Ceramic coatings or clear bra

RyanWest

I hear ya. Lets not forget we are protecting the clear coat though. Id rather have water spots on the Ceramic Coating than the clear coat. Water quality plays a huge roll in calcium deposits forming on the car. Keep in mind though waxes and sealants are no were near that type of protection a Ceramic Coating is.

danegrey

i had a clear bra, put on the hood / bumper / mirrors and front fenders, this was a good 5 years ago. It is showing some wear on the bumper, if I did not run into so many cones in autocross, it probably be in better shape... Pleased with it, rest of the car, polish ever 3 months, and carry stuff around in case of bird droppings.... those are the worst ...

__________________
Lots of Changes
the Z needs to be driven and driven hard for the car lives for it

Chuckles

I would definitely recommend a clear bra on the front and maybe the rear wheel wells. Doing autocross, tracking. and road rallies mine is getting pretty beat up. $800 is a lot cheaper than paint job every 3 years.

RyanWest

Only thing that makes me nervous about clear bras and I have seen this many many times. Over the years, the clear bras tend to yellow and crack over time. At that point it is damn near impossible to remove. Ceramic Coatings like HCC9 are easy to apply and with 2-3 layers can protect the front end just as good as a clear bra.

dkmura

Wishful thinking on coatings- even with 2/3 layers, there's not nearly as much protection as a clear bra.

RyanWest

Ball out! throw 5/6 coats on the front end and it still half the cost of putting a clear bra on, plus you don't have to worry about yellowing and the pain of removing stuck on cracked clear bra.....hmmmm

CCPcoatings

I'm baffled that people still debate these two products. Dkmura is absolutely correct. You can put 20 coats of ceramic on your paint and it's still not going to prevent rock chips, scratches, grocery carts, and dip-***** dragging their buts across your paint because they parked too close to you even though you parked in the back of the lot.

I don't know about you but the thought of paint chips and scratches on a new ride make my skin crawl. I get annoyed taking a new car to the dealer because the techs don't care about your ride either. They'll drag themselves all over your fenders and doors and then wipe it down with a shop rag that likely cleaned up metals shavings from the job before yours. As soon as they're finished with that the porter will happily run your car thru their scotch bright car wash or have some one wash it off with a broom and dish-soap. No thanks.

As for paint protection film yellowing or cracking, what decade did you have this happen??? Any of the major brands like Xpel, 3M, Llumar, etc, etc that have an actual UV clear coat on them have 7-10 year warranties for such issues that cover any issues like that. Further, I know the XPEL Ultimate is even self healing. So if the guy at the car wash decides to scrub your paint with a BBQ brush you can fix the scratches and swirls with a heat gun, hot water or just leave it in the son.

If by chance some REAL damage occurs like the Ex decides to key your car, have at it. If she even has the arm strength to hurt the film which is unlikely , WHO CARES? Peel it off and put a new piece on. Again, what is so difficult about removing PPF???? Spend $50.00 and a steamer and it will peel off in your hands in minutes..... If you're ultimately looking at ceramic coating for the ease of cleaning, ceramic coat the PPF. Now you have the best of both worlds.

Bottom line, Not having to worry about anyone chipping or scratching your paint is PRICELESS. Particularly with today's water based paints that chip if you look at them the wrong way.

JARblue

That guy is a rep for whatever link he posted earlier. Ignore him - he's just trying to sell product.

I haven't seen a yellowed clear bra in years (except for cheap products).

Ceramic coatings and clear bra perform two different functions. Both is certainly ideal, but might be over the top for some. If you only get one, get the one that best suits your wants and needs. I did a ceramic coating on my wife's Honda so I could wash it in 5 minutes without worrying about scratching the hell out of the paint.

__________________

RyanWest

Pump the brake man. Ignore me?

WOW... Is this what the forum has come to? I've posted maybe a few time in regards to Ceramic Coatings. I think you need to calm down with your 25k posts hero!

