post PPF treatment, Cquartz vs ?

[Blk2015GT]

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

So one has to have done it to have an opinion? You surely have not jumped off a bridge but know it's a bad idea right?

I have MORE than enough detailing knowledge to know the value to benefit ratio is very low. Your choice to go against that is your own.

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?

More than $175; at least 5 times that even without prep work since PPF is on the car already.

And if you have 2 arms you are more than capable of putting on sealer and wax; and have extra wax and sealant bottles for years to reapply. You only use a little each time.

They are wipe on wipe off products.

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[Minn19]

So one has to have done it to have an opinion? You surely have not jumped off a bridge but know it's a bad idea right?

I have MORE than enough detailing knowledge to know the value to benefit ratio is very low. Your choice to go against that is your own.



More than $175; at least 5 times that even without prep work since PPF is on the car already.

And if you have 2 arms you are more than capable of putting on sealer and wax; and have extra wax and sealant bottles for years to reapply. You only use a little each time.

They are wipe on wipe off products.

So no, great post helpful as always.

 

[Tomster]

So one has to have done it to have an opinion? You surely have not jumped off a bridge but know it's a bad idea right?

I have MORE than enough detailing knowledge to know the value to benefit ratio is very low. Your choice to go against that is your own.



More than $175; at least 5 times that even without prep work since PPF is on the car already.

And if you have 2 arms you are more than capable of putting on sealer and wax; and have extra wax and sealant bottles for years to reapply. You only use a little each time.

They are wipe on wipe off products.

that was the ardex sealer with 2 coats of wax

 

[EF300]

For a Light Polish paint correction with 7 year gtechniq crystal serum I paid $1400.00. This was applied on the whole car and over my full front PPF wrap. I also ppf'd the rear impact areas in front of the rear wheels.

I don't think there would be any issue removing track tape off of ceramic coating. You may have to be careful removing over top of Applied ppf though.

 

[Tomster]

I know, I know. But where does the madness stop? $1,400 to $1,600 more after I just got done spending $5,500 to PPF the car.

$175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of wax vs. $1,500 for a ceramic coating......

$1,500...... That's a MGW shifter and a Watson 4 point roll cage.

Bottom line...... Is the ceramic coating worth all the extra money? This car will be tracked if that has any influence.

Please, opinions based on the above are welcomed!

 

[EF300]

I know, I know. But where does the madness stop? $1,400 to $1,600 more after I just got done spending $5,500 to PPF the car.

$175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of wax vs. $1,500 for a ceramic coating......

$1,500...... That's a MGW shifter and a Watson 4 point roll cage.

Bottom line...... Is the ceramic coating worth all the extra money? This car will be tracked if that has any influence.

Please, opinions based on the above are welcomed!

Honestly the paint protection film is the most important part. Once you have that on you might as well just apply a coating yourself or use the wax sealer combo as you said. The reason I paid for it was because I wanted the full paint correction and removing Orange Peel / factory paint blemishes. If I already had ppf on my entire car I probably wouldn't pay to a ceramic coating on it . I would just order some higher-end products from autogeek and use a little elbow grease. Gtechniq cells Crystal serum light which you can apply by yourself. Just make sure to fully decontaminate the car before applying your own ceramic coating. There are products that they sell to get all the junk off your paint before you apply a ceramic coating. Is important to do that. It should be pretty easy to do if you have your whole car already wrapped and paint protection film.

 

[EF300]

And if you're going to be tracking your car I think you definitely have better places to spend your money like roll cage, tires and brake pads.

 

[MAV]

I bought and applied CQuartz for mine ($50), and I think it's a great alternative to wax. Love the look and ease of maintenance. But I just couldn't justify spending upwards of $6,000 to protect the craptastic factory paint, when for that price I can just have the car repainted someday with much better materials/workmanship once the wind has finally peeled off the OEM junk.

 

[Minn19]

I know, I know. But where does the madness stop? $1,400 to $1,600 more after I just got done spending $5,500 to PPF the car.

$175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of wax vs. $1,500 for a ceramic coating......

$1,500...... That's a MGW shifter and a Watson 4 point roll cage.

Bottom line...... Is the ceramic coating worth all the extra money? This car will be tracked if that has any influence.

Please, opinions based on the above are welcomed!

That's up to the individual if it is worth it or not. I've been detailing my own cars for a lot of years and was tired of the time it took to do it. Obviously for me it is. I can just hand wash it or use the quick detailer now and it looks as like I spent all day detailing it. One caveat, if it lasts the 5 plus years as advertised, I will say it was worth it, if it doesn't then maybe not.

It's like the current shifter fix thread. It's worth it for some people to do a quick cheap fix to end the rattling and can live with a decent, but not great shifter. I and others would rather get the best available out there and have chosen to go the MGW route. I feel like this discussion is very similar.

As for when it ends you know the answer to that........never, there is always something to spend on our hobby. :frusty::lol:

 

[chitlins37]

I know, I know. But where does the madness stop? $1,400 to $1,600 more after I just got done spending $5,500 to PPF the car.

