Awas

https://mycaliforniatint.com/do-i-ne...-right-choice/

TC Cruising

Paint correction is something I do whenever the OEM paint needs help to remove blemishes, swirls, and create a better texture or shine to it. I did not paint correct my 2024 BMW iX because it did not need it. I did however paint correct the four previous new vehicles we purchased.

Not saying that all of Porsche paint is also that way, but from the paint jobs I have seen in the Porsche showroom the last six months and on the limited numbers of Macan EV’s, I would not paint correct any of them. I am hopeful our Macan EV will not need any paint correction.

Bxstr

Assuming you’re not keeping the car forever, I wouldn’t do the whole car.

full front should be plenty and save you some money.

the reason I like PPF is because it absorbs impacts better than paint. So even while the PPF will get imperfections during its life, it’ll be less than the chipped paint you’ll notice. Downside with PPF is of course lifting edges which does happen even on many great installs (can be corrected) and some staining from bugs and such which is less noticeable on colors other than white.

TC Cruising

Backside wrapping of every edge possible eliminates PPF lifting unless one gets carried away with a pressure washer at either too close range and/or too much PSI. I use a max of 1600 PSI, and never have the washer closer than 1’ from the car, yet +18”’ everywhere near edges. Never had a single PPF stain though at least for the last seven years when I started to use it, I have doubled up with ceramic coating over it.

Bxstr

Yeah, you likely won’t have PPF lift much if at all on a panel that can be wrapped. But when you get into bumpers is when edges tend to lift.

Curious with stains, have you ever had a white car with PPF? Could just be the bugs where I’m at, but if you let something sit on the paint for too long, even with ceramic, it will start to stain. The PPF is porous, it is essentially plastic, so it makes sense why it stains. Also when I say stain, I’m not talking yellowing, I’m specifically thinking when a bug splatters, sits out in the sun for a couple hours, this can happen.

TC Cruising

Good question. Never had a white car. My wife who prefers darker colors picks them inside and out and the seats; and nicely I get to pick all of the performance/functional options. Our lightest vehicle which showed no stains over years, was one almost identical to dolomite silver (but as it had lot of black pieces she liked it.).

TurboIXXI

After some thought on this subject, I've made my decision.
I'm going to PPF the front bumper, headlights, fog lights, and mirrors (carbon mirror option)
I would do the whole car but honestly, I don't think I need it nor do I want to spend the money to do it.

I will not use ceramic coating, I'm going to use powerlock & collinite combo and here are my reasons:

I've had ceramic coating done on 2 of my cars that were parked outside. They do not protect your car anymore than wax/sealant. Let's be real here, car wash maintenance goes two ways; regularly cared for or neglected.
In my case, my cars were neglected, I thought they were safe since I had the paint correction, ceramic coating, and PPF all professionally applied. It wasn't until I removed the front bumper PPF that I noticed how bad the ceramic coating had looked after a few years.
I wash my cars myself, 2 bucket method, foam cannon, new microfiber towels with drying aides, the whole 9 yards with the Kranzle pressure washer and DI water.

I'm only going to PPF the front bumper because this is the only part of the car that usually needs a good scrub.

Awas

@TurboIXXI Sounds sensible approach.

fleming23

I've always done PPF on full fronts of my vehicles, this car will likely be no different except I've never owned a Porsche previously. My PPF installer did warn me that installing PPF on the headlights (not sure if just lower, or if upper marker lights also count) can and will void headlight warranty. It is pretty clearly stated when you google it... Never ran into that disclaimer with any other manufacturer. I'm still undecided if I'm going to PPF the lights or not...

mb1

I can never understand why people choose to mess with the lighting. Porsche and its suppliers (with access to the best engineers in the world) spend millions trying to optimize lighting, and then some aftermarket supplier wants to make money altering it. Lighting is primarily a safety issue, secondarily cosmetic.

TC Cruising

Putting clear PPF on top of the lighting lens can save one over $1,500 for the cost of replacing just one due to one single rock impact. PPF does not reduce lighting efficacy at all. I have had my headlights PPF covered on every one of my vehicles for the last twenty years. When I look closely at the PFF on every vehicle which had PPF, I could/can see impact multiple impact marks, but never have I had to replace a headlight rock destroyed in over 500,000 miles.

To each their own.

fleming23

You are suggesting that adding clear PPF alters the headlight output in some appreciable way?? I've seen quite a bit on car forums, but that is a first I think.

mb1

I'm surprised this is controversial. PPF is plastic. All plastic degrades. There's a reason that zero manufacturers use plastic in their headlights. It's because plastic degrades and delaminates. All anyone has to do is look at cars produced in the 80s with plastic headlights. Not a pretty sight.
Any substance placed over a glass headlight alters the light projection to some degree. It's just physics. If any engineer from any manufacturer thought that a plastic coating somehow improved their product, they'd do it.
It's certainly anyone's choice to accept this tradeoff.

beye

There is a tradeoff, maybe it’s a big deal, maybe not.
I will PPF my Macan, and will see the differences between before and after. In France, you are allowed to apply film on the headlights, and it has no impact on several technical controls we have to pass regularly.

If the PPF is able to mitigate stripes on the headlights, maybe I can assume that it helps to preserve their « transparency »? When headlights PPF is degraded, you just have to replace it at almost no cost.
Another point, Matrix LED continuously adjusts beam intensity of each led with regards to dirt on headlights (and other cars etc), so it could mitigate the supposed PPF impact?

sparkhill

I have added PPF to the headlights of a couple dozen modern cars over the past 25 years without issue. I currently have a 992 GT3 with PPF on the Matrix headlights, with Matrix functionality activated, again without issue. I guess PPF on the headlights might cause issues, but I have never seen it.

On the Macan I am getting PPF on the front hood/fenders/bumper, plus A-pillars, headlights, rear loading area or bumper. I will just use the local installer who pre-cuts the film before application. I have had full custom PPF on 911’s, but on the Macan EV, front only coverage offers me good enough protection at a more reasonable cost. I might do the full hood or just partial, depending on the cost. There are no wrong answers — it all depends on what the owner values.