IS $5500 PPF worth it GT350 ????

[Inthehighdesert]

Mine is on top as well. No complaints either.

I interviewed five installers which two of them mentioned removing stripes and installing them on the top of PPF. The installer I went with advise me opposite(he's very reputable and experience around my area). When I mentioned to him the issue of removal PPF and damaging stripes he said the PPF can be removed without an issue. He later demonstrate this on my car on the lower part of the bumper. So, I have PPF on the top of the stipes and I have no issue - all good. I think it depends on how good installer is whether installing or removing PPF.

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[Rapid Red]

I’m gonna be the fly in the punch bowl and disagree...

...6 grand buys A LOT of waxes, polishes and rags

in the interest of full disclosure, my car has ceramic coating from the previous owner. That said, I have been to half a dozen meets and see zero difference between a car with or without it.

Plus regular wash & dare i say waxing, it is not like the Mustang is that big. No matter what, a car gets dirty, how dirty depends on the owner. I will recommend some 303 for the trim pieces.

Buy some go fast for 6k, can buy a blower or turbo. One of those you can out run the rain and dust .

Not trying to sway the OP one way or the other.

Someone motioned swirls in the paint from washing. Got a black truck 99, washed it about a million times. No swirls, not even a door ding, why cause I watch where I park.

 

[Postal Bob]

The shop I dealt with advised me to put the stripes on top of the ppf. They said there can be issues since you would have a transition between the painted surface and the raised stripes. They also told me they can remove the stripes without hurting the ppf if I ever needed to.

A good shop will cut the PPF up to the edge of the stripes, and also in between them. And they'll remove as much of the bumpers, grill, emblems, etc., as they can so there are no edges showing. You get what you pay for.
And I can't see how you can remove the stripes without pulling up the PPF. They are both removed by heating and then peeling.

 

[Mr. Met]

A good shop will cut the PPF up to the edge of the stripes, and also in between them. And they'll remove as much of the bumpers, grill, emblems, etc., as they can so there are no edges showing. You get what you pay for.
And I can't see how you can remove the stripes without pulling up the PPF. They are both removed by heating and then peeling.

A good shop wouldn't do that. The ppf is much thicker and has different properties then the vinyl. That would leave the area with minimum protection. A good shop will also know how to remove vinyl without damaging the ppf underneath. You get what you pay for.

https://www.xpel.com/faq

Can I have XPEL installed over my Vinyl Wrap or Racing Stripes?

Yes. XPEL film can be applied over a vinyl wrap or graphics. However, if there are any hard edges that film must cross (as in the case of stripes), it could result in some air being trapped along that edge.


Can I install a vinyl stripe on top of XPEL paint protection film and will I be able to remove the stripe without damaging the clear protection?

Yes, you can install a vinyl on top of the film. We recommend waiting 48 hours after installation before doing so. You may also remove the stripe without damaging the film, if removed properly.

 

[anacar312]

I don't have to really decide until spring, but my strategy for now.... take the PPF money and save it for full repaint (and panel gap fix) post warranty.... I'm thinking minimal PPF only bumper below headlights/above spoiler. I'm OK with the "lines" and rest that goes along with PPF for my Grand Cherokee.... but I just can't do it to the GT350.

For the rest of the car... a high end ceramic coating. Shine on you Crazy Diamond!

 

[Shawn78600]

I interviewed five installers which two of them mentioned removing stripes and installing them on the top of PPF. The installer I went with advise me opposite(he's very reputable and experience around my area). When I mentioned to him the issue of removal PPF and damaging stripes he said the PPF can be removed without an issue. He later demonstrate this on my car on the lower part of the bumper. So, I have PPF on the top of the stipes and I have no issue - all good. I think it depends on how good installer is whether installing or removing PPF.