$175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of wax vs. $1,500 for a ceramic coating......

$1,500...... That's a MGW shifter and a Watson 4 point roll cage.

Bottom line...... Is the ceramic coating worth all the extra money? This car will be tracked if that has any influence.

Please, opinions based on the above are welcomed!

I paid ~$1800 for Ceramic Pro 9H Gold pkg that includes wheels, calipers, lugs, all glass and interior. It was definitely worth it to me for several reasons:
-Aesthetics...the Ceramic Pro 9H really brought out the highs and lows in my Magnetic Metallic paint. Sometimes it looks like chrome in direct light and like the freaking Batmobile at night. The difference may not be as drastic on what you described as a 'Pearl' based paint for the TY? Cant speak to that.
-Ease of maintenance...the hydrophobic qualities of Ceramic Pro 9H are second to none and enchance what you get out of PPF alone on painted surfaces. At least get the wheels done...great help with what is just a never ending brake dust situation.
-Additional protection...more important in some areas than others but Ceramic Pro also protects against chemicals such as acid rain or other types of product spills from things that may be around your shop that could get under the film.

These are the factors I weighed into my decision to add it to the Xpel.

 

[Blk2015GT]

that was the ardex sealer with 2 coats of wax

Just saying sealants and waxes are WOPO (wipe on wipe off). They are essentially idiot proof. Wipe on, let haze (if directions call for such, some are wipe off right away), wipe off.

You can get a whole 16oz bottle (easily around 20 applications, Im on a 16oz bottle of Blackfire sealant for nearly 3 years now) of Ardex sealant on Amazon for $34 and the wax for $18.95 for 16 ox or $29.99 for 32 oz.

So for $50 you could do the car over and over for 3 or 4 years. 90% or more of that $175 is labor wiping something on and off with no skill required; maybe $5 of product.

I know, I know. But where does the madness stop? $1,400 to $1,600 more after I just got done spending $5,500 to PPF the car.

$175 for two coats of sealer and two coats of wax vs. $1,500 for a ceramic coating......

$1,500...... That's a MGW shifter and a Watson 4 point roll cage.

Bottom line...... Is the ceramic coating worth all the extra money? This car will be tracked if that has any influence.

Please, opinions based on the above are welcomed!

I agree. On bare paint I see the benefits of dropping the $1500, but over an already multi thousand dollar PPF job on the whole car? Just dont see the value added protecting stick-on plastic.

IF by some chance something messes up a panel of the film, $1500 is MORE than enough to redo more than that 1 panel (probably 2-4 panels).

 

[Minn19]

If you are going to go the sealant route, I guess I would just use there stuff to be safe.

http://www.xpel.com/product/xpel-clear-bra-care-kit/

 

[AirBusPilot]

This thread is starting to remind me of the devastating wax wars that happened on the Corvette forum awhile ago. Millions were killed.

 

[snaproll]

This thread is starting to remind me of the devastating wax wars that happened on the Corvette forum awhile ago. Millions were killed.

Lol.

To each his/her own, carpe diem, buyer beware, live and let live and all that crap but, I mean, $5k for paint protection on a $25k mustang? Have you all done lost your marbles? :eyebulge:

I'm just going with a really nice PPF package to DIY and then I've been suckered into cquartz which I will also do myself. The promise of having brake dust fall off with a hose is worth a few hours of work and $59. I'll admit I bought some new tools and microfiber towels so I'll have $1,000 in the job. I'll report back. Car is brand new so there's not a bunch of "paint correction" to do other than the rental car paint job it already is. No way you are going to wet sand the car because none of it will matter when it hits the wall in turn 17 Hopefully will get a 2:23 before then ...

Don't overthink it. Drive the car.:cheers:

 

[Tomster]

Lol.

To each his/her own, carpe diem, buyer beware, live and let live and all that crap but, I mean, $5k for paint protection on a $25k mustang? Have you all done lost your marbles? :eyebulge:

I'm just going with a really nice PPF package to DIY and then I've been suckered into cquartz which I will also do myself. The promise of having brake dust fall off with a hose is worth a few hours of work and $59. I'll admit I bought some new tools and microfiber towels so I'll have $1,000 in the job. I'll report back. Car is brand new so there's not a bunch of "paint correction" to do other than the rental car paint job it already is. No way you are going to wet sand the car because none of it will matter when it hits the wall in turn 17 Hopefully will get a 2:23 before then ...

Don't overthink it. Drive the car.:cheers:

I hear you. I just "drove the car" with my last 350 and even with track tape all over, stuff still got through during HPDE's. Pitting in windshield, paint, etc.

I priced out partial PPF to the areas that needed it and that brought it within "close enough" to just do the whole damn car.

Sure, slam it into the wall at turn (whatever) and the track insurance will certainly cover my 25k GT350R mustang, however track insurance will not cover the diminished value when the car looks like it was flown through a volcanic ash cloud.

5 k is worth it to me, especially since I got the car for almost MSRP.

Carpe diem, omni omni VOR, and happy new year,

No regrets

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