PPF?

[Frupal]

I’m about to get damage from freeway debris on the nose of my car repaired. It will require replacing the bumper cover and repainting the hood. I am of the opinion that a clear ppf might have prevented all or most of the damage. Does anyone have it in their car? Do y’all recommend it?
Thanks in advance!
Robin

[murph914]

Originally Posted by Frupal

I’m about to get damage from freeway debris on the nose of my car repaired. It will require replacing the bumper cover and repainting the hood. I am of the opinion that a clear ppf might have prevented all or most of the damage. Does anyone have it in their car? Do y’all recommend it?
Thanks in advance!
Robin

I have a clear bra on mine. I had a lot done. Front bumper, hood, mirrors, front fenders, rocker panels, and the trunk threshold.
My car is silver which helps quite a bit. I would think other colors would be harder to hide.

The quality of the install does matter. A good job is about invisible. A poor one will show wrinkles, creases, and cut lines. I forgot which brands are good, but the early ones were not UV stable and turned yellow and shrunk over time. If I wear polarized glasses I can see where the plastic bends the light around the bottom of the M sport bumper.

I hit a chunk of tire once. I grimaced and swallowed. I assumed I was going to need a new bumper. Got to work, laid down and looked. There was a big black smudge which I rubbed off with a shop rag. Done.

A good shop should warranty it. If anything happens they'll apply the bra, like if you hit something bigger.

I have heard it's a bad idea to put on over very fresh paint. You may need to wait a month or so for the paint to fully cure. (A shop may bend the truth about this to sell the bra, so watch out for that).

[ezmaass]

I have a full car PPF on my R8 but not on my 650.

If you intend to keep the car long-term, PPF is a good investment. But it's expensive to do it right - which in my book means a high quality material, experienced installer, and full car coverage.

I did the R8 when I bought it new - almost 5 years ago now. To this day, it's perfect. But doing it right consisted of:

- Full professional paint correction. If you're putting on PPF, the state of the paint below is going to be "locked-in" for the life of the PPF. So, you ideally want the paint to be perfect. If the car isn't new, you'll need to first fill any chips. Even if the car is new, as mine was, you still ideally want paint correction done to remove any factory-installed swirl marks, or those that occurred from washing. Get a good detailer.

- Choose the right material. I selected XPEL Ultimate. It's generally accepted as one of the best - if not "the" best in the opinion of many. It's expensive, but it's thicker, high quality, self-healing, and won't discolor. It has a 10 year warranty. There's the typical gloss finish or a version called "stealth" that will give you a matte look for matte painted cars.

- I used Larry from AmmoNYC for those that may know his detailing products and/or YouTube channel. He's extremely meticulous, has an awesome reputation, and routinely handles cars far more expensive, so I knew I was in good hands. The job was very well done.

Now, as I said, nearly 5 years later, it's still perfect. Aside from protecting the car, it also makes washing it a breeze. I'm not nearly concerned about wash water contamination - small particles that can cause scratches, etc. Even quick washes make the car look great. The PPF "heals" with sun exposure, so even minor scratches to it come right out on their own. Likewise, having corrected paint below means that it just always looks like it was freshly corrected.

But it's not ALL perfect, of course. Some downsides:

- It's expensive. Paint correction, the right materials, full car coverage, and the right installer ran me about $9k on the R8. If you're going to keep the car long term, it's a great investment. If you'll be in and out of the car in a few years, I wouldn't bother - financially it'll be cheaper to respray or just deals with some chips.

- Edges. A good installer will look to roll edges around panels wherever possible, but it's not always possible - at least not without starting to take the car apart. As such, you need to make sure you have an installer who will place edges in only the right locations (generally only where panels naturally come to an edge), and then be careful about dirt collection in those areas. You'll need to keep them clean, especially on light colored paints.

- Removal / replacement. Only an issue, again, if you'll be keeping the car long-term, but PPF is not forever. The XPEL Ultimate I've used has a life expectancy of around 10 years (its warranty length). At that point, you need to have it removed - the right way by someone who knows what they're doing. I've heard of folks damaging their paint removing older PPF incorrectly. And then the question is whether to do it all again - probably yes if you're keeping it. So, more expense.

