Ceramic coating vs PPF: what to choose

In short

• Stone chips: only PPF stops them. The film is 200–250 µm thick, the coating 2–3 µm. A stone from the motorway goes through a coating as if it were bare paint.
• Gloss and easy washing: ceramic wins. Water beads and runs off with the dirt, and salt and bird droppings do not bite into the paint as fast.
• Price in our studio: ceramic coating from 1,300 zł (3 years) to 2,650 zł (7 years). PPF + ceramic packages 2,490 / 3,490 / 5,490 zł. Film only on the full front from 4,700 zł.
• What most people choose: film on the front and the other impact zones, ceramic on the rest of the car.
• When we say no: paint full of swirls with no budget for correction. Both products lock in the paint as it is, so correction comes first.

Prices as of September 2026, for a passenger car in good condition.

Side by side

What each one does

Ceramic coating is a liquid that cures into a hard glassy layer a few microns thick. It deepens the colour, repels water and dirt, and resists road chemicals and UV. It has no cushion, so it cannot absorb an impact.

ArtDeShine gives the life of its coatings in years and also in washes. Hybrid+: 3 years or 170 pH-neutral washes. Ayicon Pro: 5 years or 350 washes. Nano Graphene Coating+: 7 years or 400 washes. At a touchless wash with strong active foam the count roughly halves (90 / 180 / 200 washes). With a weekly hand wash the coating lasts its full term; with an aggressive touchless wash twice a week it wears out sooner.

PPF is a clear polyurethane film we fit panel by panel, and it protects only where it is fitted. It takes the stone, gravel and parking scuffs, and the paint underneath stays as it was on the day of fitting. It is also removable: on factory paint it comes off with heat and leaves no trace.

When ceramic alone is enough

• You drive mostly in the city and rarely on the A4, S7 or the Zakopianka.
• The car sleeps in a garage or an underground car park.
• You care about colour and quick washing more than about chips.
• The car is a few years old and its paint needs correction anyway. Spend the budget on correction (from 900 zł) plus a coating: film over old defects would only seal them in.

Last spring an Erasmus student from Spain brought a 2017 Toyota Yaris with swirled black paint, driven only around Kraków. We did a single-stage correction for 900 zł and the Hybrid+ coating for 1,300 zł, 2,200 zł in total, in one day.

When you need film

• You commute on fast roads: Kraków–Katowice on the A4, or the S7 towards Warsaw every week.
• The car is new, dark-coloured or has soft paint that chips easily.
• The car is leased and has to go back in three years. Chips on the bonnet edge and front bumper are the most common items on a lease-return report. Get the lessor's written consent before fitting film: we give you a letter template, and if they refuse, we remove the film free.
• You plan to keep the car for many years and want the original factory paint on the front.

In June a client who drives to a Katowice office every day brought a new 2025 Toyota RAV4 in its first week, before the A4 had left a single chip. We fitted LEASE-SAFE: 3,490 zł plus the 20% SUV surcharge, 4,188 zł, done in 1.5 days.

The combination: film on the front, coating on the rest

This is what we fit most often, so we sell it as fixed-price packages. The coating in the package is the same ArtDeShine coating we apply as a standalone service.

SUVs, minivans, pickups and limousines: +20% on the package price. Every package includes paint prep, a QR car passport with a map of the wrapped zones, and a free wash and film check after two weeks.

Is ceramic coating worth it?

Yes, if three things are true: the paint is in good condition or will be corrected first, you wash the car by hand or at a touchless wash, and you keep the car for at least two or three years.

It is money thrown away in these cases:

• You use brush car washes. The brushes scratch the paint through any coating and shorten its life.
• You expect the coating to stop chips: that is the film's job.
• You are selling the car in a few months. A thorough wash and a single-stage correction will do more for the price.

A test you can do yourself

Two minutes, a phone torch and a car you have driven for at least a year.

1. Shine the torch at a sharp angle along the leading edge of the bonnet and the front bumper.
2. Count the white or dark dots. Those are chips down to the primer.
3. Dozens of dots mean your driving throws stones at the car, and film pays off. A clean bonnet with swirls on the doors means a coating and correction will do more.

Frequently asked questions