Fast-n-Furious
Well-known member
Thanks! Very informative! Great to have domain expert like you here!I can try and answer some of your questions
I have been in the business since late 80’s. Currently have 4 locations in San Diego and we do tinting, PPF and ceramic coating……. We also do flat glass which is commercial and residential tint
Anyway, as far as PPF goes…. It’s been out a lot longer then most people realize. Some of the biggest brands are well over 5th 6th 7th generations. It’s gotten more popular because the product and cutting software has come a long way so you are seeing more shops getting into it. In our industry it’s been the #1 add to shops over the last 5 years and the manufactures have all jumped into it.
So to answer your question…. I would stick with the bigger brands mainly because they will be around the longest to honor the warranty. Most come with 5-10 year warranty. Make sure the shop and manufacturer will be there for you. My recommendations are:
Xpel (leader in the market)
Suntek (owned by Estaman)
Llumar-Valor series (honorable mention that has a new technology behind it…. One to watch but harder to install)
There are other good brads too but they are probably a rebox (one of the big guys makes it for them)
Ceramic coating are the “Hot” thing right now and are awesome if done right. As you guys know it’s the paint correction that is the key. The ceramic coating gets all the credit but it’s what is done before the coating that is key. Make sure you have experience here. A shop that has been certified or been around for some time detailing is what you want
As far as product….. this is tough because everyone makes one. One thing you should know is more layers doesnt make it better. That’s like “double bagging it” not really necessary but might give you piece of mind. You need to look at how HARD the coating rating is (i am drawing a blank on what they call that rating) so the difference between a 5 year and 9 year is not how thick the coating is, but how hard the coating is. Think wood and granite. You can build with both but wood will gouge a lot easier then granite.
I recommend
Gtechniq Ultra with Exo 5 or 9 year (personally the 5 year is fine….. just maintain it every year or 18 months) FYI…. The annual matnance for the coat is…… they reapply the EXO top coat
Ceramic pro has done a great job marketing there product and would be considered a big player with decent products BUT it’s marketed really well so don’t over pay
Xpel fusion is my choice for over PPF. Yes you can ceramic coat the PPF. It’s built for their PPF and makes the PPF pop plus helps with bee pollen stains on PPF
Rightlook for DIY. You can get professional grade ceramic and do it yourself. (I don’t recommend that but you can) I actually think this is equal to ceramic pro but they don’t have the marketing yet
One note is you always PPF first…. Then ceramic coat.
My opinion is PPF everything in front of the windshield (hood,fenders,grill) and ceramic coat the whole Jeep and of course tint the whole Jeep with a IR ceramic film (Stratos series)or ceramic (pinnacle series)
If you want to talk tint then I suggest a new thread cause I could write a book on that.
I don't have a deep pocket and have been doing research on DIY ceramic coating. Honestly I still don't feel confident with messing up with the small bottle. And I came across this Adams Graphene Ceramic Spray Coating thinking that it'll be very DYI-friendly and I can reapply every year due to the low cost. Any thoughts on this?