[Spartancarver]

I paid to have my frozen bluestone M8c PPF’d with stealth wrap. Full coverage. 0 regrets. I know how delicate that paint is and now I have so much more peace of mind with it as it’s my daily driver.

[aa2033]

Originally Posted by Spartancarver

I paid to have my frozen bluestone M8c PPF’d with stealth wrap. Full coverage. 0 regrets. I know how delicate that paint is and now I have so much more peace of mind with it as it’s my daily driver.

I would 100% of the time always PPF a frozen/matte/satin factory color. Touch up paint doesn't exist for it, and I've never seen one that has been repainted, done properly. There's always too much gloss and it looks very off compared to the rest of the car.

Good choice getting it PPF'd.

[AM340iMiami]

Originally Posted by P1

This one leaves me confused. You didn't do PPF but did paint correction and ceramic coating instead? Those two things have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Yes sir. Not sure how you’re confused. Car was fresh of the lot. Getting the paint correction and ceramic coating was significantly cheaper than PPF on the whole car.

[ksa]

Originally Posted by AM340iMiami

Yes sir. Not sure how you’re confused. Car was fresh of the lot. Getting the paint correction and ceramic coating was significantly cheaper than PPF on the whole car.

I think he means ceramic coating isn't designed to protect from rock chips. It just makes it easier to keep the car clean and wash for the most part. Also 'paint correction' is just part of the process prior to getting ceramic coating as it's basically same thing as 'detailing' with power polish.

But yea in the ideal world, you get detailing (paint correction) then wrap the darn thing in PPF and if you want to overkill, then ceramic coat the the PPF (though a bit redundant at that point as PPF is also relatively easy to wash).

Two reasons I PPF'd my whole M850 - one to make it easy to wash on the regular and other I went with Stealth PPF and made the car satin.

[jiggyboiswagg]

After watching a bunch of videos and practicing a bit I DIY'd the PPF, I like working on my car and learning new things so I gave it a shot.

Ordered a precut film from 3M and installed it on part of the hood, fenders, grill, rocker panels and half of the headlights lmao. It is by no means perfect but I am happy with how it turned out. Can't really see the imperfections unless you really look for them.

[Anderson11]

That looks great. How did you practice?

[jiggyboiswagg]

Anderson11 I bought small roll of XPEL film and tried to do my headlights and made a cutout of the back luggage ledge. I practiced cutting by placing the film on cardboard. You're only supposed to cut 3/4th of the film so you don't hit paint during the real application.

In my honest opinion, PPF is not worth thousands of dollars unless you go for a Stealth/Satin finish, the film itself is a few hundred dollars which I still think is BS because it is literally a form of plastic LOL. Then shops proceed to charge you a few thousand for labor??? The front of the car takes the most cosmetic wear and tear, if I can do it then anyone can, take a leap outside the comfort zone. Patience is key, you will mess up, it won't be perfect so what try again haha

[AM340iMiami]

Originally Posted by ksa

I think he means ceramic coating isn't designed to protect from rock chips. It just makes it easier to keep the car clean and wash for the most part. Also 'paint correction' is just part of the process prior to getting ceramic coating as it's basically same thing as 'detailing' with power polish.

But yea in the ideal world, you get detailing (paint correction) then wrap the darn thing in PPF and if you want to overkill, then ceramic coat the the PPF (though a bit redundant at that point as PPF is also relatively easy to wash).

Two reasons I PPF'd my whole M850 - one to make it easy to wash on the regular and other I went with Stealth PPF and made the car satin.

I’m aware ceramic doesn’t doesn’t protect against chips. Roads are pretty good down here in Miami and never had a huge issue with it. That’s why I usually just do a ceramic. Dont feel like spending 10% of my cars value on PPF.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by AM340iMiami

I’m aware ceramic doesn’t doesn’t protect against chips. Roads are pretty good down here in Miami and never had a huge issue with it. That’s why I usually just do a ceramic. Dont feel like spending 10% of my cars value on PPF.

We will have to agree to disagree about the roads down here. New buildings are constantly going up and the streets along these job sites are a real mess. Whenever you see any construction which is quite often here in our area you could be the victim of a rock chip.

In addition, once you go north of Sterling Road on I-95 you will encounter a great deal of construction on the highway as they are adding express lanes and making changes to exits which is how I picked up a chip on my front bumper.

At the very least I would recommend front PPF and possibly allover ceramic for cars down here.

[Pentland]

It’s interesting that throughout this thread, many reference stone chip protection as a reason for PPF. I’d suggest that a stone chip would damage the PPF and you d have to get it redone anyway. That said, I’ve not had that experience.

I’m about to get my door handle cups, rocker panels and top of the rear bumper PPFd as those areas are vulnerable to light scratching.
Self healing PPF should keep those areas looking good for longer.

[aa2033]

Originally Posted by Pentland

It’s interesting that throughout this thread, many reference stone chip protection as a reason for PPF. I’d suggest that a stone chip would damage the PPF and you d have to get it redone anyway. That said, I’ve not had that experience.

I’m about to get my door handle cups, rocker panels and top of the rear bumper PPFd as those areas are vulnerable to light scratching.
Self healing PPF should keep those areas looking good for longer.

Well that's kind of the point of ppf, right? It isn't meant or implied that it's permanent or impenetrable. It's a sacrificial layer of protection. So the ppf gets chipped and damaged and your paint doesn't. Then when the ppf is in rough enough shape that you want to replace it, you remove the old ppf and replace it with a fresh piece. Again, sacrificial layer.

