All models PPF Paint Protection Film

[PVGR]

It's an interesting and personal debate, I've decided against it for reasons outlined in an earlier post.

Would be interested to catch up with some PPF people in 3-5 years and see if I made the wrong choice

Next I'm going to check out ceramic coating, has lots of possible benefits, but sounds like a to get off if you need a scratch or chip repair which I may well do.

 

[Dal3D]

Would be interested to catch up with some PPF people in 3-5 years and see if I made the wrong choice

*Nips to garage*

Been on 6 years (virtually to the day) and not a single blemish in the PPF.

Plenty of muck, flies and general crud, but no digs

 

[James-UK]

It's an interesting and personal debate, I've decided against it for reasons outlined in an earlier post.

Would be interested to catch up with some PPF people in 3-5 years and see if I made the wrong choice

Next I'm going to check out ceramic coating, has lots of possible benefits, but sounds like a to get off if you need a scratch or chip repair which I may well do.

Get the ceramic coating, helps with cleaning - and then if you use a good drying aid / blower / leaf blower / you should minimise swirl marks if not alleviate them. Cars do need to be coated to help protect but also the hydrophobic properties of ceramic are what help remove the dirt easier.

PPF imo is a scam. Ceramic has it's purpose.

 

[PVGR]

*Nips to garage*

Been on 6 years (virtually to the day) and not a single blemish in the PPF.

Plenty of muck, flies and general crud, but no digs

Interesting - does this mean you've been lucky and had no chips at all or they've all "healed"?

Do you have any of the other downsides commonly mentioned (post #38) like weird gaps, butt joints or folds in the PPF , visible lines with dirt build up?

 

[Dal3D]

Interesting - does this mean you've been lucky and had no chips at all or they've all "healed"?

Do you have any of the other downsides commonly mentioned (post #38) like weird gaps, butt joints or folds in the PPF , visible lines with dirt build up?

I guess some of the smaller ones have healed but there's no rips or cuts in the PPF no.
No weird gaps, butt joints, folds, visible lines or dirt build up.
I did have it installed by the same guy that does lots of work for Paul Bailey (holy trinity guy) so his work is top notch.

 

[--Rage--]

I'm planning on keeping the Gr86 for 5-10 years if I gel with it well enough, and the thought of paying upwards of £2k (on top of ceramic coating!) every 3-5 years on maintaining the PPF and knowing that it may still get damaged by stone chips makes me very reluctant to consider PPF.

New to PPF, what is this 3-5 year maintenance?

 

[Will300]

New to PPF, what is this 3-5 year maintenance?

There isn't any maintenance as such. It's more to do with the fact that most standard quality paint protection films are rated to last between 3-5years and might need replacing after this time, due to yellowing or the adhesive starting to fail. However the high quality ones will last 10 years, Xpel Ultimate Plus for example.

 

[ZN8]

It could be false economy for those not intending to hold onto the car for a long period of time, and you don't really have to worry about corrosion from stone chips as the front end is either aluminium or plastic.

I'm tempted by PPF though. This will be my second new car. My first was my current GT86, it's tough when you get those first few stone chips, even worse when they start to rust. Unfortunately the condition of your immaculate new car will only go one way.. PPF could help that and to me is considered a long term consumable. I won't be cut up if I had to have it reapplied after 5 years, no different to having the front end resprayed.

Might also be a saving grace when you inadvertently get stuck behind a gritter lorry

 

[Will300]

I've had PPF on several cars, all of which are now a couple of years old. None of them have had the film start to lift and get dirt underneath like that Urus.
My car has got a few chips which has torn the film, but these happened on trackdays. The film on the other cars is still spot less, and they are used daily.

So it turns out I lied, my brothers car has some minor lifting and dirt on the edges. However this is only on a couple of corners and is hardly noticable, unless you get a bit of wash mitt stuck in it. There are no chips on his film, he has a full front end and A Pillar protected. His car rarely gets washed, so would be a good indication if the PPF was collecting dirt on the edges. Photo's below showing the condition, red car.

Interestingly my car has no lifting and the film is of similar age, however my car has about 7 or 8 chips in it whereas my brothers car has no chips. The chips are only noticable from around 2m away, any further and you can't really see them.
Please note my car gets used daily and for around 10 trackdays a year.

Film on both cars is around 4 years old.

Commented photos below.

Lifting edges:

Film edges - No lifting:

A Pillar Edge:

My car, there is a collection of chips on the leading edge's of the bottom of the bumper.

Chips (any other spots you see are just water marks):

Film edge - No lifting:

You may notice my car has a front splitter and there are 4 chips directly above this. I'm not sure if the splitter is acting like a hoover on any debris, which might cause this collection of chips. Splitter was installed 3 months after the PPF application.

 

[PVGR]

Extremely useful, many thanks.

Much more minor than the Urus video, but some of the downsides appear to be present.

 

[James-UK]

You see, I really don't see the point of it. You've got horrible chips in it that needs the wrap replacing, and you won't replace it due to the cost. Which by the way, I'm in full agreement with. But then whats the difference of having those chips in your paintwork? They both look unsightly from close, and disappear at distance. I don't see the benefit myself.

