Waiting on an HEP R......

[BostonDMD]

Thanks. I'll go with them. I have some questions because I never had to deal with this stuff before

What Clear bra package do you recommend? I dont have the 350R so Im not worried about the carbon fiber wheels.

Also for the ceramic coating should I do CQuartz or Ceramic Pro? I see that Creamic Pro Gold has a lifetime warranty so thats really sounds amazing, I dont know what CQuartz does but CQuartz seems to add more shine and be better based off of the stuff they say about it. I dont know what the difference between the two is.

Im also thinking about doing a Stage 1 paint correction.

So Im doing Paint correction + Ceramic coating + Clear bra protection. Does that sound stupid?

Heres the website https://uccboston.com/

Talk to Rick the owner of UCC and he will give you an education on the subject.

Sponsored

 

[Stage_3]

I had my truck done at UCC back when they were in Stoneham. I had the Cquartz Finest applied after wash, clay, iron decontamination, and paint correction.
I was pleased with the results. Good shop.

 

[Good2go]

I did PPF with Suntech full front, A-pillars, edge of the roof and rear quarters. The paint job is very poor on GT350. People who measured thickness of the paint saying that GT350 has half less thickness than normal.

One half the amount of paint is one of the reasons they are so fast!

Lighter is faster.

LOL

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

It’s your car, whatever makes you happy. I opted not to do correction on my car due to the paint thickness and overall the orange peel wasn’t bad at all. I plan to own the car for the next 40 years or so, and I like having a little extra thickness to work with when I polish.

I’ve removed as much as 1.5 mil when doing paint correction on a Tesla that had HORRIBLE orange peel. This isn’t common, but I’d guess .4 mil is realistic if the paint is average. You only have 5-mil thickness on the mustang, and maybe 1.8 of that is clear (it changes from car to car.) Polishing my car with 3000 grit to get ride of all super-light clear coat imperfections removes about .05 mil.

Also, to be completely honest, 98% of people can’t tell the difference between a car with proper paint correction, and one that’s just had a thorough polish. I liken it to looking at diamonds.... if you know what you’re looking for, you have the light reflecting just right, and the surface is perfectly clean, you’ll notice a difference.

sorry.... I could go on forever about this stuff.

Okay I am planing on having my car for a long time too. You seem like you know more about this type of stuff. I honestly never dealt with this stuff before, I keep seeing everyone talking about it here so Im guessing its something that I should do. So I guess I'll have to wait until I get the car to determine if it needs a paint correction. Im not an expert, just a few days ago I finally learned what 'orange peel' was so I probably won't find anything wrong with it.

How do you feel about the PPF Xpel or whatever its called? I will probably get a ceramic coating as I had it on my last car but honestly since I got my brand new car 6 years ago, I never had rock chips or anything crazy happen to the paint or windshield. I had someone crash into me and needed the bumper replaced but that was it. I've done lots of highway driving too and I never had anything crazy happen. I know that there is an issue with the lower panels by the tires because of the spit out from rocks because of the tires, but I saw that rock guards will just solve the problem. $6,000 to get it done is alot of money. I don't know for sure but wouldn't it be cheaper to just get a rock chip or dent buffed out?

Im not a crazy fanatic who needs to keep it pristine clean all the time. I'm okay with it getting some damage over the years but I just don't want to treat my car as if Im dating Jennifer Lopez. People restore cars all the time, so couldn't I get the damage restored over the years? Does the PPF Xpel act as a force field from all of the bullshit?

I've only had a Scion tC. And I got it back in new 2014, I never noticed any problems with the paint and its never had problems with rock chips or whatever. Whenever its dirty I just get it washed and it looks clean. What makes the GT350 different?

 

[pilotgore]

Okay I am planing on having my car for a long time too. You seem like you know more about this type of stuff. I honestly never dealt with this stuff before, I keep seeing everyone talking about here so Im guessing its something that I should do. So I guess I'll have to wait until I get the car to determine if it needs a paint correction. Im not an expert, just a few days ago I finally learned what 'orange peel' was so I probably won't find anything wrong with it.