JARblue

Dude you are obviously a rep for that website (or at least on the take). You spam it all over this forum. Clearly you are just trying to push product here.

You talk about yellowing car bras to sell your product when that's not even an issue unless you cheap out. I just call it like I see it. If I'm wrong, I have no problem admitting it. If you have a problem with me, please feel free to PM me

And I'm no hero ... just a

__________________

RyanWest

I just had a Lambo Aventador come into the shop with a clear bra on it. We did Ceramic Coat over the top of it, however the etching from bugs was already starting to build up. Yes the bra protects the paint, I think we all understand that. I am talking about pricing here. You can Ceramic Coat the front end with 5-6 coats and enjoy the same benefits of the clear bra. Maybe research the pencil strength of Ceramic Coatings.

If you have a rock big enough go through a Ceramic Coated front end, It will go through a clear bra!

And Ceramic Coating Kits are WAY cheaper.... Trying to save you money but you are telling people to ignore me?? LOL

CCPcoatings

Yes they should ignore you because your "pricing vs protection" argument is ridiculous ..... 9H hardness isn't Kryptonite. So you're suggesting someone spend a few 100.00 on ceramic coating and just disregard the the $1000+ to repaint the panels after they get beat to **** from real world scenarios???? You keep schlepping this nonsense that multiple coats of ceramic coating is going to stop a rock chip which is COMPLETE BS. The functional hardness of applied ceramics is NOT exponential. Its quite possible that the surface tension of multiple coats of ceramic would make it more likely to crack or chip. MORE doesn't necessarily mean better......

The whole reason paint film DOES protect against rock chips and scratches is because its actually soft / flexible. It absorbs the energy so its not transferred to the paint.....If you're driving through a big enough war zone that you beat up the film, you just replace it. No need to repaint your baby.....

As for cost, if you can apply decals, you can apply PPF to some simple panels yourself......

Bottom line, if you're looking for the best protection for your paint, PPF wins hands down. If for some reason you can't afford PPF, ceramic will help, but it's not a replacement..... Its a 20th century wax.......

RyanWest

Applying multi coats makes perfect sense. Your theory is rather odd. I guess Ill just add one coat of clear coat to my paint job. NO! you add layers of Clear Coat. Ceramic Coatings provide a harder barrier and is actually strong then clear coat.

Again: On average it cost $1,200+ for a clear bra.
Ceramic Coating Kit: $100

So technically I have $1,100 left over for a possible paint job.

Not sure why you aren't seeing the price difference here! The both do work. Which one is cheaper??

CCPcoatings

lmao, just as adding multiple coats of clear coat doesn't make the BASE COAT paint harder, nor does applying multiple coats of ceramic. +/- 9H is all you get. And you are correct, it is likely harder than a typical water based clear coat. That said, other than its cleaning benefits it does very little to protect your paint from typical road hazards.

The only argument you have is cost. It actually costs ZERO to do nothing. In that you don't have any concern for protecting the ORIGINAL paint job on a vehicle, why would you bother doing anything??? It seems very unlikely that anyone spending 50k-80k+ on their vehicle is going to flinch over a 300-1000 on protecting it from certain damage. They'll make up more than that in resale.

Further, regarding cost, you seem to be pulling those numbers out of your butt as well. I just checked xpels site and retail on a front bumper hood and mirror kit is about 250-300.00. Most people could do that themselves or find a local shop to put something similar on for that or less. Big deal.

So to conclude, I AM seeing the price difference and I couldn't care less because they do NOT do the same thing. Saying they do either makes you a liar or extremely slow on the uptake. As soon as you can show me a ceramic paint sealant that can take rock chips, keys scratches and swirls like the following PPF for 100.00, I'm all in...... Till then, you're wasting your time and ours....

70mph rock test.
https://youtu.be/OKg9akQyZNY

Brass brush torture test
https://youtu.be/Q75LcIdtVBY

Key scratch test
https://youtu.be/S5FH7pJ9JNU

RyanWest

I cant wait to start producing videos
Stay tuned bud!