[ScaldedDog]

We just had our new 45e PPF'd and ceramic coated, but they did a "wheels on" job, and so only coated the outer part of the wheel, and what they could reach on the 740Ms. They offered to do the barrels for $200, but that seems like a lot just to remove the wheels, which is the lion's share of the work. I'm thinking I'll do it myself.

My question is, does coating the barrels make them easier to clean, and do they actually get clean? In other words, is it worth it?

On a related note, is it possible, and wise, to coat the fancy blue calipers on this thing? I never see anything about doing that, but I'd like to be able to keep them looking good, if possible.

Mark

[1Mors]

Originally Posted by ScaldedDog

We just had our new 45e PPF'd and ceramic coated, but they did a "wheels on" job, and so only coated the outer part of the wheel, and what they could reach on the 740Ms. They offered to do the barrels for $200, but that seems like a lot just to remove the wheels, which is the lion's share of the work. I'm thinking I'll do it myself.

My question is, does coating the barrels make them easier to clean, and do they actually get clean? In other words, is it worth it?

On a related note, is it possible, and wise, to coat the fancy blue calipers on this thing? I never see anything about doing that, but I'd like to be able to keep them looking good, if possible.

Mark

I have to say HELL yes ceramic coating on wheels blocks just about everything including break dust. Then you can use products like wheel cleaner from Gyeon to easily clean everything on the wheels. I have Gyeon RIM coating. Amazing so far..

[ScaldedDog]

Thanks!! I may be sold. Did you coat your calipers?

Mark

[1Mors]

Originally Posted by ScaldedDog

Thanks!! I may be sold. Did you coat your calipers?

Mark

Sorry traveling absolutely coated my blue calipers

[Mo2002]

I think it's worth it. I had my barrels, wheels and calipers coated. Just note that some coatings on wheels and calipers may not last as long due to the heat. I know Modesta makes a coating specifically for high heat items.

[malvern_man]

Just had my X5 40i PPF'd and ceramic coated. I had a wheels off ceramic coating applied to the faces, barrels and calipers, Gyeon products were used.

Below is the actual work undertaken...

Remove All Wheels, Remove Ferrous/Iron/Organic Fallout Removal, Polish Wheel Surfaces, Alcohol Wipe And Install Double-Layer Ceramic Q² RIM. Steam Clean Callipers And Install Double-Layer Si02 Q² RIM. Steam Clean Wheel Arch Liners And Install Single-Layer Si02 Q² TRIM.

[chefwong]

Scalded -

$200 seems fair IMO.

Look at it this way. $70 is the entry fee for a coating you buy yourself. Once you crack that bottle open and use whatever you use, whatever is left over has a shelf life of *up* to a year. YMMV on the shelf life, but the clock starts ticking once the bottle is open.

Another option, does last as long but different way of spending the green, is to use a touches sealant, which you would just apply when worn, and it does get in every *nook and cranny* due to the nature of it.

I don't like the touchless since it get's on the rubber...and you can't control that if you're the type to dress your tires every now and then..the tires end up getting the sealant on them if you go that route.

[ScaldedDog]

Originally Posted by malvern_man

Just had my X5 40i PPF'd and ceramic coated. I had a wheels off ceramic coating applied to the faces, barrels and calipers, Gyeon products were used.

Below is the actual work undertaken...

Remove All Wheels, Remove Ferrous/Iron/Organic Fallout Removal, Polish Wheel Surfaces, Alcohol Wipe And Install Double-Layer Ceramic Q² RIM. Steam Clean Callipers And Install Double-Layer Si02 Q² RIM. Steam Clean Wheel Arch Liners And Install Single-Layer Si02 Q² TRIM.

Nice car!! How many miles did you have on it before you had the wheels done? We've only got 200, so I'm thinking my cleaning process could be a little less involved. Perhaps not.

Originally Posted by chefwong

Scalded -

$200 seems fair IMO.

