Full wrap or ceramic coating?

[Lize]

So, the bad weather is here, loads of rain and the car needs constant washing.
I wouldn't have chosen black but got a good deal and I'm regretting it more than I thought I would.
Looks lovely clean but I can't be washing it every drive.

So do I go for a colour change full wrap (and probably ceramic coat) or just ceramic coat in the hope that a snow foam, rinse and dry can be done quickly as interim full washes?

If I went for a full wrap I don't know what colour I'd choose and I'm nervous that until its removed you don't know whether there are any knife marks.

Any thoughts please?

 

[ChargerChallenger]

This is a great posting and question which LOL just yesterday I was thinking for the price of Protective Film Coating why not a Full Wrap and change the color of my car lol. And yeah I would go and talk and price out both and ask them the pros and cons of both.

 

[Lize]

Millions of confusing choices to consider here:
https://www.metrorestyling.com/default.asp

 

[ChargerChallenger]

Millions of confusing choices to consider here:
https://www.metrorestyling.com/default.asp

Look at other WB Hellcats colors and pics to get Ideas and think about It for a week or two.

 

[Detroit Muscle]

My Redeye is a factory black car with the factory " black graphics package" option. I did a full body wrap at 100 miles. For $3,500
Including wrapping the black graphics, hood, roof and trunk.
Very easy to clean, no waxing and no issues.

 

[Primetime Hellcat 17]

My car is black as well so I’m gonna do a full wrap very soon. Black paint looks great after a detail but when it’s dirty you can see everything lol.
2 options we have....
We can clear bra/ whatever you wanna call it to cover the hole car and you can clean as much as you want with out worrying about the swirl marks and small scratches.
2nd will be to wrap it.
Kept out doors in the sun and weather the wrap will last about 3 yrs or so depending on how you take care of your car. Kept indoors a wrap can last 6-7yrs plus. Wrapping a car is cheaper than putting the clear bra on the entire car.
So many options....

 

[The Englishman]

I had the exact same thoughts as you( worrying😜), I went for ceramic coating and am really pleased with it.A black car would look mean as hell with a matt wrap though 😎

 

[Hellcat Cuda]

My neighbor's black Mercedes was ceramic coated when new. He rinses the car off with a hose and blows it dry with one of those car blowers. He keeps it outside and it looks fantastic when he gives it a quick blast of water and a blow dry.

 

[Lize]

Very easy to clean, no waxing and no issues.

Thats interesting when I was reading about matt vinyl on the internet people seemed to think it was difficult to maintain. I love green cars in all shades, yours looks great.

My neighbor's black Mercedes was ceramic coated when new. He rinses the car off with a hose and blows it dry with one of those car blowers. He keeps it outside and it looks fantastic when he gives it a quick blast of water and a blow dry.

This is what I would hope to do, I use a leaf blower for drying, then it wouldn't be so bad to do. I can't see dead flies on the front coming off like that and nighttime moths seem even worse so I fear I'd then end up having to do a full wash.

I'll give it some more thought before I decide.

 

[Hayabusa]

I've posted this pic of my 2015 Phantom Black before. After paint correction and CQuartz ceramic coat it reflected like a mirror.

It was easy to keep clean (especially the wheels!) and made a black car livable.

 

[Lize]

I'm tending towards a ceramic coating, good to hear it makes it a lot easier to clean.
Going to book in for an oil change next week and then decide after that.

 

[MikeD1]

Just FYI - you can't wrap over those stripes, they will 'print thru' & it will look like crap + they are fairly thick material (3M 1080) so the top vinyl will never seal down along the edges properly !
Even if you apply something like Xpell, they would need to butt the clear to the edges of the stripes. Make sure you get an installer who has experience doing this or it can be a mess.

 

[Lize]

Thanks for the heads up, I'd been thinking they'd remove them which is another part of the wrap process to worry about.
Looking at some of the wraps the ones I like are fairly dark coloured and would likely show dirt just as badly and so the whole exercise would be pointless.

 

[MikeD1]

Wrap material will show dirt just like paint. Satin wrap can be a real PITA as it stains easily and you need to be careful what you apply to it as most wax products will end up making it look blotchy (ask me how I know this ). Gloss wrap is more forgiving and can usually be waxed etc. without drama.

Assuming those strips you have are OE, they are 3M 1080, which is typically sold as a wrap material (it's pretty thick) so you have a sample on the car now of what it will be like to live with

Remember, it's all vinyl and eventually drys out as it out gases. Do spend some time looking at the manufactures websites and product specs (which include projected life span) for the ones you are most interested in, there can be a huge range of durability depending on formulation, thickness etc. etc.

