Ceramic coat new car?

[crew]

I’m picking up a new car later this week and looking for input from the car guys on this forum regarding having the car ceramic coated. I’ve seen professionally applied ceramic and it looks great. One concern I have, however, is that I usually take my SUV’s thru a local car wash 2-3X per week and I’ve heard that non-touchless car washes are to be avoided on ceramic finishes. For the record, I hand wash my cars but not my SUV and I don’t want to add another vehicle to my weekly wash ritual.
I’d also like to hear thoughts on using ppf wrap on the front end and/or the entire body.
The car is a Toyota Grand Highlander hybrid and is a medium blue finish called Stormcloud.
TYIA for your input!

[1st amg]

Congrats on the new addition! Firstly, I think a ceramic coat is an excellent idea. It will survive car washes but not as long as a hand wash. Typically, lots of ceramic coats can last two years or longer, depending on where the vehicle is parked and if it’s hand wash. If not you may be looking at ceramic coat once every year.
I have used PPF many times and swear by it. Then PPF with ceramic coat on top is outstanding. For the Toyota, I would do a ceramic coat. Maybe PPF the front hood portion as the bugs are a pain to take off.


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[fozzyf18]

When I had a ceramic coat professionally applied to my cars, it came with a warranty. The warranty was voided if I went to any car wash. Hand wash only. Restrictions may have changed based on new ceramic developments as that was 6 years ago, but that was a tough warranty period (3 years with annual application) to get through- especially since I didn’t know to ask about that before I had the work done.

That said, it looked awesome!

[0nly5iv3Digits]

I prefer PPF

[cdmorenot]

I’ve gotten every new car coated for the past 5 years - I only do it because it makes it easier to wash. No scratch protection and if you let hard water sit on your car, you better have the right product and buffer to get it off without removing the coating.

I don’t recommend ceramic coating for anyone that isn’t doing hand washes with someone that knows what they’re doing.

[rmlovett1]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

Congrats on the new addition! Firstly, I think a ceramic coat is an excellent idea. It will survive car washes but not as long as a hand wash. Typically, lots of ceramic coats can last two years or longer, depending on where the vehicle is parked and if it’s hand wash. If not you may be looking at ceramic coat once every year.
I have used PPF many times and swear by it. Then PPF with ceramic coat on top is outstanding. For the Toyota, I would do a ceramic coat. Maybe PPF the front hood portion as the bugs are a pain to take off.


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⬆️⬆️⬆️ this
Ceramic coat provides a great look if done correctly, and just makes everything easier to remove from the paint.

[dnd2984]

PPF fan here. Get the front clip PPF and Ceramic the rest. All cars we buy now get full PPF top to bottom. It makes cleaning the car easier and extra layer of protection is peace of mind. I have 2 young kids and one loves playing with chalk and we have had a few instances he has drawn on something cute on my wife's new X7.

For cleaning I use bunch of microfibers and Ultima waterless wash and I am done in 20 mines cleaning the car.

There are many PPF brands out there do your research. I have had Xpel on my C63s and it has weird texture, on my X5M I did Suntek Ultra, and on my wifes X7 it has the new suntek reacation film and it's the best I have seen from gloss and easy to clean standpoint.

[Sephiroth]

Based on your description I wouldn’t bother with a coating or ppf. Just drive your suv and as you said put those resources into other vehicles.

[RTG]

Your coating is the paint. Absolutely wouldn’t waste the money on PPF or ceramic. Save that cash for your next vehicle, or anything else.

[996marty]

Ceramic coatings are great but I’d recommend not using a car wash.
The coating I had put on lasted years and made washing by hand a breeze with great results once done

[Speedbird-1]

How does it fare, with jet washing?

[SearChart]

I've PPF wrapped my LS400, I hand wash it every other week. I was told a car wash is fine though.

[NardinNut]

As to PPF, I think it depends on the vehicle. My launch edition TRX has full PPF over all paint. I did that as it’s a special release color and I planned on off roading it a bunch so wanted to protect from trail stripes. I absolutely love having it covered in PPF. I don’t freak out about marks and the self healing properties actually work well against minor door dings in parking lots.

With all that said, it was very expensive to get done. For a Highlander, and your use of it, I’d say it doesn’t make sense to do full PPF. Maybe front for rock chip protection, definitely not full.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by RTG

Your coating is the paint. Absolutely wouldn’t waste the money on PPF or ceramic. Save that cash for your next vehicle, or anything else.

I tend to agree, especially if you’re trading in every 3-4 years.

[1st amg]

Originally Posted by brandrea

I tend to agree, especially if you’re trading in every 3-4 years.

True enough!

[HHIslander]

If it was a >100k ride that you were planning on holding a long time, I’d maybe go PPF. But for a Toyota, I wouldn’t do anything other than ceramic at the most. I went through the same debate with a recent Lexus buy and just went ceramic. I spray and sponge at the local self serve car wash and the dirt/grime definitely come off easier after ceramic. That alone makes it worthwhile to me.

