Paint Protection…Worth it?

[speedtoy]

32 minutes ago, Kickoff said:

You don't really need a pressure washer either

You cant make a GOOD foam without it.
And you cant GET the base layer of a quality foam product that has bonded to dirt on the surface without it.

I'll try to get photos next time I wash, what quality product have is a two layer foam, one sticks to the dirt, the rest picks up the easy dirt and carries it off itself.

When you just wet it down (rinse) you will see a fizzy like layer "stuck" to the car, THAT needs say..a 40degree nozzle to strip it off and the dirt it is attached to.  A garden hose sprayer wont do that effectively.  It will leave dirt.

I believe a car wash should -rarely- require physical abrasion of the surface, with any quality sponge or soap.

The only thing that touches my cars 10 out of 11 or 12 washes a year, is the MF drying towell...which is only draped on the surface, and pulled across it..never pressed on, held on (some low areas require some help however, but its very light)..I have a black surface that looks two traditional hand washes old at 7yrs old.

I also have one of these, which lets me dry a black car in direct sun and leave no water spots.
https://www.griotsgarage.com/portable-water-deionizer/. A resin refill is $99US, I can almost get two years out of each fill.

I get about 200 gallons of use out of a resin fill in this, and my TDS is about 400 most of the year where I live.  So I only use it on the two rinse steps.  The foam and ceramic step I full up large 20 gallon camping jugs at the water store and premix them both, and fill the foam bottles from their spigot.

..and for bonus points the value of a good electric leaf blower to blow the heavy beaded water off the car makes drying 2x easier as well, and dries off the wheels..because I hate bending over to dry wheels.

My daughter is a Gold Factory Porsche Tech...she had me bring my gear to the dealership to put on a clinic for -quick- zero impact customer courtesy washes, because Corp had been on their asses about the negative quality of their free washes in feedback surveys, they sucked at best, and did more harm than good at best.

The tank, my comet static 1700 pressure washer and a tub of gear fits in the car easily..they've now invested in water treatment, a much larger pressure washer that can be on all day..and product.  They can foam rinse and dry a car in about 10 minutes..everybody is happier. 

..now I gotta go get the car dusty just to document that a PW is..really important to the final product done right.  😉

A good foaming PW is all about volume, not pressure.  You don't have to go wild, 1000psi at 1.2g/min (4.5l/min) would be fine.  The comet is pricey, but SUPER quiet and super reliable, the Karcher K1700 is REALLY nice, and affordable.

The Karcher stand up, and other stand up ones..are...borderline.  But -can- work.  Just that their hoses can be junk, the fittings for a foam gun can be hard to find and "special".

 

[Sloracer]

For those not familiar with snow foam, this is what it looks like, and that is a fairly thin layer.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Sloracer

[markhaenses]

@LOTTELLEE WINNA Just my 2c paint protection film/ Ceramic coating is good for about a year then you have to do touch ups/ reapply the ceramic coating also hard water/ too much pressure rubbing removes ceramic coating. In the long run its expensive to maintain 

Where as PPF like thin plastic/silicone layer on paint is my personal choice comes in both matte and glossy finish. It lasts longer resistant lighter and medium scratches.

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

The Honda Civic will be my missus pride and joy. Particularly given that it’s in black I can see why she wants the coating. Now I’m sure I will enjoy the Wildtrack but I have owned all sorts of high end cars (Porsche, Benz, BMW, Range Rover) so my emotional attachment will be less. Added to that I’ve chosen ‘aluminium metallic’ (silver) which is the colour which leasts shows dirt and stone chips…hence why I’m not getting the paint protection.

Edited July 20, 2022 by LOTTELLEE WINNA

[speedtoy]

10 minutes ago, markhaenses said:

@LOTTELLEE WINNA Just my 2c paint protection film/ Ceramic coating is good for about a year then you have to do touch ups/ reapply the ceramic coating also hard water/ too much pressure rubbing removes ceramic coating. In the long run its expensive to maintain 

Where as PPF like thin plastic/silicone layer on paint is my personal choice comes in both matte and glossy finish. It lasts longer resistant lighter and medium scratches.

If you do everything wrong, its expensive to maintain.

If you listen..and do it =right= it's affordable and EASY to maintain it.

I ceramic coated in 2017, and everything from of the glass has Xpel film on it...bet you cant tell.

