Paint protection, ceramic coating

[Michiganman24]

So I traded in My 2023 Wildtrak for a new 2024 Braptor. Yes I love it. Anyway it gonna be a pavement princess for a few years and I want to protect the paint. The Dealership want me to do the Ceramic coating, which last 7 years they say. I have looked a little in doing a clear Wrap but the place I went to quoted me north of 5 grand. Was wanting some input of everyone out here and their Ideas and experience's. The Ceramic is gonna cost $900. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[SBP]

So I traded in My 2023 Wildtrak for a new 2024 Braptor. Yes I love it. Anyway it gonna be a pavement princess for a few years and I want to protect the paint. The Dealership want me to do the Ceramic coating, which last 7 years they say. I have looked a little in doing a clear Wrap but the place I went to quoted me north of 5 grand. Was wanting some input of everyone out here and their Ideas and experience's. The Ceramic is gonna cost $900. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I had the clear wrap put on mine. Then I did the ceramic myself. It is not hard to do, just a bit time consuming. If your going over a new paint job or wrap it is even easier. Just spray and wipe with 80+ isopropyl alcohol and then apply your coating of choice. I used Adams advanced with graphene and don't forget to do your glass too.

 

[Ape Factory]

As a newb, I did ceramic coating on my last car all by my lonesome. It wasn't a new vehicle and I did a full paint correction first. I'd never done either and while it wasn't easy (I was recovering from knee surgery and hey, I had two weeks off!), it wasn't all that bad. That was over five years ago and the ceramic coatings have just gotten better and better since then and easier to apply.

If you have any patience and like to work on your vehicles, I'd do the ceramic coating myself. Being it's a new car, a deep paint correction isn't needed unless Ford really f*cked it up. Plus, this ain't a Bentley. You may not need a thing or maybe a light clay bar treatment. The ceramic coating will likely last at least five years for a consumer version and cost you about $150 plus your time. I really like Gyeon Quartz products and their new Mohs Evo2 is a one coat ceramic that's as durable as what I used five years ago and required three coats. https://gyeonusa.com/collections/paint-coatings/products/q-syncro-evo

Now, do not confuse ceramic with PPF in terms of actual protection from hard hits. Ceramic isn't going to help with brush, rocks and the like where PPF will. Since it's going to be a pavement princess for the time being, I'd forego the wrap if it's just too much $$$. I know, buy once, cry once but it may be overkill for what you need.

I just ceramic coated my Braptor with Gyeon Q2 Can Coat2 which is ceramic "light" in that it lasts about a year. I did a very mild paint correction/clay bar and then ceramic coated all the painted portions along with the fenders in less than 2 hours. It works really well on the fenders and leaves a streak free shine. I won't have to wax it after every wash so it's a big time saver. I didn't do a deeper paint correction as I have a cactus gray and it doesn't highlight paint flaws like some colors do. And overall it was in pretty decent condition to begin with.

 

[TurboS]

So I traded in My 2023 Wildtrak for a new 2024 Braptor. Yes I love it. Anyway it gonna be a pavement princess for a few years and I want to protect the paint. The Dealership want me to do the Ceramic coating, which last 7 years they say. I have looked a little in doing a clear Wrap but the place I went to quoted me north of 5 grand. Was wanting some input of everyone out here and their Ideas and experience's. The Ceramic is gonna cost $900. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Before applying ceramic coatings, make sure you don't want to have PPF, a wrap, or graphics installed. Any one of these 3 requires a ceramic coating to be removed before installation, which will add to the cost because currently ceramic coatings are difficult to remove.

You don't have to do a complete PPF installation. At minimum, I recommend the leading edge of the hood/front fenders, door jams, and the lower 4" of the doors that will get debris thrown at them from just driving anywhere. You may want to even consider DIY install provided you have a clean garage with good lighting. If interested watch Drive Protected YouTube video's for excellent learning and recommendations.

Below is a couple threads on this forum that may be of help in your decision.

Wrapped Bronco Raptors

Anyone considering wrapping their Bronco Raptors? This matte green wrap looks awesome.

www.broncoraptor.com

What did you do to your Bronco Raptor today?

Installed Escort 360 radar detector with mirror tap power cord. I used a mount from StickerFab that attached to the windshield with 3M double stick tape. Miror tap for power: https://www.broncoraptor.com/threads/bronco-raptor-radar-detector-mount-and-mirror-tap.37/ Windshield mount for...

www.broncoraptor.com