Refresh Model S Tint / PPF / Ceramic Photos & Info

[Dirty Dog]

I am same boat as you with being new to Tesla. I feel like I must be insane not to get PPF or Ceramic coating. I really don’t want to spend anymore either for something like that. I have always hand waxed my previous cars and they always looked immaculate. Sure hope my Model S will be the same, as it should be for the price.

I have a 2018 M3LR MSM and a MYLR. Ordered the MSLR a month ago. The first thing I am doing is PPF. My M3 has scratches and dings everywhere and I live in South Florida with good roads and weather. I can't stand looking at them and I baby the car. People don't care if they ding your car. Even acorns from trees scratch it. I wish I had ppf initially. My friend owns a place in Delray Beach who is very reasonable, I have him on standby. Just need to decide, clear or stealth.

 

[sflgator]

a few have added mud flaps and this will help prevent most of the damage. You can buy generic ones on Amazon and I've seen photos on this forum e.g., @jebinc and they look good.

@loomstate Mud flaps won’t help the front bumper, front lip spoiler, hood, 2 side mirrors, and front quarter panels. A black MS will see all the rock chips from highway driving in those areas so my suggestion is to at least do all those areas in ppf and perhaps skip the rest of the vehicle. No current mud flaps available that actually fit properly for the refreshed MS but some have modified other mud flaps while others have added extra ppf on those rear quarter panels & just in front of the rear wheels.

 

[wally5788]

Absolutely get PPF. I initially went without on my white MS LR and after 2K miles had 2 noticeable rock chips on the front. Partial is fine - full front hood/bumper, side mirrors, rockers, and doors. Total was $4K with tax. Installers are all different so make sure you ask about whether they remove the components and tuck the film in. If they only cut the film and apply to the car, you will be disappointed in outcome because dirt will build up on all of those seam lines.

 

[DBV1]

When you get PPF are you able to tell on the car that it is there? And does it always look invisible? Seems like when I used to see cars with PPF they would get yellowish looking and it looked really bad.

 

[cwanja]

When you get PPF are you able to tell on the car that it is there? And does it always look invisible? Seems like when I used to see cars with PPF they would get yellowish looking and it looked really bad.

Yellowish is either a bad installer or bad PPF. A good installer will make no seams and no bubbles. Making the installation seamless and not able to tell it has been installed.

 

[DBV1]

Anyone know of any good installers in Cleveland, OH area? Just curious to check out and costs.

 

[WiLz]

When you get PPF are you able to tell on the car that it is there? And does it always look invisible? Seems like when I used to see cars with PPF they would get yellowish looking and it looked really bad.

If you’ve never had PPF before, I would highly recommend visiting an installer and asking them to show you a car that has PPF on it (or find a fellow Tesla owner to show you their car). Most PPF installs are almost invisible, as in you won’t be able to see the parts that have film on the paint, but there will likely be a few seams or corners where you can see just a faint line where the PPF ends or meets. Some installers are better at hiding these than others. Yellowing was a problem with the older adhesives, but these days as long as you stick with one of the reputable brands, yellowing shouldn’t be a concern. Try to find an installer that is experienced in doing Teslas/Model S.

 

[MarcG]

I believe @MarcG has one. Summoning @MarcG !

Sorry I'm late to the party, I've been in Europe for a little while.

Yep I have a stealth-wrapped MSM Plaid, and I posted some photos in this thread when I first got it wrapped with XPEL stealth:

#153

Then I posted photos with aftermarket wheels in another thread:

#155

 

[Rocketfan30]

Are those the stock rims (under the Tempest caps) painted black? I think they look awesome!!!

Yep, they are what some have called the Fugly stock 19" rims powder coated (painted) gloss black. The only thing I added was some cheap black and silver Tesla center caps I got from Amazon. Thankfully, I really like how they turned out because I had months of regretting not ordering the 21" wheels for $4500 after they became $9500 and then $14,500 post price increases.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Yep, they are what some have called the Fugly stock 19" rims powder coated (painted) gloss black. The only thing I added was some cheap black and silver Tesla center caps I got from Amazon. Thankfully, I really like how they turned out because I had months of regretting not ordering the 21" wheels for $4500 after they became $9500 and then $14,500 post price increases.

I think the 21's look awesome! However even in Florida, I consistently see people with BMW's, Tesla MX and other high end cars with low profile tires on the side of the road with a flat tire. At 50 yrs old, I just don't want the headache and want more cushion. lol

 

[Hayseed_MS]

This is clear XPEL PPF and 35% on all but front. Wanted just enough tint to cut heat and a little privacy but not dark.

 

[Robotpedlr]

This is clear XPEL PPF and 35% on all but front. Wanted just enough tint to cut heat and a little privacy but not dark.

Those wheels look great. I wish Tsport made it in a 20x9 or 20x9.5 also for a smaller width front tire.

 

[Hayseed_MS]

Those wheels look great. I wish Tsport made it in a 20x9 or 20x9.5 also for a smaller width front tire.

I agree. I like the 20x10 in the rear but a 9.5 or 9 with a +40 offset and a 265 tire in the front would be preferred.

 

[hotsoup]

I was confused by the difference between satin and gloss but the under spoiler in the back is as noted above the same as the trim and door handles. I guess this is different than the prior models because the guy who did my PPF said that prior Teslas were satin but mine was gloss which was meaningful because we ended up changing the powder coat order on my wheels after my car finally arrived to gloss from satin to match the trim.

