Key places to protect with PPF?

[CaptainCalm]

I'm wondering about peoples thoughts on areas that are worth getting PPF'd. My thoughts so far are:

Around the Door Handles
My wife has managed to create a lot of light scratches around the door handles of our current car, I believe the culprits are her engagement and eternity rings catching on the paintwork. I don't really want the same problem when our Tesla arrives in a few weeks, so given that i) she'll understandably want to keep wearing her rings and ii) she'll never remember to always use her other hand to open the doors, I'm thinking of getting something like this done for all of the handles:

I'm just not convinced that they'll look great for too long with grit getting stuck to the edges. Any thoughts on this?

Front Section
Also thinking about getting the front wrapped, but that costs a lot more than I'd Iike, so I'm wondering if I can get away with just the front bumper? Basically, I'd like to avoid stone chips, although I understand that PPF isn't going to stop everything.

Rear of the Rocker Panel
I've also heard that it's worth getting the sections of the rocker panels below the rear doors just in front of the rears tyres done as they can be prone to rust if chipped by stones.

What are your thoughts about this? Do you think doing any of this will be worth it or not?

 

[DeltaOne]

Front Section
Also thinking about getting the front wrapped, but that costs a lot more than I'd Iike, so I'm wondering if I can get away with just the front bumper? Basically, I'd like to avoid stone chips, although I understand that PPF isn't going to stop everything.

We had the entire front end wrapped in PPF (front bumper, fenders, hood). Last summer, during the hottest days, we had some bird sugar that had seemed to etch the clear coat and/or paint on the hood. So, I'd recommend getting the hood done too...it's a big flat surface just ripe for bird sugar, tree sap, etc.

We had to wait a few weeks to get in to the PPF shop and by then the hood looked fine. Go figure. But we still had the entire front done, along with rockers and rear bumper. Way more than I wanted to spend, but washing and waxing a car isn't as much fun at 70 years old as it was at 21 years old. So it was worth it to me.

 

[UncertainTimes]

That door handle PPF will look terrible. If doing front get the entire front: bumper, hood, lights, fenders or else you’ll see the seams. The rocker panels also get pretty beat up. How long do you plan to keep the car. PPF isn’t worth it on a lease or short term ownership.

 

[KenC]

I'm wondering about peoples thoughts on areas that are worth getting PPF'd. My thoughts so far are:

Around the Door Handles
My wife has managed to create a lot of light scratches around the door handles of our current car, I believe the culprits are her engagement and eternity rings catching on the paintwork. I don't really want the same problem when our Tesla arrives in a few weeks, so given that i) she'll understandably want to keep wearing her rings and ii) she'll never remember to always use her other hand to open the doors, I'm thinking of getting something like this done for all of the handles:

I'm just not convinced that they'll look great for too long with grit getting stuck to the edges. Any thoughts on this?

Front Section
Also thinking about getting the front wrapped, but that costs a lot more than I'd Iike, so I'm wondering if I can get away with just the front bumper? Basically, I'd like to avoid stone chips, although I understand that PPF isn't going to stop everything.

Rear of the Rocker Panel
I've also heard that it's worth getting the sections of the rocker panels below the rear doors just in front of the rears tyres done as they can be prone to rust if chipped by stones.

What are your thoughts about this? Do you think doing any of this will be worth it or not?

Front bumper gets the most road debris, and then the hood. You can do the hood yourself, since it's quite easy, if you want to save a little. The rockers and dogleg are also something that a handy DIYer can do themselves. Very cheap. I think I did that section for $120. Have you considered wrapping the whole door for a better look?

 

[GtiMart]

It essentially depends on the conditions you drive in. Here in Quebec with snow, ice, salt, sand and "small rock" type abrasives that they put on the roads, the conditions are pretty harsh. Some do a full ppf (the whole car) but that costs ~4k$. I went for a half ppf (2000$) which is the complete front (hood, bumper, front fenders and A pillars) plus the bottom sides of the car (rocker panel and bottom part of door up to the crease), with a little bit on the rear bumper where there are projections from the rear wheels. I feel this is great protection, but it's not cheap. I also have mud flaps on 4 corners.

If you live in a nicer climate with less wheel projections, you can get away with less. The front will receive rocks as you follow trucks on the highway though. Up to you whether you prefer to pay upfront or do paint chip fixes constantly, or live with rust...

