I am looking for recommendations for a quality shop to perform Ceramic Coatings in the Boulder, CO area.

thanks
Mark

 

If you are looking to DIY ... I just started coating my 2015 DB9. I am using the following process and products from Kamikaze one panel at a time:
1. Wash with Gyeon Bathe
2. Spray Gyeon Iron. Rinse with water and wash with Gyeon Bathe.
3. Clay - only if required. If clayed, wash with Gyeon Bathe.
4. Light compounding with Jescar Correcting compound
5. Light polishing with Sonax Profiline Perfect Finish
6. Wipe with Gyen Prep
7. Apply 1 layer of Kamikaze Miyabi Coating. Remove when it flashes.
8. Wait an hour and apply another layer of Kamikaze Miyabi Coating. Remove when it flashes.
9. Wait an hour and apply 1 layer of Kamikaze ISM Coat 1.0. Remove when it flashes.
10. Store the car for 24hrs without any contact with water.
Enjoy !

I had Xpel PPF installed when I bought the car new. Peeling it off bit by bit and wiping off any glue residue with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner (#08987). The longest and frustrating step is removing glue residue. Sine I am doing it myself, I am doing one or two panels at at time. I talk with forum member and expert detailer SheriffDep often and take his suggestions.

 

All of the above is perfect; I might only suggest since our cars sit for days on end a lot to apply the x2 coats of Miyabi and let that sit for 3-4 days and cure. Then apply the ISM and let sit for a few days. But the way Cuddapah did the process is bang on also.

I suggested to him 22ple Insanity coating or the Kamikazee products. Either way you WILL want to use Kamikaze Overcoat for the maintenance of the coating no matter which you choose.

Also----I highly suggest you DIY this and can help walk you through it if you would like. However, a paint correction is highly suggested before the coating. Get your paint right first. If paying a good, and I mean a really good detailer (1/2 to 3/4 of them do not know how to do this properly) you will be charged somewhere between 1-2k for a good correction depending on how much work it needs. Go for a $500 detailer and you will not be getting proper work and may be removing much more clear coat than needed.

Coatings are around $1500-2k depending on what is coated. Trim and Wheels should be done when the paint is done. Wheels are as important as the paint. There are other threads covering the process.

So that is paying a really good detailer around 2-3k for the complete job. Or buy all of the products yourself and pay less but learn a process that will last a lifetime. Time or Money that is always the question.

 

Why would you remove the Xpel PPF? Was it damaged? My plan is to get mine PPF'd (Xpel or Lumar) and then look into possible ceramic coatings, since the Ammo poly coatings are nice but a bit high maintenance.

 

No complaints about Xpel. But noticed edges getting dirty fast and some dirt gets under the film. I didn't know much about PPF when it was done. I would have insisted edges wrapped inside. My DB9 came with some film at wheel arches. I will replace those pieces. That's it.

 

Even though PPF has warranties for 10yrs now; nothing in them really has been changed over the past 5yrs or so. The warranties ONLY cover glue yellowing and manufacturing defects. If the defects don't show up at installation then they are not likely to show up ever. Yellowing of glue is pretty much a past thing; however, if it did happen it would be covered. So that leaves the premise that you SHOULD remove the PPF every 5-7 years no matter what anyway. Issue is you don't want brittle film at the removal stage which is a royal pain. You should only use a steam cleaner when removing film to soften it and help to remove the glue so you don't have a nightmare when removing that.

So PPF should only be on a car for 5-7yrs and when you remove it and its in a ball you will see how much the UV rays have discolored the film. This is not noticeable on the vehicle. So your paint is not natural after that long. Vinyl should be removed with being on the paint no longer than 2 yrs. Removal has its own issues ie....if there was paintwork done before PPF application it could peel up that paint. I have seen a NON painted supposedly McLaren SLR paint peel on the front lip. So care is needed when doing so and the longer the film is on the vehicle the more difficult it is to remove.

Just FYI if you use XPEL and have a coating other than XPEL Fusion (junk product) applied they do not cover any warranties. At least that was what they said a year ago. Plus you have to bring in the vehicle yearly for maintenance top offs.

Suntek and Lumar are the same film. I am throughly dissatisfied with Suntek. Washing the hood on my RR with ONLY a mf towel and drying it with a blower for 2yrs, the hood has tons of swirls all over it and needs to be polished or removed at this time. I have not seen this issue with S-Tek (by far the best and clearest film), Xpel, or 3m Pro.

Hope this helps

 

The nearest Stek dealer is 200 miles away, but I can take her there if you think it's worth it. My DB9 doesn't get parked outside much, so I'm less concerned about UV so I think it could last a bit longer. I'm just wanting to protect it against rock chips which drive me crazy. One chip cost me $1500 to get fixed.

Then of course I'd be interested in your opinion on coating the PPF with a ceramic or otherwise protective coat. (sorry if this hijacks the thread - lots to learn here...)

 

I had STEK applied to my Vantage, and XPEL Ultimate to my wife's GLC. Under critical light, there's really no comparison...STEK orange peel is virtually non-existent and clarity is about as good as it gets (I haven't seen any PPF that's perfectly transparent).

Regarding the coatings, I used 2 coats of Miyabi on my 335i daily, and 1 coat Miyabi with 1 coat of Zipang on the GLC painted surfaces. Both are holding up well, but have been properly maintained (annual decontamination, Overcoat every 4-6 months).

 

Did this to mine if the link works for you.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...&id=1164793604