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PPF regrets?
- Thread starter dmk712
- Start date
I was speaking about NJ pricing and I have checked many of the leaders in this state and they all were either $5k-5,500 range no matter what car it was as long as it wasn’t a truck or minivan.
I kept calling them all and asked every question about it being tucked, how thick it was and warranty as I didn’t want a basic plot cut film so it could be tucked under every trim so it don’t lift with a pressure washer etc.
Now the tint was the same as well. I got it for $1,400 and all the shops were inline with $1,400-1,600 for Xpel Prim XR Plus
I kept calling them all and asked every question about it being tucked, how thick it was and warranty as I didn’t want a basic plot cut film so it could be tucked under every trim so it don’t lift with a pressure washer etc.
Now the tint was the same as well. I got it for $1,400 and all the shops were inline with $1,400-1,600 for Xpel Prim XR Plus
HooosierDaddy
Member
Not all films are created equal, nor are installers. $6500 seems (in my area) to be average with a full one stage paint correction and a high quality film with all edges tucked. All of which a quality installer will be doing anyway!
HooosierDaddy
Member
STEK is IMO the best film currently available. That looks amazing and makes me regret not doing the same, but I like to polish and try new products too much.
Is the car, before wrap, black or silver metallic?
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Silicon Desert
Well-Known Member
My only "REGRET" is that I did not put it on my wife's non-Tesla car. I've have PPF for 4 years now and still looks like the day it was put on. And I don't have a single dent anywhere on the car after 40,000 miles of mostly interstate driving.
That does look awesome. Just curious why you chose stek vs xpel. In my area Stek seems more rare. I’m really digging the matte finish
Dodogama
Member
Black
The qualities are similar for each film but from the installers I received quotes from, STEK has slightly better hydrophobic qualities, and a smoother finish. Could be BS but I am happy with the decision. I admittedly had never heard of STEK and did not know they offered window tint either and ended up going with their NEX series over XR+.
It is a satin finish rather than matte. You can see in certain light it looks shiny compared to other areas.
For everyone who has a complete PPF wrap, can you tell me if you also had the below done and was it included in the base cost or you had to request it please? I find this to be very important for every person wanting to get this done so there is no surprises!
1) entire car wrapped on every panel.
2) A Pillar black triangle attached to mirror.
3) Mirror fully wrapped even around back.
4) B Pillar with camera hand cut around.
5) head and tailights both.
6) All 4 Door Sills including over the door sill plate.
7) Door handles.
my shop didn’t do the above mentioned back if mirror all the way a round. Nor did they do the black triangle panel behind mirror or even over the sill plates they just did the paint around the sill plates. The rest I had done but for the tailights I had then smoked with the clear coat gun at the body shop so they last forever unlike the film.
1) entire car wrapped on every panel.
2) A Pillar black triangle attached to mirror.
3) Mirror fully wrapped even around back.
4) B Pillar with camera hand cut around.
5) head and tailights both.
6) All 4 Door Sills including over the door sill plate.
7) Door handles.
my shop didn’t do the above mentioned back if mirror all the way a round. Nor did they do the black triangle panel behind mirror or even over the sill plates they just did the paint around the sill plates. The rest I had done but for the tailights I had then smoked with the clear coat gun at the body shop so they last forever unlike the film.
Dodogama
Member
mine did everything except door sills and handles. The only thing offered that I opted out of was a once piece rear hatch. I’ll take the seam and keep the $1k
that’s just a personal choice though.
webbah
Active Member
I did a full custom PPF wrap (not pre-cut) to try and avoid edges exposed as dirt can accumulate. This includes covering all my carbon kit, door sills, and finally I had them use a "smoke" color PPF to very lightly tint the headlights and add protection. Rather like the smoke for the matching carbon fiber kit on the white car. No effect on lights and visibility. Technically a grey area legally speaking in Switzerland but even during a technical inspection they did not say anything about that. Finally coated with Gyeon PPF Q2M Ceramic.
