Ceramic Coating? - PPF? - Both? - Here Are Some Answers

We often discuss with clients whether automotive ceramic coating or paint protection film is the best choice for them. Many of our clients choose to have both paint protection film and ceramic coating installed. So, what is the difference? Which should you choose for your needs? We pulled together this article to help you understand and make the best decision.

First, we want to say that using either of these products will dramatically improve your factory vehicle finish. So, let’s take a closer look at what each does independently and why you might want to use both together.

Paint Protection Film - Paint protection film, or "clear bra" as it is sometimes known, is one of the best ways to preserve the showroom quality finish on your vehicle. The virtually invisible film will keep your vehicle looking newer longer- without changing the design features or color- by protecting vulnerable areas such as front bumpers, hoods, side mirrors, door handle cavities, door edges, rocker panels or the entire vehicle. Preserving the finish of your vehicle with paint protection film (PPF) keeps your vehicle looking newer longer, and can enhance the resale value of your vehicle in the future.

Automotive Ceramic Paint Coating - Ceramic coating forms an extremely durable, high-gloss, slick to the touch, chemically resistant layer of clear ceramic.. With a single application, your vehicle will be resistant to chemicals. This most noteworthy characteristic makes contaminants such as tree sap, tar and hard water spots, easy to remove.

Combination of Both - It is not uncommon to have clients want us to apply paint protection film followed by installing a ceramic coating on top of it. This combination gives you the benefits of chip protection combined with the gloss and ease of cleaning provided by the ceramic coating. This truly gives you the best benefits of both products.

This next section we will borrow from an article that SunTek, the paint protection film we utilize wrote on a Tesla community page.

How to Choose Which Is Best For You? - It truly depends on what you want from your paint protection product. PPF and ceramic are both hydrophobic, which basically means they have a water-shedding surface. This translates to greater overall durability for PPF, and deep shine for ceramic. 

If you want hydrophobic protection that’s a breeze to wash, you’re covered with either PPF or ceramic. 

If you want serious, self-healing protection against UV rays, corrosives, scratches and impact damage such as rock chips, you want PPF. If you want defense against UV rays, corrosives and scratches with a slick, glassy finish, you want ceramic. And if you want tough PPF protection with a swanky ceramic shine? You just identified yourself as a combo person, and SunTek says go for it!

It is also important to only use ceramic coatings on a paint protection film that is “ceramic friendly”. This is what SunTek has to say about this as it relates to their PPF.

As long as you have ceramic applied second, over the top of your SunTek PPF, it won’t affect PPF performance or self-healing ability. SunTek recently ran a battery of tests to confirm this. We took a variety of ceramic products, applied as instructed by the manufacturers, and looked at self-healing and extended weathering performance. The results were what you’d want to see, so warranty coverage was updated in 2019 to include a clause stating that application of a ceramic coating over SunTek PPF will not void the warranty.

We hope that this article helps answer some common questions about these popular products and their uses. If you have any questions that you would like to discuss, you can reach us at 513-580-8365. We look forward to hearing from you! Find out why Clear Bra Ohio is the #1 shop in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky for clear bra and paint correction as well as ceramic paint and glass coatings.