CERAMIC COATING OR PAINT PROTECTION FILM (PPF)
You must know, then, that the above-named gentleman whenever he was at leisure (which was mostly all the year round) gave himself up to reading books of chivalry with such ardour and avidity that he almost entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the management of his property; and to such a pitch did his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillageland to buy books of chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get.
WHAT IS CERAMIC COATING?
But of all there were none he liked so well as those of the famous Feliciano de Silva’s composition, for their lucidity of style and complicated conceits were as pearls in his sight, particularly when in his reading he came upon courtships and cartels, where he often found passages like “the reason of the unreason with which my reason is afflicted so weakens my reason that with reason I murmur at your beauty;” or again, “the high heavens render you deserving of the desert your greatness deserves.”
SO, WHAT DO I GET WITH CERAMIC COATING?
The core advantage that you can get from ceramic coating is the 9H hardness protection in the pencil hardness scale, so your car will have a better resistant to minor scratches. Besides that, some coating like the Tevo Bodygard S60 will greatly enhanced chemical resistance which is important for those who lives in the city or industrial area because there is a high chance of acid rain occurring. Super hydrophobic surface with excellent water beading which is great for self cleaning and reducing watermark this is because the ceramic coating particles are so small, when applied to the surface it will seal all the pores making the surface smooth and slick that no water can grip into. As a bonus to that, it will increased the glossiness of your car making shine like a brand new car.
PAINT PROTECTION FILM?
Both ceramic coating and PPF will do a pretty good job at protecting your car and so far I only highlight the advantage of both products, now let’s take a look at the cons.
For the ceramic coatings the most obvious and until this day this article is posted, there is no known ceramic coating that is able to withstand a damage from rock chips. That is why you will only hear ceramic coating claim is SCRATCH RESISTANCE not SCRATCH PROOF make sure you know the difference. Besides that, it is quite pricey though not as much as the PPF.
The list is a bit longer for PPF, by having a higher resistance to stone chip compared to ceramic coating the PPF trade off is that it will slightly minimizes shine of your car and it’s not very hydrophobic, water can still bead but not as much as the ceramic coating. Furthermore, overtime the film layer can turn into a yellowish color and you’re going to have to change the film. Most PPF will claim that it can last up to five years but it depends on many factors, exposure to the sun, how frequent you washed your car and more. White cars in a harsh environment tends to have their PPF turns yellowish much faster and it is much easier to notice compared to a darker hue car. Lastly, the price, a PPF application on your car is about double the price of a ceramic coating which is quite steep and hard for most people to maintain and replace once every couple year.
PAINT PROTECTION FILM?
The paint protection film also known as clear bra is a clear film that is applied on top of your car surface, the easiest way to understand this is how we apply tempered glass to our smartphone but this time it’s for your car. PPF provides almost the same function as ceramic coating except with a few difference. The core advantage if you choose PPF is the protection strength, PPF have better stone chip damage resistance compare to ceramic coating. Other than that, you will still get the chemical protection and oxidation from UV exposure. But at its core the PPF main purpose is to prevents any type of scratches from reaching the paint.
NOW WHICH ONE FOR ME?
Well, I’ll say it depends. if you’re living in a harsh area and you’re car is constantly getting abused by stone chips and scratches, go for the tough protection for PPF and if you want to highlight the looks of your car, choose the ceramic coating. Both comes at a very different price tag and excel at different areas, now you can mix both choices and some detailer might recommend this step if you want cut some cost. Let’s say only the front part of your car is the area that is frequently damaged by stone chip but your car body is fine, you can go with applying PPF on partial front of your car and coat the rest of the body with ceramic coating. Now some car looks great with this method and some car does not make sure to only choose this method if you’re really confident with your detailer. Now that you know the goods and bad between ceramic coating and PPF I hope you can decide which is the best for you.
