I’ve had quite a bit of experience with wraps and different ceramic coatings. In last ten years, the products have matured quite a bit. If you’re talking about color change wraps, you need to differentiate between the less protective but vast color options and even printable, vinyl. Vinyl is more of a cosmetic application. Used for advertising, branding, and color change. The other wrap products are somewhat different in their chemical and physical properties. There are several proprietary Paint Protection Films ;
(PPF) available now. From UV protection, to “self-healing”, to heavy gauge thicknesses. The main point of PPF is as a sacrificial layer over the clear coat and paint. Small insults like road gravel or a bird droppings or a tree branch are absorbed by the PPF. Left out in the sun/heat, those small damages have some degree of leveling back out. Is that a real quality? Probably to a small degree, if the damage is small. A good film installed by an experienced installer should add a few years to the car’s finish. It’s still quite expensive. There are kits that an installer can order from the film manufacturer which are cut to exactly fit a car model’s panels. This reduces waste and complexity of install. A new model won’t have the “plotting” done yet, and will increase the price. As mentioned in this thread; most owners will have leading and exposed edges covered and leave less vulnerable areas unprotected. Obviously if you’re doing a color change or finish (matte) you’ll be doing every surface which means more film and more work. I’ve done both. It’s held up well on all of my cars. The oldest is seven years old with no visible failures.
Now a couple caveats to be aware of: I’ve heard that the film can result in pulling and fracturing of your clear coat if and when the film needs to be peeled off. Perhaps the original paint might suffer a little under the PPF. I don’t have an opinion on that yet, but it seems plausible.
Ceramic coatings are more like semi permanent wax. They are hydrophobic (repel water) and can give a very slick/shiny finish. They definitely make washing the car easier and with better results, however; they are a temporary product. They’ll have to be repeated at some point to keep the barrier there.
A full PPF, using top quality film, on a unique car (Grenadier) could run $5-8k. A partial application at vulnerable areas would be more in the $2-4k range. Ceramic coatings vary wildly and widely. Most important part is the prep work and experience of the person applying it. I’ve paid as little as $700 for a basic coating and paint correction to as high as $3k for a multiple coating (including glass, wheels) application.
Best advice would be, go see a few vehicles in person that have these treatments. If you decide to do it: get it done as soon as possible after purchase. Before you have rock chips, bird etchings, and scratches.
