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Hero footage: Pavel Danilyuk via Pexels (Pexels License).

For people who actually like their cars

Make it shine, without the guesswork.

Ceramic, PPF, tint, a proper paint correction. The work that makes a car look loved comes with quotes all over the map. Tell us what you drive, get an honest number in about ten seconds, then walk into the shop knowing what fair looks like.

  • No quote form, no email
  • Real 2026 prices, dated and sourced
  • DIY or pro, compared honestly

Instant estimate

Vehicle size

Ballpark –– Most pay around –
Price it exactly

A rough scale of the typical range. The full calculator adds tier, area, and add-ons.

Pick a service, get the real number

Six protection services. Every one has a transparent calculator, an honest DIY-or-pro call, and primary sources for the price.

Price it Window Tint $150–$900 by film Dyed, carbon, or ceramic film for heat and UV control at any budget. Price it Ceramic Coating $1,200–$2,800 A slick, years-long gloss layer that makes washing easy. Price it PPF $1,500–$3,500 full front Self-healing film that actually stops rock chips up front. Price it Paint Correction $300–$1,500 by stages Machine polishing that erases swirls and resets the gloss. Price it Headlight Restoration $75–$250 per pair Clear up foggy lenses. The cheapest win in car care. Price it Vinyl Wrap $2,000–$6,000 full wrap A reversible color change that protects the paint underneath.

Every protection cost at a glance

Pro install, 2026 prices. Tap any service to price it for your vehicle.

Typical 2026 cost ranges by protection service
ServiceTypical costWhat it does
Window Tint$150–$900Dyed, carbon, or ceramic film for heat and UV control at any budget.
Ceramic Coating$1,200–$2,800A slick, years-long gloss layer that makes washing easy.
PPF$1,500–$3,500Self-healing film that actually stops rock chips up front.
Paint Correction$300–$1,500Machine polishing that erases swirls and resets the gloss.
Headlight Restoration$75–$250Clear up foggy lenses. The cheapest win in car care.
Vinyl Wrap$2,000–$6,000A reversible color change that protects the paint underneath.

The look you're paying for

This is what a real job leaves behind

Not a showroom render. Rain that beads and sheets instead of sitting, glass that goes properly dark, a finish that still looks wet a year later. Every number on this site is aimed at results like these.

Rain beading and sheeting off the dark tinted side glass of a car.
The side mirror and darkly tinted window of a clean, glossy car.

Photos: Pexels.

Why trust this number

We show our work.

Anyone can publish a price range. The question is where it came from. Every price here traces back to a source you can open and read yourself, and each hub lists them at the bottom of the page. When a number changes, the date changes with it.

  • We don't install anything. No shop pays us, no shop is listed, and there's no quote to win.
  • The math is on the page. Every calculator shows the tier and vehicle multipliers it used to reach your number.
  • No email, ever. Nothing here asks for your address to show you a price.

Sources behind the numbers

40

  • 4 State statutes and DMV standards Florida Statute 316.2953, California Vehicle Code 26708, the Texas DPS tint standard, the New York DMV inspection limits.
  • 3 Manufacturer spec sheets 3M's 2080-series product bulletin, XPEL's warranty program terms, LLumar's published IR-rejection figures.
  • 33 Installer pricing and trade references Shop-published price lists from multiple regions, cross-checked against each other rather than taken from one market, plus the technical references behind the how-and-why.

All 6 services reviewed July 2026, drawn from 38 distinct publishers.

What the price actually buys

Most of a detailing bill is time you never see

The bottle of coating costs a shop maybe eighty dollars. What you pay for is the day of work before it goes on, and the skill to not wreck your paint doing it. Here is where a real job spends its hours.

  • A hand wiping down a dark car panel with a red microfiber cloth during prep.

    01

    Decontamination

    Clay, an iron remover, a proper wash. Embedded grime has to come out of the clear coat before anything goes on top, or you seal the grit in.

  • Gloved hands running a dual-action polisher with a red pad across a car's front.

    02

    Correction

    Machine polishing in stages pulls out swirls and haze. This is the step that makes paint look wet, and the one that eats the most labor.

  • A technician laying protective film onto a blue-panelled car body.

    03

    Protection

    Film or coating goes on last. Cutting film to a panel and laying it without a single bubble is slow, skilled hand work.

  • Water beading tightly on a freshly coated dark car panel.

    04

    The payoff

    Done right, water sheets off instead of sitting and streaking. That bead is why washing stays easy for years, not weeks.

  • A detailer working the front fender and wheel of an orange car in a workshop.

    05

    The details

    Headlights, trim, wheels. Each small job is cheap on its own and adds up fast the moment a shop bundles them.

Photos: Pexels, Unsplash and Pixabay.

DIY or hire a pro?

Some of these you can do in your driveway.

Headlights and basic tint are a weekend and a kit. A real correction or full PPF is worth paying for. Every page lays out the honest DIY cost, the time and skill it takes, and exactly what to buy if you go that route.

Start with the easy one: headlights
  • Real DIY cost vs pro, side by side
  • Time, skill, and what can go wrong
  • The exact gear, if you're doing it yourself