Regrets not getting PPF?

[GTP]

I am still on the fence with getting it done. It is quite a sizable investment up front, and I've had several reputable shops tell me to plan on replacing it in 5 years, maybe a few more depending on use and care, but it's certainly not a permanent solution. I know Xpel has a 10 year warranty, but that doesn't mean its going to look good in 10 years. So is 2k or more worth only a few years of protection and then pay again to have it redone? Or do you just deal with chips and dings as they come? I don't know. I need to get an idea on how its going to look over my ott stripes, and if removing it will damage them. Then I'll decide if I'm going to do the full front clip or just rear impact areas. Appreciate your guys' insights.

My guy has been doing it several years with Xpel. I don't think he has ever had to replace the entire set of film on any customer's car. He started stocking SunTek, too, since they finally went to 10yr warranty to compete with Xpel.

Look at it this way. Every hour your car spends outside exposed to the elements degrades every aspect of it. Rubber parts, paint, vinyl graphics, and PPF film. They ALL degrade over 5-10 years. Rubber dries. Paint dulls. Vinyl fades.

Film is the sacrificial layer that guards against chips, and self-heals against swirls. In my case it adds real protection to the fragile vinyl.

Again, my approach was to fully cover the forward-facing and upper panels of my car. All the crap falls directly onto the upper horizontal panels, and the sun beats down harder on them, too.

I love/hate maintaining the appearance of my car. I mildly enjoy washing/waxing, etc., but I love the results when done. If I really had money to burn, I would put ceramic on my car, including over the PPF. Then maintenance would go faster, and the results would have even more "pop". But $1300 for ceramic would buy me $1300 more film! And I can seal my own car once or twice a year.

It's not an easy decision. If you want the keep the appearance nice, with less maintenance, and for a longer period, then ... you can't have too much film or put it on too soon.

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[Cfirekirch]

I love detailing and keeping the paint cared for, will be even easier with this car as its garaged and not a DD. You should look into doing C Quartz or a ceramic coating yourself. Would be less than $200 and isn't hard at all.

 

[torque124]

I love detailing and keeping the paint cared for, will be even easier with this car as its garaged and not a DD. You should look into doing C Quartz or a ceramic coating yourself. Would be less than $200 and isn't hard at all.

I do the same, but cquartz does not protect your bumper from stone chips... My previous mustang I had it protected with Xpel ultimate, the GT500, was immaculate, like new when I sold it at 16k miles... all highway and some track.. Xpel kept the bumper like new.

 

[machsmith]

If you don't care about chips in the paint save yourself the money. I hate them so got my car done up. Easy to keep clean too

 

[Cfirekirch]

I do the same, but cquartz does not protect your bumper from stone chips... My previous mustang I had it protected with Xpel ultimate, the GT500, was immaculate, like new when I sold it at 16k miles... all highway and some track.. Xpel kept the bumper like new.

I was referring to him putting C Quartz over his PPF.

 

[krt22]

I had it done and have zero regrets. No chips in the year+ I have had the car and it makes washing it much easier (along with the Ceramic Pro over the entire car)

 

[PencilGeek]

One of the biggest factors will be the color of your car. My Mercedes was black as is my R, and although I had the front of the car wrapped on the AMG, the rest of the paint still got demolished from road debris, sand, salt etc. And I was meticulous with detailing it, waxing, etc.

I decided to have my entire R coated with XPEL, and it was one of the best decisions I ever could have made. Absolutely 0 stress now in regards to washing the car, I never have to worry about being so anal cleaning it/maintaining it, and I can rest easy knowing small dings/scratches will never happen.

If you can afford the relatively large investment up front, it pays huge dividends psychologically and physically

My AG R is getting PPF right now. What did you do about the stripes?

To me, the options were:
1) Don't PPF over them
2) PPF over them, with (hopefully) invisible seams and piece-by-piece with matte finish
3) PPF over them without seams and see the bumps
4) Remove the stripes, PPF the entire car seamless, and reapply the stripes.

