post PPF treatment, Cquartz vs ?

EF300 said:

Suntek PPF with gtechniq Crystal serum, crazy shine .

I wash it with Chemical Guys honeydew snow foam.
I use Optimum no rinse detail spray
I use gtechniq c2v3 Liquid Crystal to keep the shine going every few washes

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Awesome shine man!

Any type of good ceramic coating will keep the car looking better, for longer. Before I'd have noticeable dust(to me) on top of the car after just a day. Now I can go for 2-3 weeks without a wash to keep it looking clean.

chitlins37 said:

Awesome shine man!

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Ceramic coating is huge. It makes such a difference when you're washing a car, so much easier. After you're done washing the shine just comes back out like gangbusters. PPF and ceramic coating has 10,000 miles on it and the car looks amazing.

100% of the most important factor in any ppf or ceramic coating is the installer. Even the best products can look like complete crap if the guy who's putting them on is knucklehead.

Pay the extra money for a good shop. For instance, if you screw up gtechniq Crystal serum you literally have to sand it off the car.

Xpel has some coating for their film that you can buy on their website. I think it was $20 for 16 oz. I ordered it but haven't tried it yet. Need to get the ppf installed first.

Zitrosounds said:

^^^ I think many are applying quartz like coatings prior to applying PPF. That may be an option but to me it is seriously overkill. And as Car Crazy mentioned, you will have impact protection with PPF. I am certain that some of the scars on the PPF would have made impressions in metal and taken paint if it were not for the PPF. My front bumper has indentations from impact but the paint is still there. I was on the fence about PPF because of cost but in the long term and peace of mind, well worth it.

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this is incorrect. PPF must be applied directly to a corrected paint surface. it will not adhere properly if the surface has a sealant and/or coating on it.

Zitrosounds said:

^^^ I think many are applying quartz like coatings prior to applying PPF. That may be an option but to me it is seriously overkill. And as Car Crazy mentioned, you will have impact protection with PPF. I am certain that some of the scars on the PPF would have made impressions in metal and taken paint if it were not for the PPF. My front bumper has indentations from impact but the paint is still there. I was on the fence about PPF because of cost but in the long term and peace of mind, well worth it.

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When I took my R wing in to have it coated with Ceramic pro 9H the installer told me that you can't put PPF over ceramic coating because it won't stick, I take his word for it because he sells and installs both the Ceramic Pro and Expel PPF.

So much input, it all is very much appreciated. It makes sense now and I'm going to have to do something.

I like the idea of a more permanent coating like nano ceramics. I'll have to look into the warranty aspect with Xpel.

On the other hand, my local guy is raving about the Ardex Labs sealer and wax combo.

To me, this subject matter should be a slam dunk. I am surprised the results vary so much amongst us and that recommendations vary widely. I was hoping this was going to be a whole bunch of +1's to a single suggestion.

The last thing I want to do is screw up a $5,500 wrap job (whole car) because I made the wrong decision.

I hope the suggestions keep rolling in. In the mean time, I will keep researching.

Thanks for everyone's inputs!

Why waste $ coating the plastic film? :shrug:

You will be wasting a huge chunk of the cost of redoing the PPF down the line if you plan to keep the car very long term (or a good few pieces if they get damaged by rocks along the way) for little to no gain.

Dont trust detailers who's goal is to pad their pockets with needless treatments. Use common sense.

Blk2015GT said:

Why waste $ coating the plastic film? :shrug:

You will be wasting a huge chunk of the cost of redoing the PPF down the line if you plan to keep the car very long term (or a good few pieces if they get damaged by rocks along the way) for little to no gain.

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Mostly aesthetics. I don't know what installers are charging for ceramics, but I did get a price of $175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of Miami wax. The wax, I was told, was a repetitive 6 month process.

Anybody have a price for ceramic application?

Blk2015GT said:

Why waste $ coating the plastic film? :shrug:

You will be wasting a huge chunk of the cost of redoing the PPF down the line if you plan to keep the car very long term (or a good few pieces if they get damaged by rocks along the way) for little to no gain.

Dont trust detailers who's goal is to pad their pockets with needless treatments. Use common sense.

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Have you ever done it, how do you know it is a waste?

Tomster said:

Mostly aesthetics. I don't know what installers are charging for ceramics, but I did get a price of $175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of Miami wax. The wax, I was told, was a repetitive 6 month process.

Anybody have a price for ceramic application?

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The whole car plus calipers and wheels was $1500 for me. That was with Ceramic Pro 9H

Minn19 said:

The whole car plus calipers and wheels was $1500 for me. That was with Ceramic Pro 9H

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I value your opinion. Do you feel it is worth it? I would be putting supplemental protection (such as track tape) over the critical areas of the PPF for track days. Do you feel there would be any issue with pulling track tape off of a ceramic coating on top of Xpel?

On a side note:
I spoke with Xpel this morning and I was told products with Naptha and kerosene (parafins) will void the warranty. So I am assuming that these ceramics do not have any of these solvents in the product.

The majority of certified Xpel installers in and around Chicago put Cquartz or similar product over the top of it for the shine and ease of maintain that shine. Any issues that causes with Xpel, which I have read to be none, would be on them. Shouldnt effect any warranty.

Tomster said:

I value your opinion. Do you feel it is worth it? I would be putting supplemental protection (such as track tape) over the critical areas of the PPF for track days. Do you feel there would be any issue with pulling track tape off of a ceramic coating on top of Xpel?

On a side note:
I spoke with Xpel this morning and I was told products with Naptha and kerosene (parafins) will void the warranty. So I am assuming that these ceramics do not have any of these solvents in the product.

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It is worth it to me for a couple of reasons. Ruby Red has a lot of metallic in it and I felt the ceramic coating really brings that out more than just the PPF film alone does. I especially saw this after cleaning it last weekend with the quick detailer. Also, I live on a lake and we get a ton of bugs around here. I had PPF on my M3 and I still had to grind the bugs off of it. I still have to use a little bit of elbow grease to get some of the worst bugs off, but not nearly as bad without the ceramic coating.

I would look into that gtechnig crystal serum I talked about earlier. I don't have personal experience with it, but I have heard when done right it is amazing. Next time around I'm going to try that or CQuartz Finest Reserve. I've also heard really good things about Modesta coatings.

But, that is why I said it is color specific as well. I'm not sure if it would help TY or not or your next R that is going to be AG I think? I don't think there would be any issue with pulling track tape off of the ceramic coating. A warning though as it takes up to 30 days to cure so you have to avoid sprinklers and other stuff like that while it is curing.

If you trust your installer I would just talk to them about what is best. I had a couple of really good long talks with mine about what was best for my situation. If they are trustworthy they aren't going to sell you stuff you don't want or need. I also don't think they have paraffins or solvents, but that is another question for the installer/detailer.

I agree with Minn19 on the ease of cleaning. When I just had PPF, I had to scrub bugs off the front. Now, most of the bugs come off with hose spray, I don't have to scrub at all. The wheels are also much easier to clean, but the installer told me to only expect a year or two of coating life on the wheels since it is a much harsher environment than the paint. He said to expect 5 years on the paint and PPF surfaces.

$1500 seems about normal including the prep work. I'm hoping that when the first five years are up, redoing the coating is cheaper since it won't "need" to be re-prepped. That may be too optimistic.

My car is white w/ blue stripes, so it probably didn't make as big of a difference as it did for [MENTION=24957]Minn19[/MENTION] with a red car, but it now has a "wet" look to it.

Forgot to mention - my coating is Opticoat Pro. I have no opinions on other products since I haven't used them/seen them in person, but I'm happy with mine.