Trying to weigh the pros and cons of each. What does the Auto board recommend? Located in Colorado so high sun exposure. 2024 Hyundai Palisade. Dealership has a deal for full clear mask for $1295. I priced a few other local vendors and this seems low compared to what they are charging.

I really like Graphene. DIY apply.

2 different things for 2 different situations.

PPF protects from rock chips and scratches, it's a clear wrap over your paint. Ceramic coating is like a wax that lasts a very long time, years instead of months. It wouldn't give you any protection from rock chips, but it may give you some protection from scratches because the vehicle won't generally have as much dirt on it. I would not expect it to stop scratches from a car was with brushes, but the PPF might.

I wouldn't pay for either from a dealer, they are going to give you the lowest quality product that they can mark up the most. A lot of what you are paying for is the detail and polish before either one of those are applied because any defects in the paint will be there for a few years.

I would probably go with PPF on the front back to the mirrors and the Ceramic over that a touch less car wash 75% of the time would probably keep that lookin nice.

Neither. Waste of money.

JamesPShelley said:

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Neither. Waste of money.

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why?

I did PPF on my last two vehicles (2012 Model S Silver and 2017 Boxster S Black). It looked good on both at first but as the Model S got towards 4+ years old (sold it with over 100k miles) all the little road rock hits started to have peeling spots on the film and it started to flake off. Really messy look. And this was the top of the line stuff I did not go cheap on it!

For the Boxster it looked great and I only kept that car for 2 years so still looked good. It is just a costly film that helps for a while but does not hold up to age and miles. Not worth it.

I have both on my car (PPF full front, hood, front fenders, rockers, rear quarters). If you go w/ PPF, go with a good quality one like XPEL. It is self healing w/ a little heat and resists yellowing. Note that you'll need different ceramic coating products on the bare paint vs PPF surfaces.

I wash my car at home w/ a pressure washer and foam cannon. I dry it with a leaf blower, so it all non-contact. The ceramic coating makes it easy to keep clean. Also, I use a mixed bed deionizer so if I have a few water drops left (mostly the wheels and under the mirrors) air drying won't leave spots.

I love my ceramic coating. The best thing I did was coat the glass. It blows Rain-X away and it's still awesome after almost 2 years. In my previous truck, I redid the windshield after 3 years.

One note, my truck stays in the garage, I work from home, and hand wash. I have no spider webbing on the paint due to the care I provide. People who's vehicle may actually be driven daily may not see the longevity that I get.

I enjoy a clean car and have done my last 3 vehicles with ceramic coating. Makes me happy to be able to easily clean my car and get it really looking good.

If you don't care much about a clean car then you probably won't get the value out of it.