Autosthetics

We protected a v12 Ferrari!!!

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 16:37:49 GMT

your ears arent ready!

We just took in a 2019 Ferrari 812 Superfast!!!! Did we mention it is straight piped . Click the link below and see the crew receive this special car and what is to come on this project. Check back around to our social media pages on facebook and instagram to get project updates.

PPF vs Ceramic Coating

Sat, 24 May 2025 18:11:18 GMT

ppf vs ceramic coating

We always get the question . Should I PPF (paint protection film) or ceramic coat my vehicle ? Well lets break it down for you and explain the difference in both major services the industry offers.

Paint Protection Film

What is paint protection film ? Put it this way, ppf is a physical clear and durable film that is applied to your vehicle like putting a screen protector on your phone. This film will actually keep rock chips and road debris from damaging the paint underneath. Now like anything its not necessarily indestructible but will significantly protect your vehicle. It does have self healing technology to make light scratches disappear with heat ensuring your vehilce has a show room finish.

We have installed on numerous vehicles and there is nothing like it and have had instances clients praised their investment. We have seen vehicles get side swiped and the film takes the scuff damage. We pull off the damaged film and replace and looks like new saving the owner from numerous headaches of repainting and permanent vehicle damage history reporting. Recently there was a hellcat challenger with a widebody kit who came into our shop for a fender film replacement. When he said he drove on a gravel driveway and gravel kicked up all over his fender flare leaving heavy scuff damage we even questioned the integrity against such damage. When he came in and removed the film the panel was completely unscathed .

As shown here is the damage done over the paint protection film. That is heavy gravel that would have left heavy damage on the panel .

After removing the film back you can visually see there was no damage done what so ever to the panel. A few minutes later the film was replaced and it looked like nothing ever happened.

So when choosing PPF what coverage option should you go with? It's all preference and with the cost of the film you should consider the vehicles value. If it's a daily driver something like a full front-end coverage can be enough. If it's a high value vehicle full coverage is a possibility if your wallet allows you. Regardless there are many options to help keep your vehicles protected. Check out more information on paint protection film on our site.

CERAMIC COATING

Ceramic coating is another form of vehicle protection , but nothing like PPF. Have you ever applied a wax to your car enhancing your gloss and slickness for a short few days or weeks? Well its like that only coatings last you years. The added benefit of ceramic coatings make your vehicles less susceptible to Enviromental damage like water spots, bug etching, bird dropping etching, and light marring. It also makes your vehicles super easy to wash and maintain without excessive scrubbing and an added form of UV protection to keep your vehicle from fading overtime. Now although coatings bring satisfying aesthetic enhancements and protection it's nothing like ppf where it can protect against more physical damage like scratches and rock chip damage.

Prior to ceramic coating we go through a paint correction process to refine your paint may that be a used vehicle to bring back to show room quality or a brand new car. This ensures we have a clean and perfected surface before applying a coating. We wouldn't want to coat over swirls or scuffs . This pricing can vary on condition and vehicle so to browse procing on such services check out our ceramic coating and paint correction site .

So to answer that question PPF or Ceramic Coating? Personally we say both. PPF the surfaces you can and Ceramic coat over your ppf and surfaces that are still exposed. Generally speaking many opt in for full front end ppf coverage that protects the most damage prone surfaces facing forward and then ceramic coating the rest of the vehicle that you necessarily wouldn't see heavy scratches or rock chip damages to. But again a $60,000 car would be different then protecting something worth a few hundreds thousand. But that's why we always consult you personally and discover what best works for you and your vehicle.

Why Xpel?

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 18:06:25 GMT

was it worth it?

Like many going into a new industry you start from the bottom. At the beginning stages of this journey. Our brand was that of a simple and basic service. We started in the slums of our barn shed and driveway cleaning minivans and dirty cars no fancy services, just a good detailed cleaning . At the time i was making about $10 an hour on average per job. Today id say i was nuts but it was because of those hard working small paying jobs that we steadily evolved and grew . Now there were many challenges but the best one to majorly help level up and help our brand in the end was our move to become a fully Xpel certified shop.

