To PPF or not to PPF?

[Attesan997]

Here is another thing I had not thought of. My tesla has always been garaged, but my R1T will be an outside car because it will not fit in my garage.

I just got off the phone with a shop and he actually said if I was going to keep my R1T outside all the time, I may not want to get the PPF because he is just not sure how it would hold up to the weather. While he has never seen anything happen due to being outside, he said it i went into it knowing it would be an outside car, he would recommend against it. ?

I get all 4 seasons, my MY has been outside for all of it. PPF looks the same as it did 3 years ago.

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[Scott]

If you are going to get rock chips, you will likely get chips in your PPF. PPF isn't a magical shield that protects you from all unsightly blemishes. It does minimize some types of blemishes, but the ones you do get are harder to fix. Got a paint chip in your paint? Touch up paint fixes that pretty cheaply. Got a paint chip in your wrap? Got to re-wrap that panel.


If your only concern is the state of the car in 5 years, then saving your money and paying to fix the paint in 5 years is the more economical solution. If you go the ppf route and want the best result in 5 years, you might need to have the wrap removed, and fix some underlying paint problems (there will be way less of those though). Total cost in wrapping, unwrapping, fixing and then maybe re-wrapping is going to be higher in all likelihood.


If you PPF it, the car will likely have fewer imperfections between now and that 5 year mark though. How much you care about that is fully subjective. Just don't view PPF as some magical thing that keeps your car perfect. This mindset will disapoint you.

For me, I don't really mind a few scratches and such and if one bugs me, I will get it touched up. For others, who are more intense about car washing and appearance, PPF makes them enjoy their car more.

In the end no one can tell you where you lie on that spectrum.

 

[SASSquatch]

I think this completely depends on your preference.

However if you're willing to do paint correction and ceramic coating, I'm curious why you wouldn't do PPF. If it is peeling on edges, then I'd venture to say it wasn't installed correctly. A good installer should have the PPF be perfect for many years.

I assume (since you are doing paint correction/ceramic coating) that you know you don't always go with the cheapest place, but the most reputable place, even if it is a little more money. Since you're in Southern California (like me), I'm sure you know there are a number of good ones. Precision Film Solutions (https://protectivefilmsolutions.com/) in Costa Mesa is one of the top ones. I know of a couple more if you want to PM me.

That place charges $2500 for full front FYI. Same price for most other cars I've priced out there (Telsa Model S, Porsche 911, BMW X5M).

40 miles is not much. Drive it slow and don't tailgate people.

Pay the man!

To the OP: Good PPF (both the product and the install) should not peel around the edges. You need to find a good installer with good reviews and it sounds like shamoo is pointing you in that direction.

Regarding whether you should do it or not? I've applied PPF to most of my vehicles and the decision matrix for me is the following:

1. Do I care if the front end is covered in rock chips because they will happen and "ceramic" coating isn't going to do ? for protecting your paint from projectiles.
   1. If the answer is no then do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, proceed to #2
2. Do I have a vehicle that by design is prone to more rock chips than other vehicles. Say, an electric truck who has almost a completely vertical front end that was BORN to be a rock chip magnet?
   1. If the answer is no, do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, proceed to #3
3. Is protecting the front end of my super prone to rock chips vehicle worth 1.5-2K?
   1. If the answer is no, do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, find yourself a reputable dealer, start a PPF fund, and sleep well at night knowing you're R1T is going to be protected from all those ? rocks that are trying to ruin your day (and paint)!

 

[abirozy]

Thanks for all the input. Have any of you that have done PPF previously kept the cars outside? I am definitely leaning towards a full front PPF, but just dont want to worry that the heat will eventually damage the car / make the PPF melt into the paint (not exactly, but you know what i mean)

 

[SASSquatch]

Thanks for all the input. Have any of you that have done PPF previously kept the cars outside? I am definitely leaning towards a full front PPF, but just dont want to worry that the heat will eventually damage the car / make the PPF melt into the paint (not exactly, but you know what i mean)

All my vehicles that I have previously PPF'd have been stored outside.

 

[RivianuserR1T]

I'm concerned about minimizing swirls in my paint and my impression is that by applying a PPF I can use a waterless formula to wipe off debris with a microfiber towel daily without swirling the paint. Is my assumption correct?

Where I am in the SF Bay Area you are technically not permitted to wash your car due to water restrictions. So I'm trying to keep my R1T looking good without washing it all the time.

 

[SASSquatch]

I'm concerned about minimizing swirls in my paint and my impression is that by applying a PPF I can use a waterless formula to wipe off debris with a microfiber towel daily without swirling the paint. Is my assumption correct?