Look at it this way. $70 is the entry fee for a coating you buy yourself. Once you crack that bottle open and use whatever you use, whatever is left over has a shelf life of *up* to a year. YMMV on the shelf life, but the clock starts ticking once the bottle is open.

Another option, does last as long but different way of spending the green, is to use a touches sealant, which you would just apply when worn, and it does get in every *nook and cranny* due to the nature of it.

I don't like the touchless since it get's on the rubber...and you can't control that if you're the type to dress your tires every now and then..the tires end up getting the sealant on them if you go that route.

I don't think $200 is bad, but I have a lift so it's a trivial exercise to remove all four wheels, prep, treat and remount them, and get the car back on the ground. The key in all that is the prep, but I doubt the place I'm using is going to do all of what malvern_man had done for $200. I could be wrong, though. I do know the stuff they used on his is $50 on Amazon.

Mark

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by ScaldedDog

Nice car!! How many miles did you have on it before you had the wheels done? We've only got 200, so I'm thinking my cleaning process could be a little less involved. Perhaps not.



I don't think $200 is bad, but I have a lift so it's a trivial exercise to remove all four wheels, prep, treat and remount them, and get the car back on the ground. The key in all that is the prep, but I doubt the place I'm using is going to do all of what malvern_man had done for $200. I could be wrong, though. I do know the stuff they used on his is $50 on Amazon.

Mark

The car is brand new, it had done 66 miles when I took it in to my local detailers. The wheels were part of the whole package that I had done.

[chefwong]

Scalded - My original reply was just to point out that there was a finite shelf life on a coating bottle, once you open it up if you were not aware.

Spray sealants are a easy option as well and will get every nook and cranny and may offer you better ROI since calipers won't last as long so you can re-up more often. Great if you're the type to not do tire dressing of any sort. I would skip this type of app if you do as the spray sealant will also overspray on the tires

[ScaldedDog]

Originally Posted by chefwong

Scalded - My original reply was just to point out that there was a finite shelf life on a coating bottle, once you open it up if you were not aware.

Spray sealants are a easy option as well and will get every nook and cranny and may offer you better ROI since calipers won't last as long so you can re-up more often. Great if you're the type to not do tire dressing of any sort. I would skip this type of app if you do as the spray sealant will also overspray on the tires

I'll probably use the remaining amount on my tow rig wheels. It's a 20+ year old truck, and not really worthy of ceramic coating, but the EBC brake pads I use on it make a mess of the wheels in a hurry. If I could make them easier to clean, and do the same for our X5 wheels for $50, I'd call that a win.

Mark

[chefwong]

Scalded -

If you are not familiar with the rinse sealants, this is something you may want to entertain to use on the wheels since you can use it on your PPF. You and Malvern are going to hate this comment....but nothing really stays for long ontop of PPF, so it's a good idea to seal/topcoat/recoat the PPF every now and then anyhow. Whether it be a touchless rinse spray or traditional spray sealant..on your PPF install.

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by chefwong

Scalded -

If you are not familiar with the rinse sealants, this is something you may want to entertain to use on the wheels since you can use it on your PPF. You and Malvern are going to hate this comment....but nothing really stays for long ontop of PPF, so it's a good idea to seal/topcoat/recoat the PPF every now and then anyhow. Whether it be a touchless rinse spray or traditional spray sealant..on your PPF install.

Spray on rinse off sealants are as you say only meant to be used as a topper to your ceramic coating, in general they only last a few months. They can though be used as a standalone product on non coated cars. Even if I've used a spray on rinse off product I sometimes go over the top of that with a quick detailer either a ceramic one or a normal one. My favourite at the moment is SOFT99 Fukupika Spray Advance Strong Type, you only need a couple of spritzes per panel then spread with a microfibre cloth, no buffing required.

