Thoughts on paint protection?

[dochawk]

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with paint protection?

I'm really thinking about it more for the high UV here (Las Vegas, desert at 2,000+ ft) than freeway chips.

But both factory and aftermarket seem to only do the hood and fenders.

Or perhaps a sacrificial clear film, figuring to replace that every couple/few years?

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[Ajzride]

I did a torture test on sprayable PFF versus the stuff on a roll. This was to test against physical impacts, not UV.

we have the roll on our Mach E and sprayable on my F150. Both seems to have performed similar after 28 months. You can start to see tears and nicks in the film, but the paint underneath is perfect.

Xpel and Halo EFX Torture Test

 

[KSGlock]

I have it on my truck because it was added on from the dealer prior to my purchase. I have no opinion of it yet except for it makes cleaning the bugs off easier on the front.
I’m interested to see if someone has had it for awhile.

 

[Kodiak]

I did PPF on the full front end and roof. It will be a sacrificial layer for UV protection. I also started using 303 Graphene Detailer on the sides after a wash. It is supposed to have a superior UV protection so we'll see about that.

I plan to strip off the PPF after about 5 years.

 

[CND Supercrew]

Just did a PPF on the hood and bumper @ 5800km

 

[mwf5888]

I have done PPF on the painted parts of the front facia/bumpers and 24" up the hood and fenders. I also do the mirrors and A-pillar. Additionally, I have the entire truck (including plastic, glass, paint, etc.) ceramic coated, including inside the rims. I wash the truck mostly in the winter but the rest of the year it's spray with hot water, blow off with backpack yard blower, and dry with my 30" x 40" microfiber towel.

I did the same to my wife's Escape. I do touch up ceramic with the spray and take it back for a yearly total renewal for $199.

Not much sticks to the exterior, just residue on lower side panels mostly.

 

[dochawk]

hmm, something I wasn't very clear about wondering . . .

If only the nose has the film (or whatever), and it *does* protect from UV, does this give you mismatched paint after a few years?

 

[amschind]

I just did this, probably after I should've, and it was a chore. I used Chemical Guys Carbon Force and then put Chemical Guys Ceramic Hydro Slick on top of that. I did have to polish the roof and hood, as I work in West Texas in areas with little or no cover, so nearly a worst case scenario.

I hadn't done this before, so I washed the truck, used Chemical Guys stripper and Mother's CMX to try to strip all of the prior wax off and then used Mother's polisher to hit the roof and hood. Finally, I applied the Carbon Force and then the HydroSlick ceramic wax. This whole process took about 5 days, but a ton of that was the fact that it rained continuously in Houston all week. Paint preparation was the killer, but application was pretty easy.

If I were starting all of this over, I the first two things that I would do to my truck would be ceramic window tint AND ceramic on the paint. I tried the cheapo "ceramic wax", and while I am still using that as an overcoat, I don't think that there is a substitute for the real ceramic coating. You figure that difference out in the application process: a "real" ceramic coating is ceramic suspended in an organic solvent, whereas the ceramic wax has likely the same ceramic suspended in a wax. The adhesion for the organic suspended ceramic coating is more finicky to apply than wax, particularly with regard to drying time and surface prep, but it is pretty straightforward to master and lasts far longer than regular wax. My chief reason for using the ceramic wax in addition to the ceramic coating is trying to extend the life of the ceramic coating (Chemical guys says up to 5 years, and I want to wring every last month out of that) because the wax is so much easier to apply (correctly).

 

[dirtwinston4prez]

Thanks so much amschind for the heads up regarding carbon force ceramic. I am planning to do the same for my 3 month old powerboost in two weeks. Not much worry about rain this time of year in SoCal, but I still expect it to be a very long day or two days for the prep work. Then a couple hours for the ceramic coating followed by 24 hour cure.

Did they provide enough of the carbon force to do the whole truck + a second layer for areas like the front and fenders ??

Did you tape / mask off plastic and other trim pieces during any of the process ?

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