Paint Protection…Worth it?

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

My missus is splashing out 14,000 THB from her savings to purchase ‘paint  protection’ for the new Honda Civic she has on order. This is for a one-off treatment (as opposed to a 24,000 THB package where you bring it in every few months for a free touch up and polish). 

As I understand it, paint protection is essentially an invisible coating applied over the top of the car’s paintwork and serves as a protective layer. It shields the paint from the likes of stone chips, tree sap, bird droppings and fading, all of which are common and damaging to untreated cars.

My question to you guys is, in your opinion, is the process worth it.

[Rick Blaine]

14 minutes ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

My missus is splashing out 14,000 THB from her savings to purchase ‘paint  protection’ for the new Honda Civic she has on order. This is for a one-off treatment (as opposed to a 24,000 THB package where you bring it in every few months for a free touch up and polish). 

As I understand it, paint protection is essentially an invisible coating applied over the top of the car’s paintwork and serves as a protective layer. It shields the paint from the likes of stone chips, tree sap, bird droppings and fading, all of which are common and damaging to untreated cars.

My question to you guys is, in your opinion, is the process worth it.

 

Sorry, I couldn't help it but I think  you get my point.

My Honda is 8 years old and actually maintains a darn good paint job.    We have it waxed every 5 or 6 months.

For 14,000 Baht, you could get a lot of first class wax jobs or even a full paint job if you needed it.

And I'll bet the small print says something along the lines that the the contract is voided if the car is in an accident which as we all know never happens in Thailand.   

 

For those wishing to see the full movie, here it is:

 

https://fmovies.co/film/fargo-1996-5027/

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Rick Blaine

[speedtoy]

Ceramic?

Go for it IF you know how to properly wash a car at home.  It helps keep a car EASY to clean, and shine nice...if you dont, or use "people" or "car washes"..don't.  Ceramic scratches easily and it's impossible to correct it like a lightly scratched straight paint is.  You commonly have to strip and redo a whole panel.

I coated this 5yrs ago, only sees a foam gun and a rinse once a month, maybe twice a year, a sponge...and I daily drive this car, it's my only car.

If you go the pro home route
A GOOD pressure washer
A GOOD foam cannon
https://www.griotsgarage.com/foaming-surface-wash/ (Get a gallon, last for years) dilute 10:1
https://www.griotsgarage.com/ceramic-wash-coat-48-ounces/ RINSE with this in the foam gun dilluted 15:1
Then rinse
Dry with a drying towell similar to:
https://www.griotsgarage.com/extra-large-pfm-edgeless-drying-towel/

And..ceramics dont need touch ups...that's snake oil..this is what I CLEAN with and RINSE (a ceramic top coat when diluted) with.

Also, bird shit WILL stain ceramic, keep a bottle of quick detailer and a micro fiber in the car, always remove it the first sight of it, esp in the heat.  Bug mess as well.  Ceramic makes it easier, but it will stain/leave a mark.

If you do ceramic, put film in the door handle cups, finger nails are harder than 9H ceramic coatings, they are a PENCIL scale hardness, not rockwell scale hardness.

It wont do shit for chips, it could care less..only films protect chips, period.

If they're not selling ceramic, skip it..just color correct it once a year, wax it 2x a year.


IF stones are your worry, the ONLY solutions is film on the WHOLE forward facing front end, windshield forward...I have full forward film and ceramic coating.


This is the result of a basic simple 20min wash every time, win and place in Monterrey Porsche Concours every year since 2018.

Taking GOOD care of a car is not hard with the right materials and mindset.

Edited July 19, 2022 by speedtoy

[Farangkie]

I spent over 30 years in the motor industry in Aus, and how the manufacturer's still let their dealers get away with selling this stuff to their customers is a mystery.

What the dealer is basically saying to you is  "you've made a great choice choosing this new vehicle above all the others on the market. It has state of the art engineering, electronics and bodywork technology. But unfortunately the manufacturer got everything perfect, but they made a mistake with the paint they sprayed on it... it's shit, so you need to buy this stuff from us, so we can fix the problem for you."

It's absolute BS, also what the dealer won't tell you is that if the car you buy does actually have a genuine paint issue. When the technician from Ford/GM/VW or wherever comes to the dealership to inspect the vehicle to approve the warranty claim. He could blame the paint protection , saying that's the thing that caused the problem. And if it hadn't been applied, the factory paintwork would have been OK.

Then you go back the paint protection company, and or the dealer, and tell them the protection they sold you caused a major paint issue, and best of luck trying to get them to admit they are at fault. Your then going round in circles trying to get someone to accept responsibility to a very expensive repair.

