PPF vs Ceramic coating: Which paint protection for my RE Classic 350?

I am hearing mixed reviews for both. For PPF some are saying the glue might damage the paint and every year the PPF needs to be changed.

BHPian Krish_Diesel recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I have recently booked Royal Enfield Classic 350 Stealth black. Can you please advice if PPF is a good option or ceramic coating? I am hearing mixed reviews for both. For PPF some are saying the glue might damage the paint and every year the PPF needs to be changed. I am not sure of the drawbacks of Ceramic coating. Can you please advise the best option?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

PPF & Ceramic Coating are expensive and come with their own headaches.

I park my cars nicely, drive my cars well, use a body cover, keep them clean, get them detailed twice a year and generally follow the best practices of this thread.

My cars are always in top shape, regardless of their age. They look & feel fantastic.

Here's what BHPian aargee had to say on the matter:

PPF: Is very good, helps to keep the vehicle wrapped & protects from most of the dust, scratches, heat & paint fade. Problem is the PPF itself is vunerable & becomes dull in few years. However, the paint is still protected & one has to opt for wrapping with PPF again.

Ceramic Coating: Less said better, here's a whole lot of pros & cons. At a very quick glance one might misinterpret ceramic coating prevents the vehicle from fire accidents

Personal: Having experienced both, I would simply say, it's not worth doing either of them. Just keep the motorcycle as much clean as possible & get it detailed once a year or so depending on the locality you live. This is the most economical in terms of both money, time & energy.

Here's what BHPian Mr.Boss had to say on the matter:

Depends on your intention & below comment is specific to RE 350 (considering the body panel replacement cost, in worst case scenario)

If the intention is to make Instagram reels / snaps with

1) water beading or hydrophobic nature - get the ceramic coating done

2) Scratch test reels - Get PPF-ed

If your intention is to preserve the body panels from minor scratches & paint fading, follow the couple of previous posts (Maintain the bike, get paint correction / detailing once or twice a year.

Here's what BHPian WalterWhite had to say on the matter:

I would suggest you to do PPF on the tank. If you are planning to use magnetic or normal tank bags PPF will protect from the scratches. And for rest of the body parts you have to analyze the cost of each panels v/s cost for doing PPF on each panels. If the panels are cheap to replace in case of scratches or color fading then better replace them. Doing PPF wont be very cost effective in this case. May be you can do ceramic coating on the rest of the body parts. This will be much cost effective. As BHPians mentioned above, Ceramic wont give you the scratch protection as PPF do. But it will give a nice shiny layer over the paint and gives a glossy look to the bike. Also it is hydrophobic and would be easy to clean as well. I did PPF on tank and ceramic on the rest of the body on my Ninja 300 recently. And the feedback is so far very good. Bike is very easy to clean now. Dirt wont stick that strong on the panels now.

If you are planning to do. First discuss with the shop representative about the cost, process and materials used. Give your own research about the materials used. Because there are cheaper PPF which wont last. And also be skeptical about the process. If the shop agree to complete the process by 1 or 2 days dont give your bike to them. 3 or 4 days process is the way to go.

Here's what BHPian BleueNinja had to say on the matter:

Neither.

You have booked stealth black colour which has a matte finish. Matte retains its beauty when maintained well with regular cleaning which can be done on a weekly basis.

If you go for PPF then you would need to go for a matte PPF. Moreover detailers will claim that they can fit it perfectly but classic 350 is quite curvy and there are lots of contours which will make the whole fit not perfect.

If you go for ceramic you might loose out on matte properties of your bike’s paint. Even if you find something you will have to put in a lot of effort to maintain it.

Therefore, regular weekend wash and a light clean with a dry cloth everyday before you ride will work wonders. I can say this with confidence because I owned a classic 350 with stealth black colour

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.