Through out the journey I started to become obsessed. I didn't have hobbies. Cleaning cars was my hobby. About 6 years ago when this all started I was working full time in a Level 1 trauma ER during night shift. I didn't have a big family yet. No children no major responsibilities as I do now so on my time off I cleaned cars. But through out the years i started to look into other shops, big shops who worked on all the nice high end, luxurious, exotic cars. What did they do different to stand out like that? Xpel would be a big brand I came across . At the beginnings working out of my very cheap shop and detailing mobile unit It was just a unrealistic day dream of being like one of those shops. I wasn't at that level . I wasn't fancy. But I definitely was hard working and patient.

If we fast forward from the barn days to 4 1/2 years . Dont worry we have a very thorough timeline story of the evolution of our brand coming soon. But right about after we learned window tint we reached out to Xpel. Once i was introduced to window tint my fascination with film work started and Xpel ppf was one i wanted to be apart of. We were considered and a rep reached out. Did i think we a small , dingy looking shop could fit in? I didn't think so but it happened and they gave us a chance. Maybe if we joined we could see more progress and be like one of those cool fancy shops. Little did i know the requirements and costly start up fees that became a challenge but the best move for the future.

If you are in this industry or a client looking for something like paint protection film. Did you know the majority of brands can "certify" you by just paying their start up kit fees and a quick course that doesn't test you to truly prove you are proficient. Well Xpel does and thats where I almost gave up. To be a xpel paint protection film installer there are training courses you have to travel to required to complete before being allowed to purchase their films and certify you . The big requirement there though is they test you at the very end. If you pass congratulations you can purschase their film and start offering the service to clients. You fail , you just spent thousands of dollars, youre not allowed to purchase the film , youre not allowed to offer the service, and you are now upset becuase you failed. Well.....I FAILED! The drive home after that exhausting week of super long laser focused training, just to go home with nothing was infuriating. But i think its because of that failure that made me a proficient installer i am today. Instead of throwing my hat down and calling it quits, i took that in instead of a motivator. My biggest pet peeve is failing. I have to see it come through im not someone who leaves something incompleted.

But that is where Xpel as a brand and its installers far surpasses those that go into this industry. Because of this those who rep the Xpel brand fall in a category of installers that stand out and can guarantee top quality work. We knew xpel would be the best to bring to the Tri-cities for paint protection film and even window tint and ceramic coating. Being one of the Johnson Cities and Tricities first stop for auto protection we strive to uphold to xpels quality and our brand Autosthetics.

Porsche Macan protection

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 15:00:02 GMT

protecting a macan with xpel

The elegancy and simplicity of a Porsche Macan is one that stands out in its class. The pleasing deep tone exhaust notes are like no other. Sportiness but also a practical vehicle with comfort make this a perfect daily commuter. Being a daily vehicle did warrant some protection by us with our aesthetic touch. So lets go over what we did exactly

PREP STAGE

First off with any vehicle coming through our shop we do a full decontamination wash. This ensures proper cleanliness and a deep clean of all surfaces. We beign with a simple soap and wash , followed by a iron remover and clay bar treatment and in this stage is where the deep cleaning begins. The iron remover helps break down any deep iron and fallout particles in your paint . If you have a newer car you may have very small amount sitting on the paint, but if your vehicle has some life to it with no proper upkeep you would be able to feel all the contamination. if you rub your hand on the surface of your vehicle andit feels gritty then you know you need a proper decontamination. So pre spraying your vehicle down with iron remover helps soften those embedded contaminants and clay bar helps pull out all those contaminants and your final outcome should be a super clean and smooth surface. Doing so will give us a clean surface to continue with the paint correction or polishing stage.

Our paint correction or polishing stage is crucial when applying any sort of protection to the paint and the almost near final stage of prepping. While it removes surface defects like swirls , scratches, scuffs, and etching it also acts in a way like a primer if you were going to apply a ceramic coating, sealant, or even wax. Taking the time to go through this stage helps give you the ultimate bare surface so your protectant can cling on to your vehicles paint and give you the longest durability. The macan we worked on here went through all that . With 3 years on the road refinishing the paint to a near perfect finish gave us not only that superior glossy finish but a clean slate to apply our products. If youd like to learn about our paint corrections click the button below.

PPF INSTALLATION

The Porsche Macan did opt in for a couple different options of protection and the most important out of the two was our Xpel ultimate plus paint protection film or in short abbreviated term PPF. If you have never had a vehicle with ppf let me tell you its the best thing you can do for it and the ultimate option for any kind of vehicle protection this market offers. I wont go into to much as you can browse thorough information about it in our ppf page on our site (click below) .