Where I am in the SF Bay Area you are technically not permitted to wash your car due to water restrictions. So I'm trying to keep my R1T looking good without washing it all the time.

Assuming you don't have swirls in your paint finish before applying the PPF, you won't be able to create a swirl once the PPF is applied as it is a very strong protective barrier.

Fun Fact: PPF was originally developed to protect sensitive helicopter rotor blades in Vietnam.

If PPF can survive Vietnam, it can survive you coming at it with a microfiber towel.

 

[abirozy]

Assuming you don't have swirls in your paint finish before applying the PPF, you won't be able to create a swirl once the PPF is applied as it is a very strong protective barrier.

Fun Fact: PPF was originally developed to protect sensitive helicopter rotor blades in Vietnam.

If PPF can survive Vietnam, it can survive you coming at it with a microfiber towel.

BTW…. Totally unrelated but love your avatar…. So much so, I had to look it up and ordered a t-shirt.

 

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

Pay the man!

To the OP: Good PPF (both the product and the install) should not peel around the edges. You need to find a good installer with good reviews and it sounds like shamoo is pointing you in that direction.

Regarding whether you should do it or not? I've applied PPF to most of my vehicles and the decision matrix for me is the following:

1. Do I care if the front end is covered in rock chips because they will happen and "ceramic" coating isn't going to do ?for protecting your paint from projectiles.
   1. If the answer is no then do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, proceed to #2
2. Do I have a vehicle that by design is prone to more rock chips than other vehicles. Say, an electric truck who has almost a completely vertical front end that was BORN to be a rock chip magnet?
   1. If the answer is no, do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, proceed to #3
3. Is protecting the front end of my super prone to rock chips vehicle worth 1.5-2K?
   1. If the answer is no, do not pass go. Do not get PPF!
   2. If Yes, find yourself a reputable dealer, start a PPF fund, and sleep well at night knowing you're R1T is going to be protected from all those ? rocks that are trying to ruin your day (and paint)!

So PPF protects against rock chips? In my imagination an 80 mph spinning rock is going to eat the vinyl and paint for lunch.

 

[Northish]

So PPF protects against rock chips? In my imagination an 80 mph spinning rock is going to eat the vinyl and paint for lunch.

All major PPF manufacturers design for exactly what you describe. The technical term for a machine that simulates rocks flying at your car is called a "gravelometer."
Source: in a past life we worked for a major PPF manufacturer.

 

[Scott]

All major PPF manufacturers design for exactly what you describe. The technical term for a machine that simulates rocks flying at your car is called a "gravelometer."
Source: in a past life we worked for a major PPF manufacturer.

2 things about that video:

1. As they wipe off the piece after the test, they never really wipe of the edge of the non protected side, making it look worse than it would otherwise. They wipe down the ppf side much more aggressively

2. The PPF clearly has a bunch of chips too. Yes the paint underneath is fine, but until you replace the wrap, the end result looks similar: visible chips on the surface. With the non ppf side, you could just apply touch up paint to any large scratch you see from more than a few feet away. With the PPF, you have to replace the wrap on the panel.

 

[BigE]

2 things about that video:

1. As they wipe off the piece after the test, they never really wipe of the edge of the non protected side, making it look worse than it would otherwise. They wipe down the ppf side much more aggressively

2. The PPF clearly has a bunch of chips too. Yes the paint underneath is fine, but until you replace the wrap, the end result looks similar: visible chips on the surface. With the non ppf side, you could just apply touch up paint to any large scratch you see from more than a few feet away. With the PPF, you have to replace the wrap on the panel.

Mine thoughts exactly. How much are these people paying to wrap these truck? $8K or more? Crazy money. I was looking at Xpel's Pre-Cut kits and I could do the entire front end for ~$1,500 but in looking at my wife's 11-year-old Acura MDX, it has a handful of very small nicks that we could easily have touched up. So for me, I'm thinking ceramic and I may just do Cquartz UK 3.0 myself and call it a day.

 

[SASSquatch]

So PPF protects against rock chips? In my imagination an 80 mph spinning rock is going to eat the vinyl and paint for lunch.

I have been putting PPF on my vehicles for 20 years and have never had a rock chip damage an area covered by the PPF. The PPF usually gets damaged but the car stays clean.

PPF isn't made from vinyl. It is an extremely durable urethane.

PPF was developed to protect the sensitive rotors of helicopters in Vietnam.

 

[SASSquatch]

BTW…. Totally unrelated but love your avatar…. So much so, I had to look it up and ordered a t-shirt.

Right on! Now I need to contact the company and make sure I get me my royalties!

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