front end rock protection
07-03-2020, 04:40 PM
#16
I put Suntek Ultra on every panel of my GT4 with the exception of the back deck lid. It’s 90% glass anyway and a tricky panel to cover. A full front, mirrors and rockers with rear fender wells is the minimum I would do and I concur that this will run around $2,400 or so. Add in the rear vents on these cars as well. As others have stated, those things will take hits. My past Porsche experience taught me the minimum is required or there will be grief ahead.
my $0.02
my $0.02
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wcw67 (07-03-2020)
07-03-2020, 08:22 PM
#18
I'm in the PPF/tint/ceramic coat etc. business. This, after time in the military and 22yrs in law enforcement. #1 choose a reputable shop. PPF takes a LOT of experience/skill to do it very well. #2 choose a brand with a minimum 10yr warranty on the film anything less there's a reason for it. #3 Only have 7-8mil+ PPF installed. Anything thinner you're losing out on the whole purpose of PPF. Once paint's damaged it will never be the same having it repainted. Especially bumpers & mirrors if plastic. Rock chips dont chip paint on plastic. It scores it. Much harder to 'touch up'.
I believe my company will be doing an entire shoot of the install of my car once it arrives within the next 1-1.5mos. I'll be covering the entire car starting with a 10mil film on front.
I believe my company will be doing an entire shoot of the install of my car once it arrives within the next 1-1.5mos. I'll be covering the entire car starting with a 10mil film on front.
07-04-2020, 05:09 PM
#19
Your fears are unfounded. I have had PPF on 5 cars, now, and I swear by it.
"It looks plastic". No. A high quality film, like Xpel Ultimate, is totally invisible. Looks and shines just like bare metal.
"Costs a bunch". Yes, but so does your $100k+ car. Relatively speaking it isn't that much more
"Risk of installation mistakes". Not at all if you go with a premium installer used to working on high end cars. Do not use the dealer for this.
"Would worry about PPF getting damaged". It resists damage better than paint. Power washing is no problem.
"Might Yellow". I have PPF on 2 white cars. A high end product won't yellow. You need to maintain it just like you would if your car didn't have it.
"Might peel the topcoat of paint". This just doesn't happen. There is a process for removing it. You have to use a heat gun.
"Installation takes a couple of days". Well, yes, but how long were you planning on keeping your car, a week?
I had a very high-end shop do not only my PPF, but my whole car prep. I did not let the dealer touch it. They did a proper foam cannon wash, full paint correction, PPF on the full hood, full bumper, full front fenders, full rocker panels including around the intakes and side panel, and rear lower behind the wheel arches. They custom cut these last pieces using digitizing software based on images. I then had ceramic coating over the whole car for that hard, glass-like finish. Looks absolutely stunning. And now, that flawless paint surface is permanently sealed. It will never scratch. A high-end installer will also pay attention the the lines of the car and making sure the film edges are as invisible as possible.
My wife has PPF on her red Audi S3 which now has 85,000 miles and has seen 5 New England winters. The front of the car still looks near-perfect when cleaned up.
"It looks plastic". No. A high quality film, like Xpel Ultimate, is totally invisible. Looks and shines just like bare metal.
"Costs a bunch". Yes, but so does your $100k+ car. Relatively speaking it isn't that much more
"Risk of installation mistakes". Not at all if you go with a premium installer used to working on high end cars. Do not use the dealer for this.
"Would worry about PPF getting damaged". It resists damage better than paint. Power washing is no problem.
"Might Yellow". I have PPF on 2 white cars. A high end product won't yellow. You need to maintain it just like you would if your car didn't have it.
"Might peel the topcoat of paint". This just doesn't happen. There is a process for removing it. You have to use a heat gun.
"Installation takes a couple of days". Well, yes, but how long were you planning on keeping your car, a week?
I had a very high-end shop do not only my PPF, but my whole car prep. I did not let the dealer touch it. They did a proper foam cannon wash, full paint correction, PPF on the full hood, full bumper, full front fenders, full rocker panels including around the intakes and side panel, and rear lower behind the wheel arches. They custom cut these last pieces using digitizing software based on images. I then had ceramic coating over the whole car for that hard, glass-like finish. Looks absolutely stunning. And now, that flawless paint surface is permanently sealed. It will never scratch. A high-end installer will also pay attention the the lines of the car and making sure the film edges are as invisible as possible.
My wife has PPF on her red Audi S3 which now has 85,000 miles and has seen 5 New England winters. The front of the car still looks near-perfect when cleaned up.
I think anyone who says "it's a waste of money" really hasn't tried a well applied high quality PPF wrap on their car and experienced the benefits first hand, or possibly doesn't drive their car enough for it to matter (which makes sense), I wouldn't do a full wrap on a 'garage queen' car. And if you're tracking the car, PPF is just price of entry to keep it protected.
However, to your point, once you try PPF you never go back. I was able to justify not doing it before on other cars I leased since I wasn't in it for the long haul, but those cars after were full of rock chips on the hood, bumper especially, and the rockers, it looked like it was sprayed with small stones in various places.
07-04-2020, 05:19 PM
#20
i PPF it all. Including windshield.
worth my piece of mind.
without it if i drive few minutes after another sportscar with sticky tires my car gets a lot of damage.
even the PPF isn't 100% bulletproof but it stops 99% of the stones damage.
The actual front splitter and black side radiators' surrounds not really can be PPFed as they have kinda wrinkled surface.
worth my piece of mind.
without it if i drive few minutes after another sportscar with sticky tires my car gets a lot of damage.
even the PPF isn't 100% bulletproof but it stops 99% of the stones damage.
The actual front splitter and black side radiators' surrounds not really can be PPFed as they have kinda wrinkled surface.