When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Depends on the brand and how many coats. Plus if you apply a topper every 2nd wash it lasts indefinitely. Hi quality toppers are just spray on and wipe off. There is a HUGE difference between retail and professional ceramic coats and also a huge difference between various professional brands as well. My car has 3 coats and a sacrificial light 4th. I also use a topper every second wash and only use neutral PH soap in the foam cannon for washing. Modern high quality PPFs also have UV protection so if you do a partial after many years when you rip it out your ppfed panels will not be sun bleached but the others will ... unless you do a full ceramic of course. Then everything is UV protected. I don't cheap out with my cars ... they all have ceramic and the ones I like to protect like the Bentley, LC, and AMG GT get a full PPF as well.
P.S. ... If you don't do a mat finish PPF do not go with xpel or other brands due to them all having orange peel ... use STEK. It has no orange peel on gloss. Mat has no orange peel issues. Also paint correction is a MUST if you are doing gloss. Of course if you don't care about a showroom finish and just want to protect against scratches then anything goes. My advise though is if you are going to spend the money anyways best to do it right and get a showroom finish for many years.
The truth is that I don’t have the time to spend on my cars that I used to. Back in the day I’d do a wash and a wax with the wheel (when you had to know how to use a rotary) once every week or two, with a full detail (compound + polish + wax while removing the wheels to REALLY get things clean) sprinkled in every other month. Today, I’m not even sure which cabinet my dual action is inside of, and some of my more aggressive chemicals, like Sonax wheel cleaner bought in a large jug, have eaten through their containers. I’ve accepted that my cars won’t be as clean as I’d like. I’m running out of garage space for various reasons, so I rotate cars that I don’t want outside … being outside.
Side note: How would you compare the AMG GT to the LC? I’d like a GT, but there are rare occasions where I need to drive four hours away, would like to take a grand tourer and not a teeth rattling Porsche or less exciting sedan, but I need the +2 for a little one who can’t get go up front for a few more years. That’s kept me away from the GT.
Side note: How would you compare the AMG GT to the LC? I’d like a GT, but there are rare occasions where I need to drive four hours away, would like to take a grand tourer and not a teeth rattling Porsche or less exciting sedan, but I need the +2 for a little one who can’t get go up front for a few more years. That’s kept me away from the GT.
I got the AMG GT first. The reason why I got the LC is that I own the two extremes ... Bentley for super comfort and the AMG GT for track and driving like a 12 year old. When I test drove the LC I realized that it gives me the same grin as the AMG when I press on the gas and is "almost" as comfortable as the Bentley. Best of both extremes. This was verified when I took the LC on a 1k drive a few weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, the AMG is sharper and faster but I was looking for a super comfortable GT car that still brings a smile on your face when you press on the gas. When I stomp on the Bentley it IS fast but pretty much silent. My options where either the LC or an Aston ... and Astons are notoriously unreliable with a cheaper interior from materials, build quality and tech.
I got the AMG GT first. The reason why I got the LC is that I own the two extremes ... Bentley for super comfort and the AMG GT for track and driving like a 12 year old. When I test drove the LC I realized that it gives me the same grin as the AMG when I press on the gas and is "almost" as comfortable as the Bentley. Best of both extremes. This was verified when I took the LC on a 1k drive a few weeks ago. Don't get me wrong, the AMG is sharper and faster but I was looking for a super comfortable GT car that still brings a smile on your face when you press on the gas. When I stomp on the Bentley it IS fast but pretty much silent. My options where either the LC or an Aston ... and Astons are notoriously unreliable with a cheaper interior from materials, build quality and tech.
I had a conversation listing every one of these cars, with the same opinions as you, when talking with my friend who is a dealer. Talked about the AMG GT, but it’s too sterile for me, at this point. Very Mercedes. (I already have one of those.) Talked about the Aston, but I’m done buying English* cars for the reasons you state. Talked about the Continental GT (*VW designed this car, it’s not a regular English car) but as you said it’s a little too comfortable. The LC ticks all of the boxes for my particular situation, but I’m exhausting every possible option. I don’t even know why, as I’ve bought my last handful of cars without thinking too much about them, yet a Lexus that’ll run forever and has decent resale value has me thinking. (Shoulder shrug.)
