Time For A Choice...PPF or Ceramic?

[Lrpilot]

I have about $2000 in the budget to protect the paint on my new Limited Longhorn. Based on the quotes I’ve received, for $2000 or so, it looks like I can do a full front PPF including hood, bumpers, fenders, lights and mirrors. Or, I can choose a full vehicle ceramic coating with a lifetime warranty (whatever that is worth!). What do I do?!

 

[scottmoyer]

Hold on to the $2000 and have the front end repainted in the future if it needs it.

I understand the desire to keep the front end looking new, and without stone chips, but I could not personally see myself spending another $2k to have it that way. Not sure why PPF on the front end for $2k is a good number, when a full wrap costs less. I think the prices are artificially inflated because they know we want nice things.

 

[Lrpilot]

Hold on to the $2000 and have the front end repainted in the future if it needs it.

I understand the desire to keep the front end looking new, and without stone chips, but I could not personally see myself spending another $2k to have it that way. Not sure why PPF on the front end for $2k is a good number, when a full wrap costs less. I think the prices are artificially inflated because they know we want nice things.

Every quote I’ve gotten to wrap the entire truck in PPF is $5,000 or more here in Central FL. I keep reading that the painted bumpers, hoods, and fenders on these trucks look like buck shot hit them after a few months. Everyone seems to be big into Xpel or other forms of PPF. I’m curious now why you say avoid it because you’re the first one I’ve heard give that opinion. Is everyone else’s truck holding up okay paint wise?

 

[scottmoyer]

I wasn't saying that PPF an entire vehicle was $2k, but a typical vehicle wrap. Isn't PPF basically the same as a vehicle wrap? I do understand that it's thicker, but seriously, it's still just a wrap.

My plan is to just provide larger following distances, when I can, to prevent the damage. My only reason for saying that is because you just spent $45k-$75k on the truck. That's a lot of money. Paying $2k to put a front wrap on is a lot of money. In that same thought process, you won't see me spending $1k to have my truck protected with ceramic coating either. If you want to spend, and are ok spending $2k to wrap the front, then I say do it. PPF is a better option than ceramic for protecting the front end from stone chips. Ceramic will make it harder to chip, but PPF is your best option.

 

[aodetailnj]

PPF is a full 8-10 mils thick, optically clear and self healing. Nothing like vinyl at all. And at $4.50-5.50 per sqft, material cost is FAR greater than vinyl. Couple that with a more tedious and skillful install and that’s how you come up with these numbers. I wouldn’t touch a full vehicle PPF job on a Ram for under $6500 depending on trim/configuration, so $5000 is quite cheap. That said, pricing will always depend on your local market.

As for repainting, I’m around paint all day and we see some awful re-sprays. If the OP is anything like me, I spend a few $ to ensure the integrity of the factory finish is maintained by applying PPF.

 

[Venom700]

If you have the night edition, the hard part is finding a shop to do the majority of the grille. Mine is in now getting partial hood but majority of the grille, lights, partial front fender, and mirror backs, plus ceramic over the PPF and full wheels, for $1600.
I’m going to just polish and use some good sealant on the rest of the truck.

 

[Biga]

I would just PPF the Front Bumper then Ceramic coat the rest of the truck. The front bumper is the main area you will see rock chips.

 

[SD Rebel]

As mentioned, PPF the hit areas of the front end of your truck, don't forget the front of the rear fenders if you don't have non-folding running boards to protect from rocks thrown by the front tires chipping the side of the bed and fender flares.

Buy some high quality ceramic coating for 100 bucks, then watch some Youtube videos and apply it yourself. Though a big part of Ceramic coating cost is the paint cleaning, paint correction and application process. However, you can simply clay bar the truck yourself, hand polish if you want to, then apply your own ceramic coating.

 

[Nickv1214]

I have about $2000 in the budget to protect the paint on my new Limited Longhorn. Based on the quotes I’ve received, for $2000 or so, it looks like I can do a full front PPF including hood, bumpers, fenders, lights and mirrors. Or, I can choose a full vehicle ceramic coating with a lifetime warranty (whatever that is worth!). What do I do?!

Go with the front end ppf , trust me
You’ll be happy you did . Every vehicle I own I wrap . And nothing like 5-6-7 years down the road pealing it off and looking at brand new factory paint .

 

[AK103]

PPF is a full 8-10 mils thick, optically clear and self healing. Nothing like vinyl at all. And at $4.50-5.50 per sqft, material cost is FAR greater than vinyl. Couple that with a more tedious and skillful install and that’s how you come up with these numbers. I wouldn’t touch a full vehicle PPF job on a Ram for under $6500 depending on trim/configuration, so $5000 is quite cheap. That said, pricing will always depend on your local market.

As for repainting, I’m around paint all day and we see some awful re-sprays. If the OP is anything like me, I spend a few $ to ensure the integrity of the factory finish is maintained by applying PPF.

THIS

 

[AK103]

If you have the night edition, the hard part is finding a shop to do the majority of the grille. Mine is in now getting partial hood but majority of the grille, lights, partial front fender, and mirror backs, plus ceramic over the PPF and full wheels, for $1600.
I’m going to just polish and use some good sealant on the rest of the truck.