Both are now 5yrs old..BS on the short lifespan.  Cheap materials, rushed application, and crappy care will do that.

The photos I posted are from the last 8 months...snow the oldest, the post wash photo 3mo old.

Same car, -last weekend- with only a wash rinse and dry before the yearly Radwood car show here in Norcal.

A black finish is near impossible to maintain..but it can be done..easily.

Edited July 20, 2022 by speedtoy

[LOTTELLEE WINNA]

21 minutes ago, speedtoy said:

If you do everything wrong, its expensive to maintain.

If you listen..and do it =right= it's affordable and EASY to maintain it.

I ceramic coated in 2017, and everything from of the glass has Xpel film on it...bet you cant tell.

Both are now 5yrs old..BS on the short lifespan.  Cheap materials, rushed application, and crappy care will do that.

The photos I posted are from the last 8 months...snow the oldest, the post wash photo 3mo old.

Same car, -last weekend- with only a wash rinse and dry before the yearly Radwood car show here in Norcal.

A black finish is near impossible to maintain..but it can be done..easily.

Your 928 is gorgeous. Hey a quick anecdote, back in the late 80s early 90s I used to be part of a crew of 4 petrol head lads that would go birding/clubbing on a Friday and Sunday nights. If we spotted a gal with a big, beautiful Karshadian type ass, we would refer to her as a 928 😀

Edited July 20, 2022 by LOTTELLEE WINNA

[speedtoy]

34 minutes ago, LOTTELLEE WINNA said:

Your 928 is gorgeous. Hey a quick anecdote, back in the late 80s early 90s I used to be part of a crew of 4 petrol head lads that would go birding/clubbing on a Friday and Sunday nights. If we spotted a gal with a big, beautiful Karshadian type ass, we would refer to her as a 928 😀

HAHA...awesome!

Dat ass. (On the green in Monterrey, taking first place)
 

[speedtoy]

Thicc foam.

 

[Kickoff]

19 hours ago, speedtoy said:

You cant make a GOOD foam without it.
And you cant GET the base layer of a quality foam product that has bonded to dirt on the surface without it.

I'll try to get photos next time I wash, what quality product have is a two layer foam, one sticks to the dirt, the rest picks up the easy dirt and carries it off itself.

When you just wet it down (rinse) you will see a fizzy like layer "stuck" to the car, THAT needs say..a 40degree nozzle to strip it off and the dirt it is attached to.  A garden hose sprayer wont do that effectively.  It will leave dirt.

I believe a car wash should -rarely- require physical abrasion of the surface, with any quality sponge or soap.

The only thing that touches my cars 10 out of 11 or 12 washes a year, is the MF drying towell...which is only draped on the surface, and pulled across it..never pressed on, held on (some low areas require some help however, but its very light)..I have a black surface that looks two traditional hand washes old at 7yrs old.

I also have one of these, which lets me dry a black car in direct sun and leave no water spots.
https://www.griotsgarage.com/portable-water-deionizer/. A resin refill is $99US, I can almost get two years out of each fill.

I get about 200 gallons of use out of a resin fill in this, and my TDS is about 400 most of the year where I live.  So I only use it on the two rinse steps.  The foam and ceramic step I full up large 20 gallon camping jugs at the water store and premix them both, and fill the foam bottles from their spigot.

..and for bonus points the value of a good electric leaf blower to blow the heavy beaded water off the car makes drying 2x easier as well, and dries off the wheels..because I hate bending over to dry wheels.

My daughter is a Gold Factory Porsche Tech...she had me bring my gear to the dealership to put on a clinic for -quick- zero impact customer courtesy washes, because Corp had been on their asses about the negative quality of their free washes in feedback surveys, they sucked at best, and did more harm than good at best.

The tank, my comet static 1700 pressure washer and a tub of gear fits in the car easily..they've now invested in water treatment, a much larger pressure washer that can be on all day..and product.  They can foam rinse and dry a car in about 10 minutes..everybody is happier. 

..now I gotta go get the car dusty just to document that a PW is..really important to the final product done right.  😉

A good foaming PW is all about volume, not pressure.  You don't have to go wild, 1000psi at 1.2g/min (4.5l/min) would be fine.  The comet is pricey, but SUPER quiet and super reliable, the Karcher K1700 is REALLY nice, and affordable.