Photos:
because I did the stealth wrap, my mileage may vary:
1) yes
2) no - I would not want you his with stealth as it would look odd next to the window IMO
3) as best as they could, I suppose
4) cannot confirm it was hand cut but generally speaking, yes
5) no but I did not ask for this and may consider smoking them
6) no, exterior stealth only
7) no, I would not want this anyways as I imagine you would see the edge of film in some areas of handle that would be difficult to wrap around
My fault for not being clear, I meant wrapped in general not stealth specific but I thing the pillars should be wrapped as part of the deal just like they do the headlights.
sills are extra and I didn’t say I wanted them to be clear so they did stealth and I think it was funny they didn’t use clear.
sills are extra and I didn’t say I wanted them to be clear so they did stealth and I think it was funny they didn’t use clear.
If it were me and the choice was between a full wrap and partial+ceramic I'd do the full wrap. One of my biggest regrets with my Model 3 was not doing PPF. After a year I had a lot of rock chips and swirl marks from the car wash. I was constantly stressed when freeway driving and I'd see a gravel truck or similar. When I got my Y the first thing I did was PPF (I DIY'd but I know not for everyone). So, if you have the $ I'd definitely do PPF. Like you frequently hear, Tesla paint is soft.
Does anyone have experience with 3M PPF or window tint? My installer (Alset in Portland) seems to use 3M for both products. His work looks AWESOME, so I'm excited. I'm just curious because I don't seem to see many Tesla's with 3M products (other than vinyl wraps maybe) showing up here and other places...
Edit: Btw, doing full PPF on the car with a paint correction and then ceramic coating over the top. The car is going to look so amazing.... just need Tesla to hurry up and build the damn thing!
Edit: Btw, doing full PPF on the car with a paint correction and then ceramic coating over the top. The car is going to look so amazing.... just need Tesla to hurry up and build the damn thing!
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I just spoke with an installer who does high end cars for dealerships (Ferrari, Lambo, Rolls Royce) and the only Stek dealer in my area. He said before a full wrap they decontaminate but paint correction is useless and waste of money and they NEVER do it under any full wrap. And for those that do they’re just trying to get more money from you. Obv I don’t know as much as they do about this subject and wouldn’t see a reason why he would lie to me for less money. Just something to think about. Btw they are constantly a month booked out and said a full wrap takes them 1 week bc they don’t use any programs to cut and does everything by hand.
@dmk712 I only did paint correction because mine had a few fisheyes in the paint which would have been visible under the PPF.
the time they said it takes is accurate, at least in my experience. It was a week when considering business hours.
the time they said it takes is accurate, at least in my experience. It was a week when considering business hours.
Paint correction will always help unless you already have flawless paint... and not just "factory fresh paint" but literally polished and mirror like. The film is very clear and while it might had very small flaws in the paint, if you have a mirror like finish then that's going to show under the PPF. If you're happy with the car then just get PPF, if you see the instagram pictures of Tesla's that have been paint corrected and youtube videos and stuff and are impressed with the glow and mirror like finish, have them paint correct it or probably better option, take it somewhere that has a lot of routine experience with paint correction.
I'm a little mixed with computer cut vs hand cut. You can still wrap a computer cut film around edges and stuff, and you don't have any blades near the car then. Every detailer has cut into the paint with a blade at some point, not every time, but the risk is always there and even the best ones of 20+ years will admit that they probably did at some point in time.
Make sure they remove all badges and apply the PPF under and then rebadge. I've seen some "high end" shops just cut around the badges and it doesn't look good, at all.
HooosierDaddy
Member
I don't think you'd need a full 2 or 3 step paint correction? No, but a single step looking for flaws that may amplify should be part of the process. If doing the matte finished film, it's probably not that important, but addressing nibs/flaws is still needed for a smooth looking finish.
Agreed... if you have any of the famous Tesla paint nibs, adding film will amplify their visibility.
I did my own paint correction and surprised at the amount of things found needing to be addressed before having film applied.
I love when Tesla “fixes” those nibs from the factory by cutting/sanding them down and then you have a perfect one inch circle on the paint that doesn’t have the same reflective properties of the rest of the clear coat when viewed in certain light. A quick pass with a polish and finishing pad would totally fix that... but not from Tesla
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