Car wasn't polished before front PPF, what if I add more later?

[acarney]

So I got my PPF applied within 10 days of getting my car, and they did a pretty good job (great job for being local, probably only "good" job compared to options in Seattle/Portland, etc).

I had the full front of the car covered and rocker panels all the way back to behind the rear wheels. As far as I know they just washed it very well but did no paint correction. It looks good, but it doesn't glow. I've always though as money allows down the road I wanted to get a full PPF. I'm thinking my rear bumper will probably next based on how dirty it gets in the winter, but then doors and the rest of the bits down the road. I've tried to only have stuff applied up to a body panel gap so there isn't a "patch work" of film on the car.

My real question is this... if I have a different shop do it and instruct them to do a single pass paint correction on the spots they plan to cover... do you think there will be a noticeable difference after the fact between the front of the car and sides/rear bumper? Or just I just not worry about anything but adding more PPF as money allows and then getting a ceramic coat on the whole car once I'm sure I'm done adding PPF?

 

[woodguyatl]

So I got my PPF applied within 10 days of getting my car, and they did a pretty good job (great job for being local, probably only "good" job compared to options in Seattle/Portland, etc).

I had the full front of the car covered and rocker panels all the way back to behind the rear wheels. As far as I know they just washed it very well but did no paint correction. It looks good, but it doesn't glow. I've always though as money allows down the road I wanted to get a full PPF. I'm thinking my rear bumper will probably next based on how dirty it gets in the winter, but then doors and the rest of the bits down the road. I've tried to only have stuff applied up to a body panel gap so there isn't a "patch work" of film on the car.

My real question is this... if I have a different shop do it and instruct them to do a single pass paint correction on the spots they plan to cover... do you think there will be a noticeable difference after the fact between the front of the car and sides/rear bumper? Or just I just not worry about anything but adding more PPF as money allows and then getting a ceramic coat on the whole car once I'm sure I'm done adding PPF?

You will have to have correction done to eliminate scratches and defects from day to day wear. You will not see a huge difference.

 

[640k]

So I got my PPF applied within 10 days of getting my car, and they did a pretty good job (great job for being local, probably only "good" job compared to options in Seattle/Portland, etc).

I had the full front of the car covered and rocker panels all the way back to behind the rear wheels. As far as I know they just washed it very well but did no paint correction. It looks good, but it doesn't glow. I've always though as money allows down the road I wanted to get a full PPF. I'm thinking my rear bumper will probably next based on how dirty it gets in the winter, but then doors and the rest of the bits down the road. I've tried to only have stuff applied up to a body panel gap so there isn't a "patch work" of film on the car.

My real question is this... if I have a different shop do it and instruct them to do a single pass paint correction on the spots they plan to cover... do you think there will be a noticeable difference after the fact between the front of the car and sides/rear bumper? Or just I just not worry about anything but adding more PPF as money allows and then getting a ceramic coat on the whole car once I'm sure I'm done adding PPF?

you shouldn't need to perform any paint correction on a brand new car prior to installing PPF. what they did is normal procedure. Teslas are known to have paint issues, nubs, etc., but i'm guessing there wasn't any severe enough issues to deal with. your installer was right.

as far as installing PPF down the road, it's all going to come down to how well you maintain your car. obviously any film on the paint is going to extend the longevity of the look and reduce or eliminate scratches and chips in those area, but by the time you do it or can afford to do it, it may not even be worth the expense.

my opinion would be to just maintain the car as well as you can and do it differently next time.

 

[acarney]

you shouldn't need to perform any paint correction on a brand new car prior to installing PPF. what they did is normal procedure. Teslas are known to have paint issues, nubs, etc., but i'm guessing there wasn't any severe enough issues to deal with. your installer was right.

as far as installing PPF down the road, it's all going to come down to how well you maintain your car. obviously any film on the paint is going to extend the longevity of the look and reduce or eliminate scratches and chips in those area, but by the time you do it or can afford to do it, it may not even be worth the expense.

my opinion would be to just maintain the car as well as you can and do it differently next time.