This video is from 2017, made by an auto engineer, but everything he say's is true. And what he says is even more applicable now in 2022, with further advances in paint technology that exist today.

.

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Farangkie

[taylor1975]

Usually its either a ceramic coating or actual clear film called PPF. It sounds more like ceramic, which is about £500 in uk to apply. 

But, you would normally get it done by a pro detailer, not a dealership because nobody trusts them!

[speedtoy]

Eh..I would say in THESE days, what do they mean by paint protection.

15yrs ago, 100% BS, but if it's a reputable correction and minimal ceramic job...I would go for it.

But if it's the crap type, get the car, correct (OE paint finishes are HORRIBLE) and wax it, and follow the above materials and products to care for it from then on.

A per-wash ceramic coating is STILL VERY USEFUL.

[speedtoy]

Just now, taylor1975 said:

Usually its either a ceramic coating or actual clear film called PPF. It sounds more like ceramic, which is about £500 in uk to apply. 

But, you would normally get it done by a pro detailer, not a dealership because nobody trusts them!

The dealers where I'm at have shops that do this for them..yup.

Ceramic raw materials are extremely cheap, it's _detailed_ to apply it, but labor and facilities are expensive in the US/etc, not so much there.

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

31 minutes ago, taylor1975 said:

Usually its either a ceramic coating or actual clear film called PPF. It sounds more like ceramic, which is about £500 in uk to apply. 

But, you would normally get it done by a pro detailer, not a dealership because nobody trusts them!

Yes mate - this is non dealer, it’s some external outfit in Udon Thani. I won’t be getting in for my Wildtrack, but the missus has got the idea in her head.

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

47 minutes ago, speedtoy said:

Ceramic?

Go for it IF you know how to properly wash a car at home.  It helps keep a car EASY to clean, and shine nice...if you dont, or use "people" or "car washes"..don't.  Ceramic scratches easily and it's impossible to correct it like a lightly scratched straight paint is.  You commonly have to strip and redo a whole panel.

I coated this 5yrs ago, only sees a foam gun and a rinse once a month, maybe twice a year, a sponge...and I daily drive this car, it's my only car.

If you go the pro home route
A GOOD pressure washer
A GOOD foam cannon
https://www.griotsgarage.com/foaming-surface-wash/ (Get a gallon, last for years) dilute 10:1
https://www.griotsgarage.com/ceramic-wash-coat-48-ounces/ RINSE with this in the foam gun dilluted 15:1
Then rinse
Dry with a drying towell similar to:
https://www.griotsgarage.com/extra-large-pfm-edgeless-drying-towel/

And..ceramics dont need touch ups...that's snake oil..this is what I CLEAN with and RINSE (a ceramic top coat when diluted) with.

Also, bird shit WILL stain ceramic, keep a bottle of quick detailer and a micro fiber in the car, always remove it the first sight of it, esp in the heat.  Bug mess as well.  Ceramic makes it easier, but it will stain/leave a mark.

If you do ceramic, put film in the door handle cups, finger nails are harder than 9H ceramic coatings, they are a PENCIL scale hardness, not rockwell scale hardness.

It wont do shit for chips, it could care less..only films protect chips, period.

If they're not selling ceramic, skip it..just color correct it once a year, wax it 2x a year.


IF stones are your worry, the ONLY solutions is film on the WHOLE forward facing front end, windshield forward...I have full forward film and ceramic coating.


This is the result of a basic simple 20min wash every time, win and place in Monterrey Porsche Concours every year since 2018.

Taking GOOD care of a car is not hard with the right materials and mindset.

Beautiful looking 928…is it yours? Porsche of that vintage and in that colour aren’t easy to get like that one. I had a 944 in black for 10 years…stone chips…yuk.

Edited July 19, 2022 by LOTTELLEE WINNA

[Garzan]

Well, it was worth it to me. 🙂 I took my car here --> https://www.facebook.com/EcoWashUdon  (Mod: Facebook business listing, not a personal account) 

The cost was a bit more than what you quote, but it also includes free in and out detailing for two years (or so). They buff out the car first to make the smooth dealer finish even smoother, then apply the 'nano-coating' which I think is a fancy name for ceramic coating. 

I paid an extra 10kb for pearlescent white. The car looked great to start with, and looks better (IMO) now. Dirt and bird crap, and other contaminants don't really stick to the surface. It beads water in the rain. And, whenever it gets a bit dirty, and since it's "free", I run it by the car care shop and they clean it for me. 

