Would you buy this ITS?

[egxflash]

What Larry doesn't provide though is the interior "protectant/repellant"; for that I've tried GTechniq Smart Fabric v3. Full disclosure, I've somehow been too lazy to apply this stuff to my car yet . But I used it on my Boxster and it worked pretty great, and not too expensive.

what do you intend to put this on? the interior carpet or does it protect the leather/alcantara as well?

For what I spent on PPF on the last 3 cars I've had, I could have bought another car.

You know I'd never even thought of it that way.

Thanks....I hate it.

Finally, another thing to consider is tinting your windshield....Personally I recommend no more than 70% on the windshield.

My car is getting tinted right now as a matter of fact and this is what I went with - 70%. You can hardly notice it's there.

 

[RUNN1N]

I don't think a paint correction on a car that's several years old is a job for a novice, but (assuming the car isn't taken through a traditional carwash) a new car should need very minimal correction.

Ryobi's ONE+ 18V 5 in. Variable Speed Dual Action Polisher is $160 or less, and it can be paired with a very mild pad and a polish with minimal abbrasives. Let the weight of the polisher do the work, and keep the tool moving. You'll get a glassy clear coat with no trouble, and the car will look better than what you see sitting in an Acura showroom. It just takes a little time.

 

[optronix]

what do you intend to put this on? the interior carpet or does it protect the leather/alcantara as well?

Honestly I didn't think about the carpet; I have all-weather mats but on the sides of the footwells where the mats don't reach would be a great place to apply. But to answer the question, pretty much just the alcantara on the seats is where I intend to use it. I'm pretty sure it won't protect leather and I'd avoid getting any on leather or plastic and IIRC the instructions state to wipe it off those surfaces immediately after application. But it is VERY hydrophobic. I did manage to spill a small amount of sprite on the seat in my Boxster- fortunately after this stuff was applied. The sprite literally just... sat there until I wiped it with a towel, and then it soaked up and was gone. It literally did nothing to the seat fabric, just as advertised.

You know I'd never even thought of it that way.

Thanks....I hate it.

My wife insisted we "murder out" her Macan. I could have done vinyl for ~$2k, but decided on Xpel Stealth for the look and longevity. I got quoted for $12k initially... but ended up getting it done for $7500, including ceramic on top of the film + wheels/calipers. I thought it was a pretty good deal, but I could have bought a decent Rolex for that... or a used Civic.

 

[lumper]

^this.

All of this aspect of buying a new car can be as overwhelming as you make it! I think, when all is said and done, there's no right or wrong way to do things. One of the most beautiful cars I've ever had was a black 1990 240SX that I bought with 140k miles, after it had been in an accident and repainted on the driver's side rear quarter. It had no PPF, it had rock chips all over the hood and bumper, and even a bit of that faded/bleached look on the urethane bumpers. I put my heart and soul into getting that thing looking as good as possible, and with no machine buffing at all and just old school carnauba wax, I had that thing turning heads everywhere I went.

These days there are so many options out there it can lead to straight up paralysis. Ultimately all that really matters is that the car looks good and can stay looking good for a long time. As long as you keep some sort of sealant on it and clean it occasionally, I don't think you can really go too wrong here. So just pick a route you think works for you, avoid overpaying, and just enjoy your car.

That said since you did ask for recommendations, my personal recommendation remains Larry Kosilla's AMMO NYC brand of products for mostly everything. His YouTube channel is also fantastic.

What Larry doesn't provide though is the interior "protectant/repellant"; for that I've tried GTechniq Smart Fabric v3. Full disclosure, I've somehow been too lazy to apply this stuff to my car yet . But I used it on my Boxster and it worked pretty great, and not too expensive. But as others have noted, there are several great products out there. I've had really good results with Chemical Guys products too and they tend to be a bit cheaper than some of the other "specialty" stuff out there.

As for PPF, personally I'm very glad I had it done, but do still struggle with the cost. It is outrageously expensive if you stop and think about it. For what I spent on PPF on the last 3 cars I've had, I could have bought another car. That does actually make me physically wince a little, thinking about it that way... and when it come down to cost vs worth, it really is hard to justify.

Finally, another thing to consider is tinting your windshield. If you have any interest in the heat repellant aspect of tint, or just would like to not be forced to reach for your sunglasses every time you drive on a sunny day, it's very much worth it. Personally I recommend no more than 70% on the windshield, and whatever the legal limit is in CT as long as it's at least 35 on the front glass and whatever you want elsewhere.

Thanks for all that.
I marked the youtube page and products.
I hadn't thought about the windshield, many others have had it done and I thought hmm really? I didn't realize that was a thing, if it isn't too much more, I may opt for that when I go Monday.

I think my plan right now is either wash and dry the car and if I think it is fine, Ill just apply the ceramic myself, but if it seems like maybe some work would help if there are swirls in the paint or anything large enough that you can see it or feel then I might have them do the prep work for me, 600$ to do the whole car doesn't seem bad to me, for what they explained they do, I'm ok with it, I just don't know that it is even necessary.

As for the PPF, I really do want to wrap the front bumper and vents, and that piece just before the hood, I feel like those areas can use the most protection.
It is just a matter of priorities and cash art this point.
I know the right thing to do is ppf first, but I really cant stand the thought of driving around without tint for 2 weeks , lol.
I like the tint for how the car looks, I just feel like this car without tints isn't anywhere near as nice looking, so more about vanity than anything else.

 

[creaturemachine]

"Paint correction" on a new car is completely bonkers. Mine was on the showroom floor and it still came to me with a perfect finish. I guess it helps that my dealer has a detailer who hand-washes in the shop. I passed through a VW dealer that had their own automatic car wash, not even a touchless but the scratch-fest cloth style. Imagine knowing they were going to send your car through that thing at each service.