 

[BULL]

My .02

Ceramic coating won't protect you from larger stone chips, but does wonders for maintenance.

I have the bottom half of the car wrapped along with the front, and then CSL on the upper half.

And mine's not a DD, if it was, I would certainly have the lower wrapped, even with the incredibly low mileage I've got (4700ish over 5 years), I've got impacts in the lower wrap that would make me cry if I didn't have the wrap.

Oh, and I also have the Mopar mudflaps too. They have taken a real beating that has saved even more damage from landing on the paint.

 

[Lize]

Wrap material will show dirt just like paint. Satin wrap can be a real PITA as it stains easily and you need to be careful what you apply to it as most wax products will end up making it look blotchy (ask me how I know this ). Gloss wrap is more forgiving and can usually be waxed etc. without drama.

Assuming those strips you have are OE, they are 3M 1080, which is typically sold as a wrap material (it's pretty thick) so you have a sample on the car now of what it will be like to live with

Remember, it's all vinyl and eventually drys out as it out gases. Do spend some time looking at the manufactures websites and product specs (which include projected life span) for the ones you are most interested in, there can be a huge range of durability depending on formulation, thickness etc. etc.

Was thinking I could choose a colour which would look better with light dirt on it. With the black I can wash it one day and the next day it looks dusty just stood overnight, don't have a garage at the moment but plan on one next year so that should improve. Also thinking of putting a canopy on the side which I can also use as a car wash bay.

I read all sorts about the various wraps, a lot say they have 5 to 7 year lifespan but then in the small print say they should be removed after 3 which seems somewhat contradictory.

The more I think about it the more I think I'll go for the ceramic.

My .02

Ceramic coating won't protect you from larger stone chips, but does wonders for maintenance.

I have the bottom half of the car wrapped along with the front, and then CSL on the upper half.

And mine's not a DD, if it was, I would certainly have the lower wrapped, even with the incredibly low mileage I've got (4700ish over 5 years), I've got impacts in the lower wrap that would make me cry if I didn't have the wrap.

Oh, and I also have the Mopar mudflaps too. They have taken a real beating that has saved even more damage from landing on the paint.

View attachment 25837

They look a nice pair together, loving the Ram. Wow, that is low mileage, I thought 20K miles in 5 years on one of my cars was low.

I'm thinking more about ease of maintenance but maybe I should think about PPF too. I'm going to order up the mud flaps, going to see if I can get them from someone who imports stuff, hadn't got round to it yet as I've been wondering about my front plate (temporarily held on with 2 small bits of tape at the moment) and have now decided on one of those sho'n'sto mounts.

 

[MikeD1]

I used to own black cars, but they are a huge PITA to keep looking good, even when garaged.

You might want to look into something like these, not sure if they ship to the UK (might be crazy expensive) but there should be someone over there making similar stuff.
https://www.shelterlogic.com/shop/manufacturer/shelterlogic?custom_product_type=Garages

 

[Tape]

I used to own black cars, but they are a huge PITA to keep looking good, even when garaged.

You might want to look into something like these, not sure if they ship to the UK (might be crazy expensive) but there should be someone over there making similar stuff.
https://www.shelterlogic.com/shop/manufacturer/shelterlogic?custom_product_type=Garages

I see you're not too educated on UK properties, most of UK property owners don't have room to erect something like that and their better half won't allow something like that in their backyard which they call their garden in the UK.

 

[Lize]

You're right most gardens are round the back of houses and small and they wouldn't dream of putting cars in them even if they could. Front driveway parking for 2 cars and a garage suitable for Fiat 500 are most common. I'm lucky that I've got access to the back and use it for parking, currently 6 cars and 3 non runners parked nearer the bottom but it is getting a bit difficult to turn round if I don't park in specific spots.

I've looked at similar temporary garages quite often but always been too anxious about wind and subsequent car damage no matter how sturdy they look. The building site which adjoins a fair bit of my garden has now put a fence up so I can get on with building a proper garage, I'd delayed this in case of boundary dispute (having already had one with another neighbour). I've usefully gained 3ft or more, it doesn't sound a lot but in order to meet planning regulations without jumping through hoops the garage has to be 6ft from the boundary so I'll only waste a 3ft strip of what I had before.

 

[MikeD1]

I see you're not too educated on UK properties, most of UK property owners don't have room to erect something like that and their better half won't allow something like that in their backyard which they call their garden in the UK.

I just assumed Lize was living in a manor outside of town & had some land around him .........................