Great info thanks

 

[lightrules]

sorry TLDR. straight to the point though..."worth it" depends on your disposable income. some guys $6k aint much, for others it's a lot. i went with entire front PPF and rear quarter panels and my CF wing. cost about $1750. i would not spend $6k on PPF. ain't "worth it" to me. as for ceramic, i'm too cheap for that too. i went with turtle wax "ice" spray wax, their ceramic spray, mother's CMX, eagle one stuff. these products at walmart and amazon are actually pretty darn good. after 2+ yrs now, she's still so puuurrtttyyy...

 

[2JZFAN]

Personally, I'm against PPF for anything sub 140k, OR roughly 5% of the market value.

1. How many cars have you owned? Multiply the total by the cost of your PPF installs. Whew, that adds up..
2. How many chips did you receive per vehicle anyhow? Your PPF guy might close hard, but numbers are facts..
3. Does the math make sense to you? Probably not.

Always an exception to every rule, I've lived places where they haul rock on the highway.. PPF isn't stopping those chips anyhow.

Perception is everything, PPF is an insurance product. Nothing wrong with some strategic placement IMO, if you must.. Technology is there for a reason, but the value is slim. My advice, keep the install inline with the market value of the vehicle.

 

[Shift]

I went with full front minus A-pillar(I would've seen where the clear bra ended) and full roof. That, coupled with front rock guards(https://zl1addons.com/products/mustang-gt350-deluxe-rock-guards) has prevented pretty much all rock chips on the front end, and on the rear quarter panel where it's vulnerable to rocks kicked up by your front wheels. That all costed about $2400 back in 2016. Similar job is probably $3500+ now.

On ceramic coating, there's plenty of fantastic spray waxes available nowadays. Even though I went with ceramic coating, with how often I throw on a coat of spray wax, I wouldn't do it again. This is just your preference though.

Also, if you plan on keeping your car for a long time, it's a good idea to get at least the front end protected. I'll never understand the ones who don't, and would rather just get the front all chipped up and then have it resprayed. Like why not just spend that respray money on protecting your original paint.

Like anything, you need to have some common sense. Don't be tailgating cars, and especially trucks/semi's where you are just asking for something to penetrate past the clear bra, or crack your windshield. I never drive beside any trucks/semi's either. I'll blow by them whenever it's safe to do so and go back to cruising speed.

 

[oldbmwfan]

Personally, I'm against PPF for anything sub 140k, OR roughly 5% of the market value.

1. How many cars have you owned? Multiply the total by the cost of your PPF installs. Whew, that adds up..
2. How many chips did you receive per vehicle anyhow? Your PPF guy might close hard, but numbers are facts..
3. Does the math make sense to you? Probably not.

Always an exception to every rule, I've lived places where they haul rock on the highway.. PPF isn't stopping those chips anyhow.

Perception is everything, PPF is an insurance product. Nothing wrong with some strategic placement IMO, if you must.. Technology is there for a reason, but the value is slim. My advice, keep the install inline with the market value of the vehicle.

I'd add a 4th consideration above ... what's your usage? If you plan to track the car or do a lot of highway driving in areas where sand or pebbles are a thing on the roads, it changes the math pretty quickly. Agree on full-car wraps being overkill for most, but if you can do a front end or high-risk area wrap for about the same money as repainting a bumper and hood, I'd say preserving the original paint has value.

sorry TLDR. straight to the point though..."worth it" depends on your disposable income. some guys $6k aint much, for others it's a lot. i went with entire front PPF and rear quarter panels and my CF wing. cost about $1750. i would not spend $6k on PPF. ain't "worth it" to me. as for ceramic, i'm too cheap for that too. i went with turtle wax "ice" spray wax, their ceramic spray, mother's CMX, eagle one stuff. these products at walmart and amazon are actually pretty darn good. after 2+ yrs now, she's still so puuurrtttyyy...

Sharp-looking car! I did the exact same thing. A bit over $2K for ceramic tint and Suntek on hood, fenders, front bumper, wing mirrors, front part of roof, rear spoiler, and also the gloss black rear decklid panel around the GT350 emblem. I wish I'd popped a few hundred more to do the leading edge of the rear quarters. I was quoted $5K for the full car and that was not worth it, but for my use, the risk of a front-end repaint was high, and I'd rather spend $2K protecting the front end rather than spending $2K repainting the front end and living with rash in the interim.

