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It's time to get PPF for my new car. Ideally a full wrap is preferred, but in my case cost has become an important consideration.
I plan to go with a reputable shop that delivers top notch work. Of course, this is means the highest prices.
They offer pricing per panel so I can pick and choose.
Here are the panels I will definitely get PPF:
Front bumper, front fenders, and full hood
also the full rear fenders which will include the a-pillars and the rocker panels.
Ok so far within budget...
Now here are remaining panels.
Are there anything on this remaining list is a must wrap? Will I regret not protecting these panels?
Both doors, roof, engine cover, spoiler, and full rear bumper.
If you plan to choose only one of the remaining panels, definitely the doors, hands down. More susceptible to scratches than the others, and even a mild blemish on the doors will be noticeable every time you look the car- the other panels, not so much.
I did the entire car. It was a waste of money. White cars show dust on every seam. Car always looked dirty. I removed it all from the rear. I also removed it from the doors. There was a join that they tried to hide behind the door handle.
Big mistake. The film is quite thick. Every time I slid my fingers down my nails would catch on the film. So glad its gone from there. Much happier without the back done and the doors.
Front bumper, fenders and hood full a must. I also did high up the rocker panels even with height of the door handle and carried it under the door to the front fender seam and then under the rear fender.
I did full hood, front fenders, mirrors, front bumper. Where do I see some rock chips? Front side of the doors like someone mentioned and on top of the rear fenders above the wheel. Its not bad, but if i did it over, I'd do the doors and rear fenders as well.
I would add mirrors, doors and door handles if not already included. Also can’t tell if area behind rear wheels is included. My installer did a small area there as well as part of rear fender/rocker install.
I did bumper , hood and mirrors.........went back and had it replaced with Xpel Ultimate and added front fenders. Personally, I couldn't see doing more than that. To each his own.
Agree that mirrors are a must. Someone recently opened their door into my mirror and the PPF saved the paint even though it got a tear. It was easily and cheaply replaced and is like new again.
A-Pillars are forward facing and as prone to rock chips as the windshield but can't be replaced like the windshield for a bad hit, so consider those.
The slippery slope for me started with adding on the A-Pillars, since my prior car took a huge rock chip there (it had only the hood/bumper/front-fenders). But I didn't want a seam at the top of the A-Pillars, although it probably wouldn't have been all that bad. So that led to sweeping the PPF all of the way down the roof line and rear fender including replacing the original rock guards. Since I wanted the doors too, that pretty much just left the rear-facing parts, so I just sent ahead and did the whole thing.
I also took the unusual measure of having the PPF guy install a second layer over top of the full length of the rocker panels (at the very bottom where the front wheels throw rocks). The part with the elastic surface under the paint. We aligned the top edge of the second layer with the seam of the elastic transition to normal paint so you can't even tell it is there. We figure if it gets beat up enough, he will eventually remove and possibly replace the top layer without having the re-PPF the whole area. If it doesn't work then I'm just out the little extra he charged for adding the second layer strips there. It is an experiment though... I give it low odds of really being worth it but thought I'd give it a try.
I had PPF applied first to the front clip and mirrors, and later to the entire car. My motivation was a rock chip that appeared under my passenger sideview mirror, another that appeared smack in the middle of my rear spoiler, and small chips that were appearing up the backside of the rear wheel wells. I opted to be OK with the pre-cut sheet for the rear bumper. Yes, you see the seams around the letters. That does not bother me, but could become an issue in the future if the seams raise at all. I know that many people, especially Rennlisters, go utterly bonkers when they see seams, and I get it - I'm just not on that level of perfectionism about this car.
Looking back on it, I'm not sure that wrapping anymore than the front clip is something I'd do again. My car is my daily driver and I live in the heart of Houston, TX. Roads here are utterly brutal on cars. My wrap shows just as much wear and tear as my paint would (maybe even more so as you can always find imperfections after some tough months of driving if you look hard enough,) so what does it really matter to me? Years from now when it's time to re-wrap or sell the car, will the less damaged paint be a positive thing? Sure. Having said that, my C4S is not a collectors car - it's something I love to put through the paces as often as possible. I like watching the odometer climb steeply - it means I'm getting every dollar out of the experience of owning a 911.
If you need to add panels for peace of mind, I'd say doors and rear wing. If you're just looking to keep the really frequent impact areas to a minimum, I'd stick with the front clip and put the rest of the money towards a good ceramic coating. Less time removing bugs, waxing, and polishing is more time on the road driving.
The amount of coverage really depend on the area you live. A minimum would be the entire front of the car (full hood, full fenders, mirrors and front bumper). If you live anywhere that uses gravel or sand in the winter, I would also focus on the bottom portions of the car (full rockers/bottoms of doors, rear wheel arch, etc.) In heavy traffic cities like New York it's not uncommon to see full rear bumpers wrapped. It's weird to think that it's normal for people in New York to bump the cars in front and behind you when parallel parking. Anything beyond that is up to you and your budget. Wear and tear items like door edges and door cups are important. Since these cars are so low I've also seen some pretty good hits on the cab top and a-pillar areas.
I know it's been mentioned many times before, but the most important thing when doing this is to look at the shop's quality of work and reputation. Do they wrap edges? How long have they been doing PPF? Go with a good film with a good warranty. Warranties are only as good as the company that backs them up. 3M's 10 year warranty is nationwide AND transferable if you sell the car. Also ask about any additional coverage for the paint in the off chance that a rock actually gets through the film. 3M offers a paint service agreement, that many shops include in the price, that will repaint your car up to $3500 per incident (no claim limits) if a rock gets through the film and damages the paint underneath. No other manufacturer is offering that, and the service agreement is also 50 state legal and transferable if you sell the car.
Click the Dealer Locator link in my signature to find a shop in your area.
06-12-2018, 01:57 AM
Which panels to PPF?
