Toyota Land Cruiser in for PPF and Ceramic Coatings

The Toyota Land Cruiser has been absolutely legendary within the offroad community for almost 60 years. Offering rugged durability, unmatched reliability and serious offroad capabilities, it’s no surprise that it’s still an 4X4 icon. 

This brand-new Land Cruiser rolled through Denver Auto Shield in Denver, Colorado for Full-Front Paint Protection Film (PPF) and our Level 2 Ceramic Coating System.

Step 1: Decontamination Wash

As mentioned above, we use the three bucket method to ensure that we are taking the best care of your paint and not introducing any new scratches or swirls. For our wash soap, we use Gyeon Q2M Bathe and for the wash mitt, a Gyeon Q2M Smoothie. These products are essential to our wash, as they allow us to get perfectly clean paint without any risk of paint damage. 

For the final few steps, we’ll use Q2M Clay Lube and a clay bar to remove any stubborn, embedded contaminants. Now that we have clean and decontaminated paint, we can dry the car using a BLO Car Dryer and move it into our PPF bay. 

step 2: paint protection film

Our Full-Front Paint Protection Film package was the clear choice for this client who plans to do both highway driving and offroading and wanted to protect the front end of their Land Cruiser from paint damage. If you’re looking for the best protection from physical damage such as rock chips, scratches and road debris, PPF is definitely your best option. 

Here at Denver Auto Shield, we use a specialized computer program and a large printer called a plotter to custom design and print clear bra patterns specifically for each vehicle. This Land Cruiser is no different, so we’ll start off by printing PPF patterns for each panel we’ll be installing on. 

Once we get each of the patterns printed, we can shift our focus to the vehicle we’re installing on by deep cleaning every edge and ensuring that we have a smooth surface for the film to bond to. 

Our installers will start by spraying a slip solution on the panel and then laying the film down. Because each body panel is different, they will set anchor points to make sure that the film doesn’t move out of place while they are installing. Because we pre-printed our PPF, it’s easy to conform to any features such as parking sensors, tow hooks or cameras. 

Using a squeegee, the installers will push the slip solution out from underneath the film, allowing the clear bra to adhere to the paint, leaving behind an invisible layer of protection. 

Once we have PPF applied to high impact areas, we’ll let the car sit overnight, allowing any moisture to dry and revealing any touch ups we need to do for a perfect installation. Once the paint protection film installers are 100% happy with the vehicle, it will move under our light booth for its ceramic coating. 

step 3: ceramic coating

Since this client spends a lot of time outdoors, a ceramic coating was highly recommended for protecting their paint from harmful UV rays, bird droppings, or chemical stains. Our Level 2 Ceramic Coating System was perfect for their needs since it includes a multi-layer Gyeon Ceramic Coating on paint and PPF as well as dedicated coatings for both the windshield and wheel faces. 

Here at Denver Auto Shield, we believe that that prep work is just as important as the coating itself. With that in mind, before we install the ceramic coating, it's crucial that we do a full paint correction on any panels not covered by clear bra. The paint correction process, commonly known as polishing, is extremely effective at removing up to 75% of surface imperfections. 

Once the paint correction is done, we’ll move onto preparing the polished paint for a coating. For this, we’ll use Gyeon Q2M Prep and Q2M WaterSpot. In combination these two high quality products remove any remaining water spots, oil, polish dust, or lubricants that were lingering on the paint, creating the perfect surface for the ceramic coating to bond to. 

Our Level 2 Ceramic Coating System is our top-level coating system, providing extreme hydrophobicity, superior protection from UV rays and chemical stains and easy cleaning. 

To begin the installation, we’ll pour our first layer of coating onto the applicator before using a cross-hatch pattern to spread the coating onto the panel. Once the coating flashes and bonds to the paint, we’ll use both a short-fiber and long-fiber microfiber towel to carefully wipe away any excess coating. 

We’ll repeat this process for every panel to finish the first layer. Using the same method, we’ll work our way around the car with the second layer of ceramic coating. Once we finish, our detailers will install a dedicated coating on the wheel faces and windshield to round out the ceramic coating process. 

With Full-Front PPF and our Level 2 Ceramic Coating package installed and the interior wiped down, this Toyota Land Cruiser is ready for the client to pick it up and hit the trails.