And I also agree that the Turtle Wax Ice stuff is surprisingly good as a top-layer over the PPF! From my youth I thought of Turtle Wax as low-end crap, so I was surprised when the detailer recommended it as a maintenance product, but it worked well and it's cheap and easy to use. The only ceramic coating I paid for was on the CF wheels and brake calipers, to ease cleaning.

 

[Bikeman315]

I went with full front minus A-pillar(I would've seen where the clear bra ended) and full roof.

Interesting, my "A" pillars and full roof were one piece. I've had "A" pillar damage in the past so wasn't playing games with this car.

On ceramic coating, there's plenty of fantastic spray waxes available nowadays.

Yes, there are and they do a terrific job but do not confuse them with actually ceramic coatings, especially the professionally applied ones. They are not the same.

 

[VictoryDaveAZ]

If its just a show car, that's probably true. But none of that is going to do anything to stop a rock flying at your car at 60mph.

I just had this happen! 1 week after getting a Full Front PPF and 5 Year 9H Ceramic Coat. A large rock came from 3 lanes away and hit below the driver side headlight! Took a 1/4 inch chunk out of the PPF. But, looks like it did save the paint!

 

[biminiLX]

I'd add a 4th consideration above ... what's your usage? If you plan to track the car or do a lot of highway driving in areas where sand or pebbles are a thing on the roads, it changes the math pretty quickly. Agree on full-car wraps being overkill for most, but if you can do a front end or high-risk area wrap for about the same money as repainting a bumper and hood, I'd say preserving the original paint has value.


Sharp-looking car! I did the exact same thing. A bit over $2K for ceramic tint and Suntek on hood, fenders, front bumper, wing mirrors, front part of roof, rear spoiler, and also the gloss black rear decklid panel around the GT350 emblem. I wish I'd popped a few hundred more to do the leading edge of the rear quarters. I was quoted $5K for the full car and that was not worth it, but for my use, the risk of a front-end repaint was high, and I'd rather spend $2K protecting the front end rather than spending $2K repainting the front end and living with rash in the interim.

And I also agree that the Turtle Wax Ice stuff is surprisingly good as a top-layer over the PPF! From my youth I thought of Turtle Wax as low-end crap, so I was surprised when the detailer recommended it as a maintenance product, but it worked well and it's cheap and easy to use. The only ceramic coating I paid for was on the CF wheels and brake calipers, to ease cleaning.

I’m with this guy.
Completely depends on your usage.
Also do you plan to keep the car long term?
For some that cost is worth it, for me it would not be.
I’m about to purchase my first new Shelby since my 2014 and the products and options are much better.
Still, other than a trailer incident at the drag strip that no PPF would’ve saved, the only small rock mark is seriously from the 4hr drive home in 2013.
Car has 8000miles and the paint looks amazing, so I don’t know what that $6000 would’ve gained me.

On the S550 cars, what areas are highest risk?

I installed Jaeger bros front rock guards on the ‘14 in the dealers lot. Rocker panels now have no marks behind the front wheels/under doors, unlike many S197s.
-J

 

[Big Ernie McCracken]

I wouldn’t spend 3000$ plus for PPF work but that is only because I work in a collision shop and I have the ability to do most of the work if something needed repainted . I have been having pretty good luck buying the kits for the fenders and front bumper. I have been pretty happy with the results. I am waiting on a bulk piece to do the hood next. It is definitely challenging to work with but you just need to take your time. I will have close to 1000$ in the film.

 

[m3incorp]

I've got the PPF on the entire front end, including the entire hood, bumper, fenders, lights, mirrors, wheel strike zones, and the leading edge of the roof. Let's be realistic, If a big enough rock/pebble or debris hits at high speed, then you are definitely going to still be able to see damage to the PFF or paint. The ceramic sure does make washing a lot easier and I tend to use a rinseless wash in the garage when it isn't too dirty.

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