 

[CaptainCalm]

Thanks everyone for your responses, much appreciated.

We had the entire front end wrapped in PPF (front bumper, fenders, hood). Last summer, during the hottest days, we had some bird sugar that had seemed to etch the clear coat and/or paint on the hood. So, I'd recommend getting the hood done too...it's a big flat surface just ripe for bird sugar, tree sap, etc.

We had to wait a few weeks to get in to the PPF shop and by then the hood looked fine. Go figure. But we still had the entire front done, along with rockers and rear bumper. Way more than I wanted to spend, but washing and waxing a car isn't as much fun at 70 years old as it was at 21 years old. So it was worth it to me.

I hadn't really considered the hood, but you make a good point. I was thinking of getting one of those ceramic sprays (not quite the same or nearly as good as a ceramic coating, but better than nothing), I'm not sure if that will really help with what the birds drop though. I fully appreciate why you went a little further and got the hood protected too.

That door handle PPF will look terrible. If doing front get the entire front: bumper, hood, lights, fenders or else you’ll see the seams. The rocker panels also get pretty beat up. How long do you plan to keep the car. PPF isn’t worth it on a lease or short term ownership.

Yeah that's what I'm worried about. At the end of the day, I want to avoid the scratches, don't want it to look terrible and don't want to pay a small fortune for the protection either... but I know that I can't have my cake and eat it on that front - something will have to give. I plan on keeping the car for 4 or 5 years.

Front bumper gets the most road debris, and then the hood. You can do the hood yourself, since it's quite easy, if you want to save a little. The rockers and dogleg are also something that a handy DIYer can do themselves. Very cheap. I think I did that section for $120. Have you considered wrapping the whole door for a better look?

I think I'll be happy having a go at doing the hood, rockers and dogleg myself - I've watched a bunch of videos (e.g. Chicago Auto Pro's) and it looks super easy, I mean how hard can it be? I'm kidding, I know it's probably going to be difficult and there is a risk that I'll make a complete mess of it, but I'm still willing to give it a try. I think I'd probably make a mess of the bumper though so I'll get that done professionally first.

It essentially depends on the conditions you drive in. Here in Quebec with snow, ice, salt, sand and "small rock" type abrasives that they put on the roads, the conditions are pretty harsh. Some do a full ppf (the whole car) but that costs ~4k$. I went for a half ppf (2000$) which is the complete front (hood, bumper, front fenders and A pillars) plus the bottom sides of the car (rocker panel and bottom part of door up to the crease), with a little bit on the rear bumper where there are projections from the rear wheels. I feel this is great protection, but it's not cheap. I also have mud flaps on 4 corners.

If you live in a nicer climate with less wheel projections, you can get away with less. The front will receive rocks as you follow trucks on the highway though. Up to you whether you prefer to pay upfront or do paint chip fixes constantly, or live with rust...

I live in Glasgow, and although we don't get much snow, we do get a lot of salt and grit put on the roads when there is a risk of snow and/or ice... alright, when I say a lot, it's a lot for us, but I expect you'd probably laugh at the amount of grit on our roads though even at its peak. The thing is, when it does get laid down, it's not long-lived, so I'd say that the majority of the year, the roads are reasonably clear.

The thing that I'm trying to weigh up is that the cost of PPF over a significant portion of the car is more expensive than a respray. I'm looking at my current car which I've had for 4 years and aside from the light scratches in the door handle recesses and a few stone chips, overall the paintwork is in good condition. So part of me thinks that I don't need to bother with PPF. However, the things that are driving me towards getting it are that i) I've heard that the paint on Tesla's is a little soft and more easily damaged than on other cars; ii) I don't want the scratches around the door handles; iii) that the front is a bug/stone chip magnet and iv) that there have been issues with rust due to stone chip damage on the rockers.

I'm leaning towards getting the front bumper done professionally and doing the hood and rockers myself. If that goes well, I might also have a go at the doors too.

 

[KenC]

For the rockers, having a friend lend a hand is useful, since the pieces are so long. Plus, if you have ramps, putting one side up, helps, but you'll still have to lay on your back. If you eventually do the doors, the front doors are large, so again, having a friend lend a hand is useful.