Paint Protection Recommendations

[Jago768]

Merry Christmas!

I've only driven my HEP Shelby 350 twice since taking possession(5 miles) and she still sits mostly wrapped in factory plastic lol. This is a fourth car and will mostly sit, but we do plan to keep long term. That being said, she sits in covered, but exposed parking (for next six months) and all future washings would be mobile detail etc (we live in a condo community temporarily) and our permanent residence in Las Vegas will be a high rise with underground parking.

I am not a paint guy, and know nothing about paint preservation or upkeep. Most of our high end cars are/were leases, and went through touchless car washes ...sorry.... I notice many members getting paint correction, ppf, and ceramic coatings done. I would like to go down this road, but dont want to throw money away. I Would love to hear what other members recommend and what you feel is a waste of money. I dont have an R, so there are no carbon bits, but are there any areas that need extra protection? I worry the most about the vinyl stripes (going to have painted in Vegas) and reducing brake dust. I am super OCD about glass, and HATE haze/glare little specks etc.! Is there any product that could be applied to keep the glass spotless inside and out? I know the back window in the Shelby is almost impossible to get to lol. I appreciate any advice or pics of work that has been done. I am in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, if anyone has a preferred shop? I will post a link of the shop I am considering. I plan to stop by and get a paint education and of course a quote. I am sure they will say the paint needs correction, full PPF and nine coats of ceramic.

Thank You!

https://simpledetailsva.com/

Sponsored

 

[mroad]

Here's from my experience doing PPF, ceramic coating, and paint correction to my HEP. Do not wrap the stripes or side stickers in PPF. When the time comes to remove the PPF (due to chip damage or age), they will also remove the stripes and stickers. There's no way to remove the PPF without also peeling the stripes and stickers. They remove the PPF with a steamer, and the heat will also peel off your stripes. The stripes on the HEP are very expensive. Just those on the trunk and bumper plus the side stickers (if you choose to also protect the rocker panel with PPF) are about $1500 dollars.

See if you can work with an installer that can avoid wrapping the stripes in PPF. Most brand names like XPel have pre-cut pieces that don't cover the sticker. The installer needs to assure you that comes time to remove the PPF, they can remove the film pieces next to the stripes without affecting them.

Ceramic coating is good for both paint, stripes, and PPF. The only downside is that you need to make sure you don't let water beads dry on your car and they are either wipes out gently with a microfiber towel or you use an air blower. The ceramic coating causes the water to beads up and if it dries, it may leave permanent watermarks.

 

[Labradog]

Biggest thing you can do for brake dust would be changing to a different pad compound. Don't waste your money on any glass specific products, just regular cleaning (try the Invisible Glass wand for interior windshield/rear). Vinyl is soft so it will show swirl marks easier than paint, but if you are going to have stripes painted on it doesn't matter. Paint correction and protection can get as complicated as the time and money you're willing to put in.

 

[mroad]

Also if you cover the stripes and the rest of the paint in one piece of PPF, there will be an air margin visible between the stripes and paint. That's because the stripes create a small vertical edge with the paint. It's a few millimeters, but it is visible if you get close to the car. Looks worse on darker color cars than on the HEP Wimbeldon White. That's another reason not wrap the stripes.

But keep in mind that PPF edges will collect dirt and it will be visible against the white color of the car until your next carwash. If I have to do it all over again, I'll most likely just do paint correction and ceramic coating and skip the PPF altogether.

 

[Jago768]

Here's from my experience doing PPF, ceramic coating, and paint correction to my HEP. Do not wrap the stripes or side stickers in PPF. When the time comes to remove the PPF (due to chip damage or age), they will also remove the stripes and stickers. There's no way to remove the PPF without also peeling the stripes and stickers. They remove the PPF with a steamer, and the heat will also peel off your stripes. The stripes on the HEP are very expensive. Just those on the trunk and bumper plus the side stickers (if you choose to also protect the rocker panel with PPF) are about $1500 dollars.

See if you can work with an installer that can avoid wrapping the stripes in PPF. Most brand names like XPel have pre-cut pieces that don't cover the sticker. The installer needs to assure you that comes time to remove the PPF, they can remove the film pieces next to the stripes without affecting them.

Ceramic coating is good for both paint, stripes, and PPF. The only downside is that you need to make sure you don't let water beads dry on your car and they are either wipes out gently with a microfiber towel or you use an air blower. The ceramic coating causes the water to beads up and if it dries, it may leave permanent watermarks.

