Get your car wrapped people.

[IhateOPEC]

My car gets parked in public due to my job. I have had it 2 weeks and it has been keyed. Never happened on any other car I have owned. I was taking it to get wrapped next week.

Don't underestimate the jealousy and hatred some people have for these cars. (Mod edit to remove specific group identifier. Shipped a bunch of resulting posts off to Politics Quarantine thread)

 

[RyanDe]

Would wrapping it even help getting keyed? Luckily, I don't have to park in public often, only when I go to the store and I'm so nervous when I do. Even after owning my Bimmer for 10 years that feeling never went away. :-(

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

I think a 24/7 360 dash cam might help as well... That's justifiable homicide. Just let me on that jury.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Would wrapping it even help getting keyed?

The perpetrator would have to really work at it to damage the paint underneath, which is the far more expensive thing to repair. It's relatively easy to peel & rewrap a single door panel (or two if they dragged both).

 

[P85_DA]

Pics ?

 

[asujosh1]

As someone that's considering wrap or ceramic, would ceramic coating have prevented the damage? I'm told it makes the paint extremely hard to scratch.

 

[P85_DA]

I have both PPF and ceramic... I doubt would have prevented entirely ..if someone is intent on damaging the vehicle than they will find a way

 

[jelloslug]

As someone that's considering wrap or ceramic, would ceramic coating have prevented the damage? I'm told it makes the paint extremely hard to scratch.

Nope, not in the least. Wrap protects the paint from damage, ceramic makes the surface easier to keep clean.

 

[nvx1977]

As someone that's considering wrap or ceramic, would ceramic coating have prevented the damage? I'm told it makes the paint extremely hard to scratch.

ceramic coatings alone do very very little to prevent scratching. The main benefit of it is easier car washes; the ceramic coating fills the imperfections in the clear coat so that dirt and grime have a harder time embedding into it. Even with ceramic coating, it's still quite easy to introduce scratches to the clearcoat due to improper washing, rock chips, keying, etc.

 

[nvx1977]

I also tend to think that if someone wants to damage your car, they will find a way to damage your car. So wrapping a car just to prevent keying doesn't seem like a smart move. Next time someone will just kick a dent into your panel.

Some people suck. It's the reality of the world we live in, unfortunately.

 

[brobinson]

A wrap isn't the solution for the problem you experienced. sorry about your luck

 

[jelloslug]

A wrap isn't the solution for the problem you experienced. sorry about your luck

A wrap would have minimized or completely avoided paint damage in that scenario.

 

[ℬête Noire]

I also tend to think that if someone wants to damage your car, they will find a way to damage your car. So wrapping a car just to prevent keying doesn't seem like a smart move. Next time someone will just kick a dent into your panel.

Yes, the more complete solution is less dork-heads (mod: edited) in the world but that's a longer-term project that's outside the scope of whatever you can do with the car.

The hope is that they key it without realizing it's a wrap. It still needs a repair but it'd be relatively cheaper and faster. Coupled with not being overly concerned about the vehicle's appearance is going to help, to. Damaging the film isn't going to lead to potential for rust damage, so it's more cosmetic.

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Wrap != Paint Protection Film

I think paint protection film would protect the car much better than a vinyl wrap. Many of the paint protection films are actually "self-healing". The wraps would probably just tear. We have wraps on two cars and they don't hold up nearly as well as the PPF we have on the third car.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Wrap != Paint Protection Film

I think paint protection film would protect the car much better than a vinyl wrap. Many of the paint protection films are actually "self-healing". The wraps would probably just tear. We have wraps on two cars and they don't hold up nearly as well as the PPF we have on the third car.

It's the same concept. A strong keying (and we don't have a pic from IhateOPEC here yet, so not sure how bad his was) is beyond the ability of a PPF to anneal. So you replace the section that's been damaged, same as a colour wrap.

 

[run-the-joules]

Get your car wrapped people.

Sure lemme just add 10% to the cost of my car.

I'd have gotten full PPF if it weren't obscenely expensive, but I'm not spending $5-6k to get it done.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Sure lemme just add 10% to the cost of my car.

I'd have gotten full PPF if it weren't obscenely expensive, but I'm not spending $5-6k to get it done.

That varies widely by area. I've got quotes ranging from $2300 for a basic colour to $4400 for a basic colour + window tint package. If you go with fancier colours, it is a "flip" or is otherwise directional in some way, it's more money. Not only is the material price higher but you need to use more of it because it has to be applied differently to keep the direction correct. I've got a quote of about $3200 incl. tax to put on this:

There was one that was silver. I don't mean silver or silver metallic like the stock Tesla paint. I mean it'd look like you were driving a polished silver mirror. That would have run $7K-$8K from the same shop (just a rough estimate, didn't ask for a detailed quote ). It wasn't directional but the film material was a lot more expensive and also to get the mirror look the film's physical properties are different in a way that make it a lot harder to work with and apply.

EDIT: Remember, if you commit to doing this then you can order in basic black and treat that as an undercoat. So ultimately, if you can find something local in that price range, it starts at only about $1300 extra.

 

[run-the-joules]

That varies widely by area. I've got quotes ranging from $2300 for a basic colour to $4400 for a basic colour + window tint package. If you go with fancier colours, it is a "flip" or is otherwise directional in some way, it's more money. Not only is the material price higher but you need to use more of it because it has to be applied differently to keep the direction correct. I've got a quote of about $3200 incl. tax to put on this:

There was one that was silver. I don't mean silver or silver metallic like the stock Tesla paint. I mean it'd look like you were driving a polished silver mirror. That would have run $7K-$8K from the same shop (just a rough estimate, didn't ask for a detailed quote ). It wasn't directional but the film material was a lot more expensive and also to get the mirror look the film's physical properties are different in a way that make it a lot harder to work with and apply.

EDIT: Remember, if you commit to doing this then you can order in basic black and treat that as an undercoat. So ultimately, if you can find something local in that price range, it starts at only about $1300 extra.

Yeah, in the bay area if you're getting a film or wrap quote for under $5k, something is wrong. Just the brutal cost of living out here.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Yeah, in the bay area if you're getting a film or wrap quote for under $5k, something is wrong. Just the brutal cost of living out here.

You've got a Tesla, take "get my car wrapped" mini-vacation trip! <--- in my understanding this is actually done in CA

 

[IhateOPEC]

So, good news. The Tesla dealer tried but couldn't buff it out. They recommended a body shop. The body shop said it was into the the paint but they were able to buff it out using a "wet sander" or something. They said I got very lucky it was as close to the paint as it could get. Total cost $0.

Getting it wrapped ASAP. It spends way to much time in airport parking lots to be naked. Gotta put a jimmy hat on it.