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Advice on wrapping and PPF?

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I've recently purchased a used Model S (2017 75D) which has the original Tesla black paint. As far as I'm aware, the previous owner hasn't done anything other than a general wash (with or without waxing). There's no specific damage that I can see other than what you'd expect on a car that is 5 years old such as swirl marks and stone chips.

I'm really keen on the added protection offered by PPF (the self healing properties are awesome). But I'm also quite keen on changing the colour of the car not sure what but something like satin/matte silver or blue.

Are there any vinyl wrap brands that offer more protection than other vinyl (i.e. they are more like PPF) or are there any PPFs that can drastically change the colour?

I thought I could get the car wrapped and then have PPF put on top (but having spoken to some very reputable car wrapping companies here in the UK, it is not advisable from them and not something they would do).

So my current thinking is, I have the following options:
  1. Vinyl wrap the car (using a good quality vinyl that provides as much protection as possible).
  2. Get full paint correction + satin/matte PPF (it won't change the colour from black but will at least give it a satin/matte look).
Whatever option I go for, I'd be looking to get a ceramic coat on top to finish up.

Speaking reputable install companies, I'm looking at around £3k to £5k depending on the job. This is a lot of money so £5k would be the very top end of my budget.

Are there any other options or things I should consider given my budget and what I want?
 
Im not sure of why you would want to PPF the car at this point, similarly my 2017 has similar paint issues and the value add on something like this is really hard to justify given your Model S is no longer new. If you are intending to just do either a PPF or wrap for cosmetic reasons, i could understand that, but at this point given the age......not sure that is a worthwhile thing to do. Protection wise the car has already seen its paint and age deteriorate with time, throwing PPF on it (COSTLY), as you already know, to me is kind of pointless. Wrapping would be cool because you could give the car basically a new look. Having it wrapped will NOT protect the car, thats just the way it goes. How much wear and tear do you think would result beyond what is already visible within the paint?
 
I'm not sure I have fully thought it all through (hence this post) but my initial thinking was the PPF wouldn't be put on to protect the original paint (because that is already 5 years old) but more to give it a new painted look which has the self healing properties.

My thought to get vinyl with PPF on top is so that the vinyl would give me the colour I want and then the PPF would be a clear one to "lock it in". But it's a little overkill and I should just stick with vinyl.
 
Awesome, congrats on your purchase. I did my own PPF and Halo ceramic on top, see my thread DIY PPF on 2022 Blue Model S
You should definitely get it paint corrected before wrsp/PPF on a car with miles on it. There's a new product out there, colored PPF. Do a Google search. You can also PPF on top of wrap but I don't have experience with that. That colored PPF really raises the bar a lot.
 
has the original Tesla black paint.

But I'm also quite keen on changing the colour of the car not sure what but something like satin/matte silver or blue.

Are there any vinyl wrap brands that offer more protection than other vinyl (i.e. they are more like PPF) or are there any PPFs that can drastically change the colour?
Vinyl wraps are thinner than PPF, so it won't give as much rock protection damage but it will still give some. You also get the other benefits of PPF, protection from hard water, droppings, small rock chips, and uv damage. It's a great way to change the color w/o the permanence. Also black is the perfect base as it won't show thru the seams as with a bright color.
 
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I responded because when I first got my S i wanted to do the exact thing......i wanted to wrap it and PPF it, and I still do want to do that......however as time went on, i forgot about it and just enjoyed owning it. After about a year I came back to the idea of PPF and wrapping.... but PPF I would only do on a new car at this point. If you talk to different people you can get opinions on whether or not it makes financial sense. Out where you are, the cost is probably significantly higher. My advice is dont jump into things quickly. Enjoy the car for a while, see how the imperfections feel after a month or two, or even longer. PPF can be done on your own, but like anything, it takes practice......if you mess up, well, its gonna cost you even more. Just something to think about. Congrats on your car, enjoy it!!! If you do end up wrapping it, you are in luck because out here, out of all the colors, a black base is the easiest to do, and also cost the least.
 
Some really good comments on here. I'm going to rule out any kind of DIY job as I'm not that great with that kind of thing and there are other factors too.

Seems as though I can get a vinyl wrap for around £3k and a PPF wrap for around £5k. That's quite a big difference and given the original paint has seen a long period without protection already, then doing a PPF would mean I would need to get a full paint correction first which would add even more cost. I think with a vinyl wrap, the paint work might need a bit of prep but it wouldn't require a full paint correction so that's a plus, and as I've been told before, black is a great base colour as I can just get the visible exterior parts wrapped leaving the shuts and returns unwrapped (so it doesn't look to bad).

I did some googling and I do see a lot of info about GSWF coloured PPF, some of the colours they have are great but it'd still be around £5k which is a lot of money. But the other factor is that PPF probably has double the lifetime of vinyl (8 to 10 years vs 4 to 5 years for vinyl). So if I'm planning to keep the car for a while (which I will be) then in terms of cost per year, they're probably about the same.

The only other factor I can think of is a wrap will be able to go around panel edges for a more cleaner look. Whereas, PPF seems like it is much harder to wrap around panel edges. Some YouTube videos state that PPF is cut just short of the panel edge, where as others say they PPF around panel edge but then glue it down so it stays. Not so keen on the PPF being cut short of the panel edge as I feel it would ruin the look. And gluing the edges down sounds a little severe.

I'm very very torn.
 
For me, it came down to cost......i tried to wrap my car, its alot harder than it looks. lol. I just bought a small amount to see about doing probably the easiest part which is the hood. I thought I could do it because I did manage to tackle the interior trim pieces and it turned out fantastic.........i couldnt have been more wrong.
 
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