Paint protection film is a clear urethane layer, a little over a tenth of a millimetre thick, that bonds to your paint and absorbs damage instead of it. A stone that would have chipped your bonnet hits the film instead.

The top coat is ceramic infused and self-healing. Light swirls and wash marks re-flow and disappear with heat from the sun or warm water, so the surface stays clean rather than slowly hazing over.

It's not a polish and it's not a coating. It's a physical barrier you can see straight through. Done well you won't know it's there until the day a stone hits and you realise your paint is untouched.