I always use Rhino Detailing and Films in Huntington Beach. I had them put Xpel ultimate on the front end and then CS2 titanium ceramic coating. They tinted the windows with Suntek CXP and I also had them wrap my center console in Xpel stealth. I personally applied Gyeon leather shield to the white interior, applied a screen protector, and put in 3D Maxspider floor mats. Now everything is nice and protected.
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To PPF or not to PPF?
- Thread starter Mitchoacan
- Start date
Not a great idea. It takes a lot of practice to apply PPF properly. It is thick and harder to apply than vinyl.
I have done it for a few cars and two of my motorcycles. You technically can do it, but its not like installing ppf on a flat phone/tablet. When it comes to front bumpers, there's a lot of curves and the pre-cut stuff dumbs down the cuts so its not as difficult to self install, causing it to have less than ideal areas. Sometimes they will split an area since they won't expect you to be able to heat and stretch out the pattern correctly (instead you'll mess it up then give them a bad review for something that didn't fit).
Some areas like a curved side view mirror can be really tricky because it's shaped like a curved L and that means the edges of the film bunch up into "Fingers". Again, inexperienced person won't know how to handle it. Even if you keep working on the area till you get it to fit, as you rubbed down the fingers to make it sit flat, you can cause wrinkles/creases that will still show in the film after the install is done.
I'd do it again on my motorcycle as it wasn't hard, but I wouldn't want to install ppf on the bumper of my 3. Not saying you can't do it, some people will obviously do better than me on it. You could self install the A pillers, mudguard/rockerpanels, sideview mirrors, yourself and see how easy it was for you before you invest in larger cuts of film.
with patience and with watching a LOT of youtube videos to ensure you use proper technique? Something like the hood? Probably doable.
But front bumper? I wouldnt bet on it being done well as a first time attempt with zero experience
LargeHamCollider
Battery cells != scalable
I tried to do the front bumper on the Model 3 myself, didn't realize that this is basically impossible in cold temperatures and completely failed ruining the film. I just paid for someone else to do full front plus rocker panels on the model Y, in the future I'll probably pay for the front bumper with its complex geometry and do the rest myself.
akballow
Member
I like to think of it that they are so confident that NO ISSUES will pop up in 5 years. So if you sell you got no problems with removing it etc
Not if you lease......
Next time you are in the PPF shops, ask the detailers if he does clear PPF for cars under 60K other than Teslas..... I seriously think only Tesla owners do this. In my building's garage, the only cars with PPF are 100k+ Porsches and M3/MY Teslas..... none of the BMW or MB.
akballow
Member
Sixth
Member
I would say PPF is good for darker colored cars. I always hated washing our black Audi. Even with the double bucket method with a grit guard. We eventually got micro swirls all over the body. With PPF , micro swirls are non existent.
Unless you have wrapped a car in the past, I would suggest you don't try it yourself unless you want to invest the time and raw material to learn. There is a reason why most people pay someone to do it. the final product, if done well will last years and look professional. Sure you can do it yourself but I can pretty much guarantee you that you will be re-doing many parts or the coverage will be lacking.
Again, nothing wrong with doing it yourself but set your expectations accordingly. If you do decide to do it, let us know how it goes. Share your work with the group--maybe it will inspire more to do it. Good luck.
akballow
Member
Yeah i once tried to fog my headlights. Just little headlights and it turned out so bad on the edges after multiple attempts. They charge the price for a good reason, and it takes multiple days as well.
Not sure I follow? In the USA, most car owners keep their used cars ~4 years of ownership. So if I'm in that category, a 5 year PPF warranty would meet my needs/requirements and be the best financial value for me, no?
akballow
Member
this is an old myth the paint panels days before they even put them on the car
Needsdecaf
Active Member
You can still scratch PPF and dull it, just like paint. If you get a "self-healing" PPF, it will help somewhat.
Needsdecaf
Active Member
PPF is not "thousands". A decent front bumper / hood / fenders / mirrors job should cost $1,500 max. How much would you pay to paint those panels? Not for less than that. And yes, you need to repair it when it gets damaged, but your paint is still perfect, usually. And if you do paint the car, you'll likely take a hit when you sell it, costing you even more money. Finally, if you have the pearl white, good luck getting a match!
If you're talking a whole car PPF, with edges wrapped that's $5k or more then yes I agree to an extent.
Not sure how the Model Y is but I'm VERY glad I have it. I've had it on both my Model 3's and with the front end being so low, and me doing so many miles, it's unreal how many strikes I see that the PPF has saved me.
On the other hand, my wife's Cayenne didn't get done, and it's got 93k miles on it. It's lighter, so you can't see it as much, but it definitely has a bunch of rash on the front.
My 911 has no PPF but I don't drive it many miles. Probably would make sense to do so but I'm too cheap, lol.
SO all depends on how you're driving it, where and for how many miles. Put count on re-painting a car to get rid of chips? That's not a good plan.
everydaychris
Active Member
I say DO IT. At least the full front and here's why.
Yes the argument can be made that you can just repaint and replace the front part of the car. HOWEVER, paint fades over time no matter how good it is. If you have a freshly coated new front bumper with 5 year old paint everywhere else it's super noticeable.
Also, no matter how well you drive, rock chips will demolish your bumper. The xpel helps with that and although it's not 100 percent, it prevents alot. And lastly, if a bird poops on it and you don't clean your paint, your left with a huge stain there which happened before. With xpel or a clear bra it wipes away.
Yes the argument can be made that you can just repaint and replace the front part of the car. HOWEVER, paint fades over time no matter how good it is. If you have a freshly coated new front bumper with 5 year old paint everywhere else it's super noticeable.
Also, no matter how well you drive, rock chips will demolish your bumper. The xpel helps with that and although it's not 100 percent, it prevents alot. And lastly, if a bird poops on it and you don't clean your paint, your left with a huge stain there which happened before. With xpel or a clear bra it wipes away.
I thought about having my bumper on my S redone in PPF at 115,000 miles. My car has full @XPEL since I got it. I think I will wait till 175,000 now. Just make sure you ask the right questions to your installer. Ask them to walk through how the would do panel X. Good installers answer. If you don't ask. Well...just ask questions
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