I did the same thing. All my cars where bought on a whim but when I looked at the lc last year I spent 3 months researching the hell out of it. For me it was justifying spending over 100k on a lexus. Never considered lexus before in my life. Honestly though, my first week with my new 2024 bespoke instantly showed me that it truly is the best value for money of anything you can get from 100k to about double that and it's a hell of a comfortable blast to drive to boot. I have no regrets what so ever.
I did the same thing. All my cars where bought on a whim but when I looked at the lc last year I spent 3 months researching the hell out of it. For me it was justifying spending over 100k on a lexus. Never considered lexus before in my life. Honestly though, my first week with my new 2024 bespoke instantly showed me that it truly is the best value for money of anything you can get from 100k to about double that and it's a hell of a comfortable blast to drive to boot. I have no regrets what so ever.
It seems like we’re of a very like mind. To me, Lexus made the indestructible yet incredibly boring cars that caught on like wildfire in the ‘90s. My friend suggested an LC and I thought “is he serious?” I’ve had German cars since ‘97 (with a few Brits added to the stable) as I just didn’t like the driving feel of Japanese cars. Things have changed a lot since I drove a VR-4 Spyder in ‘96. (Including my lower back on 300 mile drives in a sports car, in very recent years.) My issue was less of a Lexus at that price, but just a Lexus, period. This car ticks all of the practical boxes that I was looking for, but just happens to be a beautiful car that’s nice to drive. I guess I’m trying to get my head around that. (I’m sure I made a bet at some point that I’d never buy another Japanese car, so I’ll just roll that into the purchase price if whoever I bet reminds me. I have no idea who it was.)
Depends on the brand and how many coats. Plus if you apply a topper every 2nd wash it lasts indefinitely. Hi quality toppers are just spray on and wipe off. There is a HUGE difference between retail and professional ceramic coats and also a huge difference between various professional brands as well. My car has 3 coats and a sacrificial light 4th. I also use a topper every second wash and only use neutral PH soap in the foam cannon for washing. Modern high quality PPFs also have UV protection so if you do a partial after many years when you rip it out your ppfed panels will not be sun bleached but the others will ... unless you do a full ceramic of course. Then everything is UV protected. I don't cheap out with my cars ... they all have ceramic and the ones I like to protect like the Bentley, LC, and AMG GT get a full PPF as well.
P.S. ... If you don't do a mat finish PPF do not go with xpel or other brands due to them all having orange peel ... use STEK. It has no orange peel on gloss. Mat has no orange peel issues. Also paint correction is a MUST if you are doing gloss. Of course if you don't care about a showroom finish and just want to protect against scratches then anything goes. My advise though is if you are going to spend the money anyways best to do it right and get a showroom finish for many years.
We've been doing ppf & coating for nearly 10 years, I'd like to clarify a few things here.
If the coating you got was also Xpel, they have no product that require 3 or 4 coats. They all are 1 layer and done. Assuming you got CeramicPro maybe? Just wanted to clarify that in case they told you it was Xpel.
Xpel gloss ppf had issues with their film years ago, but it's pretty good now, we've had zero complaints about orange peel, no one's even mentioned it. If the actual paint has terrible orange peel, then potentially it'll show through. We used to use Suntek but it has problems stretching, and when you're doing something like a hood, and you have to scrap it because the film isn't playing nicely, it's like lighting a $500 bill on fire. Not worth it to us, some installers like it, some installers refuse to use it.
Paint correction is also NOT a must before doing ppf. It actually hides a ton of imperfections. Some bad areas of course will need fixing (factory sanding marks, deeper scratches, etc.) but overall you'd be amazed how much it hides. I get it some people don't want to hide things, but a lot of people are cheap too. You'd be surprised at how many people decline a paint correction when spending 6-10k on full ppf.