Also, a final THANK YOU to @WiLz for starting this thread and providing the Orange County spreadsheet with all the installers and available options. I used the sheet to compare, contact and ultimately pick my installer. The shop I picked actually down-sold me from full car ceramic embedded PPF and instead told me to save my money and that all I needed was full front PPF and ceramic (still shocked by a salesman recommending that I spend less money).

Here is a quick phone pic of the results including powder coating the "fugly" 19" wheels (much better than the $14,500 cost of the alternative). Thanks again @WiLz. I'm an old guy and this was the first car I did anything to other than wax and you made it a lot easier.

View attachment 729318
FYI, I'm really jealous of the satin PPF pics but I got a veto on this from my much better half.

Jeeeeez that is shiny AF. Reminds me of when I first laid eyes on my MS when it was delivered.

 

[hotsoup]

I am same boat as you with being new to Tesla. I feel like I must be insane not to get PPF or Ceramic coating. I really don’t want to spend anymore either for something like that. I have always hand waxed my previous cars and they always looked immaculate. Sure hope my Model S will be the same, as it should be for the price.

Yeah, no one wants to spend money on over-priced PPF installs. I did NOT like the idea of putting down another $6K on a brand new car, so to ease the pain I just used it as an opportunity to get a satin finish like the sick Mercedes designo magno colors. Just check this thread out and make an informed decision: Model S Plaid: Paint chipping on Rear quarter panel and doors

Also to note, you'll hear more people regretting not doing PPF than doing PPF, and PPF will prevent you from cringing every time you go over the occasional gravel-y area or hear pebbles bouncing off your body panels.

 

[minirx7]

Just booked my full PPF (Xpel Stealth), i3 tint, and ceramic coating scheduled for Dec 6th. Very excited but very expensive ($8K CAD).

Edited. I was going to say, i have almost 10,000kms (7500kms i did in one month while towing my Jayco RV), on the roughest roads, tailing trucks etc.. Not even so much as a chip on my F150. I have 0 scratches/chips on my f150. No PPF< no nothing. Is Tesla paint really that bad? Is my fords paint signifincatly more durable?

 

[hotsoup]

Just booked my full PPF (Xpel Stealth), i3 tint, and ceramic coating scheduled for Dec 6th. Very excited but very expensive ($8K CAD).

Edited. I was going to say, i have almost 10,000kms (7500kms i did in one month while towing my Jayco RV), on the roughest roads, tailing trucks etc.. Not even so much as a chip on my F150. I have 0 scratches/chips on my f150. No PPF< no nothing. Is Tesla paint really that bad? Is my fords paint signifincatly more durable?

Anecdotally, Tesla paint "sucks". I did some basic research and only got as far as finding out Tesla uses BASF paint, but lost the trail after that. I think BMW and MB also use BASF for their OEM paint but it's not super clear. BASF doesn't have a bad reputation in the auto refinishing world, so maybe it's the application process at the Tesla factory that makes the paint suck. I can totally see Tesla engineers going out-of-spec on supplier-recommended processes because "they know better" and get rewarded for "innovation" like cutting down curing time or spray dwell times to increase manufacturing throughput, but it's all speculation. The problem with their process improvement loop is that feedback from customers isn't really making it back to the beginning of the loop, at least in any meaningful way. All that matters is throughput right now vs. quality, that is clear. Do first, ask for forgiveness later - classic Elon.

 

[minirx7]

Anecdotally, Tesla paint "sucks". I did some basic research and only got as far as finding out Tesla uses BASF paint, but lost the trail after that. I think BMW and MB also use BASF for their OEM paint but it's not super clear. BASF doesn't have a bad reputation in the auto refinishing world, so maybe it's the application process at the Tesla factory that makes the paint suck. I can totally see Tesla engineers going out-of-spec on supplier-recommended processes because "they know better" and get rewarded for "innovation" like cutting down curing time or spray dwell times to increase manufacturing throughput, but it's all speculation. The problem with their process improvement loop is that feedback from customers isn't really making it back to the beginning of the loop, at least in any meaningful way. All that matters is throughput right now vs. quality, that is clear. Do first, ask for forgiveness later - classic Elon.

Going off topic, but i will say this.. This entire car is not production ready. The more i drive it, the more i realize it is a beta. It is stuffed with features (some useless), but just doesnt feel like its finished liek all the other cars i have owned. I took delivery of this car with doors, hood, trunk that was so misaligned that i am SHOCKED they delivered it this way. So the paint being "sucky" just adds to the frustration considering the dollars spent on this car. To make it worse, being in Canada, NO FSD!!!!!!

Oddly, this is the first time i have a bit of buyers remorse on a car!

 

[hotsoup]

Going off topic, but i will say this.. This entire car is not production ready. The more i drive it, the more i realize it is a beta. It is stuffed with features (some useless), but just doesnt feel like its finished liek all the other cars i have owned. I took delivery of this car with doors, hood, trunk that was so misaligned that i am SHOCKED they delivered it this way. So the paint being "sucky" just adds to the frustration considering the dollars spent on this car. To make it worse, being in Canada, NO FSD!!!!!!

Oddly, this is the first time i have a bit of buyers remorse on a car!

Welcome to the highs and lows of Tesla ownership woooooo! I'm not sure my next $100K+ car will be a Tesla... Probably a P-car, and use the MS as the roadtripper/beater.

 

[minirx7]

Welcome to the highs and lows of Tesla ownership woooooo! I'm not sure my next $100K+ car will be a Tesla... Probably a P-car, and use the MS as the roadtripper/beater.

I am here for the long haul which is why i am getting the PPF.. after 2 decades of leasnig, decided to finally own a car which is this MS. If it was a lease, hell no, i wouldnt PPF at all!