I will absolutely leave the PPF alone near the stripes, thank you for that information! To be honest the PPF (if not tracking or daily driving) seems like overkill? This is assuming a high quality, multi layer ceramic is used?

 

[Jago768]

Biggest thing you can do for brake dust would be changing to a different pad compound. Don't waste your money on any glass specific products, just regular cleaning (try the Invisible Glass wand for interior windshield/rear). Vinyl is soft so it will show swirl marks easier than paint, but if you are going to have stripes painted on it doesn't matter. Paint correction and protection can get as complicated as the time and money you're willing to put in.

Will any wheel off treatment (assuming that is what they do during wheel off protection?)on brakes, rims make them easy to clean? The base 350 wheels look like a nightmare to keep clean.

 

[mroad]

Will any wheel off treatment (assuming that is what they do during wheel off protection?)on brakes, rims make them easy to clean? The base 350 wheels look like a nightmare to keep clean.

Most ceramic coating packages include wheel treatment, and yes, they help with brake dust sticking less and easier to wash off with water.

 

[Labradog]

Will any wheel off treatment (assuming that is what they do during wheel off protection?)on brakes, rims make them easy to clean? The base 350 wheels look like a nightmare to keep clean.

Yes a coating will make it easier to clean (not sure how long it is going to last on the calipers due to the heat), but changing pad compound will make a bigger difference on amount of brake dust buildup. I would recommend getting a set of rock guards from Auto Fanatic to protect the lower rockers and doors. If you are going to have the stripes painted in the near future I would wait to do any sort of coating. Those panels will be sanded down anyway.

 

[Dr. Norts]

I will absolutely leave the PPF alone near the stripes, thank you for that information! To be honest the PPF (if not tracking or daily driving) seems like overkill? This is assuming a high quality, multi layer ceramic is used?

Ceramic is a sacrifical layer microns thick. It won't prevent paint chips / scratches. It aids in keeping the car cleaner / easier to wash / prevents swirls if using proper washing techniques as well as stops water spotting and clear coat etching. However it's not indestructible.

The paint on these cars is quite shitty. It's actually brittle. On my infinitis the paint will indent / chip but on the mustang it's almost like the chip explodes out of the impact area.

First have the car paint corrected. Regardless if it's brand new this is the first step.

After that I had my entire front end ppfd. Entire hood / bumper / front fender and lights.

The lower door portion / door sills done.

Impact area in front of and behind the rear wheels.

Side mirrors

12" strip on the leading roof edge and the A pillars lining up with the 12" roof strip.

After all that cquartz finest reserve ceramic was applied to the whole car as well as another c quartz product that's made to go over PPF.

This will mitigate most / all of the rock chips your going to get.

The material I had applied was Stek Dynoshield. It's better than expel ultimate or any of the other shit regardless of what your installer will tell you. It's a bit harder to install which is the primary reason your going to get these answers.

Stek also is self healing and has a smoother surface than xpel / 3m. Stek looks like polished clearcoat nice and smooth you can't even tell its there, where as xpel/3m has some orange peel look to it. I've had all 3 on various vehicles and it's Stek or nothing for me.


It's not cheap but neither was your car.

End result, the pictures even tho amazing don't do it justice. The car literally looks like a wet piece of shiny candy.

 

[torque124]

From my experience, Cquartz UK 3.0 lasts just as long as Finest reserve with proper care (reload on top on every second car wash, or top up with Carpro Perl).
Xpel is very good, it will protect your car really well, and is much easier to apply than other products (stretches well and heals bubbles well...). I have only used 3M and Xpel ultimate, nothing else.

.... If you don't track it, I would not do a full bonnet and fenders PPF... just not worth the money in my opinion, ceramic protection should do... end of the day, front bumper takes all the beating on the highway mostly.

 

[dps]

Watching... You'll get plenty of great advice on this forum. I'm still considering some of those options as well, but will always be washing and waxing/coating this thing DIY. The only advice I can offer is to get that plastic off and drive it! .

 

[whatisgrip]

Check around and see if any installers near you have done a few 350s before. My PPF installer custom cut the film for the stripes so if any damage is done it can be removed without having to pull the entire panel. Full PPF is definitely over kill, but at least do the front.

 

[pilotgore]

Merry Christmas!

