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Is PPF or ceramic coating recommended/worth it?

Master-Ice7199 | 2026-03-02 21:33 | 13 views

Is PPF or ceramic coating recommended or worth it to add to 2026 MY AWD . I drive about 50 miles every day and about 75-100 on weekends...mostly city drive, occasionally country side drives. If recommending PPF, should I do whole body or just the front part. Any suggestions are welcome

Comments (31)
Kaluvoya 2026-03-02 21:38

Nope

3squiddy 2026-03-02 21:56

Bringing the car home it got a rock chip lower down on the driver’s side, I parked it in the garage until there was a slot to have the film and ceramic coating applied. It is a 2022 M3 dual motor. The chip was fixed prior to the film and coating. The car looks brand new. Washing is done with a foam cannon and blow dried with battery operated leaf blower. Interior door sills, trunk and frunk dried with a microfiber towels. The downside is it was expensive. The upside, looks new and is easy to wash. If you plan on keeping the car, it is worth it. If you don’t care about the chips, don’t bother.

KansasKing107 2026-03-02 22:04

PPF on the front bumper and lower rear door is okay and the only areas it really matters. Not required though. Ceramic isn’t really necessary. If you’re capable of putting on a sealant or ceramic yourself, that’s what I would recommend. These $300+ ceramic jobs are generally not worth it. If you don’t want to deal with PPF, from mud guards would be a good choice. I got some 3W front mud flaps off Amazon and I feel like the sides and back door get hit with almost nothing. The impact on the look of the car was minimal. Rear mud flaps don’t seem necessary on the juniper. Personally, I don’t think paint protection is remotely worth the amount of protection some people put on it. Spending a couple thousand on PPFs and ceramic coating is largely money down the drain that could have been used for something else. Would you rather have a PPF on your car or go on a nice vacation?

aniobash 2026-03-02 22:28

Agree. Front mud flaps are the most important protection here. Before them the bottom part of the doors were entirely covered my mud.

adorablefuzzykitten 2026-03-02 22:45

Chemist here. Ceramic coating is just a marketing term for silicone based car wax. Don't be fooled into thinking the $1,200 dollar coatings applied at a dealership by a guy making $7 an hour is worth more than $20.

KansasKing107 2026-03-02 22:59

Yeah, I was surprised how much the helped.

JustAcivilian24 2026-03-02 23:02

I got ceramic coating and it makes washing it/drying it SO much easier. It was worth it for me. I thought about PPF, but it's so expensive and a car is a depreciating asset so it doesn't make sense for me. If you have the cash though, go for it. But yea, ceramic coating is so good.

[deleted] 2026-03-02 23:06

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adorablefuzzykitten 2026-03-02 23:31

The ceramic coating you speak of is not a true ceramic, is organic based, and does not have a Mohs hardness of 6. Also, a coating of 20 nm delivers no significant improvement to surface impact no matter what material is deposited, including a vapor deposited glass coating at that thickness.

Single-Use-Again 2026-03-02 23:39

I had to remove 15 yr old ppf from my Toyota Tundra. I'll never put that stuff on my vehicles.

Chief7064 2026-03-03 01:58

I pick up mine tomorrow and have full front PPF scheduled the next day. I can’t avoid driving trucker routes and I like my car to look nice. Plus I got pearl white which is near impossible to touch up like all the tri-coats. So it’s worth it “to me.” With the MY I am also doing the rocker panels because I see how trashed the youtubers cars are, even with mud flaps.

Jared_Sparks 2026-03-03 02:11

I have PPP on my 2020 MYLR. I highly recommend it. I only did the front end.

Jared_Sparks 2026-03-03 02:18

I disagree. Some idiot truck driver had a rear bumper with 1" stone completely covering it until I was behind him on the interstate going 75 mph+ when he hit a bump and the entire load of rock bounced off all over my MYLR. It looked like the powerball numbers being picked. Thank God I had PPP! I swear by it!

Wants-NotNeeds 2026-03-03 04:08

She got the front PPF, I got the ceramic coating only (all over) because of how shiny and cool cars looked on here with it. In retrospect, now that I have a nice rock chip on the bumper, I should’ve done the PPF. The front end would be enough, I’m sure. Though, when I wash it up real good and apply some spray ceramic as a finishing touch… the shine looks great. How long that lasts is an unknown. The car lives outside, so it’s I feel better about spending the dough. Some dudes talk about applying both products DIY, which is cool if you have the time/gumption. It’s the most expensive car I’ve owned by a long shot, so it’s good to treat the finish well, both for personal satisfaction and potential resale value.