Anyway, DIY ceramic is the way to go. Wash, dry, then make your own prep solution with isopropyl alcohol and distilled water (check your ratios, i don't remember what I did) and that's all you need. It is important that you do it in a garage or somewhere you can keep it out of the elements for the 48 hours or whatever is recommended.

Damn 10 pages... you can't pay for this kind of advice anywhere else.

 

[lumper]

"Paint correction" on a new car is completely bonkers. Mine was on the showroom floor and it still came to me with a perfect finish. I guess it helps that my dealer has a detailer who hand-washes in the shop. I passed through a VW dealer that had their own automatic car wash, not even a touchless but the scratch-fest cloth style. Imagine knowing they were going to send your car through that thing at each service.

Anyway, DIY ceramic is the way to go. Wash, dry, then make your own prep solution with isopropyl alcohol and distilled water (check your ratios, i don't remember what I did) and that's all you need. It is important that you do it in a garage or somewhere you can keep it out of the elements for the 48 hours or whatever is recommended.

Damn 10 pages... you can't pay for this kind of advice anywhere else.

I agree it should be near perfect, but my last new car experience as I mentioned earlier was a truck that travelled by rail and had rail dust ion the clear coat, other detailers have said all cars have some of this no matter what, and I think maybe on some level that could be true, but it isn't metals that will start rusting on the surface, or rough enough to feel while drying, I don t think it is that much of a big deal with a car that has 4 miles on it.
So, I wanted to tint the windows first, that is Monday, then the only other expense for now is the ppf, when I go Monday I am going to see about the front, I'd like to do the bumper, the front vents and the part between the grill and the hood, I am just not sure if that is what he meant when I asked about the front bumper or not, if it is 750 for the bumper and then another similar amount for the lower and upper parts, then, I will save for it and have that done next.

I am not going to do the rest of the car, I do want to keep it nice but it isn't a show car, it is my daily and I just don't think it warrants the cost, they wanted 2500 to do the front end, and I can see how great that would be, but 2500$ to do it? it just seems like a lot of money.
I think also, once I actually take delivery of the car, who knows, lol I'm over thinking things to pass the time.

 

[StingertimeNC]

The front bumper should be everything in front of the hood. This is somewhat complex because of all of the vents, creases, etc. I'm sure they mean the entire front bumper when they say $750. This includes the area between the top grill and the hood. That's all part of the "bumper."

 

[egxflash]

I agree it should be near perfect, but my last new car experience as I mentioned earlier was a truck that travelled by rail and had rail dust ion the clear coat, other detailers have said all cars have some of this no matter what, and I think maybe on some level that could be true, but it isn't metals that will start rusting on the surface, or rough enough to feel while drying, I don t think it is that much of a big deal with a car that has 4 miles on it.
So, I wanted to tint the windows first, that is Monday, then the only other expense for now is the ppf, when I go Monday I am going to see about the front, I'd like to do the bumper, the front vents and the part between the grill and the hood, I am just not sure if that is what he meant when I asked about the front bumper or not, if it is 750 for the bumper and then another similar amount for the lower and upper parts, then, I will save for it and have that done next.

I am not going to do the rest of the car, I do want to keep it nice but it isn't a show car, it is my daily and I just don't think it warrants the cost, they wanted 2500 to do the front end, and I can see how great that would be, but 2500$ to do it? it just seems like a lot of money.
I think also, once I actually take delivery of the car, who knows, lol I'm over thinking things to pass the time.

Are you not planning on getting the hood done as well? That's generally where you get a ton of chips apart from the bumper.

 

[Integra23]

With my experience id recommended bumper,fender,hood,a-pillars, and 6 inch or so of coverage on the roof after the windshield.
I didn't get the roof portion done and have 3 chips so far.

 

[egxflash]

With my experience id recommended bumper,fender,hood,a-pillars, and 6 inch or so of coverage on the roof after the windshield.
I didn't get the roof portion done and have 3 chips so far.

It's nice to have the mirror caps and door cups done too.

 

[Integra23]

It's nice to have the mirror caps and door cups done too.

Replacement Mirror caps cost the same as getting PPF on them.

 

[egxflash]

Replacement Mirror caps cost the same as getting PPF on them.

Do they? Mine were always just included in the cost.

 

[SilverRocket]

Might as well rename the thread to PPF discussion.

On my side I didn't really care about the lower front bumper. I want to protect the paint more so to prevent metal from being exposed and rusting. Hood, A pillars and front side fenders for sure, then maybe also roof and side skirts. When I asked the installer about this they squauked because basically I'm removing the bread and butter of their installation. Figured if it ever really got bad, you remove the bumper and have it repainted.

It also depends on how you drive. I mean I rarely stay behind people so it lessens the probability drastically.

 

[Integra23]

Might as well rename the thread to PPF discussion.

On my side I didn't really care about the lower front bumper. I want to protect the paint more so to prevent metal from being exposed and rusting. Hood, A pillars and front side fenders for sure, then maybe also roof and side skirts. When I asked the installer about this they squauked because basically I'm removing the bread and butter of their installation. Figured if it ever really got bad, you remove the bumper and have it repainted.

It also depends on how you drive. I mean I rarely stay behind people so it lessens the probability drastically.

For me it's my daily run in with gravel trucks on the highway doing 80 and throwing stuff everywhere. I start to hear rocks hit my car about a quarter mile away because cars keep kicking it around.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I skipped the front fenders for PPF, but added mirrors, side skirts, b and c pillars, and door handle cups. In addition to hood and full front bumper. Allthat plus ceramic tint was $2700. I should have just done the damn front fenders too!

If on a budget though, front bumper and hood are probably the most important.