfaces (front, hood and mirror housings). I didn’t feel I needed any paint correction with only 2k miles. Had a couple tiny scratchesI touched up with ruby red paint before I started. I left Big Red in the garage for a week to cure since I live in NW Montana and we weren’t seeing sunny days for me to park it outside. Probably overkill but I have an extra truck to use.

It was very easy and pretty fun and rewarding to do except it’s a big beast so ladders for the roof are involved (and I’m 6’3”).

I did quite a bit of research before deciding on these products. I think from a price/quality perspective, I’m very satisfied.

https://www.griotsgarage.com/produc...MIhMyYy_3q5wIVCttkCh3TLg1lEAQYASABEgJS1fD_BwE

https://www.griotsgarage.com/product/speed+shine.do?sortby=ourPicks

https://www.carpro-us.com/deep-clea...MI7Lat7P3q5wIVlsVkCh3UCgxMEAQYASABEgJcZ_D_BwE

https://avalonking.com/

 

[allinon72]

First - make sure it’s an actual ceramic coating, not some magic spray snake oil that they like to sell on the backend of the purchase (similar to “Scotchguard” interior coatings and the like).

If it is a legit coating, more than likely they will outsource it to a local shop that specializes in it. I can’t see this being done at the dealership.

Finally, you can do coating over PPF, but the other way around wouldn’t make sense.

 

[Troutrad]

PS.

...did the same thing to my windows exterior with the Gtechniq glass coating product (G1, G2 and G4). 3 coats to windshield and mirrors, one coat elsewhere.

Finally decided to show my Bakflip MX4 some love with the Cquarz Dlux for plastics.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HX66XZ4/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

https://www.carpro-us.com/protection/cquartz-dlux-wheel-trim-coating-30ml-sky-kit/

 

[RaptorSRQ]

View attachment 138299 View attachment 138298 View attachment 138297 View attachment 138296 PS.

...did the same thing to my windows exterior with the Gtechniq glass coating product (G1, G2 and G4). 3 coats to windshield and mirrors, one coat elsewhere.

Finally decided to show my Bakflip MX4 some love with the Cquarz Dlux for plastics.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HX66XZ4/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

https://www.carpro-us.com/protection/cquartz-dlux-wheel-trim-coating-30ml-sky-kit/

Did you coat just the rubber seams of the bakflip or also the panels? Was 1 bottle enough to do the entire cover?

 

[Troutrad]

Did you coat just the rubber seams of the bakflip or also the panels? Was 1 bottle enough to do the entire cover?

Did the panels in particular. Product is for plastics and wheels. I also did the rubber...basically everything. Yes, one bottle was plenty. I’ve still got some left so may do a 2nd lighter coat.

Oh, I also did the tailgate plastic adjacent the cover, the black hood plastic, and the front side fender plastic pieces.

 

[Vegas_Sirk]

@Troutrad thanks for the links. I'll check those out.

Kind of OT but Has anyone found a good product for cleaning powder coated wheels? Like to pull out water spots and caked on brake dust?

 

[Troutrad]

@Troutrad thanks for the links. I'll check those out.

Kind of OT but Has anyone found a good product for cleaning powder coated wheels? Like to pull out water spots and caked on brake dust?

Saw a video on you tube video which I thought was great if not perhaps a bit overkill. There are a few others out there but this one seemed like one of the best. One of the products used was IronX which is a great product. I’ll leave a link here for where I found it the cheapest:

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/car...VkRh9Ch12uAT_EAkYASABEgI26_D_BwE#.XlbAicplCfA

It is worth it to get a couple specialized brushes as wheels are definitely different than the rest of your rig. Don’t have to take as long as this guy does but having the brushes when you wash your rig will save you tons of time and get into some of the nooks and crannies, particularly if you have bead locks like mine. You’ll also note the guy using the IronX in the vid. Here’s the video:

Finally, if you want to treat your tires to some Long love, there’s this product I bought but haven’t used. Seen lots of videos on it and if the hype is true, this should last much longer than most other dressings. Must admit I haven’t used it yet so I cannot endorse it (but then again most of what I’ve done so far including ceramic coating, plastic coating and specialized glass coating I haven’t tested in the Long run...just looks great now):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WNK58JR/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[Troutrad]

Saw a video on you tube video which I thought was great if not perhaps a bit overkill. There are a few others out there but this one seemed like one of the best. One of the products used was IronX which is a great product. I’ll leave a link here for where I found it the cheapest:

https://www.autopia-carcare.com/car...VkRh9Ch12uAT_EAkYASABEgI26_D_BwE#.XlbAicplCfA

It is worth it to get a couple specialized brushes as wheels are definitely different than the rest of your rig. Don’t have to take as long as this guy does but having the brushes when you wash your rig will save you tons of time and get into some of the nooks and crannies, particularly if you have bead locks like mine. You’ll also not the guy using the IronX in the vid. Here’s the video:

Finally, if you want to treat your tires to some Long love, there’s this product I bought but haven’t used. Seen lots of videos on it and if the hype is true, this should last much longer than most other dressings. Must admit I haven’t used it yet so I cannot endorse it (but then again most of what I’ve done so far including ceramic coating, plastic coating and specialized glass coating I haven’t tested in the Long run...just looks great now):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WNK58JR/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

PS...I found Griots Garage has just a ton of stuff for car cleaning etc. I particularly like their PFM towels/detainers. Just as an aside.

OH, don’t hesitate to treat your wheels to the same love as your paint. Ceramic coating works great on em. I know you can use the Avalon King Armor Shield IX or the Cquartz Dlux product on them. For Way Overkill, have heard of PPF then Ceramic coating wheels. If you’re gonna really clean em throughly, just add a quick wipe down with CarPro Eraser, then Ceramic coat them. Really will take you no time at all. Again, can’t speak to longevity. I assume it wont hold up on the wheels as long as most of the paint.