Which way did you go, or is there a 5th or more options?

 

[GTP]

My AG R is getting PPF right now. What did you do about the stripes?

To me, the options were:
1) Don't PPF over them
2) PPF over them, with (hopefully) invisible seams and piece-by-piece with matte finish
3) PPF over them without seams and see the bumps
4) Remove the stripes, PPF the entire car seamless, and reapply the stripes.

Which way did you go, or is there a 5th or more options?

Ooh, that's another very tough question.
Are your stripes matte? They would probably look semi-gloss with PPF over them. Maybe almost full gloss even, especially from a distance.

The appearance at the edges of the stripes (what you call "bumps" I believe), is a non-issue in my experience, but it depends on your car's color. The light colors do not show the tiny air channel that runs along the edge of the stripe, so I wouldn't worry about it. It actually looks like your car was clear-coated after the thin stripes were applied.

There is another reason why this is a tough decision. Either you protect the stripes for the duration (assuming they don't fade much) - and this includes protection against rock chips - OR, you keep the stripes on the top so that you can replace them (cheaper), change their color, etc. But you may end up replacing them sooner because they will fade quicker, plus pick up rock chips, plus pick up scratches and swirls. Can't have and eat the cake in this situation.

PPF over stripes also makes cleaning and waxing quicker/easier. I also suspect your installer will tell you that piecing together individual sections of PPF is nearly impossible to turn out right. I would be surprised if he could put matte PPF over the stripes, and gloss PPF over the paint.

I usually advise someone considering both stripes and PPF to go with gloss stripes, and put the PPF over them.

 

[Hack]

I regret doing some partial panels. I should have done the full hood rather than the front. Mostly it's for convenience when waxing so you don't see the edges of the PPF, as the rear part of my hood hasn't gotten damaged.

 

[kartguy898]

I'm pretty sure Xpel has a cutout depending on whether you have stripes or not. From what I recall there are individual pieces for the stripes.

 

[Muligan]

A house call and all that for $795 :eyebulge: Deal of the century :lol:
Will your guy go to Northern New England?

Agreed - guy did a great job and it was a smokin' deal. He came very well regarded by guys here and on other forums and used Xpel ultimate... he even clayed the areas and did a bit of paint correction before applying.

 

[Zcobra1]

:lol: Well I have about 5600 miles on mine that included 3 track events and 2 wine tours that lasted 4 days. I had the front and partial hood and some fender area clear bra-ed when I got it and the only dings I have so far is a rock chip in the front windshield...luckily a bit out of direct eye sight...and a very small rock chip on the drivers quarter window. So the clear bra is doing a pretty good job so far. I think it cost about $750 give or take.

Nice price. What shop ? I got quoted a lot more for the same with Suntek
or XPel. Thanks.

 

[Zitrosounds]

I have owned my car since Jan 16. It now has 7k+ miles and 3 track events. I do not have any protection other than regular cleaning and wax. My front bumper/splitter is taking the brunt of the chips but they are all small. My car is magnetic and the bumper is black plastic so it is very difficult to see any damage until you get real close. I have 2 maybe 3 very small paint chips down to the primer on the hood and I have repaired them with touch up and wet sand. It cost me about 20 bucks in materials to repair the chips. I am with Honeybadger. The temp protection cost vs a repaint cost is just not worth it to me since I plan on having the car for a very long time.

 

[UFGator350]

Agreed - guy did a great job and it was a smokin' deal. He came very well regarded by guys here and on other forums and used Xpel ultimate... he even clayed the areas and did a bit of paint correction before applying.

Mind sharing his info? I thought about it doing it last year when I bought the car but I could repaint the car for most of the prices I was getting.

 

[Muligan]

Mind sharing his info? I thought about it doing it last year when I bought the car but I could repaint the car for most of the prices I was getting.

Tim Kirlin from MotoFX - check the Xpel website for contact info as he's an authorized installer. He won't know my screen name, but tell him it's the black GT350 out at the airport.

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