But to put it in a simple short summary its practically like a screen protector for your phone only for your car. It has a self-healing technology that well, self-heals. If the film is to scratch it has the capability to heal back and make those imperfections disappear. Now it's not indestructible but it can help prevent major damage to your vehicle. We have had instances where people have been side swiped, hit something, and even gravel kick up and the film has completely taken all damage leaving the original finish unscathed. This all sounds amazing of course but it does come with a heavier monetary price for those seeking this service. For many though its the peace of mind of being able to enjoy their vehicle without any worry of rock chip damage to their exposed front surfaces or any small accidents.

Applying the film is not anything that of a simple task and really something that takes skill and many many hours of practice to achieve installations of this caliber. Macans are not a entry level project either. The most difficult part of this vehicle is its unique clam shell style hood . Where a normal vehicle would have a flat top and side fenders this is a style that is hood and fenders in one panel. Any mistakes in the hood installation itself is costly to the shop . The material alone for the style hood because it requires a specialty size film can cost us nearly $500 . Thats just the material enough to do that hood! SO THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR , and taking our time is necessary to execute a perfect outcome.

The most pleasing part of doing ppf is making it near invisible. Invisible enough that a normal untrained eye would have a hard time telling where its applied. The details and aesthetic touches matter and how do we achieve that goal? On any edges where we have room to fold our film pass the edge and tuck away we do, For example the hood once the film is installed we trim it down to about a third of an inch away from the edge. This allows us to fold it inwards so there is no exposed edges all around. Not only is this more pleasing for the aesthetic details, but also helps from leaving as little as an exposed edge possible to prevent something like a pressure washer to easily rip it off if catching an edge. Where we have no edges to tuck in or fold into, the goal is to reach the body line so close that its flush with the edges shadow which is approximately 1/8 of an inch away. The picture below shows our work. Can you see where our ppf is applied?

PPF is an art form of vehicle care at a high level. Taking a clean flat sheet of paper takes skill to comform to your vehicles body . Nothing we cant do though .

Ceramic Coating & Final Touches

The final touches include our ceramic coating on the entirety of the Porsche. That includes the entire freshly polished panels and PPF panels with wheels and glass included. Our ceramic coating leaves that final layer of Enviromental and UV protection but with a kick. The coating adds that final layer of a candy like gloss with a super mirror like glossy finish. The best part? It super smooth surface that will help with maintenance . Do you hate waxing? Having this applied will give you that fresh wax like gloss after a wash everytime without going through the headache of re applying a wax every month . Now some people combine this with their ppf service and many just opt in to do ceramic coating by itself which is totally fine. Ceramic coating wont give you the physical benefits of ppf but still can protect your vehicle envirmentally. To learn more about our ceramic coatings check out our coating page.

The finished product is a head turner for sure. Us guys especially love our vehicles and nothings as amazing as driving down the streets and moutains of the Tri-cities in a fresh clean ride with protection like no other. If we decide to rally , track, or daily our vehicle one things for sure. My car will not have any scratch or rock chip damage.

A NEW AND IMPROVED US!

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 02:18:17 GMT

AUTOSTHETICS IS BETTER THEN EVER

Hey guys ! Its Felix owner at Autosthetics and boy do I have so many updates for you all! This year has been nothing short from amazing with all the changes we have done for our new shop and brand here in the Tri-Cities Tn area. From a new shop to new website and everything in between. We have been extremely busy with the makeover and improvements to bring an exclusive and fine shop establishment for our friends and clients. So lets get into it .

Our New Shop

If you don't follow us on any of our social media platforms (If you scroll to our info section below this website our social media links are there ) and seen the updates, well we moved and expanded. We went from a practically 1 car shop approximately 700 sq ft with minimal parking, to a almost 7000 sq ft facility conveniently off the Bristol Hwy just minutes from The Bristol Motor Speedway . How cool is that!

We have many plans to bring on more services but for now at the beginning stages of our opening we will offer our main Servies which include Xpel paint protection film (ppf), window tint, ceramic coatings, and detailing. If you simply want to visit our new facility, tour, demo our products please visit us at 103 William J Private Dr. Bluff City, TN 37618. We are conveniently located at the center from all major cities including Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol just minutes away from all.