Lastly, I'll just comment on covering the full car. Many guys choose to cover just the nose (this can leave edges in strange places), mirrors, rocker panels, etc. Truth be told, rocks or debris can hit anywhere on the car. Yes, they may be more likely to get those areas, but an 18-wheeler rolling alongside you on the highway can easily throw a rock up at your door, for example... or that guy/girl who decides to lean against the car with studded jeans, etc. Likewise, if the PPF is going to be on the car for the long haul, only covering a portion of the paint runs the risk that you'll get a mismatched condition of paint - swirls on some, clean on the PPF areas... or UV damage on some, protected on the PPF areas. Again, that's probably a long term concern, but then again, as I've said about PPF in general, I wouldn't be doing it unless you're going to keep the car long-term.

I hope some of this has helped. I highly recommend PPF if you're going to be keeping the car long-term... but making sure you have the right materials, installer, and preparation are all equally important considerations.

[murph914]

I paid $1,700 which was really cheap. Not the whole car, but most of it (including headlights). This including cleaning the car in prep. At the time the car was a year old and in really good shape. Still looks perfect.

The color correction is a much, much more detailed operation. Like buff and wax on steroids.

For my silver it hides everything and would have been excessive. For colors that show easily like black or exmaaas's deep red it is much more necessary.

You get what you pay for, but I'm happy with mine. At the time the going quote for my car was $3,000 and up w/o the correction.

I also went with Xpel - supposed to be the best.

You get what you pay for.

Here are some links to read.

You REALLY don't want to do half panels. When this stuff first came out they only did half the hood. It'll look like ass don't do it.

I wound up using a friend of a friend kinda thing for the install. See numbers from Auto - nuvo a respected outfit here.

https://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-...r/james-melfi/

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by murph914

I have a clear bra on mine. I had a lot done. Front bumper, hood, mirrors, front fenders, rocker panels, and the trunk threshold.
My car is silver which helps quite a bit. I would think other colors would be harder to hide.

The quality of the install does matter. A good job is about invisible. A poor one will show wrinkles, creases, and cut lines. I forgot which brands are good, but the early ones were not UV stable and turned yellow and shrunk over time. If I wear polarized glasses I can see where the plastic bends the light around the bottom of the M sport bumper.

I hit a chunk of tire once. I grimaced and swallowed. I assumed I was going to need a new bumper. Got to work, laid down and looked. There was a big black smudge which I rubbed off with a shop rag. Done.

A good shop should warranty it. If anything happens they'll apply the bra, like if you hit something bigger.

I have heard it's a bad idea to put on over very fresh paint. You may need to wait a month or so for the paint to fully cure. (A shop may bend the truth about this to sell the bra, so watch out for that).

Thanks for the thoughtful response!

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by ezmaass

I have a full car PPF on my R8 but not on my 650.

If you intend to keep the car long-term, PPF is a good investment. But it's expensive to do it right - which in my book means a high quality material, experienced installer, and full car coverage.

I did the R8 when I bought it new - almost 5 years ago now. To this day, it's perfect. But doing it right consisted of:

- Full professional paint correction. If you're putting on PPF, the state of the paint below is going to be "locked-in" for the life of the PPF. So, you ideally want the paint to be perfect. If the car isn't new, you'll need to first fill any chips. Even if the car is new, as mine was, you still ideally want paint correction done to remove any factory-installed swirl marks, or those that occurred from washing. Get a good detailer.

- Choose the right material. I selected XPEL Ultimate. It's generally accepted as one of the best - if not "the" best in the opinion of many. It's expensive, but it's thicker, high quality, self-healing, and won't discolor. It has a 10 year warranty. There's the typical gloss finish or a version called "stealth" that will give you a matte look for matte painted cars.

- I used Larry from AmmoNYC for those that may know his detailing products and/or YouTube channel. He's extremely meticulous, has an awesome reputation, and routinely handles cars far more expensive, so I knew I was in good hands. The job was very well done.

