PPF questions

[Evolvd]

Keep in mind how long PPF is good for. It doesn’t last the life of the car and depending on how you care for it could shorten it’s life even more. Here’s a truck my detailer just finished removing old PPF. Check out the ghost line left in the hood, keep this in mind when you think about doing partial coverage.

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[Charlemagne]

There's a reason why pre-cut PPF that includes decal cutouts don't exist.

My PPF was pre-cut around the matte part of the vinyl so it covers and protects the glossy part of the vinyl that is very prone to scratches. Only disadvantage is that the Mach 1 logo in the glossy part sort of disappeared.

people would sell or total the car which is within 3-7 years

No point doing expensive PPF when your plan is sell it so soon. Ceramics and be done with it (or just the front bumper and sides behind wheels for chip protection).

Keep in mind how long PPF is good for.

Materials have changed a lot. For the quality ones you get 10 year warranty and they'll last lot longer when you maintain it with SiO2 detailer and keep it in garage or under cover, I was told pretty much lifetime. The 210 microns has protective UV layer, it's self healing, it won't yellow, it won't crack.

 

[LikeMike]

My PPF was pre-cut around the matte part of the vinyl so it covers and protects the glossy part of the vinyl that is very prone to scratches. Only disadvantage is that the Mach 1 logo in the glossy part sort of disappeared.


No point doing expensive PPF when your plan is sell it so soon. Ceramics and be done with it (or just the front bumper and sides behind wheels for chip protection).


Materials have changed a lot. For the quality ones you get 10 year warranty and they'll last lot longer when you maintain it with SiO2 detailer and keep it in garage or under cover, I was told pretty much lifetime. The 210 microns has protective UV layer, it's self healing, it won't yellow, it won't crack.

Normally these decals are off a few millimeters car to car so I assume this was done at the shop. I'm referring to the precut films you get directly from the ppf manufacturer.

 

[Charlemagne]

It is off by 1-2 milimeters but since it ends on top of the vinyl and not side by side, it's not an issue. It's from PPF manufacturer's database for their precise plotter cutting software. Or so I was told.

 

[Atlas1]

I consulted with one of the top wrappers in the NJ/NYC area and this was their way of doing things. Everything is removed, Decals, badges, etc and re-applied. Not sure if they understood how large the hood decal is though. I think the WORST option here is cutting around the vinyl. A wrapper who doesnt know what they are doing WILL cut through your clear coat and possibly paint, hand cutting around such a large decal. Then on top of that there is what is called shrinkage and you risk having a large enough gap between the vinyl and PPF where dirt will collect, or premature failure will occur.

the top guy in washington state disagrees with that assessment. he hand cut the film around my hood decal and without me telling you there is PPF on the hood, you would never know. the important thing is to make sure that you go to someone that knows their craft. this is not a service i would look for bargains.

Long story short the BEST option is removal, PPF, and then reapply new (or old if possible) decals, then ceramic coat the vinyl decals (or whatever else you choose to protect it), unfortunately I think the only vinyl out right now is expensive OEM but in the future they will be a tenth of the cost.

you won't be able to reapply the vinyl after it is removed.
to remove the vinyls from the car and reapply after PPF will add over $1k to the job at least. not cheap and we have no idea how long until the price comes down or someone makes a quality replica. i'm certainly not waiting around for that.

The next best, less expensive option, is to cover the decals. The only risk here is failure over the matte portion (the FMJ vs non FMJ debate, which may also be ppf material dependent). Regardless there will be a small ring of separation between the vinyl decal and PPF. It wont be that noticeable from a distance but it will be there. It will be less noticeable on oxford white, and more noticeable on shadow black.

the other risk is that when removing the PPF for any reason, you introduce risk of damaging the vinyl.

Lastly, the cutting around thing just doesn't make sense. The vinyl, if protected, will last longer than most here will own the car before it gets wrapped around a tree or sold.

PPF isn't worth doing if you don't plan to keep the car very long. this is a car i don't see ever selling so it was important to me to protect the finish. vinyl can be replaced down the road if necessary. i would prefer to never have to do paint.

Hopefully in the future ford offers the ability to ship with the decals unapplied, the same way they are doing the splitter. Until then you should be consulting with the wrappers as they will have the most experience than anyone here. They will breakdown the pros and cons of each, give a recommendation, and leave it up to you to decide.

that would be nice but it will never happen. the only reason the splitter isn't installed at the factory is it would be damaged in transit. look how sloppy many dealers are at PDI. many can't remove the shipping blocks. we would have an entire picture thread of dealer installed vinyl to laugh at as they find new ways to screw that up

 

[gone_n_60]

I am having my GT setup with PPF on all of the front and I have the stripe. He's going to cut the PPF up to the stripe, like the other poster it stops having bubbles by trying to cover the stripe. I had the rest of the GT done in ceramic after having them do paint correction. The correction was worth every penny ($400 total car) it now looks like it just came out of the paint booth with clear coat.

 

[Evolvd]

Materials have changed a lot. For the quality ones you get 10 year warranty and they'll last lot longer when you maintain it with SiO2 detailer and keep it in garage or under cover, I was told pretty much lifetime. The 210 microns has protective UV layer, it's self healing, it won't yellow, it won't crack.

Assuming the lowest common denominator, not everyone has a garage. Sure you keep it out of the sun and barley drive it you “might” get a lifetime out of it. But ask any PPF installer with any real knowledge and they’ll tell you to replace it after a certain period of time, usually 7-10 years regardless of what the manufacturer claims. They give you a warranty period knowing their products should last for the average length a car is owned and once it transfers ownership the warranty disappears lol

 

[S550VIN54]

I appreciate the response! I wish I knew what I will do with the car….since I’m buying it on faith without a test drive, I can see myself trading it for a GT350 in short order, maybe trading it in a few years for a S650, or possibly keeping it forever .

Probably I’ll wait till I’ve owned it for a week to PPF it, and just accept the fact that it might possibly be a little scratched by the time the detailed gets it. Such is life

I know the feeling as I trade cars like a bad habit. But this one is growing on me and I decided to ppf some of it.

 

[Zelek]

More pictures to share from the shop.

 

[S550VIN54]

More pictures to share from the shop.

Looks outstanding! I see that you chose to do the whole hood. I'm leaning in the same direction too. I have a couple of weeks to decide before I am scheduled but it sure seems to be the way to go.

 

[Atlas1]

Looks outstanding! I see that you chose to do the whole hood. I'm leaning in the same direction too. I have a couple of weeks to decide before I am scheduled but it sure seems to be the way to go.

I don’t remember what @Zelek was doing with his vinyl but my car looked the same until they trimmed it

 

[S550VIN54]

I don’t remember what @Zelek was doing with his vinyl but my car looked the same until they trimmed it

What do you mean "until they trimmed it"? Is that good or bad?

 

[Zelek]

I don’t remember what @Zelek was doing with his vinyl but my car looked the same until they trimmed it

I was told a matte piece was done over it. I'm going to the garage to verify now.

 

[Zelek]

Yep, I have a gloss piece and matte piece over the vinyl.

 

[S550VIN54]

Yep, I have a gloss piece and matte piece over the vinyl.

Are you able to see the seam? Did he have to hand trim that piece or was it done by the computer? I need to run that by my guy. I would be worried the edges will lift in time.

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