PPF for front - maintenance and other considerations

[Muifamily1811]

I'm debating if I should wrap my front with clear bra. I wonder if I need to wash my car differently after it? Or if there's noticeable difference between wrapping vs. not wrapping since I'm not doing full wrap.

I plan to wrap the back bumper cuz my kids always put backpacks & stuff in the back and there are already scratches after a week. Understand most people wrap the front if they wrap at all.

Cost of doing front is around $1000 in S. Cal with Xpel. Or I can do just bumper for $600. Or, just hood for $600. Not sure if worth it. It's my second model 3. First LR was totaled a few months ago after 3.5 years. There's no wrapping.

 

[Kimmi]

Do the whole front of the car including the mirrors. You won’t be sorry.

 

[joebruin77]

As far as washing and cleaning PPF, you can wash your car like you normally do. You just want to make sure you don't point a pressure washer close to the seams, as the water can possibly lift the seam up.

If you use any sealants or waxes, make sure they are safe for PPF. Check with the manufacturer and/or the installer for recommended products. For example, I have Xpel and Xpel advises against using any products that have naphtha or petroleum distillates. Most water-based waxes and sealants are safe for PPF.

Finally, if you get a partial PPF, spend a little extra and do the entire hood. Some people just get half the hood covered in PPF. I think you are more likely to see the line where the PPF ends over time, especially on light colors, if you do just half the hood in PPF.

 

[yankees25]

Dynamic Tint here in NJ will be doing my PPF. Check if you are getting 8 mil or 10 mil, as some places go with the thinner film. To give you an idea of different patterns, they have a good overview of their different offerings on their website. I'm going with the Track which is $2,500 (Ultimate is $2,000). I'll probably also have them put something on the rear bumper. They did my Mazda 6 and I also had them put it on the door sills of the rear doors where the kids backpacks would scrape getting in and out of the car.

PAINT PROTECTION FILM - Dynamic Tint | South Jersey Window Tint Service

XPEL raises the bar once again with an unparalleled high gloss or matte finish and improved impact protection for enhanced durability, making it the most advanced paint protection film on the market. Protect your vehicle against the common elemental factors that damage your car’s paint day to...

dynamictint.com

 

[Muifamily1811]

As far as washing and cleaning PPF, you can wash your car like you normally do. You just want to make sure you don't point a pressure washer close to the seams, as the water can possibly lift the seam up.

If you use any sealants or waxes, make sure they are safe for PPF. Check with the manufacturer and/or the installer for recommended products. For example, I have Xpel and Xpel advises against using any products that have naphtha or petroleum distillates. Most water-based waxes and sealants are safe for PPF.

Finally, if you get a partial PPF, spend a little extra and do the entire hood. Some people just get half the hood covered in PPF. I think you are more likely to see the line where the PPF ends over time, especially on light colors, if you do just half the hood in PPF.

Just to be sure, is it ok to do the auto drive through wash? I’m very busy and don’t have time to do hand wash all the time.

 

[Bkak]

I'm debating if I should wrap my front with clear bra. I wonder if I need to wash my car differently after it? Or if there's noticeable difference between wrapping vs. not wrapping since I'm not doing full wrap.

I plan to wrap the back bumper cuz my kids always put backpacks & stuff in the back and there are already scratches after a week. Understand most people wrap the front if they wrap at all.

Cost of doing front is around $1000 in S. Cal with Xpel. Or I can do just bumper for $600. Or, just hood for $600. Not sure if worth it. It's my second model 3. First LR was totaled a few months ago after 3.5 years. There's no wrapping.

I was a doubter until I got 4 -5chips on bumper for just one freeway trip. It is a personal choice, however, I would say do at least the front end.
You can also DIY with precut film for just about $1500-$2000 for the entire car.

 

[Bkak]

The PPF is for mental health. If you take your cars through the automatic car wash, you’re probably not the type to agonize over every detail and cry inside when you see a new ding, divot, or scratch. It’s your car and treat it as you feel right. I have ppf on my car and only take it to get detailed at the hand wash place.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Just to be sure, is it ok to do the auto drive through wash? I’m very busy and don’t have time to do hand wash all the time.