[crew]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I will decide in the coming days how to proceed. I lost my Florida car during Hurricane Ian and the Toyota will likely end up replacing it. I drive from Naples to Ft Lauderdale about 2-3X/month during the winter to visit my son and the trip across Alligator Alley can result in some severe bug plastering to the front end of a car. For that reason alone I’ll probably wrap the front of this vehicle.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by crew

Thank you all for your thoughts. I will decide in the coming days how to proceed. I lost my Florida car during Hurricane Ian and the Toyota will likely end up replacing it. I drive from Naples to Ft Lauderdale about 2-3X/month during the winter to visit my son and the trip across Alligator Alley can result in some severe bug plastering to the front end of a car. For that reason alone I’ll probably wrap the front of this vehicle.

My Prius came with the Toyota film protection on the nose and mirrors. It works really well on bugs and has been very durable. If it’s not too late, I think it’s about a $500 option from the dealer.

[crew]

Originally Posted by Maleg

My Prius came with the Toyota film protection on the nose and mirrors. It works really well on bugs and has been very durable. If it’s not too late, I think it’s about a $500 option from the dealer.

Good to know! Thank you.

[m j b]

Lots of chatter about these things on the car forums. I'm of the opinion that both PPF and "ceramic" are a waste of money, there is a tremendous amount of hype and marketing b.s. on both of them. I've had both, and with few exceptions, it's just not worth the bother and you won't see the money back in resale.

Natch there are people who disagree with me, but they're wrong. LOL

[m j b]

I was going to mention Florida bugs, but the OP posted again while I was composing the original reply.

I bought and used this product, which seems to have worked well for road trip preparation and bug carcass removal. It looks bad (kind of milky) when applied, and full disclosure, was a bit difficult to remove from certain kinds of uncoated/unpainted plastic on my BMW, but otherwise did very well and did not cost much. It washed right off.

[-dustin]

I'm a big fan of PPF.

I'm not a big fan of ceramic coatings.

If my vehicle was lighter colored, I wouldn't do either.

Current vehicle is a WRB WRX that shows every imperfection. It gets sprayed down weekly. Every other week I use a rinse-less wash/ wax. 2x a year I lightly compound, wax, and use Turtlewax Ceramic Hybrid. Eventually I'll get around to getting PPF on the front end and hood...debating the roof, as well. Basically any large horizontal surface.

[BETRNSX]

Originally Posted by m j b

Lots of chatter about these things on the car forums. I'm of the opinion that both PPF and "ceramic" are a waste of money, there is a tremendous amount of hype and marketing b.s. on both of them. I've had both, and with few exceptions, it's just not worth the bother and you won't see the money back in resale.

Natch there are people who disagree with me, but they're wrong. LOL

I agree it’s a waste of money, even more so on a daily driver SUV. Maybe if you had a Ferrari it’d be nice to keep it clean and show quality.

[Jackie Daytona]

I would go PPF if doing it over.

We ceramic voted my wife’s Tahoe when we got it and it looks great with the black paint, but honestly half of the reason we coated it was because it’s a big vehicle and a pain to wash by hand, and keep waxed, and through this the automatic car wash was making it pretty swirly quickly.

We did the ceramic coating, and now we can’t go to an automatic car wash really. Unfortunately they state fairy clearly it doesn’t protect from swirls caused by the automatic car wash. It’s nice not having to wax it. Dirt collects the same on it in my experience however despite what the sales people state, and now it’s even more difficult to wash than before with the hand wash and PH neutral soap that’s recommended.

Bigs and bird poop random stuff like that are easier to remove however and are noticeably less likely to leave a stain.

It just feels like the ceramic coating although it looks great on my wife’s black Tahoe, it has just compounded the issue of keeping it clean.

I would say if it’s your daily don’t bother. A weekend toy could be nice to do it on though..

[JasoninDenver]

I did a ceramic coat on my 2014 Audi when it was new and it lasted about two years. We also have to do front end PPF because of the sand on the roads in winter.

Over the last few years, I have been using Cerakote Rapid Ceramic spray wax/polish twice a year. It goes on fast (20 minutes for whole car), looks great and does not wear off before I usually re-apply, even with running it through both touches and brush washes a couple of times a month. Plus, it is about 5% of the price of the professional ceramic coating.

[BroncoOne]

I’ve heard that a PFF can be sued to change the car’s paint finish to look like a matte finish. Has anyone done that and is it durable?

[RRGHOST1]

I first clean the car with Snow foam, then spray the car with a product called Shield. this is a ceramic coating which lasts six months. Made by Mile Deep

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by BroncoOne

I’ve heard that a PFF can be sued to change the car’s paint finish to look like a matte finish. Has anyone done that and is it durable?

Did that with a m550 about 8 years ago. Cost $4800 and looked awesome. Was durable for the year I had it, the car itself was not. Product was stealth from xpel.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by 1st amg

True enough!

I certainly get it for folks with cars like yours brother