 

[--Rage--]

So it turns out I lied, my brothers car has some minor lifting and dirt on the edges. However this is only on a couple of corners and is hardly noticable, unless you get a bit of wash mitt stuck in it. There are no chips on his film, he has a full front end and A Pillar protected. His car rarely gets washed, so would be a good indication if the PPF was collecting dirt on the edges. Photo's below showing the condition, red car.

Interestingly my car has no lifting and the film is of similar age, however my car has about 7 or 8 chips in it whereas my brothers car has no chips. The chips are only noticable from around 2m away, any further and you can't really see them.
Please note my car gets used daily and for around 10 trackdays a year.

Film on both cars is around 4 years old.

Commented photos below.

Lifting edges:

View attachment 4133

View attachment 4134

Film edges - No lifting:

View attachment 4135

A Pillar Edge:

View attachment 4136

My car, there is a collection of chips on the leading edge's of the bottom of the bumper.

Chips (any other spots you see are just water marks):

View attachment 4137

Film edge - No lifting:

View attachment 4138

You may notice my car has a front splitter and there are 4 chips directly above this. I'm not sure if the splitter is acting like a hoover on any debris, which might cause this collection of chips. Splitter was installed 3 months after the PPF application.

Do the chips depend on the type of PPF?

Or are they both the same type/brand of film?

 

[AndyRC]

Some interesting and informative comments coming out on this topic

Without hyjacking @PVGR thread (hope you don’t mind ) I’ve added a poll as we haven’t had one for at least 24 hours If folk think we need more questions just say.

 

[beorg]

I found this article interesting about PPF, which answers some of the common concerns about PPF in an honest manner - https://www.vive-houston.com/blog/houston-texas-the-real-truth-about-paint-protection-film

I'm strongly considering having it installed now, front only (including the bonnet and A pillars), as my BMW was peppered with stone chips and I had to get the bumper resprayed in the end due to how much they annoyed me. I'm sure they would bother me more on a brand new £30k car.

Also, since I was going to get a paint correction and ceramic coating done on it anyway, it seems like the cost of doing both of them combined might be a bit less than doing them separately. £1500 over 60 months/5 years works out at £25/month, but that amount might be partially recovered at the point of sale too.

 

[PVGR]

You see, I really don't see the point of it. You've got horrible chips in it that needs the wrap replacing, and you won't replace it due to the cost. Which by the way, I'm in full agreement with. But then whats the difference of having those chips in your paintwork? They both look unsightly from close, and disappear at distance. I don't see the benefit myself.

Totally!

 

[KobayashiMaru86]

My local detailer who I'll get to ceramic coat at a minimum uses this. Not sure if he just orders by the sheet or templates but you can buy templates for the GR86 on the US site and the costs are eyewatering.

Paint Protection Film Pre-Cut Kits

www.xpel.com

 

[GR86GRY]

You see, I really don't see the point of it. You've got horrible chips in it that needs the wrap replacing, and you won't replace it due to the cost. Which by the way, I'm in full agreement with. But then whats the difference of having those chips in your paintwork? They both look unsightly from close, and disappear at distance. I don't see the benefit myself.

Let's see what the front of your car looks like after 4 years and 10 track days a year without any and we can compare

 

[PVGR]

Let's see what the front of your car looks like after 4 years and 10 track days a year without any and we can compare

Probably the same as a car with PPF that's the funny thing about it, you see the chips in both.

Sure the PPF car is pristine underneath, but you'll never see it!

 

[ZN8]

Probably the same as a car with PPF that's the funny thing about it, you see the chips in both.

Sure the PPF car is pristine underneath, but you'll never see it!

I feel you are missing one of the traits of PPF. Its not like for like, one stone chip in paint does not mean one chip in PPF. It has better impact resistance than paint (especially on these Japanese cars). The likelihood is a large number of potential chips directly on paint will not damage the PPF coating. If it did and was just as vulnerable no one would fit it.

 

[Will300]

You see, I really don't see the point of it. You've got horrible chips in it that needs the wrap replacing, and you won't replace it due to the cost. Which by the way, I'm in full agreement with. But then whats the difference of having those chips in your paintwork? They both look unsightly from close, and disappear at distance. I don't see the benefit myself.

As @ZN8 mentioned, its the additional impact resistance provided by the film and only a fraction of the possible chips get through.
I also suspect my use case is on the more extreme side, with the amount of track time covered. As previously mentioned my brothers car, with a similar age film has no chips, but that only see daily use, no tracktime. The other benefits of the film is the chemical resistant, scratch / swirl resistance, parking scuff protection and reduced chance of dent impact.

For reference the rest of my car which isn't protected is covered in stone chips. To have these properly sorted would mean a full respray, and based on the 5 or 6 paint repairs I've had in the past, no aftermarket paint job ever turns out as good as the OEM paint. I'm quite OCD with my car and I'd rather keep as much of my paint looking perfect for as long as possible, PPF was the best option available to me at that time to do this.

There are alternative products available now, which I'd like to try on the GR.

Do the chips depend on the type of PPF?

Or are they both the same type/brand of film?

Both cars have the same brand film applied, which is by Llumar PPF, unfortunately the reciept doesn't list which version of their film.

A different film might react differently to the chips.