New Website

If you are here reading this well you are on our new redesigned website. This has been a process and our friends at Detailers Roadmap made it happen. The design and work speak for our shop and what we strive to be. We wanted something professional, easy to navigate, and a very well informative site highlighting us and our premium services. The time and resources going into this were alot but we know this is the best way to communicate especially in a day where everything revolves around the internet and social media.

If you havent been with us since the beginning of our journey . This is a huge acomplisment for us. We started this business from the back of a $2000 Chevy HHR car that barely made it to every destination 6 years ago only cleaning cars. Picture this, it was black, with a big barbwire scratch on the side when i slid into my neighbors farm fence with cheap decals all over it . Had a interior musky stench form the leaking water tank at times into the carpet. But we made it. Now we have a beautiful 7000 sq ft climate controled facility , with a pleasing waiting lobby wth free drinks and snacks for our clients coming through . We strive to be the best in every aspect from our services to customer service. So if youre new here . Welcome ! We are glad you are here with us .

What’s it like being a leading area shop

Tue, 24 Dec 2024 19:15:00 GMT

Wow. What a year 2024 has been! We have grown tremendously all because of our amazing clients and friends. What started as a small operation out of a $2000 Chevy hhr (we’ll make a seperate story on that) turning into a multi six figure small successful shop has been astounding.

If you follow us on social media by now you have seen how we have taken over the areas paint protection film industry. Mainly because it’s a small industry who many don’t pursue because 1 its either expensive to start up or 2 it’s a time consuming & difficult process to learn it and grow with it. But we’re here for the long run so bringing this service to the area has really been successful. I have to say paint protection film is my favorite service out of everything. If you didn’t know ppf is a self healing film we apply on cars to prevent rock chips and against scratches. It’s like a screen protector but for your phone. I love the challenge and ppf definitely is. Ppf opens up the doors as well to work on some amazing cars and we’ve had the opportunity to work on Ferraris , mclarens, many many Porsches that we love.

Another service that came with it was our windshield protection film. It’s like ppf but for glass. Mainly windshields. It’s clear and can prevent your windshield from getting rock chips or even cracking. This definitely is amazing for vehicles that see the track often or for high end cars that cost 3,4 or even 5 thousand to replace.

2025 is right around the corner. This year we are focusing to just better what we have learned so far and make it better with every car. I’ve yet to decide if we want to include any new services. Time will tell. Sometimes less is more but we want to make sure we offer our clients the very best. We expect 2025 to be even better. We have done a lot of remodeling this year and gave our shop a beautiful interior to work in and make our clients feel like their car is somewhere it deserves to be. Me being me idk it always hits me last minute and if I set my mind to it it’s gotta happen. So let’s see what spontaneous ideas I get.

We offer certified paint protection film!

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 05:21:00 GMT

Have we been busy! For some as of now may have noticed but we did alittle rebranding . Tn street auto detailing is now known as Autostheitcs. But why? Well after completing our ppf (paint protection film) training in San Antonio, TX at Xpel headquarters we wanted to focus our name to what we want to be known for. So Autosthetics came about.

I've always had the idea of wanting to be more of a brand then just a local named small business . I wanted my new name to be more abroad . My idea at first was Auto Aesthetics because we mainly do auto protection that improves your vehicle aesthetics appearance . I wanted to have a more original name so I combined both words and made one.

With the rebranding came service changes. We do not offer regular auto detailing services as we wanted to focus more on our main offerings . Paint protection film, ceramic coatings, and window tint . If you're asking yourself what is paint protection film we'll let us explain it.

Paint protection film is a thick clear invisible film we apply over vehicles. Think of it like a screen protector for your phone but for your car. Although it dramatically improves appearance it protects at its highest level. Our film protects against rock chips, scratches , and scuffing directly to the paint. It dramatically reduces the high impact damage to your vehicle and what's even cooler, it is self healing . With alittle heat on minor-moderate scratches watch as the film forms back into place making those defects dissapear . With high level of protection also comes a high level price . Majority of ppf clients do a front end package where majority of damage happens . You can expect most packages to start at $2000 but the peace of mind for huge vehicle investments is priceless.

Alot of training and practice makes a good installer . Ppf installations are not a walk in a park in any way. A lot of patience, trial and error, and headaches come with it . So for us it is important we take our time and known our boundaries. We have invested a lot in training camps and we still plan for more to come. Being able to learn anything we can to better our skills is important and bettering this craft . We love what we do , and we want to offer our clients nothing but the best !

