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PPF Paint Protection Film ...Thoughts?

skyote

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I made some calls about pricing, and have decided to do paint correction & ceramic coating, no PPF.

For the cost of the PPF, you could pay to have paint fixed, IF needed for rock chips (or worst case of keying).
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jimcgov3

jimcgov3

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Comparing the two side by side, it is clear the one with Xpel has held up better. But Xpel is not a magic bullet. It minimizes the damage. The one with Xpel has dings. It still has swirls. It does a great job at preventing bug guts from becoming a permanent fixture. It does a heck of a job at making sure dirt and mud washes off easy. It makes cleaning easier. But it still needs to be cleaned as frequently.
For sure. I don't expect to. In Florida where road construction is the norm, we all suffer from the small rock chips in the hood and front bumper. I am sure there will be a few that get through tbut it should alleviate a good portion of the damage incurred by all of the gravel trucks....I also plan on keeping up my wash schedule from previous vehicles. I have a monthly membership to a local chain of car washes that exceptionally clean and have kept my vehicles looking awesome.

Both cars get used as daily drivers and both go through drive through no-no car washes regularly for the past 3+ years with no issues.
What are no-no car washes? I assume you are referring to touchless??
 

brianmartin

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be careful with these things. PPF is not a magic barrier and it can create more problems. First of all its 3-4k to get an entire vehicle professionally wrapped. Then, rocks still gouge paint through a PPF. If you really get some rocks up on your front end, a PPF is not going to stop them. Also, and perhaps most importantly, if you get in an accident and need bodywork, not all insurances cover your PPF. People have been stuck with the cost of redoing their PPF because it isn't factory and the insurance will only bring the car back to its factory state, UNLESS you have already negotiated with your insurance company to cover the added cost of upgrades.

PPF will discolor over time, etc.

The people selling this stuff of course tell you that its invincible, impenetrable, and you'd be crazy not to get it. Do your own research and don't just spend a few thousand dollars without thinking it through.
 

Yinn

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Also, and perhaps most importantly, if you get in an accident and need bodywork, not all insurances cover your PPF. People have been stuck with the cost of redoing their PPF because it isn't factory and the insurance will only bring the car back to its factory state, UNLESS you have already negotiated with your insurance company to cover the added cost of upgrades.
Insurances vary quite a bit from policy to policy and state to state. I can state from experience that I did not pre-negotiate PPF to be included in my policy, and my materials don’t state anything about aftermarket accessories but I was covered.

When I got into an accident, I asked my claims worker if it was covered. They asked for a receipt (which I had) and then stated it would be an claims adjustment made for reimbursement. Another words, it wouldn’t be directly covered and paid for by the insurance.

After my car was repaired, I had to take it to my PPF i I had to pay for it out of pocket, submit for review and reimbursement. I was 100% reimbursed, but the process showed it was a YMMV.
 

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Samuel Robertson

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I recommend the Armor film to my best friends. The F-Performance film has powerful strength and stretches greatly. It is also hydrophobic and passes ultraviolet light.
 

Chunk

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In 2016 I decided to hold onto my 2010 MDX because it was paid off, low miles, and generally was a great car. Unfortunately the paint was swirled and the clear headlights were UV fogging due to harsh SoFla conditions. Part of the decision was that if I was going to keep it, I'd rehab the appearance. I had a local dealer do a full paint correction, ceramic coating, and headlight restoration. The options were 1, 3,5, year, or lifetime warranty applications. I did the 5 year. Below you can see the results. Took a few days at the installer's shop...they use some intense lighting to see the swirls, chips, etc. The MDX is still going strong (will be replaced by my Rivian)...the coating has held up fairly well. I try to hand wash it but occasionally do the machine wash. I was T-boned about a year ago and the driver rear door was replaced so it's not as cherry as it was. Oh, trying to get an insurance company to cover redoing a ceramic coating is an impossible task.


I don't know anything about PPF other than my BiL's Tesla has it. His model Y has so many body/paint issues it seemed pointless but I understand his wanting to protect his ride.