My main desire for the PPF is to make washing far more easier and forgiving. I try to do a good job with good technique, but there are times where I just want to soap the car down, use a single wash microfiber, and quickly rinse it off... 45 minute job max or something. (Obviously not when it's heavily dirt, but just from light dust or water spots after a rain, etc). The front hood PPF seems AMAZING at being really forgiving... I've kept the paint in good conditions in other places, but there's still some very light micro-swirls in some places and that was with trying to use a bunch of new clean microfibers and stuff.

The car doesn't look too bad in general and I don't drive a huge amount (just about 4,000 miles since early August delivery), the back bumper is a target spot just based on how dirty it gets in the winter, not that it looks scratched up or road chips or anything. I was worried that if they DID to a single step paint correction or polish just to remove some of the light swirls in a couple spots that part of the car might have a more mirror like finish or glow compared to the whole front end... and look weird.

There were a couple small paint defects that I need to have a detail shop take car of, but none were on the front end where the PPF was applied, and I would get those fixed before any PPF on those spots. There's maybe two or three spots that in the right light you can see a half dollar sized "circle" that looks like they polished out a nub or dirt or something from the paint and it just doesn't have the same gloss as the surrounding paint.

 

[640k]

I use Meguire's wash and wax. I used to clay and polish and the whole nine. I simply don't have the time or energy for that.

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Ultimate-Wash-Wax-Washing/dp/B00353PWAW

BTW I have 12k miles and took delivery in July and I'm not even in the "heavy range" of driving.

 

[joebruin77]

I have never personally seen a car with PPF added later on as you described, so I cannot speak from personal experience. But here are a couple of (hopefully) helpful thoughts:

1) When PPF is applied to car paint that is new and in relatively good condition (i.e. only very minor swirls and scratches), the adhesive from the PPF will fill in any minor scratches and swirls. That is why paint with PPF applied over it appears nearly swirl and scratch free even if a paint polish was not performed before installation. So I would not be concerned that they did not do a paint polish before applying the PPF, as long as your paint was in relatively good condition with no major scratches.

2) If you can currently see a difference in how the PPF-covered paint looks compared to the non-PPF covered paint, that could be a product of how the PPF effects the appearance of the paint. My guess is that if you do a paint correction to remove any major scratches and swirls on the exposed paint and then cover it with PPF, you will not notice any major differences comparing the original PPF area to the new PPF area. Of course, you would want to make sure that you use the same brand and type of PPF, as different PPF from different manufacturers can have ever so slightly different looks.

3) The main purpose of PPF is to protect the paint from rock chips, swirls, and scratches. If you are not that concerned about these things in the areas not currently covered by PPF and you are only interested in making washing the car easier, then you can save yourself some money and just get the car ceramic coated. A ceramic coating will make the car a lot easier and faster to wash. But ceramic coatings do not provide protection from rock chips and scratches like PPF, and ceramic coatings are not self-healing like PPF.

4) If your PPF covered paint is not as glowing or glossy as you would like, there are things you can do to add shine and gloss. A ceramic coating will make the PPF covered paint more glossy. Or you can apply a ceramic-infused boost spray on your PPF, even if it does not have a ceramic coating on it. My new favorite ceramic spray for my PPF-covered P3D is The Last Coat 2.0. It definitely adds noticeably more gloss and shine. The makers of TLC 2.0 also make a ceramic detail spray called Amp. It is also ceramic infused and is designed to amp up the shine and gloss but only lasts for 2 to 4 weeks.

This is my P3D after a wash and application of TLC 2.0 .

 

[joebruin77]

I use Meguire's wash and wax. I used to clay and polish and the whole nine. I simply don't have the time or energy for that.

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Ultimate-Wash-Wax-Washing/dp/B00353PWAW

I love Meguiar's waterless wash products. If you like Ultimate Wash and Wax, check out Meguiar's D115 Express Wash and Wax:

https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Det...ocphy=9031190&hvtargid=pla-456581139732&psc=1

D115 is from Meguiar's professional line. You have to buy it by the gallon. But because you dilute D115 (1 part D115 to 4 parts water), 1 gallon of D115 makes 5 gallons of waterless wash solution.

1 gallon of D115 costs about $65. A 26-ounce bottle of UWW costs around $9. If you bought 5 gallons of UWW, it would cost about $200. So you save a lot of money in the long run if you use D115 over UWW.