Now, as I said, nearly 5 years later, it's still perfect. Aside from protecting the car, it also makes washing it a breeze. I'm not nearly concerned about wash water contamination - small particles that can cause scratches, etc. Even quick washes make the car look great. The PPF "heals" with sun exposure, so even minor scratches to it come right out on their own. Likewise, having corrected paint below means that it just always looks like it was freshly corrected.

But it's not ALL perfect, of course. Some downsides:

- It's expensive. Paint correction, the right materials, full car coverage, and the right installer ran me about $9k on the R8. If you're going to keep the car long term, it's a great investment. If you'll be in and out of the car in a few years, I wouldn't bother - financially it'll be cheaper to respray or just deals with some chips.

- Edges. A good installer will look to roll edges around panels wherever possible, but it's not always possible - at least not without starting to take the car apart. As such, you need to make sure you have an installer who will place edges in only the right locations (generally only where panels naturally come to an edge), and then be careful about dirt collection in those areas. You'll need to keep them clean, especially on light colored paints.

- Removal / replacement. Only an issue, again, if you'll be keeping the car long-term, but PPF is not forever. The XPEL Ultimate I've used has a life expectancy of around 10 years (its warranty length). At that point, you need to have it removed - the right way by someone who knows what they're doing. I've heard of folks damaging their paint removing older PPF incorrectly. And then the question is whether to do it all again - probably yes if you're keeping it. So, more expense.

Lastly, I'll just comment on covering the full car. Many guys choose to cover just the nose (this can leave edges in strange places), mirrors, rocker panels, etc. Truth be told, rocks or debris can hit anywhere on the car. Yes, they may be more likely to get those areas, but an 18-wheeler rolling alongside you on the highway can easily throw a rock up at your door, for example... or that guy/girl who decides to lean against the car with studded jeans, etc. Likewise, if the PPF is going to be on the car for the long haul, only covering a portion of the paint runs the risk that you'll get a mismatched condition of paint - swirls on some, clean on the PPF areas... or UV damage on some, protected on the PPF areas. Again, that's probably a long term concern, but then again, as I've said about PPF in general, I wouldn't be doing it unless you're going to keep the car long-term.

I hope some of this has helped. I highly recommend PPF if you're going to be keeping the car long-term... but making sure you have the right materials, installer, and preparation are all equally important considerations.

Thanks so much for this thorough and well-crafted response. I’ll have a talk with the high end body shop rep before I move forward with any ppf. Thanks to your response, I’ll have a good idea what I am talking about. Happy motoring!
Robin

[Opie55]

Mine came with the front covered - bumper, 1/3 of the hood, nose of front fenders, etc. I would not have had it installed myself because I would have told myself that I didn't like the lines. But as long as you don't get wax there I don't really notice the lines. So now I like it.

Curious why that small abrasion you got from the road debris requires a new bumper cover.

[Frupal]

Originally Posted by Opie55

Mine came with the front covered - bumper, 1/3 of the hood, nose of front fenders, etc. I would not have had it installed myself because I would have told myself that I didn't like the lines. But as long as you don't get wax there I don't really notice the lines. So now I like it.

Curious why that small abrasion you got from the road debris requires a new bumper cover.

Actually, Opie55, I visited the body shop yesterday and though they have to repaint the entire hood, they don’t have to replace the bumper cover. It will be repaired.

[Heber the Kenite]

I once owned a 2002 525i that had a PPF bra on it when I bought it used. Over time, it took some abuse and I actually (painstakingly) removed it before I sold it because it was a little unsightly. Having said that, I suppose it was unsightly because it had done its job. So maybe it's worth installing, and replacing sections as needed. Best of luck.

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Heber the Kenite

I once owned a 2002 525i that had a PPF bra on it when I bought it used. Over time, it took some abuse and I actually (painstakingly) removed it before I sold it because it was a little unsightly. Having said that, I suppose it was unsightly because it had done its job. So maybe it's worth installing, and replacing sections as needed. Best of luck.

Thankfully, the technology is now way better. They're truly invisible if done right, and because the material doesn't yellow like the old ones (or at least not for a much, much longer period), they stay looking great over many years. The "self healing" nature of the modern material also now keeps them from showing all sorts of nicks and scratches. With a little sunlight to warm them up, they just go back to normal if a scratch or nick is put in it.