Rivian R1T R1S PPF Paint Protection Film ...Thoughts? IMG_1602.JPG


Rivian R1T R1S PPF Paint Protection Film ...Thoughts? 15128
 

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I'll be going Xpel Ultimate Plus + Modesto Ceramic Coat. Loved the results on my last car and plan to do it on all future vehicles.
 

Hmp10

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I had been toying with the idea of a PPF for my next vehicle, but my brother put a 3M PPF on his Tesla Model 3 that has given him some trouble with dirt build-up under the edges causing the film to let go a bit. (He did not opt to have a tuck done, so I don't know if that has contributed to the problem.)

Optimum has come out with a new version of its Opti-Coat ceramic, called Pro3. It is a two-step application process that claims to lay down a coat four times the thickness of their Pro Plus coating. It is pricey, though -- $3,000 for a sedan -- but comes with a lifetime warranty.

It's so new that I haven't found any reliable reviews of it. Does anyone here have any experience with it?
 

kanundrum

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I did the hard hit areas for PPF, Front end, and rockers.

Rivian R1T R1S PPF Paint Protection Film ...Thoughts? 1614031154997


The bottom and the rockers are mostly black plastic so really Ill just be protecting the Front Area for Rock chips and maybe the hood.

I am curious to see their paint process and how much factory defect they will be sending the vehicles out with.
 

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I did the hard hit areas for PPF, Front end, and rockers.

1614031154997.png


The bottom and the rockers are mostly black plastic so really Ill just be protecting the Front Area for Rock chips and maybe the hood.

I am curious to see their paint process and how much factory defect they will be sending the vehicles out with.
Even though I do a lot of off roading with my Jeep, I have never applied PPF. However, this is exactly what I'll be doing with my R1T. That front clip is going to be a chip magnet.

I'm also going to look into mudflaps to help protect the rocker panels. I did put Rokblox mudflaps on my Raptor and they did a lot to help.
 

TDWRT1

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Live near Charlotte so we are blessed with having some really great PPF/detail shops - Exclusive Detail being one and the other being Parks Paint Protection. For me, paint correction is an absolute must and both of these shops provide that service. Factory paint jobs today, on even high-dollar cars like Audi and Porsche are barely passable. I don't expect Rivian to be any different. Parks has done paint
Rivian R1T R1S PPF Paint Protection Film ...Thoughts? STEK_Tesla_PPP
correction work on an air-cooled Porsche 911 of mine previously, so I know they can handle the simpler lines of an R1T. Parks also recently wrapped a Tesla for the SEMA show in a color change PPF from white to green (see picture). So it is both paint protection and a color change using the same product from a company named STEK-USA. I might consider that route if I am not loving my LA Silver choice.

As for STEK, they are a little more "upmarket" and were the first to offer hydrophobic film and now color change film. I'll pay a little more, but I am OK with that. Here's a link to a comparison of STEK vs the other larger suppliers from another installer. https://ftadetailing.com/blog/xpel-vs-suntek-vs-stek-vs-flexishield-paint-protection-film/
 

stumptown85

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These products are still a vinyl wrap. They’re just made and marketed differently.
This isn’t true. Vinyl and PPF are two completely different polymers. Vinyl is made of polyvinyl chloride…the same thing used in PVC pipes. PPF is made from polyurethane.
 

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Having gone down the road of ceramic coatings, paint correction, ppf etc for many years now, having paid frankly outrageous prices for the process as well as purchasing all of the necessary equipment (if the words rupes and flex ring a bell you know what I'm talking about) and doing it myself the best advice I can give to anyone considering any of these products is do at least some research beyond random opinions with nothing to back them up. Search for people doing long term testing of the products with some form of proof cataloging their experiences.

The best resource I have found for evaluating PPF and various coatings is scott hd on youtube. Obviously I have no way of knowing if he is messing with any of his results but so far purchasing products based on the information I've learned from his channel has served me well.

If anyone else knows of any other similar resources I'd love some links to them.



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