Temerarius
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Chase
- Joined
- May 26, 2021
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 381
- Reaction score
- 1,196
- Location
- Kirkland, WA
- Vehicles
- 2017 Tesla Model X, 2018 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel
- Occupation
- Sr. Program Manager
100% this.There are a variety of coatings out there that form a hard surface on your paint to protect it but at the end of the day I would say that is not a physical layer of protection like PPF. If you combine both PPF + Coating there is a good chance your paint will remain flawless but even then its not 1000% guaranteed as a rock went thru my Ceramic, PPF, Paint, down to carbon level of my hood so that was not fun haha.
On my truck I have PFF and ceramic coat. The PFF protects it from door dings, rock chips, etc... the ceramic makes keeping it clean stupid easy (stuff just slides off).
As he points out, you need to have a maintenance program in place though and the ceramic is not a "forever" solution, it needs retouches/applications to keep it in peak condition. While it cost me a pretty penny to have both done, the maintenance program on my ceramic coating is about $150-$280 per year.
I also advise getting the interior ceramic treated (especially if you have a light colour interior). It has saved my white Tesla interior from the dreaded blue jean rub "blueing". It keeps stains, grease, gunk, and whatever else my children can find to track into the car from adhering to the surface and also applies the same UV protection to the surface.
Wraps, I think are a little higher on the maintenance scale, depending on the finish, there are specific things you need to watch out for/not do. For example, my Tesla X has a matte blue metallic finish, the worst thing I could ever do is buff it (would make it shiny). In general, you should keep it garaged if you can and out of long exposures of direct sunlight and extreme temps. I would strongly advise having a coating done on it as well (helps reduce the amount of UV hitting the wrap and helps keep it cleaner easier. Depending on where you live, a wrap can last a couple years, or several years with proper care and maintenance.
For those curious... this is a white car... (and makes for lots of fun going into the Service Center... when the tech spends 15 minutes roaming the parking lot looking for my White Tesla X...)
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