 

[TheTonester]

So I got my PPF applied within 10 days of getting my car, and they did a pretty good job (great job for being local, probably only "good" job compared to options in Seattle/Portland, etc).

I had the full front of the car covered and rocker panels all the way back to behind the rear wheels. As far as I know they just washed it very well but did no paint correction. It looks good, but it doesn't glow. I've always though as money allows down the road I wanted to get a full PPF. I'm thinking my rear bumper will probably next based on how dirty it gets in the winter, but then doors and the rest of the bits down the road. I've tried to only have stuff applied up to a body panel gap so there isn't a "patch work" of film on the car.

My real question is this... if I have a different shop do it and instruct them to do a single pass paint correction on the spots they plan to cover... do you think there will be a noticeable difference after the fact between the front of the car and sides/rear bumper? Or just I just not worry about anything but adding more PPF as money allows and then getting a ceramic coat on the whole car once I'm sure I'm done adding PPF?

Yeah, I've been considering PPF and/or ceramic for a while now. Most of the shops I've talked to do NOT do correction before PPF, but DO before ceramic. So if you get just PPF, the paint will not be corrected, but if you get PPF and ceramic, it will be.

 

[joebruin77]

Yeah, I've been considering PPF and/or ceramic for a while now. Most of the shops I've talked to do NOT do correction before PPF, but DO before ceramic. So if you get just PPF, the paint will not be corrected, but if you get PPF and ceramic, it will be.

I'm pretty sure shops will do a paint correction if you only get ceramic. If you get both PPF and ceramic, the PPF adhesive will fill in minor swirls and scratches, so there is no need to do a polish or minor correction if you are getting both. If the paint is in really bad shape and has major scratches, then a correction would be necessary with either one.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

PPF is like spraying on a new top coat of clear paint. If there are scratches or chips in the paint, it won't hide them, just like spraying more clear coat paint won't hide them, but PPF will hide light swirl marks because it becomes your new clear coat.

So if you aren't getting a shine from your PPF job, the issue is with your PPF and not the paint underneath.

 

[acarney]

The car has the same level of shine as it did when delivered. It looks great as new cars go, but it doesn’t have that beautiful glow/gloss that some people have posted here. I don’t have any products on top of it because I haven’t been able to get a good answer from anyone on which gives that deep glowing look without being permanent (ceramic) or semi-permanent (a lot of these gloss enhances seem to all say ceramic infused now).

Obviously I want to avoid ceramic if I think I’m going to do more PPF, and I’m hesitant to just have the front end done because if they does create the deep gloss, the car is going to look “half done.”

Guess I should have had it all done at once but just couldn’t stomach the $5k+ after I bought a $43k car! (So I got the important bit, full front, down near the road with the rocker/side panels, and window tint, lol)

 

[joebruin77]

The car has the same level of shine as it did when delivered. It looks great as new cars go, but it doesn’t have that beautiful glow/gloss that some people have posted here. I don’t have any products on top of it because I haven’t been able to get a good answer from anyone on which gives that deep glowing look without being permanent (ceramic) or semi-permanent (a lot of these gloss enhances seem to all say ceramic infused now).

Obviously I want to avoid ceramic if I think I’m going to do more PPF, and I’m hesitant to just have the front end done because if they does create the deep gloss, the car is going to look “half done.”

Guess I should have had it all done at once but just couldn’t stomach the $5k+ after I bought a $43k car! (So I got the important bit, full front, down near the road with the rocker/side panels, and window tint, lol)

If you don't want to use any products that contain ceramic, there are plenty of polymer sealants and traditional waxes you can use to add gloss. Since part of your car is covered in PPF, you just want to make sure the products you use are PPF safe.

Here are a couple examples. Optimum makes several ppf-safe, non-ceramic products. You can wash your car using Optimum No Rinse Wash and Wax to add a bit of wax and gloss after each wash. You can also use OptiSeal once every 3 months or so, which is a polymer sealant. Optimum also makes a a great detail and gloss enhancer spray.

I have used Meguiar's D115 (Express Wash and Wax) which is similar to the Optimum Wash and Wax. I have also used Meguiars D156, which is a synthetic spray wax. It is a professional version of Meguiars Ultimate Quick Spray Wax. Both of these Meguiars products are free of ceramic and safe for PPF.

