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Gordon Sumway --If you decide you want PPF: Not far from you is Nushineoftampa.com Ryan is highly recommended by PCA people in this area. Ask him about his
guaranty over and above PPF manufacturer. Remember if you need to re spray, it may match the rest of the car ... maybe.
The issue I raised here goes deeper than my desire to use PPF. My preference would be to use protection on the front end, rockers, and behind rear tires. The problem is finding a competent installer. No one I've found around here does it as a specialty. Most are tint guys that dabble in PPF, and both that I visited referred me to a guy in Tampa, who is supposed to be topnotch. The problem is dropping off a car for a week or whatever 100 miles away.
I always have the dealer to use if necessary. They have a guy that does it, and in fact did the bumper and rockers on my Cayman S. I can't complain about his work, but they only use the pre-cut basic 5 year Llumar stuff. It looks fine as long as you don't get too close. The biggest problem I anticipate is the front bumper on my soon to be GTS. The pre-cut has to have an inordinate number of cuts and gaps given the design.
The roads around me are not a big problem, but the Porsche paint is. I've picked up a couple chips on my Cayman S, but Dr. ColorChip did the trick hiding them. My last Vette I had for 5.5 years w/2 trips back & forth to NH, and I only got 1 minor chip on that car. I can only attribute that to relative toughness of the paint. I guess what will happen is I'll have the dealer do their best on some obvious areas, and hope for the best.
Edit: Oops, I forgot that I stumbled on another installer locally that uses 3M products, and seems to claim expert status. I'll have to stop by and talk to them.
The first car where rock chips really did some damage was my 1991 Honda Prelude Si. After 50,000 miles in three years, the low front end of the Prelude looked like it caught a disease. Fast waaay forward twenty something cars to late 2013 when I bought our Cayenne, we picked up a few chips in the first few months, so off to an indy PPF installer. He did a great job and it still looks terrific to this day. We use the Cayenne for long highway trips and I don't worry when I hear debris hitting the car. Last year, a snow rake got away from me as I was taking it off a shelf and glanced off the front fender of the Cayenne (I know, I know), It just put a slight scuff in the PPF, which is barely visible.
When the 911 came along, I had the dealer install XPEL. He was more expensive than an indy (the Cayenne installer is no longer around), and I didn't want to chance any damage getting the car to the PPF installer. Very happy with the PPF install and want to do the rocker panels, as the tires really kick up a lot of gravel.
Cheers
Anyone have a recommendation for a good ppf installer in central NJ? I have ppf (hood, front fenders, headlights) on my 991C2S (but that was installed by the dealer in Philly). would like to find the right installer for a new .2 GT3 when it arrives, ideally local to NJ. Thanks.
If I were you, would drive it up to long Island at Detailing Dynamics, those guys are among the best in the country, check them out.
There is also auto polishing center in NJ, did the great job on this red GT3
Like most protective films, automotive PPF provides some protection from contact with undesirable things. It's also a bit disconnected, a bit removed from the true "au naturale" experience. Some people prefer things as they were intended to be. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have it wrapped than not have it at all, but I prefer the natural experience. I take care to ensure that I don't put myself into dangerous situations, so I minimize the chances for an unwelcome encounter.
I'm in the minority here. I do not have or want PPF. I have a white 2013 Carrera S with 40K on the clock - not a daily driver but we use it alot for road trips, like to Asheville Treffen. I virtually have no marks or chips on the car. I am very careful to stay away from vehicles that could throw stones or gravel roads etc. I keep the car pristine with the paint protected with sealant. It looks new. No matter what one uses, maintenance is needed. I have had PPF on prior Porsches and didn't like it. I really like the look of well conditioned paint. IMO it looks much better than a plastic coating.
Absolutely,....a little time and effort is all it takes. Mine is the same, after a decent amount of miles it still looks new. Some others may not be so lucky in the areas they live in.
Absolutely,....a little time and effort is all it takes. Mine is the same, after a decent amount of miles it still looks new. Some others may not be so lucky in the areas they live in.
Where we live, it is required if you don't want the sandblasted look after a few years of ownership. It can always be removed later if you don't like it, and is much cheaper and easier than repainting a bumper and hood. I highly recommend PPF to save your front end if it is required where you live.
If you are limiting that to Porsche paint, then I might agree, as it seems to chip if a pebble just gets in the general area. I drove a C6 Vette back & forth from FL to NH twice with nary a nick.
When I took delivery of my C4S, I had the front clip wrapped in XPel Ultimate. I had never run a car wrapped with PPF of any kind before but my Cayenne took so much front end damage on the highway in the year that I owned it (more than any car I've ever owned) I no longer trust Porsche paint. I figured that the front clip would be all I'd need on the 911. Two weeks into ownership I somehow came in contact with a pebble on the passenger side door, an inch or so under the sideview mirror. Rock chip. A month later my wife and I joined a group of Gulf Coast Porsche enthusiasts for a week long driving vacation in the Ozark Mountains. I managed to collect another dozen or so rock chips along the lower rear fenders, both front and back, as well as a nice big rock chip smack-dab in the middle of the rear wing.
I had the good fortune of meeting John Gray from Gulf Coast Auto Shield while on that trip to the Ozark Mts and I made the decision to let him work his magic getting the paint chips out and wrapping the rest of the car in XPel Ultimate. I'm in the same camp as many of you in that I don't like the way that the PPF looks on the car - it's thick and that's why it's effective but also has a soft plastic look that reminds some people of orange peel. Because of that, I had John put a ceramic coating over the entire car where it had been wrapped (as well as the brake calipers and the wheels for good measure).
In the end, the car looks absolutely spectacular. John Gray's reputation for excellence in both craftsmanship and customer service is well deserved. It was very difficult for me to justify spending thousands of dollars on top of the car's purchase price to protect the paint; however, my intention of keeping the vehicle for a long time combined with how much damage I was able to accumulate in a short amount of time leads me to believe that I've made the right decision. If nothing else, I feel a little less worried driving down the highways here in Houston, TX.
12-12-2017, 03:20 PM
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