I've only driven my HEP Shelby 350 twice since taking possession(5 miles) and she still sits mostly wrapped in factory plastic lol. This is a fourth car and will mostly sit, but we do plan to keep long term. That being said, she sits in covered, but exposed parking (for next six months) and all future washings would be mobile detail etc (we live in a condo community temporarily) and our permanent residence in Las Vegas will be a high rise with underground parking.

I am not a paint guy, and know nothing about paint preservation or upkeep. Most of our high end cars are/were leases, and went through touchless car washes ...sorry.... I notice many members getting paint correction, ppf, and ceramic coatings done. I would like to go down this road, but dont want to throw money away. I Would love to hear what other members recommend and what you feel is a waste of money. I dont have an R, so there are no carbon bits, but are there any areas that need extra protection? I worry the most about the vinyl stripes (going to have painted in Vegas) and reducing brake dust. I am super OCD about glass, and HATE haze/glare little specks etc.! Is there any product that could be applied to keep the glass spotless inside and out? I know the back window in the Shelby is almost impossible to get to lol. I appreciate any advice or pics of work that has been done. I am in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, if anyone has a preferred shop? I will post a link of the shop I am considering. I plan to stop by and get a paint education and of course a quote. I am sure they will say the paint needs correction, full PPF and nine coats of ceramic.

Thank You!

https://simpledetailsva.com/

Congrats on the car!

I’ve detailed cars on a professional level for 12 years (a 25 car collection plus my collection,) so what I’m about to tell you is just my opinion and that of MANY other professional.

Paint correction can be worthwhile if the paint is orange peeled and or there are major defects. I don’t recommend correcting the paint of the gt350 due to the thinness of the paint/clear. As measured on a paint thickness device, the gt350 paint is the thinnest factory paint I’ve ever dealt with, as well as some of the most brittle. Id recommend against removing much material (anything greater than 2500 grit polish.). Also, once you PPF the car, and correction work you’ve done will disappear under the 12mil thick film.

PPF anything with a high likelihood of getting rock chips (front end, hood, around windshield, headlights, mirrors, front fender, impact zones behind tires. It’s an absolute must with this car.

Skip ceramic, it’s overpriced and a waste of money to have someone else do it for you. As others have said, ceramic is incredibly thin and will do absolutely nothing to protect the paint. It’s a hydrophobic SI02 coating, that’s it. If you want the water to bead nicely, alternate between wax (or synthetic sealant preferably) and a SI02 spray like reload.

Agree with others about rock blockers behind the front tires.

Glass: Use synthetic sealant inside and out after you’ve cleaned the glass with anything. (I like meguires quick Detailer for removing bugs off windows but any glass cleaner or even water works fine) Make sure you always wipe the sealant off with a clean microfiber and you’ll never have any streaks. I usually go through 5-6 new yellow micro fibers from Costco on every detail.

If you have any interest in talking about it more, feel free to drop me a PM and ill shoot you my phone number. I’ve had several other forum members call and chat about this exact topic, and I’d like to think I saved some of them a good bit of money.

 

[stanglife]

Will any wheel off treatment (assuming that is what they do during wheel off protection?)on brakes, rims make them easy to clean? The base 350 wheels look like a nightmare to keep clean.

Sonax Wheel Cleaner Plus - thank me later. I bought like a 5 gallon jug on sale on Amazon a couple years ago. ;)

 

[ShelBoss]

I knew I was going to track my car, so I went with 3M Paint Protection Film over the whole car. I couldn't be happier with the results. After a month, I left the car out in the sun for 6 hours on a hot July day, The few imperfections just disappeared. After 2 months, I washed and clayed the PPF, and applied Girot's Ceramic Wax. I'm thinking this is a once/year chore. I did 3 coats of ceramic on the wheels before mounting on the car and the calipers. It's helped with brake dust (but as the Brembo people told me at the GT500 Track Tour "You want incredible brake performance? You're going to get dust. You want low dust? We can't give you the same brake performance"). I went to several shops and thought $3,200 to wrap the whole car was a bargain. Of course, I introduced the wrap shop to my local Mustang Club, where he got 22 more sales to date. Since my car has white stripes, they were wrapped too. I don't care about the imperceptible ledge at the edge of the stripe. If it was a flat black stripe, I wouldn't have had it wrapped. When the 10 year warranty is up, depending on how it looks, I'll have the same vinyl wrap shop take the PPF off, and put a new one on. If the stripes lift (which he swears they won't), he'll have to eat the cost of new stripes and put them on.

Sponsored