How do you feel about the PPF Xpel or whatever its called? I will probably get a ceramic coating as I had it on my last car but honestly since I got my brand new car 6 years ago, I never had rock chips or anything crazy happen to the paint or windshield. I had someone crash into me and needed the bumper replaced but that was it. I've done lots of highway driving too and I never had anything crazy happen. I know that there is an issue with the lower panels by the tires because of the spit out from rocks because of the tires, but I saw that rock guards will just solve the problem. $6,000 to get it done is alot of money. I don't know for sure but wouldn't it be cheaper to just get a rock chip or dent buffed out?

Im not a crazy fanatic who needs to keep it pristine clean all the time. I'm okay with it getting some damage over the years but I just don't want this car to be a money pit. People restore cars all the time so couldn't I get the damage restored over the years? Does the PPF Xpel act as a force field from all of the bullshit?

I've only had a Scion tC. And I got it back in new 2014, I never noticed any problems with the paint and its never had problems with rock chips or whatever. Whenever its dirty I just get it washed and it looks clean. What makes the GT350 different?

I’m happy to chat with you about all this stuff if you’d like a little more education. Send me a DM with your number and when works for you and I’ll give you a ring.

 

[Mikefd]

Here’s my take as I’m as OCD as they get, and I use to do auto detailing as a little side hustle back in the day.. the whole point of PPF what ever brand you go with is to prevent rock chips.... once a rock “chips” your paint there really is one thing you can do- add touch up paint bc obviously the paint will be gone... now for some that’s not a big deal and I would hope most people would be garaging these cars to keep them out of the elements preventing further damage/ UV damage to your clear coat- so to answer your Q in a super basic way, the PPF in theory should prevent and rocks or anything kicked up from the road from hitting your paint and potentially chipping down to the primer....now even taking these measures sometimes won’t prevent damage as objects can still penetrate the film in extreme cases.... BUT it’s worth the added protection in my honest opinion....especially going on long road trips you’ll be surprised how much your paint gets beat up from highway driving-
As far as paint correction goes... I’m not throwing out numbers here... BUT anyone knows who details on here just how little your actually taking off in order to remove scratches/swirls/marring/minor imperfections in your paint.... I’m not talking about wet sanding, or even aggressive compound, I’m talking about a nice 1 step finishing polish... to each their own on beliefs that correcting your paint is bad but honestly from my 12+ experience, I never had a negative issue or result from detailing cars....what comes off must go back on.... with modern products of today’s time adding sealants/ hard waxes, glosses, and the new hype of “ceramic” coatings, there is many many options to pro long your original paints life.....(I can go on for hours but that’s a basic summary on my take of PPF/paint correction) also....as mentioned before garaging your vehicle/ using proper drying techniques such as using air to completely dry your car using a “rag less” approach will only help you when trying to keep your paint look show room- as far as repainting your car..... look... their are many many many excellent body shops out there...and they have come a long way .... however me personally I can tell from a mile away if a car was touched up or a panel was resprayed here or there, it just will never never look stock- period.... as shitty as some say the paint is (I haven’t even seen my car yet) do everything to preserve your paint -

 

[Mikefd]

This is my car siting in the sun.... dirty....I go Monday to move it to storage inside the dealership while my garage is still awaiting to be built.... they were nice enough to babysit it for me... I noticed just from the pics bird shit, next to the Shelby badge on the rear black trunk trim.... I told them to LEAVE the car dirty..... I’m going to bring a waterless wash and take care of that myself.... then bring it indoors, cover it.... hopefully get my garage (COVID delayed) project completed and bring her home....I WILL PAINTERS TAPE THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE CAR, as I have a 3 hour ride home from PA (dealership) . The first ride is going to be home the second is to have the front end/rockers completely wrapped in PPF..yes the car will have to be properly washed and corrected before application of film can start.. My take is don’t be scared to learn how to paint correct... there is a ton of knowledgeable videos on YouTube who can lead you in the right direction to proper maintenance having your car look brand new... preserving that stock paint for me isn’t only a hobby of mine it’s my escape, and it does tell a story about someone’s character I feel ....it all comes down to what you expect out of your car.... some wash their cars and are happy its clean... others like their cars looking prestine/showroom at all times no matter what... that’s me... I had a 2012 ram I owned since new and would paint correct it/treat it once a year.come winter I would leave whatever dirt was on the truck and rinse salt off, not wash it just rinse preventing scratches... one time I went to a hand car wash after a snowboarding trip bc the truck was covered in salt... they rinsed the car for two seconds and I watched murder before my eyes... they dipped a dirty janitors broom in a bucket and I watched them massacre my paint it took me many many long ass hours to get their hack hand car wash scratches out of my paint- lesson learned . So....truck was not garage kept and I would spend around 18 full hours on the exterior alone once a year... the guy who bought it was shocked on how well the truck looked- so for me it’s take pride in your ride- for me that’s the only way to go