One last thought. You can go ahead and do a ceramic coating on your entire car now and see how it looks. If you decide to do the rest of the car in PPF later, the PPF installer would have to do a compound/polish to remove the ceramic coating. But they would most likely have to do a compound/polish anyway to remove any major swirls or scratches. So just because you may get more PPF later doesn't mean you have to avoid using ceramic coatings or ceramic infused sprays now, IMO.

Hope that helps.

 

[joebruin77]

BTW, if you want a really cheap but still effective option to add gloss and protection to your car, this is a surprisingly great product from Turtle Wax:

https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-5...rtle+wax+seal+and+shine&qid=1580422401&sr=8-1

 

[TheTonester]

I'm pretty sure shops will do a paint correction if you only get ceramic.

Yes, that's what I said. Correction with ceramic, no correction with PPF unless also doing ceramic.

 

[joebruin77]

Yes, that's what I said. Correction with ceramic, no correction with PPF unless also doing ceramic.

Sorry if my reply wasn't clear. What I meant was, if you are going to get both PPF and ceramic, the shop will likely not have to do a correction. The reason is that the PPF adhesive will fill in all of the minor swirls and scratches. So even if you do a ceramic coating after the PPF, a correction is usually not necessary.

 

[TheTonester]

Sorry if my reply wasn't clear. What I meant was, if you are going to get both PPF and ceramic, the shop will likely not have to do a correction. The reason is that the PPF adhesive will fill in all of the minor swirls and scratches. So even if you do a ceramic coating after the PPF, a correction is usually not necessary.

Yes, perhaps, although different with a partial PPF job which is what I will do if I ever pull the trigger and do it.

 

[acarney]

I have never personally seen a car with PPF added later on as you described, so I cannot speak from personal experience. But here are a couple of (hopefully) helpful thoughts:

1) When PPF is applied to car paint that is new and in relatively good condition (i.e. only very minor swirls and scratches), the adhesive from the PPF will fill in any minor scratches and swirls. That is why paint with PPF applied over it appears nearly swirl and scratch free even if a paint polish was not performed before installation. So I would not be concerned that they did not do a paint polish before applying the PPF, as long as your paint was in relatively good condition with no major scratches.

2) If you can currently see a difference in how the PPF-covered paint looks compared to the non-PPF covered paint, that could be a product of how the PPF effects the appearance of the paint. My guess is that if you do a paint correction to remove any major scratches and swirls on the exposed paint and then cover it with PPF, you will not notice any major differences comparing the original PPF area to the new PPF area. Of course, you would want to make sure that you use the same brand and type of PPF, as different PPF from different manufacturers can have ever so slightly different looks.

3) The main purpose of PPF is to protect the paint from rock chips, swirls, and scratches. If you are not that concerned about these things in the areas not currently covered by PPF and you are only interested in making washing the car easier, then you can save yourself some money and just get the car ceramic coated. A ceramic coating will make the car a lot easier and faster to wash. But ceramic coatings do not provide protection from rock chips and scratches like PPF, and ceramic coatings are not self-healing like PPF.

4) If your PPF covered paint is not as glowing or glossy as you would like, there are things you can do to add shine and gloss. A ceramic coating will make the PPF covered paint more glossy. Or you can apply a ceramic-infused boost spray on your PPF, even if it does not have a ceramic coating on it. My new favorite ceramic spray for my PPF-covered P3D is The Last Coat 2.0. It definitely adds noticeably more gloss and shine. The makers of TLC 2.0 also make a ceramic detail spray called Amp. It is also ceramic infused and is designed to amp up the shine and gloss but only lasts for 2 to 4 weeks.

This is my P3D after a wash and application of TLC 2.0 .

View attachment 506048

Your car is very much the look I'm going for (same color combo too!)

Do you think TLC is safe to use if I still think there is a possibility of more PPF down the road, or would I need to have a machine polish before the PPF? If not... do you think I can get the same type of look with Amp? Even if it's just for a month or two at a time?

 

[joebruin77]

Your car is very much the look I'm going for (same color combo too!)