I would rather replace the ppf on my bumper and hood every few years than have to repaint panels. Being able to keep as much factory finish is my objective, and really the point of ppf in general. Ppf can still get damaged and not protect your paint from complete damage too, but it can lessen it.

[Redd]

The irony is that while ppf is a sacrificial layer, it may not be easily replaced without damaging the paint underneath. There's a high chance paint will pull off while removing the ppf.

Look at ppf the same reason you use a phone case. Silicone ppf is much more resistant to stone chips and scratches than paint clearcoat, and in some cases can self heal where paint cannot.

[jiggyboiswagg]

Here is a quick vid I made on headlight PPF install, realized it might be bit hard to see bc I am left handed.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ezb0Cstr2DQ?feature=share

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Redd

The irony is that while ppf is a sacrificial layer, it may not be easily replaced without damaging the paint underneath. There's a high chance paint will pull off while removing the ppf.

Look at ppf the same reason you use a phone case. Silicone ppf is much more resistant to stone chips and scratches than paint clearcoat, and in some cases can self heal where paint cannot.

There's not a "high chance" the paint will come off if the ppf is removed. There are several super safe ways to remove it, especially if you bring it to a good shop. Heck I've ripped off old ppf from hoods and bumpers without any heat at all (not recommended) and the paint was perfect underneath.

[Clark_Kent]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

There's not a "high chance" the paint will come off if the ppf is removed. There are several super safe ways to remove it, especially if you bring it to a good shop. Heck I've ripped off old ppf from hoods and bumpers without any heat at all (not recommended) and the paint was perfect underneath.

This falsehood is starting to gain traction amongst people who oppose ppf and it sounds absolutely ridiculous. Paint coming off when removing old ppf is not common. It just doesn't happen that way. XPEL is a publically traded company with a market cap of nearly $2B. If their primary product, ppf, had a "high chance" of pulling off paint upon removal they would have a crisis on their hands.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

This falsehood is starting to gain traction amongst people who oppose ppf and it sounds absolutely ridiculous. Paint coming off when removing old ppf is not common. It just doesn't happen that way. XPEL is a publically traded company with a market cap of nearly $2B. If their primary product, ppf, had a "high chance" of pulling off paint upon removal they would have a crisis on their hands.

Exactly. It's the whole "I know a guy who knows a guy that it happened to" syndrome.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Clark_Kent

This falsehood is starting to gain traction amongst people who oppose ppf and it sounds absolutely ridiculous. Paint coming off when removing old ppf is not common. It just doesn't happen that way. XPEL is a publically traded company with a market cap of nearly $2B. If their primary product, ppf, had a "high chance" of pulling off paint upon removal they would have a crisis on their hands.

Exactly. A pressure washer also might take off some paint (or PPF! ) but yet you still get people asking if they should get a 1 billion PSI pressure washer.

(for car washing it's GPM not PSI! )

[Redd]

Brand new car, factory paint, factory ppf, removed by a professional.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1990426

Does XPEL offer a guarantee that their PPF won't pull paint off when removed? No need for disclaimers, etc. If they're so confident, they should provide a warranty. I've had high quality PPF (Clearguard Nano, look it up) on my car for years, installed by one of the best installers in the business, and even he has had incidents where the paint pulled off (mainly on cars that were PPF-ed elsewhere and gone to him to replace the PPF.

Now I'm not saying that 100% PPF removal will pull paint off, but it's naive to believe that it won't. And it happens often enough that I don't think frequent PPF replacement is feasible, unlike frequent resprays which are easier to do (color matching is a separate discussion).

[RichF90M5C]

Originally Posted by Redd

Brand new car, factory paint, factory ppf, removed by a professional.

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1990426

Does XPEL offer a guarantee that their PPF won't pull paint off when removed? No need for disclaimers, etc. If they're so confident, they should provide a warranty. I've had high quality PPF (Clearguard Nano, look it up) on my car for years, installed by one of the best installers in the business, and even he has had incidents where the paint pulled off (mainly on cars that were PPF-ed elsewhere and gone to him to replace the PPF.

Now I'm not saying that 100% PPF removal will pull paint off, but it's naive to believe that it won't. And it happens often enough that I don't think frequent PPF replacement is feasible, unlike frequent resprays which are easier to do (color matching is a separate discussion).

We’ve already established that case was a one off. If paint has been repaired before applying PPF, it may come off when removing the PPF, but factory fresh paint won’t.

[Redd]

So PPF only if your car has perfect paint from factory and has not been repainted in any way shape or form. Gotcha.

[ksa]

Originally Posted by Redd

So PPF only if your car has perfect paint from factory and has not been repainted in any way shape or form. Gotcha.

I mean, no. Paint is rarely ever perfect from the factory (ask any professional PPF installer). So get a brand new car, get it detailed (wash, clay bar, polish for paint correction) and then full PPF it. And if you got even deeper pockets, go another step ahead and ceramic coat - though it's a bit redundant I feel on PPF as PPF itself makes washing a lot easier.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by ksa

I mean, no. Paint is rarely ever perfect from the factory (ask any professional PPF installer). So get a brand new car, get it detailed (wash, clay bar, polish for paint correction) and then full PPF it. And if you got even deeper pockets, go another step ahead and ceramic coat - though it's a bit redundant I feel on PPF as PPF itself makes washing a lot easier.

The cost for ceramic coating after you do PPF is really only a few hundred dollars unless you go to a shop that is overcharging you for this addition.

The bottom line is that an educated customer is your best consumer and you need to let the shop know you are savvy, that you know it shouldn't be too expensive and negotiate!