We'd love nothing then to protect your vehicle at the highest quality . We're happy to customize your next auto protection package .

Is ceramic coating worth it?

Sun, 09 Apr 2023 03:52:00 GMT

Our shop offers a variety of services but one that stands out from the most is our ceramic coating services .

Now what is a ceramic coating ? In lames terms it's a liquid polymer applied to the the surfaces of your paint that leave a physical barrier of protection that is super slick on contact with years of durability . In a way it's like a wax but on steroids.

Many people with no knowledge in this industry have a misunderstanding on these products, especially when there are stores selling spray on protection at $10-$15 a bottle and calling it a "ceramic coating " . These products aren't truely comparable to a professional grade coating. True ceramic coating comes in small glass bottles that cost hundreds of dollars and require proper knowledge in decontamination, polishing, and application. So let's get into the process.

Many people who inquire and ask about pricing not knowing what truely goes into the service will give you a confused and surprise stare when they see pricing. Even a small sedan we can spend 10-20 hours preparing and coating such vehicle. So what do we do exactly? First comes a long extensive washing process to rid of all dirt , old wax and spray sealants, embedded contamination that we remove with a iron remover and clay barring . Followed up with a paint correction or paint polish to remove swirls scratches and any surface defects in the paint and restoring the gloss. The ceramic coating will protect and preserve the fresh paint correction to leave your car shiney and protected for years down the road .

Pricing though may seem alittle much at first will help preserve your vehicles condition and value years down the road . A vehicle today is a investment and with such investments we should seek the best protection we can for those high priced vehicles.

GET TO KNOW ME!

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 23:40:00 GMT

Guys if you're here first and for most thank you! Thank you for taking your time to explore my new page and my business . I intend to keep this blog updated a lot. May that be something special we have in the shop, products I want to talk about, or even just something fun to interact with you all. But first let me introduce myself and get to know each other.

My name is Felix and I am the owner and operator of this small shop in Elizabethton, TN. I have a beautiful wife and daughter who are my motivators in all of this and push me to make this business one of the best in the are. We offer multiple services primarily ceramic coatings and window tint, but also in shop detailing and mobile services .

My journey started summer of 2019 while I lived in Kingsport, TN. I drove a 2015 mustang in a beautiful Kona blue color. My passion slowly came while I started to wash and take care of my car. It was my first newish and decent looking vehicle and I wanted to learn to take care of it. Now I lived in a duplex so I had a shared driveway so washing vehicles in my drive way was a challenge. As time went by and I was getting more obsessed with detailing my car, I wanted to maybe do it as a side job to feed my new profound hobby. So I started my new side business .

Now before I get into the details of how the business journey begun my current job at the time was working in the Emergency department . I wasn't in love with my current career in the medical field and maybe that's what pushed me and really motivated me to really focus on this new detail journey. So here comes summer 2019.

Although now you see a more prosperous and successful business, it took a lot of work and struggles to get to this point. While still living in my small duplex I said why not let's get some friends to drop off their vehicles and detail for them. At the time it wasn't much but it was a start. My first vehicle came around and it was a Kia minivan. Completely trashed and as you would expect any minivan to be when you have multiple kids and a busy life. I remember spending 10 hours in the hot summer sun transforming the van . Sweat pouring down my back , drenched shirt but I was motivated. I charged $60 at the end of the day. Now some may say 10 hours and $60 that's nothing. Well to me it was about getting my name out and a $60-10 hour then job has now turned into a service people are happy to pay $1000 for a 10 hour job.

Days go by and my phone is now ringing and multiple inquiries . Turns out the owner of this minivan was so impressed she told all her church friends who then in return after getting their vehicles detailed, told all their friends. That cycle 4 years later almost is still running and because of those humbling beginnings we are here now .

I love to keep my shop small. I always say quality over quantity. I love to have a hands on with every car that comes by so I know their car was taken care of by me and I can guarantee 100% satisfaction. It's important for me to interact with every client that comes by so I can talk to them and at the end of their service theyre not just leaving a client but a friend.

I'll save some more juice for future blogs and our journey but I wanted to talk alittle about my self and my beginnings . I have many awesome stories to share ofmy detail journey to and I can't wait to share those soon!