glbrighenti

I'm taking delivery of a new Q7 Prestige next week.
I'm wondering if anyone would recommend a paint protection?
I think xpel protection is prohibitively expensive.
Maybe ceramic pro?

any thoughts?

Karrera4

Xpel is clear bra and ceramic pro is a ceramic coating. At a minimum Id have it coated (I have used modesta, ceramic pro, and others) and it’s great because I find Audi paint soft. My go to is clear bra the front and ceramic coat the whole car. What ceramic coating I choose depends on the installer - choosing a good installer is important to me and the coating is secondary as long as it meets my goals.

willbm3

Skip it? Unless you sprung for an exclusive paint or are driving an exotic I’m not sure it’s worth the investment unless perfect paint is that important to you. It’s an SUV - it’ll get chips and scratches and your kids will spill something inside. It’s fine. Personally, I don’t see the value in spending a few grand to protect the paint for the next owner.

mhoran89

exactly. if you want to keep it clean ceramic coat it. if you care about rock chips I would PPF the front.

exactly. the car is not an exotic. it is a car that is meant to be used. i wouldn't sweat it too bad. I PPF the headlights and the rear cargo strip area on my used Q7 and called it a day. the rest of the car got ceramic coating. at the end of the day the car might not even be owned for more than 5-7 years and at that point it would have lost so much value PPF isn't worth it.

PPF is made for an exotic car that will be driven. cars like that can have more involved paint processes and owners keep them for many many years. if you spent 250K+ on an exotic, what is $6000 to PPF the whole car so when you're done with it you can peel the PPF off and have a showroom new car come time to sell it? that is worth it.

FYI a lot of us like many of the ceramic coatings. I have used optimum's opti-coat pro + on multiple cars with great results. also have experience with XPEL ultimate plus. XPEL is the industry best. inferior PPF will not hold up to damage, elements, etc. as well. PPF, ceramic coating, and detailing in general is an area where you definitely get what you pay for. not a good idea to take the lowest bidder IMHO. best of luck.

glbrighenti

I called ceramic pro here in San Diego, and I was disappointed that they said ceramic coating wont prevent swirl marks. Being very sunny here swirl marks really annoys me.

Basically from what they said, it protects UV (not that important my car is always garaged, dont think 5-6 years of ownership will make a difference), and cleaning the car is faster.

my question for you guys with ceramic, is it THAT much easier to clean?
Because if it doesn't protect from swirl marks, I figure the washing procedure will be the same: rinse+foam cannon, followed by hand wash with micro fiber, and drying.

I'm not seeing the advantage here. what I'm missing?

its $1350 PLUS $250 every year for "refresh the ceramic coat and keep the warranty"

mhoran89

your dealer is taking you for a ride. opti-coat pro plus here with a one stage paint correction is 1600 or so. with another stage of paint correction it is 2100 in the boston area. opti-coat pro plus comes with a 7 year warranty and shows up on the carfax records of a vehicle. $100 chemical/physical decontamination wash once a year...

please understand ceramic coatings DO NOT PREVENT SWIRL MARKS. they tremendously reduce the risk of swirling a car's paint job with proper wash techniques, but do not guarantee anything.
the only way to completely prevent swirls would more or less be with a self healing PPF like xpel ultimate plus.

please note, it is totally possible to keep a car looking great and virtually swirl free if you foam cannon, pre-wash, rinse, then two bucket handwash the car, use high quality towels to dry, etc. the issue is this takes some knowledge, skill, supplies, and more patience than anything. I ceramic coat the cars because it is more or less bulletproof to chemical damage like brake dust, bird crap, tree sap, etc. the car is easier to clean, stays cleaner longer, is harder to swirl, etc. it can still be scratched.

any car detailing place that sells ceramic coatings and tells their customers it prevents swirling is either lying to grab business or just doesn't know what they are talking about. ceramic coating prevents you from having to constantly wax a car to keep it repelling dirt and water. it doesn't put a forcefield around the vehicle in terms of swirls, rock chips, scratches, etc. only PPF does that (and is not bulletproof either). hope this helps.

Redddog

On a related note... has anyone found a small scratch remover type product that actually works and isn't a scam? I bought something I saw on Sunday morning TV that was straight-up a con job.

PsyQ7

Unless it's just buffing out abrasions in the clear coat, anything that claims to remove or repair an actual scratch or chip down into the paint layer is a scam, it just doesn't work that way.

If you have the right color and clear coat, it's all just about the process - ANYONE can repair even a nasty deep scratch if you take the time and work in layers.

I SUCKED when I repaired a scratch on my first car, but after doing it hundreds of times now, I've got pretty good at it - just take time and steps of the process.

This guy is irritating, but the video is a good step by step --

Zaga010

So, what I am asking is what process(es) do folks here recommend for paint protection & preservation?

FogDucker

I’ve bought/leased nearly 20 cars in my life, have only applied a proper paint protection on the last 2 and will do it going forward.

The primary motivation is that it saves me time from having to apply polish (I use Zaino) 2-3 times a year. With a proper coating, the car simply stays cleaner longer and requires less effort to clean. I just power-sprayed my 6 month old Q7 from all the salt stains the other day - looks great from just that 5 minute spray (not too close!). A film on key areas does wonders, including door frames and trunk sills and the hood.

Some dealerships are aligned with different brands or shops that have their own preferred vendor. Mine used a brand that I did not recognize, but the results are there and there is a warranty if application mistakes are made. I have one throat-to-choke - my dealership.

Enjoy your delivery experience. Did you order it or was it something your dealership had? How’d you option it?