Gordon Shumway

I see a lot threads on here about paint protection film regarding what, where, how much, recommendations, etc., but haven't really seen anyone say "screw the PPF, I'll keep the car washed & polished, and unleash Dr. ColorChip as necessary". So I'm just curious if anybody eschews PPF for au naturel, or is it kind of an unwritten rule that PPF is required on a 911?

My curiosity is somewhat based on the fact I have a GTS on order, have no no one close I would consider a PPF pro, and would like to see experiences with or without.

Dewinator

If there’s nobody super good nearby just have them do a pre-cut PPF. You’ll have to deal with cleaning wax out of the edges of it, but that’s better than a botched custom job.

AnandN

I got a full frontal for my 18 C4S through the dealer who outsourced it to a good shop. So far, it has held up very well and I plan to drive my car all year round in NH. In my previous Porsche, 13 Boxster S, the front had a few small chips after one summer of driving. It wasn’t driven in the winters. The cost of the film is not much compared to the price of the car but I was also hesitant. Certainly the front end takes a beating in these low cars.

ENCT

I am not a fan of PPF, had it on my Z06 and did not like it. I lease my 911 so I am not as concerned about chips. I have 8500 miles and cannot see any chips so far.
Eric

Sharm

If it makes you feel any better, Andreas Preuninger is in the non PPF camp. He likes a good patina on the paint.

arter

If you live in an area where you pick up a lot of rock chips in the paint, then get the PPF for protection.
Out here in So Cal, it seems to be required. When I lived in upstate New York, no.

spiderv6

i skipped the ppf. i have a black car. i am an idiot. i will be repainting the hood at some point. i will never repeat this mistake.

my hesitation came from bad experiences on the 996 way back when. the tech has moved on from then significantly (as i now understand). next car will have ppf before i take delivery.

Gordon Shumway

My dealer is the only one I can seem to find within reasonable striking distance. I had them do my '15 Cayman (bumper & rocker panels ), and they did a reasonable job given they only do pre-cuts with the 5 year warranty basic Llumar. The pre-cuts aren't too bad, as long as you don't look too closely.

The roads here aren't bad at all, and paint chipping is not a big problem. I just worry about taking it on trips with a bunch of highway driving. I'm probably going to be forced to use the dealer, if I want it done. I'd probably get the front end done, but am kind of concerned how they do a pre-cut for the GTS bumper. It looks like it would require a lot of cuts/gaps.

Dude174

I had it on my M3, went without on my .1 and after only 18,000 miles on it and looking like it was sandblasted, I went back with it on my .2 --- the front bumper cover paint is pretty thin.

In fact when I picked up my car from the PEC, I taped the front with blue painters tape. When I got home (900 miles or so), the tape looked like I drove high speed on Daytona beach it was so covered with sand and small rocky bits.

TorqueChap

If you’re leasing go au natural.

If you’re buying I’d recommend PPF.

Patriot

Gus_Smedstad

Can't say for 911, but I owned a Toyota Supra Turbo for 16 years, and didn't use PPF. Mainly because PPF wasn't a thing when I bought it. At least, I don't think it was.

Chips were a real problem. In fact, at one point they had to complete re-spray the front bumper, because the paint started coming away in strips. My wife's car ended up with a similar problem on one fender, where a local touch-up wasn't enough, they had to re-spray the fender.


I think it's really a statistical problem. The more years you own the car, the higher the probability is that you'll encounter a paint problem that can't be touched up. If you're envisioning 5+ years of ownership, and put a reasonable number of miles on the car, I'd say PPF is the better idea.

StormRune

I didn't have it on my 997.2. The buyer in the private-party sale wasn't happy with the couple of dozen chips up on the front, nor was I during my ownership to be honest. It was his only real complaint about the car. I ended up discounting the car for the sale as much as PPF would have cost in the first place. Granted that it probably wouldn't have been as much a problem in a trade-in or lease-end situation.

The front-end PPF on my 991 has been fantastic. It makes cleaning bugs off the nose easier than any car I've ever had while completely blocking 99% of chips. The film has been nicked a little in a couple of places down low where there must have been bigger gravel impacts, but even there the film seems to have prevented any serious paint damage.

StormRune

BTW OP, I know there are those that will argue otherwise, but Porsche and the premier film installers I've seen address this do not recommend putting film on the headlights if you were considering that too. It can pull off the UV coating on the headlight glass.

K-A