The Karcher stand up, and other stand up ones..are...borderline.  But -can- work.  Just that their hoses can be junk, the fittings for a foam gun can be hard to find and "special".

 

My response was based off the OP & nothing else. Don't think it would be wise to start recommending investing into tools, product, & towels all in one go. The vibe seemed to be one where it might be nice to have a 1 time paint protection solution due more to convenience where the dealership made promises like protection against paint chips, bird droppings, etc. My response was more to 1st verify what the dealership is trying to sell whether it is a sealant (not good longevity) or a ceramic coat (maybe 2 year or maybe up to 5 or 7 years depending on SiO2 concentration/quality). My alternative response was an easy starter type of kit which offered minimal time spent while getting solid results with spray on & wipe off protection. 

Most of our responses may differ or agree with each other. If OP does end up verifying & opting into getting a ceramtic coat, that'd be a great. I'd more recommend going the rinseless route (ie. Optimum No Rinse). Get a great drying towel (ie. Rag Company's Liquid8r). Then use a topper (ie. P&S Bead Maker). Use an iron remover a couple times per year then wash (ie. CarPro Reset).

But how much detail would the OP's wife want to do? How far down the rabbit hole should the suggestions go? We can always recommend an iron remover (ie. CarPro Iron-x) after the wash then rewash after iron bleeds out. Do we also recommend DIYing ceramic coating the wheels & glass with dedicated ceramic products for each? If so, now do we start recommending which paint prep spray to go with or what isopropyl alcohol dilution to use before applying such a coat? Well we are on the topic of pressure washers somehow. Now we got to recommend a dedicated foam soap (ie. CarPro Lift or Adam's Mega Foam). What about towels? 350GSM, 500GSM, 700+GSM? Glass towel with a diamond weave? Twisted loop high 850 GSM drying towel? 70/30 towels for wheels? Uh oh! Now we got to care for the microfiber towels! Now you got to buy P&S Rags to Riches to wash your towels. Why? Because now your towels may have protectant on them & they are now useless. LOL Slippery slope ...

So obviously it can get seemingly endless. Like any hobby, best to start simple then work way up. That's all. 

Truth is though ... 99% of the people out there are happy just sending it through an automated wash. Looks good from 10 feet away!

[Garzan]

1 hour ago, Kickoff said:

Truth is though ... 99% of the people out there are happy just sending it through an automated wash. Looks good from 10 feet away!

I think you're totally correct in this, although over here it's usually less expensive for three or four guys at the Car Care shop to hand wash than to find an automatic car wash. (There is one at a PTT station near the Udon airport.) 

I know that I'm far more inclined to take our cars to the car care shop rather than wash any of them at home. 

[w1lly]

On 19/07/2022 at 07:37, 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.

Ceramic coating makes it easier to clean the car and does protect from bird droppings and such. But it offers ZERO protection from stone chipping. For that you need a paint protection film, which is usually more expensive.

[dannyth]

14K for PPF (Paint Protection Film) sounds about right for Udon - depending on the size of the car.

As an example I was quoted 30K for a full color wrap on my MUX in Pattaya, so price is about right.  If she believes it will protect from stone chips then it is definitely the Paint Protection Film, which is basically a full vehicle wrap in transparent film.

That said, what I have seen lots of thais do is ever 24 months use the insurance claim and get a complete body spray and touch up - doesnt seem to affect the premium for some reason.

 

[Farangkie]

1 hour ago, dannyth said:

14K for PPF (Paint Protection Film) sounds about right for Udon - depending on the size of the car.

As an example I was quoted 30K for a full color wrap on my MUX in Pattaya, so price is about right.  If she believes it will protect from stone chips then it is definitely the Paint Protection Film, which is basically a full vehicle wrap in transparent film.

That said, what I have seen lots of thais do is ever 24 months use the insurance claim and get a complete body spray and touch up - doesnt seem to affect the premium for some reason.

 

Paint Protection Film can have it's own issues.

 

[speedtoy]

s/Paint/Cheap and-or badly installed paint/

Fixed it for you

This is also a sign of a shop that uses patterns and slaps it on, because trimming and wrapping around panels is the right way, and takes experience and costs more.

Edited July 23, 2022 by speedtoy