I have a night edition limited.
They did my entire front end, minus the actual plastic middle part of the grill (Bars part)
All around is PPF.

Also the PPF is self-healing and will continue keeping the truck looking good for many years.
Definitely worth it in my opinion. I got my entire front end done on my Limited, as well as ceramic coat.
If I had to choose between the two, PPF all day.

Btw, even if you did half the hood/fenders - it'll save you money and still protect the truck.
Doing full hood/fenders is where it gets expensive.

My advice to you is finding a GOOD shop that cuts the material in-house.

 

[davidn0021]

I did my entire front end, A pillars, roof line and door handles with PPF, ceramic on the entire vehicle after PPF for about $4300 here in SoCal. Another place quoted me $6500 for a full wrap. So it seems on par to what we're paying here. Pretty sure other members have gotten it for far cheaper.

 

[SD Rebel]

Make sure whatever you do, you go with an established quality shop. Because if they suck, they will actually screw up your paint with cut marks into the paint you won't actually see until you remove the PPF and the damaged is exposed and it's too late. Some badly done PPF can result in paint work to repair, kinda the opposite of what you want it for.

 

[AK103]

Make sure whatever you do, you go with an established quality shop. Because if they suck, they will actually screw up your paint with cut marks into the paint you won't actually see until you remove the PPF and the damaged is exposed and it's too late. Some badly done PPF can result in paint work to repair, kinda the opposite of what you want it for.

Yes and no.
Agree with the quality shop that's a given.
But XPEL and Suntek, the big two are precut. No on body cutting.

 

[HAL9001]

There should never be a debate between PPF and Ceramic, these are two entirely different products that do different things.

Ceramic coatings are great at repelling water, providing a nice gloss, and protecting the paint against environmental contaminants. It provides much the same protection as a high-quality polymer wax but lasts a lot longer. It also provides some minor protection against light swirl marks. But make no mistake, Ceramics provide no protection against light to heavy scratches and paint chips. This is definitely the wrong product for this level of protection.

PPF is far and away a better paint protectant. In addition to providing all the benefits of Ceramics, it also provides very effective protection from scratches and paint chipping.

PPF is very expensive, few will pay the cost of covering an entire vehicle, so it's best to use it wherever paint chipping occurs most. Even then, having it professionally applied will cost around $1-2K.

I always tell people to try to apply PPF themselves. You can buy PPF in bulk very inexpensively or in precut sections for considerably less than the cost of installing it professionally. Flater areas like the front of the hood and quarter panels are quite easy to apply. XPEL rates them a 1 out of 5 level of difficulty especially when you use pre-cut PPF. There are many YouTube videos explaining in detail how to successfully apply PPF.

You can buy a sheet of bulk PPF for around $20. Then simply pick an easy section like the door kick panels and give it a try. If you fail, it easily comes off. I tried this on the front section of the hood of my SUV and it came out great. That was on my first try, now I know enough to do it even better. I just applied some to the door kick panels of my new 1500 and it came out perfect. Next, I'll order some pre-cut sections for the front end.

So, it's either go unprotected, pony up the $$$$ for full or partial professionally applied PPF, or spend a few bucks a give it a go for yourself.

 

[SD Rebel]

Yes and no.
Agree with the quality shop that's a given.
But XPEL and Suntek, the big two are precut. No on body cutting.

I've seen cheap chops do relief cuts on precuts and damage the paint. It depends on the installer actually doing a good job.

 

[arod412]

I might be a little old school here (I'm 42), but thats alot of money on the ceramic stuff.

For long trips (100+ miles) , I must might throw on a $90 front end bra (see picture) then take it off when I return. No cover needed for a shorter trip.

I power wash, wax, my cars all the time, so things are always clean for me. Besides...$2k can go far with other mods.

Owner of a 2020 Ram Laramie (leveled with 2" rc struts and 1" rear spacer on 33.5" toyo open country) , 16 Dodge Charger scat pack and my wife 21 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara (2.5" rc lift with 35" duratracs)

 

[aodetailnj]

Yes and no.
Agree with the quality shop that's a given.
But XPEL and Suntek, the big two are precut. No on body cutting.

Not entirely true. Those companies (and many others) offer cutting software, but that’s only if the installer has a plotter and uses the software or orders patterns from wherever they buy their film.

We order film directly from our manufacturers in 50’ or 100’ rolls and will cut most vehicles on our plotter using software. That said, many cars aren’t in a software’s database and even those that are can have patterns that don’t fit 100% correctly. We learned this trade by only bulk installing and cutting everything by hand so we could tackle anything. Software and plotters have made life considerably easier and lessens the risk of damage from cuts, but not everyone uses them and sometimes they aren’t even the best option.

Moral of the story, do your research, ask a prospective installer the right questions and most importantly, ask to see their work. I have no problem showing customers cars we’re actively working on or cars that we’ve completed.

 

[KCViper]

Considering PPF on my new truck. Have done it on other cars and comes down to the quality and experience of the installation!! IMO, best left to a professional that has lots of experience!

 

[User_34235]

I just called a local retailer and they wanted $1200 to do the main areas and $2000 to do the entire vehicle. Waiting to hear back from Ziebart to see what they want.