Telegraph article on paint protection

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What’s the best paintwork protection for our nearly-new car?

Q We thought about taking the optional paint protection on a four-month-old Kia Sorento we’re buying but it’s a bit of a minefield; there are polymers, ceramics and films, all applied either by professional companies or at home. How best should we protect the paint on our car?

DC

A The first thing I would advise is to avoid taking any paintwork protection offered by a dealership as part of a deal on a new or used car. Not because the protection won’t be any good, but because after-sale products like these are often brilliant earners for the dealer, so you can end up paying over the odds. 

You’ll invariably pay less for the same service carried out by an independent paintwork protection specialist. But you’re right – there are various levels of protection and it can be confusing working out which is which.

Generally speaking, paint protection film, or PPF, is the priciest. As the name suggests, PPF is a transparent film that’s applied to the bodywork to protect against chips, swirls and scratches. So durable is PPF that it can even guard against minor scuffs and malicious key scrapes and it should last anywhere from five to 10 years. 

Trouble is, it costs upwards of £500, if not more, to have PPF applied professionally. you can do it yourself, but it takes a steady hand and skill. 

The next level down, and what most dealers tend to offer, is a spray-on or rub-on paint protection. This is a polymer-based ceramic coating that lasts between three and five years, depending on how well it’s been applied. 

Again, this is usually professionally applied – but having it done by a detailer or valeter will usually be cheaper than having it done at the dealer, probably to a higher standard. Expect to pay around £300 at a dealer, £150-200 elsewhere. 

The DIY alternatives are the cheap and cheerful option. These take the form of either the waxes and sealants people have always used traditionally to protect paintwork, which last for a few washes at best and cost anywhere between £10 and £50, or ceramic coatings you can apply by yourself, at home, which are slightly more expensive, but last longer.

[APS]

I can vouch for PPF. Only had it on my car for one year but so far it's doing fine and has protected against things that would otherwise damage the paintwork. I can see some marks in the plastic that have not penetrated the film. The installer also applied a ceramic coat that makes dirt come off very easily. The other good thing is that they also apply film to the headlights – well, they did on mine - and that protects them not only from stone chips but also from the usual UV damage that results in cloudy lenses. Considering modern LED headlight units cast multiple thousands each, the PPF can easily pay for itself over time.

From what I've gathered, PPF is provided by a few different manufacturers as model specific kits with very precisely cut panels. I would not bother trying to do it myself and I do not think the best kits are available to consumers. Prices vary from car to car of course, but I would say £500 would be the bottom end of the scale and just a partial, front end only cover. Prices are high as a good installer will spend a day washing, polishing and sealing the underlying paintwork before putting the film on. 

[Cyker]

One thing to note is PPF has to be declared to your insurance or they may void it during a claim. Some of them will charge quite a hefty increase. Ceramic and polymer coatings seem to get treated like waxes and are considered less permanent so they don't charge you extra for them (Or at least I've never heard of such a thing).

I was considering getting mine PPF'd but was put off by the variable treatment by insurance companies.

 

[APS]

Yes, it does reduce the number of insurers that will insure you. They actually look at whether there are stickers on your car.