PPF & coatings

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Chris@SEMD

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Hey Guys. What are the in & outs or dos & dont's with coatings & PPF film? What's the proper order of installation? What is the advantage of applying the coating on top of the film? If someone is getting PPF film on their car they are likely to want to protect the rest of the vehicle. A coating goes hand in hand right
 
The skinny of it is:

1) Polish the paint to perfection
2) Apply PPF
3) Coat it and the rest of the paint

As simple as 1-2-3!

Advantages of coating on top of PPF is ease of maintenance, UV inhibition, prevents some of the accumulated "gunk" at the edges of the PPF. Make sure not to coat first as you will invariably have issues of adhesion.
 
Thanks Dr. Pain. Just want to make sure I have my facts right.
 
I agree with Dr_Pain. I did this right when I bought my Lexus IS250 2012 brand new 3 years ago. 3M clear bra was applied professionally to the front bumper and partial front hood and after few months when I discover paint coating, I top it off with Opticoat 2.0. The result is still perfect as of today 3 years later.

I think PPF + coating offers the best protection. Not only does it have the all coating properties (beading, sheeting, UV protection, dirt repellant etc), you also get a thickness from the film that can withstand rock chip. The film also seems to prevent marring and scratches better than paint, it seems to re-heal and re-level itself out in a way. Water spot, bird bomb attack are no problem at all. Even if they can pass through the coating, they can never pass through that thick PPF layer. I have baked a big bird bomb for few weeks to test it and confirm it.
 
I have the following question out of curiosity -

if I apply any of the cquartz coatings (cquk, cq finest, etc) to the paint prior to PPF install, would the PPF stick?

I am aware of some coatings prevent the PPF from sticking - example - those from GTechniq. On there other hand, Polish Angel Invincible + Cosmic 9H would have no problem with PPF being installed on top of them.
 
You should not do that. It will interfere with the bonding. Even if the PPF adhere fine to the paint now, it will be temporary. I think eventually it will either bubble or peel off itself because paint coating is known to release and prevent things sticking to it.

Why would you do do PPF on top of coating and not the proper way coating on top of PPF??
 
In the past, it is well known fact for PPF installers that a waxed surface would facilitate the install of PPF. Now for the coating, actually my reason is it adds a layer of protection against any marring that may happen during the PPF install. Of course, after the install, I would apply another coating on top of PPF for ultimate protection.

I tried Polish Angel Cosmic 9H which is considered a glass coating (it has silica and titania + some carnauba) before PPF installation and there is no peeling or bubbling at all. I have full hood, full front fenders, lower panels, lights, front bumper and the side mirrors covered with Xpel Ultimate.

My car has already gone through last Spring and Winter and so far so good.
 
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