I doubt I'd do it on a used car, but I have no regrets doing it on the new car. But, I'm also not Scottish. 🙂 

 (not my car-just a recent one they did.)

[Farangkie]

I forgot to add to my post above, that the Ceramic coating that the dealer sells to their customers for $750 to $1000 in Australia.

The cost to the dealer for a bottle of this stuff is about $50, plus the cost of labour to apply it to the car. But that's normally done by one of the cleaners in the detailing dept, so labour cost is an hour or less of a cleaner/detailers wage, the lowest paid employees in the place.

.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Farangkie

[Sloracer]

All good advice above.

Dealer add-ons are usually a rip off

Paint protection will make it easier to keep car clean

PPF - clear plastic film will protect from stone chips, well worthwhile, I do this to all my cars.

[speedtoy]

12 hours ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

Beautiful looking 928…is it yours? Porsche of that vintage and in that colour aren’t easy to get like that one. I had a 944 in black for 10 years…stone chips…yuk.

Yup, that's mine. 

Drive it every day, year around...

 

[speedtoy]

11 hours ago, Sloracer said:

All good advice above.

Dealer add-ons are usually a rip off

Paint protection will make it easier to keep car clean

PPF - clear plastic film will protect from stone chips, well worthwhile, I do this to all my cars.

Careful, a PPF does not necessarily clean easy, in fact..they can be harder to keep clean.  The 'plastic' (for lack of a better term) is not as stain resistant as actual paint finishes are...and hates bird shit even MORE.

I find the self healing Xpel film to be great for what I would call 'aggressive' cleaning with a DA, a soft pad, and a finishing correction creme...just slightly abrasive..and a hot day in the sun, and ANY surface imperfections left over are -gone-. 

Amazing stuff.

 

[speedtoy]

12 hours ago, Garzan said:

Well, it was worth it to me. 🙂 I took my car here --> https://www.facebook.com/EcoWashUdon  (Mod: Facebook business listing, not a personal account) 

The cost was a bit more than what you quote, but it also includes free in and out detailing for two years (or so). They buff out the car first to make the smooth dealer finish even smoother, then apply the 'nano-coating' which I think is a fancy name for ceramic coating. 

I paid an extra 10kb for pearlescent white. The car looked great to start with, and looks better (IMO) now. Dirt and bird crap, and other contaminants don't really stick to the surface. It beads water in the rain. And, whenever it gets a bit dirty, and since it's "free", I run it by the car care shop and they clean it for me. 

I doubt I'd do it on a used car, but I have no regrets doing it on the new car. But, I'm also not Scottish. 🙂 

 (not my car-just a recent one they did.)

Fantasic m8..just rinse this with a diluted ceramic wash like I posted to keep the surface fresh forever.

[Gogosloth]

Like all things, if you have the time, cheaper to do yourself.  Or is it easier to pay a few extra bucks and pick the vehicle up complete.

Dealer towbar $1200, aftermarket (same towbar) $750

Dealer tint $650, aftermarket $350

And the list goes on and on.

If you can find a reputable supplier and have the time, arrange it yourself.  As to whether to do it or not - how much do you enjoy peace and quiet?  If you talk her out of it and the car gets paint damage you just invited WW3 into your home.  Whats cheaper - the paint protector or 12 months supply of ear plugs and paracetamol?

[Sloracer]

1 hour ago, speedtoy said:

Careful, a PPF does not necessarily clean easy,

The key purpose of the PPF is stone chips. You can also then apply the paint protection over the PPF. I do a lot of spirited weekend drives with mates on back roads so stone chips are a real danger.

The porsche below was done with ppf all over and then ceramic coating over the ppf.

 

I did try ceramic coating as a DIY on the mini below but it was a lot of hard work and wouldn't do it again. In fact I didn't do a great job with paint correction so had to re do.

[Fired Up Paul]

Just to add, if you get a pressure washer (makes sense on a big truck), use the widest setting and initially stand away from the truck and move closer in increments until you find your sweet spot to remove mud and debris.

You CAN damage the paint with a too powerful spray, applied to closely to the paint work.

A lot of people I know won't take their cars to a car wash because the people washing the cars take little care.

I personally never had a problem but YMMV.

Also to add, having the coating applied well by an expert will give the car a shine like no other - so many enthusiasts have this done and their pictures always pop - reference @Garzan's experience and @Sloracer's pics!! 

[Sloracer]

14 minutes ago, 1080B said:

ot of people I know won't take their cars to a car wash because the people washing the cars take little care.