 

[Mikefd]

This was 7 years old at the time.... and in my opinion, black is a challenge to keep up with but that’s what I love about it.. the work and attention needed to keep it looking pristine... I chose orange this time around to switch it up but my end of my sort of rant is.... with proper knowledge and experience / balance of proper equipment and Products - paint correcting Is NOT bad for your paint... for us enthusiasts it’s a science

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

This is my car siting in the sun.... dirty....I go Monday to move it to storage inside the dealership while my garage is still awaiting to be built.... they were nice enough to babysit it for me... I noticed just from the pics bird shit, next to the Shelby badge on the rear black trunk trim.... I told them to LEAVE the car dirty..... I’m going to bring a waterless wash and take care of that myself.... then bring it indoors, cover it.... hopefully get my garage (COVID delayed) project completed and bring her home....I WILL PAINTERS TAPE THE WHOLE FRONT OF THE CAR, as I have a 3 hour ride home from PA (dealership) . The first ride is going to be home the second is to have the front end/rockers completely wrapped in PPF..yes the car will have to be properly washed and corrected before application of film can start.. My take is don’t be scared to learn how to paint correct... there is a ton of knowledgeable videos on YouTube who can lead you in the right direction to proper maintenance having your car look brand new... preserving that stock paint for me isn’t only a hobby of mine it’s my escape, and it does tell a story about someone’s character I feel ....it all comes down to what you expect out of your car.... some wash their cars and are happy its clean... others like their cars looking prestine/showroom at all times no matter what... that’s me... I had a 2012 ram I owned since new and would paint correct it/treat it once a year.come winter I would leave whatever dirt was on the truck and rinse salt off, not wash it just rinse preventing scratches... one time I went to a hand car wash after a snowboarding trip bc the truck was covered in salt... they rinsed the car for two seconds and I watched murder before my eyes... they dipped a dirty janitors broom in a bucket and I watched them massacre my paint it took me many many long ass hours to get their hack hand car wash scratches out of my paint- lesson learned . So....truck was not garage kept and I would spend around 18 full hours on the exterior alone once a year... the guy who bought it was shocked on how well the truck looked- so for me it’s take pride in your ride- for me that’s the only way to go

Okay that clears some things up, thanks.

I never knew that paint was such an issue, I have been pretty oblivious to this stuff as I never really had a car that was really worth a damn.

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

Talk to Rick the owner of UCC and he will give you an education on the subject.

Do you know of any places in New Hampshire? I live near the border and would like to avoid the sales tax if that is possible but this isn't something to cheap out on.

 

[Stage_3]

Do you know of any places in New Hampshire? I live near the border and would like to avoid the sales tax if that is possible but this isn't something to cheap out on.

https://www.northeastautosalon.com/

https://www.northeastdetailing.com/

 

[RPDBlueMoon]

https://www.northeastautosalon.com/

https://www.northeastdetailing.com/

Thank you. I appreciate it.

 

[Lorne34]

I would say there is some good advice on here, but i've learned to keep this stuff in balance and have a realistic perspective. I spent a lot of money getting my 2016 Gt (at the time) paint corrected, PPF on front clip and ceramic coated.
Within 2 months I had a rock chip on the hood where it meets the windshield. Unless you are going to wrap the entire car in PPF and put a "force field" around your glass, you are going to have stuff happen. I say, do what you can reasonably afford to protect your car with products such as PPF and Ceramic and use good washing techniques that rely on not touching the paint too often. Then just relax and enjoy the car, it's a moving object that is going to attract defects. Dr. Color Chip can be your friend as a stop gap vs repainting.
In regards to paint jobs.. I would say that if you are keeping a car as a collectors car, something that becomes your baby or you just want it for a very long time then. get THE ENTIRE CAR repainted some time down the road after x number of years and many built up imperfections. A quality custom shop will do it right with the proper amount of primer coatings, thick paint and a good clear coat.
There is no rule that says you have to live with the thin Ford factory paint forever if you don't want to.

Sponsored