What are the pros and cons to having a car totally covered with Paint Protection Film?
Thanks in advance,
JB

 

Paint Protection Film was applied in March 2011 on our 2011 GS.
Granted application of quality wax on the PPF promotes the life of the OEM paint but does not pop like a qualify wax on a painted surface.

In other words road rash is non existent on the front facia of the Vette which driven regularly.

Money well spent !!

 

The ONLY con, IMO, is the cost. All 4 or my Corvettes are 100% wrapped in XPEL...every square inch other than the windows. Most of my other cars are at least partially wrapped. Even my Jeep and my Suburban are 100% wrapped. I love the stuff.

 

The biggest con is there is the possibility the paint can come off with the film. I know a lot of people love the stuff but I am a hater. My car actually had 3m ppf on it when I was considering buying it. Part of the deal was for them to remove it before I would complete the purchase.

 

It happened to me.

 

As long as you go with a reputable installer the only con is cost. Paint coming off with removal is due to poor removal practices, not the film itself. The film has a life cycle that needs to be paid attention to. Each film is different and changes depending on climate and exposure. If you live in Florida and park it outside its not going to hold up as long as a garage kept Michigan car. You just need to be cognizant of that and make sure you schedule removal in the appropriate window before the film dies. This typically is anywhere from 6-8 years with some newer films pushing 10. Even a dead film can be removed without doing damage it just needs extra care.

 

Perfectly explained. The biggest con is not removing it when the time comes. Also as others have said the gloss is not as deep as the clearcoat on the car so you may not get that "showroom shine". I would also only do a whole car if it were kept outdoors, a weekend cruiser kept in the garage i just don't see the benefit of PPF on the whole car.

 

Some of these new films are mitigating the gloss thing. Combine it with ceramic and it might be hard to notice much difference. STEK is putting out some really nice quality stuff. Their installer network is still pretty small though. I agree though. It does tend to dull the finish just a hair in my opinion. I would say its mostly negligible though to the untrained eye.

 

Thanks for the replies, fellows. I'm looking at two C6s that I really like and each one has PPF on it. I had wondered about the "shelf" like of the product and you've answered that question. Likewise, you've led me to realize that my trepidation re: paint damage upon removal of the PPF was reasonable. Another concern that I had was: what if the car were in and accident or just badly scratched? That would mean removing the PPF from the damaged area, repairing the damage, repainting and then having new PPF applied; no thanks. If the seller of whichever C6 I choose to pursue will not agree to get the PPF removed then that Vette will be off my list.

Thanks again,

Jim

 

If a repair is needed the PPF needs to comes off, the repair made, and new PPF applied. No shop is going to make a promises that your paint won't pull when PPF is removed and will probably make you sign a disclaimer releasing them from any responsibility. If someone actually makes promises I would like to know who. Even with proper removal techniques bad things can and do happen. Maybe it is 1 or 2 cars in 100. This is related to age of the PPF, prior repainting that may have taken place, and some amount of luck. If PPF was applied on a newer car with original paint, your risks will be lower. In the case of my car, I bought it used and it is quite possible that areas were previously repainted. In fact the paint shop said as much.

I liked the idea of PPF but the reality is that this is a maintenance item. I found it to be less durable than I expected. It is not even close to impervious to impacts and I had a piece of rubber from a tire fly up and cut through it quite easily. I was also surprised at the level of discoloration that happened - the ppf that came off my car had a sickly green tint after 6 years.

I went with XPEL Ultimate which is one of the better choices. This is just my experience and I think the overall consensus is far more positive. Most people don't have problems and the PPF does a great job protecting the paint from light scratches and swirls. I just can't justify the high cost given that it needs periodic replacement and due to the risks involved. I will avoid buying cars with PPF if I possibly can because the history of the paint and the PPF is just too much of an unknown in many cases.

Some pics below to show what happened in my case. I was so upset I didn't even want to look at it and considered getting rid of the car.





After spending a ridiculous amount of money getting the car repainted I am back...better than ever... with NO PPF this time!

 

Thanks, CrystalRedTed, you just solidified my position: No PPF for me.
Jim

 

That stuff works great at protecting the paint but it gets chipped and damaged and looks as bad as damaged paint. My gripe with it is that it's hell to remove. Plus you can sometimes see cuts in the paint where they trimmed the coating to fit a panel.

Tom

 

Again, cut marks and paint damage are likely due to poor installation and poor removal techniques. If you go to a licensed professional installer (not some guy who does it out of his garage) your far less likely to have issues like that.

 

No ppf for me!!!
An actual professional installer at a booth at a show and shine event told me the removal is very risky. Paint pulling off, gloss differences when removed, from owners polishing or waxing the car etc.

A fellow NCRS member bought a used 08 Cooksey with 4000 miles on it. Ppf on it on it since who knows. He's afraid to touch it as the ppf is over the factory applied hood graphics.

Think this decision through, how much are we really driving these cars, and for sure most of us just do leisure travel. Not road warriors anymore.

My two cars get maybe a thousand miles a year, the Camry on the other hand gets 10k.

 

To each their own, I guess. I'd rather protect my investment and drive it without worry if I had a car with nice paint. If I had a garage queen that lived in a bubble but thats not me for sure. I'll drive mine till the wheels fall off... I wrapped mine ofcourse, but my paint wasnt that great to begin with. One thing about C6s, especially widebody cars is the rash they get on the rear quarters. My car looked like it had been sand blasted when I got it. If you want to drive them and not worry about them PPF is a great option. I guess worst case theirs always repainting it when things go wrong.