When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I'm Old School. I don't like Film (took it off my Aston Martin the prior owner had applied) because it ages and you can't get the sheen with it on. It's a plastic at the end of the day. Ceramic coating is great for my Ford Pickup truck that sits outside and get washed 3x a year. It's also great for those who lease a car and don't want to pamper it much.
I'm into the Swissvax system, and yes, you have to re-apply it at least once a year. The depth of shine is excellent, and there is more warmth to a carnauba wax than ceramic nanocoatings. Here's my 991 I traded in a couple months ago as it was on the rack getting its CPO certification at Porsche Bethesda (sold in 2 days after this photo was taken). Not bad for a car made in July 2013 with 28K miles on it after 7 1/2 years. No film, just wax. And there are no rock chips anywhere because I don't drive behind dump trucks and take it out in the salts and sands of winter.
Just did my new Cayenne GTS, also in Swissvax, same product as on the 991 above. No film on this one, either. And it will look this good 7 years from now, too.
Did you do any paint correction before starting with Swissvax, by hand or with a machine? I'm guessing you are using their Zuffenhausen Porsche wax? Thanks in advance.
I never PPF’ed one of my 911’s until I did. I lived in Maine several years ago and the gravel and shrapnel thrown on the road in the winter ended up all over the car in the spring. I started to PPF my future cars and realized the stuff really worked and protected the car. I did it for me not future owners because I took care of all aspects of my cars and wanted them running and looking great.
Does it make me less of an enthusiast than those that canon ball run down dirt and gravel roads or drive in the rain with the top down, absolutely not. Some of that is just noise by those that don’t want to put out the $’s , not all but some. I have PPF and ceramic on my GT Silver TTS but I also have 40k miles and I drive it daily and it still looks fantastic.
I do the Swissvax all by hand, even though I have machine applicators. I can control it better by hand and keep the materials off the flat black plastics. No Clay Bar, the Cayenne didn't need it. Just the prep polish/ cleaner and then the wax, which I apply bare-handed. In these high-carnauba waxes, the heat from your hands liquifies the wax and it spreads better with more control. Plus your wife will like the way it makes your hands feel . Yes, I used the Porsche blend mainly because $ 199 per 250 ml container is about my upper comfort spend limit, but apparently the Crystal Rock formula ($ 1,149) is supposed to be amazing.
Does the same thing happen w/ car paint? What happens if I PPF'd just the front end, side sills and rear qtr panel and then cermaic coat the whole car? Will the un PPF'd parts of the car look different from the PPF'd portions of the car after ceramic coating?
You get two different shades of color -- PPF'd versus non PPF'd.
This is why I alway say, if you're going to PPF, go all the way. If not, then just leave the whole thing au naturel.
I XPel the full front, roof, spoiler, rockers and up the rear ‘hips’. Protects from bugs, bird crap and of course rocks/gravel.
Ceramic is an excellent Detailer enrichment program.
Do it yourself for 25% of the price or stick with quality sealants every 4-6mos - a great sealant refreshed periodically is just hard to beat. Ceramic beads well and makes it super easy to clean the car. it affords zero protection from bird crap, rock chips, acid rain vs sealants.
PPF, a good wrap detailer and quality sealant on paint and you are GTG. That’s been my experience from using them all over the past 15+ years.
This is my old car, a 2013 that was paint corrected and wrapped before being driven when i bought it. Has about 6k miles on it in these picture from last fall from current owner. He added ceramic over top of the PPF about 2 1/2 yrs ago when he bought it from the guy i sold it to.
Done right, it will look great and last for years.
Update, full car PPF and ceramic coat. No regrets. Car looks amazing. This thing is a rock magnet - I can hear the rocks hitting the side of the car due to the wide wheels and wide body. Recommended.
Dr ColorChip is my paint’s best friend. When applied correctly, you will not notice. Won’t work on big problems but run of the mill chips are handled quite easily. And when it came time to sell, no one asked about PPF, just commented on how new it still looked after 100k miles or whatever. I don’t think I will ever put PPF on a car. It just takes away from the gloss and is too problematic when you do get a strike or tear and then have to worry if the paint gets pulled when you replace a PPF panel. Most people on here supporting PPF have never had to take it off or haven’t despite imperfections.