Embarrassed-Media175 2026-03-03 04:20

Ppf doesn't make sense to me when the car devalues faster than any other car on the market. Unless your going to ride it into the ground 10 plus years I don't see the point

[deleted] 2026-03-03 04:34

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isobethehen 2026-03-03 04:52

It is hard to take off. Sometimes it damages the paint you were trying to protect in the first place. Do not get it if your intended purpose is to maintain resale value as it’s not worth it.

NutzPup 2026-03-03 05:05

A guy down the street from me got the front half of his Model Y ppf'd. A week later he rear-ended someone. The ppf didn't save his car.

HisHerbs 2026-03-03 05:39

From someone who's done it all. Just apply Meguiar's ceramic wax (blue bottle) when cleaning your car. Apply it once every 1-3 months. Expensive ceramic coatings are harder to apply and rarely last more than a year. This stuff goes on like butter (stupid easy, just spray it and then spray water) check out some vids I pre spray my car with a rinseless wash mix and ceramic wax and spray with RO water at a self car wash It's like rain x for your car and it's done in 5 mins and lasts 1-3 months depending on driving conditions. Edit: I washed cars professionally before. Trust me. Try this out. Best long term solution.

[deleted] 2026-03-03 05:46

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Brutaka1 2026-03-03 06:17

>Personally, I don’t think paint protection is remotely worth the amount of protection some people put on it. Spending a couple thousand on PPFs and ceramic coating is largely money down the drain that could have been used for something else. Would you rather have a PPF on your car or go on a nice vacation? I cannot agree more. Too many folks do this with no increase in resale value. Not only that but folks only hold onto their vehicles after 1-3 years before trading it in. I'm gonna be getting a new Y here this week and don't plan on getting PPF. And this is coming from someone who has always put PPF their vehicles in Colorado weather. Is it nice? Of course but I'll tell you what is nicer. Having 2-3K in my HYSA.

kkicinski 2026-03-03 08:47

PPF, especially partial PPF, looks like crap in a few years. The edges collect gunk. Keep an eye out for Y’s with the partial PPF on the rear fenders. It’s easy to spot and it doesn’t look good. Especially with white paint. PPF does not protect value. No buyer wants to pay extra for your five year old yellowed paint film. They’d rather you peeled it off and save them the trouble. Rock chips are easy to fix with touch up paint. It’s not worth spending $2000 on PPF to avoid them. These aren’t collector cars. I did ceramic coating myself. It’s a full day’s work but I only do it every 2 or 3 years, so I consider that a win over having to polish and wax every 3 months. Ceramic coating does not protect against chips or damage. It’s just a fancy long lasting wax. It’s got a nice gloss to it, and it beads water and sheds dirt. It’s not magic force field.

Any_Reaction3351 2026-03-03 09:17

I got ceramic coating on my 2022 M3P when new. It didn’t last long, so I have booked in full PPF for my Model Y Juniper Long Range when I pick it up this week

zdzfwweojo 2026-03-03 09:21

lowkey doing doors, hood, trunk was therapeutic on my own, with few days of downtime, just me in the garage, music, sweating, etc. side mirrors, part of the trunk, fender, bumper was a PITA. For the cost savings i would do it again. it was a lot of work to get the car clean. it's by no means a professional install but overall went pretty good.

KansasKing107 2026-03-03 12:54

Yeah, it’s definitely not worth it. Some of the pre cut DIY kits for the front bumper and lower rear door might be worth it but that’s about it. Some kind of diy sealant or ceramic for the front bumper and mirrors is worth it for bug removal.

Single-Use-Again 2026-03-03 13:31

If you're in a hot climate like me the ppf will basically bond with the paint making it a one way ticket. Maybe if you have the ppf removed every year and replaced? But how reasonable is that?

Hockeyshot39 2026-03-03 14:05

Are the other 10,000 threads on this for you?

Smooth-Exhibit 2026-03-03 14:46

How long does the PPF last? Does it just peel off at end-of-life?

LateMouse2020 2026-03-03 15:54

Ppf is absolutely worth it for frontal bumper. DIY ceramic coat yourself after, takes half a day, easy work.

T_Hankss 2026-03-03 19:41

Ppf is not worth it. It's not a collectors item. Some kind of an coating makes it easier to wash. EDIT: Small rocker panel ppf is worth it if not applied from the factory

Kvillase 2026-03-03 20:58

Removing it is going to be the next owners problem not yours.

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