Loft23

Just wanted to take a poll of how the 911 community is protecting their cars.

PPF - Paint Protection Film
- Front or
- Full

Ceramic Coating
There's a lot of debate between ceramic coating vs conventional temporary methods.

I have owned many cars, but the last 3 were ones that I babied more than previous - B8 Audi S4, F10 M5, and my current 18 991.2 C2S. On the S4, no PPF or coatings, and the car looked pristine the year I sold it (4 yrs). Nothing a detailer can't fix with paint correction. The M5, had full front PPF, no coating, and the car looked perfect the day I sold it after 4 years. The unprotected areas looked good as new and nothing that a detailer can't correct for little cost. The PPF full front is where I noticed a lot of the wear. Mostly due to bird droppings and tree sap. Driven the car 25k miles, all highway, and only one rock chip in 4 years.

Now that I have recently taken delivery of my 991.2, I'm debating on what I should do. I enjoy washing and reapplying wax / sealant on my car. My car is white metallic and I hear that PPF fading, yellowing, and dirt is more apparent on white cars. With all my previous cars, I have had to do paint correction only once with each. I take great care to minimize swirls and scratches. Is the cost of ceramic coating worth it (full paint correction + multiple coats)? Swirls, scratches, and chips will still occur and the only benefit is the ease of maintenance.

I'm OCD with my car, but I'm completely happy with the looks of a good wash and high quality spray / paste wax. I think I will just do PPF again for peace of mind against every day road debris.

Driven991

My first 911 was a 14 that only had about 2000 miles on it when I bought it but it had a few rock chips on the front bumper. The paint on the front of the hips of the car also had a fair bit of embedded debris in the paint. There were also bad swirl marks in the paint from wear and tear and typical washing methods. It was black which I think is just beautiful on a 911 really accentuating the curves and shape of the car but the swirl marks just bugged the crap out of me. I spent quite a bit of time doing some paint correction in my garage. The PPF hid the swirl marks where applied to the front of the car. I did not PPF the whole car that time, only the front fenders, hood, a pillars, roof line and hips.

To me the PPF is a minimum for the front of the car and I drive my car a fair bit in town and on the highway. Sometimes when I get stuck behind a big truck, tractor trailer, etc I can hear the sand hitting the car but I don't worry because of the PPF.

My current car was purchased as a very low mileage CPO car and so the paint was in very good condition. I PPF'd the whole car shortly after purchase. So when I wash it I don't worry as much about minor swirls and the paint should still be in very good condition when the PPF is removed years from now.

When I put my cover on the car if it is not perfectly clean I don't worry about it scratching the paint because I have PPF.

What I don't really like about PPF is the expense of it, 2hrs or so travel time to get it installed, lack of UV protection and that it can't be waxed or sealed like traditional painted surfaces. It will also have to be replaced at some point down the road as well.

For any car that I want to keep the paint in the best shape possible...PPF.

I don't have any real experience with the higher end coatings but for the length of time they last and the need for reapplication and expense I did not consider them.

DNorby

Just wax, I have been using Turtlewax Ice spray with the extra soft mf cloth. I think the PPF is too expensive and the paint could just be repaired or re-painted later on. I have no idea about ceramic coatings.

Loft23

You can seal PPF as you would regular paint. I use optimum spray wax and is one of the best things I did to PPF. It makes the surface shine and super slick. My PPF installer even asked what I used because he wanted to recommend it to his customers. You can't polish or buff PPF, but sealants are perfectly fine and recommended.

With that said, I still prefer the feel and look of a clean and waxed paint over PPF.

StormRune

I answered the poll a little incorrectly in retrospect, I should have checked all-of-the-above. I have PPF on the front and use a synthetic wax on the rest of the body. But I guess I should have said all-of-the-above since I also have ceramic coat on my HRE wheels. The wheels are staying very clean and the little bits of tar that ended up on them so far has just popped off just by using my fingernail. Even HRE offers ceramic coat on their wheels if you ask. It sure seems to make them clean up really easily and possibly even stay a little cleaner to begin with.

Jim M.

My first 991 had PPF installed by the PO on the front clip. The car was white and the factory stone guard in front of the rear wheel wells started to turn yellow. The PPF on the front of the car did not. I don't know the difference in age of the two. But the PPF protected the front of the car from all the small stone chips that a ceramic coating would not. Also, I wax the PPF on both the new and the old 991's and have never noticed a detrimental effect.

Archimedes

Another one of these threads? Is the search button broken?

I wipe baby seal blood all over my new cars. Harvest it myself.

BlazinPond

Although....
Something worse than not using the search button is (IMO):

Taking the time to complain or preach that fellow members should just use the search fxn instead of having realtime conversation/questions.

Why click into? Why waste your time? Is this your way of 'helping'?

No offense, just seems strange to me.

JFerraro17

Or getting search results for 4-7 year old threads as technology/methods/equipment/options/etc change.....so yeah, kinda broken

Loft23

I'm sure you'll complain about reviving an old thread too. You're driving a Porsche, cheer up. I was simply looking to what the trends are now with all the new types of PPF and coatings out there.

911boy

I'm with you, I love washing and waxing regularly so PPF was difficult for me. At about 15000 kms I started seeing chips and went with Expel ultimate on hood and bumper. I can see it (barely)but at least the chips have stopped. Should help avoid sandblasting. Personally I really don't understand how ceramic coating works any better than regular wax applied frequently. I get the impression its for those that would rather avoid regular waxing. I wash about 2-3 times per week and will get corrected once or twice/year.

911boy

I agree 100%.

Gary JR

None of the above. PPF, Ceramic Pro, no wax.

R_Rated

PPF + wax

KenTO

I have PPF and I debated getting Ceramic protection. I had it on my 458 and it looked great 4 years later, but that was not a daily driver. On my Targa, I plan on a full interior detail, polish and wax every Spring for a cost of $199. A lot cheaper than the ceramic products that can cost over $1300.