Also in general, while ppf may last 10+ years if kept out of the sun and barely driven, you don't want to keep it on that long if you ever plan on replacing it, as the glue will break down and removal will end up costing you a fortune because you will not be able to just peel the film off, it will just chip off in tiny little pieces, been there, it's a nightmare
Good choice on the matte on the white car, looks great!
Also in general, while ppf may last 10+ years if kept out of the sun and barely driven, you don't want to keep it on that long if you ever plan on replacing it, as the glue will break down and removal will end up costing you a fortune because you will not be able to just peel the film off, it will just chip off in tiny little pieces, been there, it's a nightmare
I personally prefer sket ppf and Gyeon Syncro Evo for ceramics but that's just me. There are reasons of course but I guess everyone is entitled to their favorite.
I've gotten a bunch of quotes from 4500 - 8000 for full PPF on the LC. Going to pick one near the middle of the road at $5700 which will include tint for the windows, so figure it's probably 5400 without that. Local, small business, good reviews from tesla and rivian owners so going to give him a shot at it!
He's using Xpel ultimate fusion which has a baked in ceramic coating supposedly already built into the film.
I've gotten a bunch of quotes from 4500 - 8000 for full PPF on the LC. Going to pick one near the middle of the road at $5700 which will include tint for the windows, so figure it's probably 5400 without that. Local, small business, good reviews from tesla and rivian owners so going to give him a shot at it!
He's using Xpel ultimate fusion which has a baked in ceramic coating supposedly already built into the film.
That built it ceramic in Xpel is garbage sorry to say. Full PPF is all about the installer and good installers charge way more than 5400 for a full ppf. Don't skimp on price because you will probably get a poop job that you will have to redo down the line. Of course it's your car and you should do what you think is best.
That built it ceramic in Xpel is garbage sorry to say. Full PPF is all about the installer and good installers charge way more than 5400 for a full ppf. Don't skimp on price because you will probably get a poop job that you will have to redo down the line. Of course it's your car and you should do what you think is best.
I'm not worried about the ceramic or not built in. Even if it didn't I'd coat it myself with something easy anyway, so worst case even if it fails to bead water after a while I'll just do that anyway, plus use ceramic boosters with washes as well. Probably won't even know when it does fail. From what I understand aside from that the film is identical to regular xpel ultimate.
The installer has all solid reviews with close up pictures of his work, and a very nice facility. I am going to see him, facility, and active projects in person next week to finalize the package so if I don't like what I see there I'll reconsider. Most installers in my area were around the 6-6.5k range so he's not really that far off for my locale.
Yeah. I wouldn’t sweat the ceramic coating too much. Just make sure you apply it correctly and don’t put too much and end up with low and high spots.
I had it done professionally where they use a sprayer but honestly, I can do it by hand just as good under 2 hours. Stuff like PPF requires a not of prep work and skills and pretty laborious. But putting on ceramic coating is far less difficult. Just make sure you don’t use too much of it.
That built it ceramic in Xpel is garbage sorry to say. Full PPF is all about the installer and good installers charge way more than 5400 for a full ppf. Don't skimp on price because you will probably get a poop job that you will have to redo down the line. Of course it's your car and you should do what you think is best.
Ha so I asked that guy on Monday to check his schedule and get back to me on when we can set the ppf install for and he hasn't responded since then despite a follow up on Thursday. So he's out even if his work looked good with good reviews.
I went with my 2nd choice which is further away. New quote is $7500 including window tints.
For those of you who did full ppf, did your guys include (or did you pay extra for) ppf on the inside door jamb? Or did you only do exterior surfaces exposed while driving?
I just noticed how big the painted door jambs are on this car when the door is open, wondering if you all had that PPF also?
Edit: I guess mainly referring to this area here highlighted in red. I can only assume it won't really get "dirty" and so doesn't need ppf or anything more than a sealant once in a while after washing it, but just curious.
06-21-24, 11:09 AM