Unless you PPF the whole car, I probably wouldn't go through the drive through washes unless they were touchless (manual specifically calls for touchless car washes if using automatic car washes, and also checking what chemicals they use, as some may discolor the trim). Depends on if you care about having micro-scratches on your car however.

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla

Having done DIY whole car PPF (from bulk), however, its makes hand washing the car much easier, as things don't stick to it as much as it does to paint (so the water pressure from hose is enough to take most stuff off). I just hose down every week or two and don't even have to use soap (only occasionally use some for spot cleaning if there is something more stubborn like fruits, bird droppings, or bugs). Takes like 10-15 minutes: watering part only 4.5 minutes (using hose with self closing nozzle, measured my flow rate is 3.75 gal per minute, so around 17 gallons used), most of the time is drying with microfiber cloths (my location has hard water, so I must dry or it will leave water marks; you might be able to skip the drying part if you don't have hard water).

 

[joebruin77]

Just to be sure, is it ok to do the auto drive through wash? I’m very busy and don’t have time to do hand wash all the time.

It depends on 1) what kind of auto wash it is (contact vs touchless) and 2) how important it is to you to keep scratches and swirls to a minimum.

Regular automatic contact washes will induce scratches and swirls on the non-PPF covered sections of your paint for sure. Touchless washes are less likely to induce scratches and swirls. But touchless washes 1) don’t clean as well and 2) often use high pH soaps that can degrade waxes and sealants.

Personally, I do rinseless washes at home using ONR (Optimum No Rinse) once a week. I can wash the whole car in 20 minutes.

If you really want to take your car through an auto contact wash for the convenience AND you don’t want to have scratches and swirls in your paint, I would consider putting PPF on the whole car and then put a ceramic coating on top of the PPF. It is a lot of $$$, but does provide maximum protection.

 

[Muifamily1811]

Thank you for your reply. What is contact vs. touchless? I used to bring my car to hand wash, but it takes a lot of time since I need to wait there. That's why I thought of drive throughs but know they would induce scratches. What is rinseless? 20 min is not bad, maybe I can try that. Definitely not spending more money to cover PPF on whole car...

 

[canYdan]

contact - car gets brushed with whirling cloth mops or other material
touchless - car gets sprayed with liquid only

 

[canYdan]

contact -

touchless -

(wheel track pull-through)
(there are other touchless washes close to where I live where you drive into a building, stop, and an arm moves around the vehicle spraying things)

 

[joebruin77]

As Canydan said, a contact wash touches brushes or microfiber mop-like strands to the paint to rub soap on it. This cleans the paint but also likely has small dirt particles from other cars that went through the same wash. These tiny particles act like sand paper and induce scratches.

A touchless wash sprays only liquids, usually high pressure water and high pH soaps. So it cleans the car without actually touching a brush or material to the paint. You avoid scratches but it doesn't clean as well. Imagine for example if you washed your face but you only sprayed water and soap on it and did not touch it with a washcloth or anything else.

A rinseless wash is like giving your car a sponge bath. You use special rinseless wash solutions that encapsulate the dirt and prevent scratches. The original rinseless wash was Optimum No Rinse (ONR), but now there are dozens on the market. To do a rinseless wash, you simply put a couple ounces of ONR in a bucket with 3 gallons of water. You wipe this solution onto the car, then folow up with a cldean soft drying towel. If there is a really dirty area of the car, such as the rocker panels, you first "pretreat" the dirtier area by spraying some of the ONR solution onto the paint and let it dwell for a minute or so before you wipe it with the solution.

As long as the car isn't extremely dirty or has road salts on it, a rinseless wash will safely wash the car without scratching the paint. Plus, you can wash your whole car using only 3-4 gallons of water. Below I pasted links to my two favorite rinseless washes:

Optimum No Rinse Wash And Shine 32 oz. - New And Improved

Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine 32 oz. - New & Improved! - Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine New & Improved formula offers the Ultimate in lubricity during the wash as well as drying with greater gloss and protection. The polymers in the new formula have ...

www.autogeek.net

P&S Absolute Rinseless Wash

P&S Absolute Rinseless Wash - A less wet way to wash your car!

www.autogeek.net

 

[Muifamily1811]

Got it, thanks so much! I will try rinseless!

 

[sdexcalibur]

I like the track package. In Mass for xpel they want 2600.00. I want it but it is a investment