[chefwong]

MM -

Just a opinion....but PPF is plastic...ceramic coating is nice but it doesn't last nowhere as long on PPF than it would on traditional paint. I didn't want to say it outright since you both -paid- for coating onto of PPF, but coating ontop of PPF is just flushing money down the drain. A $10 spray wax will net the same results given the "medium" it is being applied to. Just ones opinion though

[malvern_man]

Originally Posted by chefwong

MM -

Just a opinion....but PPF is plastic...ceramic coating is nice but it doesn't last nowhere as long on PPF than it would on traditional paint. I didn't want to say it outright since you both -paid- for coating onto of PPF, but coating ontop of PPF is just flushing money down the drain. A $10 spray wax will net the same results given the "medium" it is being applied to. Just ones opinion though

PPF cannot be ceramic coated in the traditional manner as in a bottle of coating and an applicator pad. Gyeon PPF is ceramic coated during the manufacturing process, the only parts of my X5 that have been ceramic coated in the traditional manner are the parts that haven't been PPF'd. I hope this clears up any confusion.

Parts PPF'd....front bumper, wings, bonnet, headlights, sills (rockers) door pillars and mirror casings. Everything else has been ceramic coated including the wheels, interior etc.

[chefwong]

All good MM. Just bringing the topic for discussion as many shops offer coating ontop of PPF. Yes, there is a handful of supposedly PPF specific coatings out there but IMO, nothing lasts.....and a $10 spray wax is just the same topper on PPF. Not familiar with Gyeon PPF however. Has it been out long enough with a decent track record on how it looks after 2-3-4, etc.

If you have ever removed old film off a car, which kinda gets masked just due to it being on paint....sometimes you may be surprised how not optically clear it will be when not maintained..

The coating as a additional service onto of the PPF is just good revenue for the installer but poor ROI for the recipient ..

[medphysdave]

Another vote for full coating on wheels and calipers if this will be a car you spend a lot of time cleaning. The "cheap wheels" 19" clean easily without coating.

[White340]

Did you ppf the whole car? I'm being quoted 6500 for a full Xpel ppf. With this package ceramic on top is 500 more down from 1000.

Or 2500 for full front, 600 for rocker panels and 600 rear bumper.

Wondering if the doors, roof and trunk are worth the extra 2800.

[nZtiZia]

Originally Posted by malvern_man

PPF cannot be ceramic coated in the traditional manner as in a bottle of coating and an applicator pad.

though I'm no expert, I question the validity of this statement. prior to ceramic-infused ppf, there are ceramic coatings developed and designed to be applied onto ppf via applicator pad (my detailer made a video during my installation), and it very clearly works as intended with excellent hydrophobicity. I don't know exactly which ceramic product he used on my XPEL stealth ppf but most if not all displayed products in the showroom are Gyeon. i recently refreshed with a top coat of Gyeon Q2M Cure Matte sealant, and water continues to bead and sheet off super slickly. here's a video showing the hydrophobic performance of non-coated stealth ppf:

i can tell you that water beads and sheets off my ceramic-coated ppf a lot better than shown in the video

[chefwong]

nztizia -

While there are a handful of PPF specific coatings out there, just curious. Have you benchmarked how long it has lasted before you see it fade/falling off. IMO nothing really lasts for long on PPF (with no known benchmark on the specific PPF coatings) we are now discussing

[medphysdave]

My car was 7500 for paint correction, full ppf, and ceramic. This is ppf from template. I think the quotes for the x5 are in line.

I'm likely only doing the front bumper or full front on the next x5. Reason being is that in 17k miles the one we just traded in doesn't have any rocker damage, or side damage to speak of. Nothing on the hood either. I'll probably add a piece on the roof to protect the window roof interface.

[chefwong]

It's a slippery slope. I'd consider the rockers as well as bare minimum. But it depends on how one's eyes interpret paint .....

I started with a plan of full front, rockers, Door Pillars (the black on B pillars fade and need polishing and sealing *alot* to keep it looking good). I wanted the rear bumpers. After tallying the list, I said F'it. Just wrap the whole thing...