Those who have had full PPF applied on your Mach 1s, any tips on dealing with the decals?

[RocketGuy3]

I know the PPF installer I have, who I generally trust, suggested several different options... However I don't really recall the details of the tradeoffs, and I didn't want to waste his time with a million questions (many of which he may not have the answer to for my specific car).

I'm leaning towards just getting the whole car fully PPF'd "normally", which I think is the simplest, lowest cost option, with no tradeoffs as far as protection. If I recall correctly, the only drawback is that there might be some visible gaps upon close inspection of the edges around the decals.

I believe the other options were
- Cut the PPF around the decals and leave the decals unprotected
- Cover the decals separately. So the film would be cut once for the paint, and separate cuts to cover the decals.

I believe the second option was the "best" overall in terms of the balance between appearance and protection, but would be the most expensive, and still would leave edges that could peal or look imperfect.

What did you guys do? Thanks in advance.

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[TonyNJ]

I have a decent amount of experience installing (and removing ) PPF

This is how it's done on one of my cars with vinyl stripes...

"Cover the decals separately. So the film would be cut once for the paint, and separate cuts to cover the decals."

If it's done correctly, it won't peal or or look imperfect.

It's also gives you the option to replace or repair either section without a full removal, if that need ever arose.

Edit: Also, I think you have matte and gloss decals on the Mach 1? You can use matte PPF as needed on the decal area. If you use regular PPF, any matte decals will turn glossy.

 

[TonyNJ]

... or don't even PPF over the decals. They provide some paint protection themselves. You can always get another set.

 

[RocketGuy3]

... or don't even PPF over the decals. They provide some paint protection themselves. You can always get another set.

Thanks for the input! Yeah that was one of the options, not covering the decals. I've heard that the decals will take a beating over time, mostly from sun damage IIRC?

I forgot he did mention what you said about the matte decals becoming glossy. I don't think that would bother me too much, but maybe I need to see it.

 

[Charlemagne]

Don't overthink it. With FJG you can put it over on the hood since it's smooth (but it will get somewhat glossy), with other colours you need to cut around (mine was cut around the matte part but protecting the glossy part). Sides are fine with PPF over them, protecting them.
Make sure the detailer is good and wraps everything behind the edges and uses mostly machine cut pieces with minimal hand cutting.

 

[RocketGuy3]

Don't overthink it. With FJG you can put it over on the hood since it's smooth (but it will get somewhat glossy), with other colours you need to cut around (mine was cut around the matte part but protecting the glossy part). Sides are fine with PPF over them, protecting them.
Make sure the detailer is good and wraps everything behind the edges and uses mostly machine cut pieces with minimal hand cutting.

Hmm I don't think I understand the difference you're describing with FJG. What is smooth on FJG that is not smooth on other colors?



I should also mention while I'm here... I'm also considering a full matte PPF. Partly for the novelty, but I also like the sheen it could bring out from an otherwise flat paint. Not sure yet that it's worth the cost premium, though. But if yall have any thoughts on that, lemme know!

 

[TonyNJ]

Your car is grabber yellow? That's a cool color. I don't think I've ever seen anyone cover that with a matte PPF.

That being said, I don't think matte PPF improves any color. It just looks like a trendy wrap. Ymmv

 

[MAGS1]

Mercedes offers a matte finish on their yellow, which is somewhat close to Grabber Yellow. Take a look at some pics online, that will give you a good idea of what it will look like.

I love the bold colors, I wish Grabber Yellow was still available in 2022 when I ordered mine. I love my Grabber Blue as well, so not complaining by any means. What you can do is order a matte film repair kit and put a strip on the car and see what it looks like. I personally think the matte PPF would look cool on Grabber Yellow

 

[RSPEK 178]

For me, I would remove the decals, PPF the whole car and reapply the decals over the top then selectively ceramic coat the PPF if that was something you wanted to do. I have just done my bonnet and removed the decals prior and it looks sweet. No air gaps or artificial gloss over Matt decals. When you do your PPF try and get an installer that wraps right around the edges. This will minimise unsightly dirt and dust lines if the PPF comes away at the edges a bit. My 2 bucks worth. All the best.
Mark

 

[Charlemagne]

Hmm I don't think I understand the difference you're describing with FJG. What is smooth on FJG that is not smooth on other colors?

Look up the previous threads about PPF on Mach 1, there are images and what it does when PPF is put over the matte part on the non-FJG cars (bubbles).
The hood stripes are different in surface for FJG and the other colours, FJG has smooth matte part while other colours have a lot more coarse surface where PPF can't bond and create bubbles.

Here's a post linking the original topics:
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...-do-with-the-hood-stripe.188550/#post-3786305

I wouldn't remove the decals because I don't think it's possible to re-apply them. New ones would need to be bought and they are expensive. And the replicas aren't identical, they have shape and size differences and aren't one piece either.

 

[RocketGuy3]

Yeah, removing the decals is not an option I'm considering. That makes things much more expensive since I would likely need to get a new decal to re-apply, too.

I don't think I mind all that much if I lose the matte look with gloss PPF over the decal... but if the film wouldn't even adhere and would leave bubbles, that would be a little bothersome. I don't need it to be perfect, but I don't want it to look like garbage, or worse. Not sure how bad it could get if it doesn't even adhere.

 

[Charlemagne]

Also beware that when PPF is applied over the glossy part of the hood decal, it mostly makes the Mach 1 logo disappear from some weird reason. I had to buy the letters and apply them which worked fine, except for the letter M which is somewhat shifted. You can see upclose how it looks cut just around the matte part. It's probably best to cut around the decal as a whole. Which leaves the glossy black part unprotected, but you can put ceramics over that part. I'm very content how it turned out anyway. Applying ceramics over the matte part works fine, it makes it look bit more deeper but still matte due to the coarse nature. If I had FJG, I'd just wrap it all, worth it for protection, you can look up the images how that looks (don't remember what colour you have).

 

[RocketGuy3]

It wouldn't be my favorite thing, but I don't think I would be bothered all that much by the Mach 1 lettering disappearing. My primary goal is paint and decal protection, hopefully without sacrificing much from the one-meter+ view of the car.

 

[TonyNJ]

Just put PPF on everything but the decals and move on. Enjoy your awesome car.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

I did ppf in seperate pieces. matte finish for the decals. regular for the paint.

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