PPF is a necessity

[Ladiver]

So I now have two chips through clear coat and paint. One from a rock, on the hood. And the second from a shopping cart on passenger door. Both now expose bare metal and the cart left a small dent.

At this rate, my launch green will be primer gray in a year.

I am shocked how weak the clear coat and paint are. I have other vehicles that can buff out scratches. Not the Rivian.

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[ravian]

Pics or it never happened

 

[Tonicart]

Tell me about it. I drove it a week before my PPF arrived. Already had a tiny chip on the driver side headlight. The front end is so vertical that anything that hits it is sure to chip.

 

[jjswan33]

Yep. Ive got enough pinstriping on the side of my truck in the clear coat that when it's dusty it looks terrible.

 

[Bruins06]

I got a small chip ( suspected from a rock on the FWY) within hours of owning mine. I noticed it when I installed the front PPF the following morning. I should have wrapped it the minute i got it. I was too damn excited to drive it....

 

[zefram47]

Yep. Ive got enough pinstriping on the side of my truck in the clear coat that when it's dusty it looks terrible.

Well that's enough to make me rethink a metallic color and just go with white. My 4Runner is severely pinstriped from off-roading with a deep metallic blue and presents like this.

 

[Gator42]

Yep. Ive got enough pinstriping on the side of my truck in the clear coat that when it's dusty it looks terrible.

…if by terrible you mean freakin’ awesome!!!

 

[dduffey]

It's a truck, just get it dirtier.

 

[koersontap]

It's a truck, just get it dirtier.

Looks great to me! Is that a factory paint option??

 

[dduffey]

Looks great to me! Is that a factory paint option??

Unfortunately it's an aftermarket install of Texas Rock Dust (Matte) and I had to go out into the boonies to get it done.

But the pros are it hides all the paint flaws better than PPF, perfectly compliments El Cap Granite, and it's literally dirt cheap.

 

[frostbit3]

I just did a DIY Ceramic coating on it and called it a day, cost like $200 and a couple hours of my time. Figured if it gets bad enough over the next 3 years then I can just spend money on doing paint correction and be good for another few years.

 

[seatosummit]

I just did a DIY Ceramic coating on it and called it a day, cost like $200 and a couple hours of my time. Figured if it gets bad enough over the next 3 years then I can just spend money on doing paint correction and be good for another few years.

What product did you use for this?

Struggling to justify wraps/expensive ceramic application for a truck. I love it and want to keep it looking beautiful, but I also don't want to stop short of enjoying my time in the backcountry to the fullest for fear of chipping a nail.

 

[JoelD]

What product did you use for this?

Struggling to justify wraps/expensive ceramic application for a truck. I love it and want to keep it looking beautiful, but I also don't want to stop short of enjoying my time in the backcountry to the fullest for fear of chipping a nail.

Agreed…hell, it’s a frickin’ truck…

I’m not looking forward to the first ding, but it’ll happen…

 

[frostbit3]

What product did you use for this?

Struggling to justify wraps/expensive ceramic application for a truck. I love it and want to keep it looking beautiful, but I also don't want to stop short of enjoying my time in the backcountry to the fullest for fear of chipping a nail.

https://www.chemicalguys.com/carbon...em/WAC232.html?gtmListValue=Category: ceramic

Bought that along with a clay bar and their car wash product that removes anything on the paint to prep it for the ceramic. Took about 3-4 hours to do but having the help of a 4 year old slowed me down a bit lol.

I did the front bumper and headlights twice to get them a bit more coverage. Went on a road trip the other day and did ~400 miles and the front was completely covered in bugs. Did the touchless car wash and it all came off very easy and looked brand new again. Obviously super early in its life as its supposed to last years, but so far I have no complaints.

 

[ironpig]

Well that's enough to make me rethink a metallic color and just go with white. My 4Runner is severely pinstriped from off-roading with a deep metallic blue and presents like this.

My 4Runner is white and has a bunch of pinstripes that you can't see unless you are up close, but it's pretty thrashed.

I went with Launch Green for my Rivian which is more metallic in person than it looks in pictures and I got PPF on the front. I don't mind some nicks and dings on my cars, but that front end has so much painted surface and is so flat I figured it would be necessary to keep it looking decent.

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