Do you think TLC is safe to use if I still think there is a possibility of more PPF down the road, or would I need to have a machine polish before the PPF? If not... do you think I can get the same type of look with Amp? Even if it's just for a month or two at a time?

You have excellent taste

If your paint that is not covered by PPF is unprotected (no sealant, no wax, etc), my guess is that it will need to be machine polished at a minimum and possibly compounded prior to either ceramic or PPF installation.

The Last Coat 2.0 is a very durable ceramic-infused sealant. Once applied, they claim it will last up to 6 months. So it depends on when you want to apply the PPF. If you want to apply the PPF within a couple weeks of TLC 2.0 being applied, then the TLC 2.0 would most likely need to be polished/compounded off. But if you want to apply PPF in 6 months after application, there is a good chance most of it will have worn off by that point.

If it were me, I would be more worried about my paint being unprotected than whether or not I need to do a machine polish. A paint polishing/correction is not that time consuming or expensive if done by a professional who knows what they are doing.

Amp is not meant to be used as a main form of paint protection. It is designated as a "topper", to go on top of TLC 2.0. You can certainly try it alone and see if you like the resuls. Amp is not that expensive. It runs about $20 a bottle, but if you go to the last coat website and use the code 15FORYOU, you can get 15% off.

 

[acarney]

You have excellent taste

If your paint that is not covered by PPF is unprotected (no sealant, no wax, etc), my guess is that it will need to be machine polished at a minimum and possibly compounded prior to either ceramic or PPF installation.

The Last Coat 2.0 is a very durable ceramic-infused sealant. Once applied, they claim it will last up to 6 months. So it depends on when you want to apply the PPF. If you want to apply the PPF within a couple weeks of TLC 2.0 being applied, then the TLC 2.0 would most likely need to be polished/compounded off. But if you want to apply PPF in 6 months after application, there is a good chance most of it will have worn off by that point.

If it were me, I would be more worried about my paint being unprotected than whether or not I need to do a machine polish. A paint polishing/correction is not that time consuming or expensive if done by a professional who knows what they are doing.

Amp is not meant to be used as a main form of paint protection. It is designated as a "topper", to go on top of TLC 2.0. You can certainly try it alone and see if you like the resuls. Amp is not that expensive. It runs about $20 a bottle, but if you go to the last coat website and use the code 15FORYOU, you can get 15% off.

The picture of your car... is that just wash and TLC 2.0, or does that have PPF or a proper ceramic coat applied? Did you have a paint correction or compounding done? I just want your glow and my paint still looks great... but I probably wouldn't get PPF until May or June at the earliest if I do add more...

 

[joebruin77]

The picture of your car... is that just wash and TLC 2.0, or does that have PPF or a proper ceramic coat applied? Did you have a paint correction or compounding done? I just want your glow and my paint still looks great... but I probably wouldn't get PPF until May or June at the earliest if I do add more...

I have had my car for just over a year. I had a whole-car Xpel PPF installed within just a couple days of taking delivery. Although I considered a ceramic coating, I decided against it because I enjoy detailing my car. So instead of a ceramic coating, I have tried varioius sealants and apply a sealant once every 2-3 months. I previously used and liked Opti-Coat's Hyper Seal, which is a ceramic-infused spray sealant in Optimum's professional line. I recently tried The Last Coat 2.0 after seeing some pretty convincing youtube video reviews of it.

I never did a paint correction, since I had the PPF installed 2 days after taking delivery.

Prior to taking that pic, I washed the car doing a rinsless wash using Mckees 37 N-914. This rinseless wash solution is one of the best types of washes to use prior to applying sealants. N-914 is a pure wash solution - no waxes, sealants, or gloss enhancers. That way, when you apply the sealant, it can bond propertly to the paint or, in my case, to the PPF. After drying the car, I then applied TLC 2.0. I first applied TLC 2.0 using a microfiber applicator, let it sit on the surface for about 30 seconds, and then buffed it off with a clean MF towel. You can use TLC 2.0 on all exterior surfaces including the chrome and plastic trim.

Since the pic was taken, I have used Amp about 3 or 4 times. I love how glossy it makes the car and how incredibly slick the surface feels after application. And what Amp does on glass is oustanding!