PPF or ceramic coating? They do different jobs

What each one is

PPF is a clear urethane film, typically 150 to 200 microns thick, fitted over the paint panel by panel. Stones, gravel, bag buckles and shopping trolleys hit the film. The film absorbs the impact; the paint underneath is untouched. Its top coat also resists wash marring and light scratches, and on most modern films closes fine marks with warmth.

A ceramic coating is a liquid, applied by hand to prepared paint, that cures into a hard, glassy layer a few microns thick and chemically bonded to the lacquer. It makes the surface very slick, so water beads and dirt struggles to stick, it adds depth to gloss, and it resists chemical etching from bird lime, water spots and road film better than bare lacquer. It is measured in microns, not tenths of a millimetre, and it does nothing at all against a stone.

What each protects against

• Stone chips on the bonnet, wings and bumper: PPF, and only PPF. A coating is far too thin to matter.
• Gravel rash on sills and lower doors: PPF.
• Wash swirls and fine scratches: PPF resists them well; a coating resists them a little and mostly makes them easier to avoid because the car needs less scrubbing.
• Bird lime, tree sap, water spots, road film: a coating is very good here; PPF is good too, and a coating over PPF is the best of both.
• Ease of washing and that deep, just-detailed gloss: a coating.
• UV fade of the paint: a coating helps a little; PPF helps more on the panels it covers.

How long each lasts, and what it costs to own

PPF is a years-long fit on the panels it covers. When it eventually yellows, gets chipped through or is simply due, it is removed and replaced panel by panel. A coating lasts a few years depending on the product, how the car is washed and how much it lives outside, and is reapplied after a fresh paint correction. Neither is cheap; a quality full front in PPF is the bigger single outlay, and a coating on a whole car is the bigger outlay in preparation time, because it needs the paint corrected first to lock in a flawless surface.

We do not publish prices for either, because both depend on the car, the panels and the state of the paint. What we can say is that PPF is priced by the panel and a coating by the car, and that either is quoted in writing at a fixed price before any work starts.

Common misunderstandings

• "Ceramic stops stone chips." It does not. A stone at motorway speed goes through a coating as if it were not there.
• "PPF makes the car harder to keep clean." Modern PPF top coats are already slick, and a coating over the film makes them slicker.
• "A coating means never washing the car." It means washing it more easily. Dirt still lands on it.
• "PPF yellows." Older films did. Current films from the major makers carry a stain-resistant top coat and stay clear for years; cheap films still yellow.
• "You have to choose one." The most common combination on a new car we see is PPF on the front end and a coating over the whole car, film included.

Which one for your car

A new or freshly painted car you plan to keep, that does real miles: PPF on the front end at least, and a coating over everything if you want the easy-wash gloss as well. A car that mostly does short local trips and lives in a garage: a coating alone is a sensible choice, since chips are unlikely. A car you will hand back in two or three years: a partial front in PPF protects the panels a lease inspection looks at hardest, and a coating is a luxury.

A satin or matte wrap changes the answer: the wrap itself already protects the paint, so PPF is only worth adding to the leading edges, and any coating must be a matte-safe product or it will leave gloss patches.

We fit PPF in the workshop and will tell you plainly which panels are worth it. Bring the car or send the registration and a few photos, and we will say what we would do if it were ours.