I will PPF the entire front end from day one. Sold my last AMG after 4 years, not 1 rock chip. On any metallic color, using high quality film (XPel/Suntek) you cannot tell it is one there. 10yr warrant on both products
I can’t see any difference between my panels with PPF and ceramic (90 percent of the car is PPF’d) and panels with just ceramic. Doesn’t matter what lighting conditions, what time of day, cloudy or sunny. All have the same look, same gloss. Film is Stek...don’t know (or care) if it’s DynoShield or ProShield.
I am in the weeds on PPF and ceramic coatings. I've read through the different threads.
All PPFs look good when first applied. Probably indistinguishable in most circumstances, compared to the bare paint. But for a metallic paint, like Gentian Blue, are you giving up a little on shine and depth, particularly after a couple years?
I am just worried about trading one problem (paint chips and swirls) for another (pits, stains, bubbles, tears, lower gloss).
It just seems for the same price, you can have the chips filled and the whole car go through 2 step polishing each year. But the PPF probably wouldn't be replaced until it was in really bad shape.
Is it fair to say that for those who prioritize paint gloss, limiting PPF on the bumper and rocker panels is preferred, along with ceramic coating the rest of the car? Or does the long term durability and self healing really make this a non-issue?
Thanks
I have a C2S in Gentian blue. I got it last year in June. I immediately had it covered in Suntek Ultimate and coated with Modesta. This past weekend I was at a Koenigsegg event and two different onlookers came up to me and remarked it was the best blue they'd seen on a car in a really long time. One of them thought it was a PTS color due to it's depth and brightness in the sun.
PPF is so good now, you'll have zero problems getting the look of depth/clarity, richness and "pop" you want with Gentian blue. Just take it to a respected installer who will do a full paint correction before applying it and you're set. As long as your car is garage kept, you shouldn't have to replace it for 5 years.
I have looked at 3-12 month old 992 911 Carreras and turbos either in showroom or on dealer lot or in service bay waiting for owner to pickup. I have not seen one that doesn’t have edge lifting or a gouge/tear on bumper or bonnet or it has dirty corners. I wanted it to be the opposite because I was wanting rock chip protection but the cons of seeing the other items were bothersome. The gouge tears were on a cwm turbo s cab with 300 miles, aventurine green carrera s coupe with 3000 miles had multiple edge lifting and dirty corners, and a chalk turbo s coupe had dirty corners and multiple edge lifting. I couldn’t tell from 6 feet away but walking around the car attempting to admire the curves and color, it stood out negatively.
I have a C2S in Gentian blue. I got it last year in June. I immediately had it covered in Suntek Ultimate and coated with Modesta. This past weekend I was at a Koenigsegg event and two different onlookers came up to me and remarked it was the best blue they'd seen on a car in a really long time. One of them thought it was a PTS color due to it's depth and brightness in the sun.
PPF is so good now, you'll have zero problems getting the look of depth/clarity, richness and "pop" you want with Gentian blue. Just take it to a respected installer who will do a full paint correction before applying it and you're set. As long as your car is garage kept, you shouldn't have to replace it for 5 years.
@WellDressedCar Did you use TLC? My Night Blue C4S is there right now getting SunTek and Modesta. Should be done tomorrow.
I have looked at 3-12 month old 992 911 Carreras and turbos either in showroom or on dealer lot or in service bay waiting for owner to pickup. I have not seen one that doesn’t have edge lifting or a gouge/tear on bumper or bonnet or it has dirty corners. I wanted it to be the opposite because I was wanting rock chip protection but the cons of seeing the other items were bothersome. The gouge tears were on a cwm turbo s cab with 300 miles, aventurine green carrera s coupe with 3000 miles had multiple edge lifting and dirty corners, and a chalk turbo s coupe had dirty corners and multiple edge lifting. I couldn’t tell from 6 feet away but walking around the car attempting to admire the curves and color, it stood out negatively.
The Carrera White 991.2 Targa GTS I just sold had a full front wrap. The edges of the PPF were quite evident. And you don’t want to get too aggressive cleaning along the edges otherwise you have quite a bit of paint correcting to do. Now with some of these newer films, maybe the swirls actually do disappear but my PPF on a 2019 car looked worse than the rear of the car. Car was still stunning but the front paint maybe looked a 9 when the sides and rear looked a 10+ after detailing. You couldn’t even tell it was Carrera White on the front while you could see all the metal flake and luster on the non PPF panels.
03-25-2021, 09:49 PM
Swissvax System/Paint Correction?
. Yes, I used the Porsche blend mainly because $ 199 per 250 ml container is about my upper comfort spend limit, but apparently the Crystal Rock formula ($ 1,149) is supposed to be amazing.