Hehe, I'm one of those. I don't even let the dealer do the free carwash when it goes in for service.

I've had a dealer peel of my PPF with a high pressure washer. 

If they drop the cleaning sponge and its get grit in it then paintwork can get scratched easily. I use the foam gun and then 2 bucket method for the wash, minimal abrasion on paint.

[Fired Up Paul]

@Sloracer - and it shows!!

[Sloracer]

8 minutes ago, Sloracer said:

Hehe, I'm one of those. I don't even let the dealer do the free carwash when it goes in for service.

I've had a dealer peel of my PPF with a high pressure washer. 

If they drop the cleaning sponge and its get grit in it then paintwork can get scratched easily. I use the foam gun and then 2 bucket method for the wash, minimal abrasion on paint.

Not sure what happened to my post on ppf which is what photo above was meant.

I used a 3m ppf (a little thicker than expel) on the Audi above and it been great. I did some track days and the PPF got quite pitted from track debris but the paintwork was perfect beneath. 

If you plan to do PPF it can't be done over paint that has been coated, won't stick properly.

Edited July 19, 2022 by Sloracer

[Rick Blaine]

17 hours ago, speedtoy said:

This is the result of a basic simple 20min wash every time, win and place in Monterrey Porsche Concours every year since 2018.

Taking GOOD care of a car is not hard with the right materials and mindset.

 

Great looking car all around.

It even allows for parking in a fire zone.    I'm sold.     

[Garzan]

It's only a Toyota sedan rather than a high end Wow car, but here's mine when I picked it up from getting coated in Udon Thani. 

[Kickoff]

No, not worth it. You will be paying 14,000 baht for a coating which will disappoint because it won't last the lifetime of the car nor will it likely even last past a few months. Also a coating will not protect your vehicle from rock chips. 

As of now, there's really just 2 levels of paint protection.

1. There are now spray on wax on & wipe off applications whether it is a spray on wax, spray on ceramic (low SiO2 level) or spray on graphene (low graphene) which will run about $10 USD to $20 USD per bottle. You can coat an entire car (ie. a Civic) in about 20 minutes applying with a microfiber applicator then wiping off with a good microfiber towel (minimum 350 GSM). A spray on ceramic or graphene coating will last about 6 months & maybe up to a year depending on maintenance. You can always do the old school paste wax & top it with a sealant which will last 3 months and likely give the car a better glow, but it's too much labor when the spray on stuff is available & excellent. Best part of the spray on is that it is good on all surfaces where the old school wax would need black plastic trim taped off. 

2. You can also opt for an actual ceramic coating (higher SiO2 level) or graphene coating (higher graphene concentrate) which will last 3 to 7 years depending on what you choose. This should be professionally done. If your dealership is actually offering this, that'd be great. Except most dealerships don't because it costs more. LOL

The other paint protection is a clear wrap on the car. This will actually protect against paint chips. Usually most places that install this will wrap the front bumper & a quarter of the hood & fenders. A minority of people wrap the entire car similar to that of a vinyl wrap job then follow it up with a ceramic coating. 

You don't really need a pressure washer either. It is nice to have but not necessary. I do like to use mine knowing that it may get more dirt off during the rinse to reduce chances of paint marring & nicely pairs with a foam cannon, but the 2 bucket method would work fine.

If it were my car, I would just wash the car, follow it up with an iron remover, then wash the car again. Dry the car then do the spray ceramic/graphene. This should take maybe 40 minutes to do. The difficult part would be finding a shaded area & the car would have to be cool to the touch to apply. Then when you do maintenance washes, just use the spray stuff as you are drying as a drying aid so the protection in theory will keep on going. Turtle Wax & 303 make good spray stuff. Someone mentioned Griots Garage; they have a good interior detail spray that has UV protection, so it'd be good to spray down the interior & wipe off like the dashboard & door cards. I'd use the money save to get whatever legal window tint instead.

If the dealer were able to verify that it actually is a 2 to 5 year ceramic coating similar to what Garzan has, then it'd be worth it to research and go with it so long as everything checks out.

Edit: This is the problem with upsells from the dealership. They want to sell you a coating, maintenance plan, warranty extension, etc. But usually the guys upsell this are clueless as to what they are actually selling.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Kickoff

[Kickoff]

7 hours ago, Sloracer said:

Hehe, I'm one of those. I don't even let the dealer do the free carwash when it goes in for service.

Neither do I. My dealership actually hand washes the car, but who knows how many cars those wash mitts have touched & how much dirt is in them. Pay $175kUSD for a car only for them to scratch it up; no thanks.