[laughMan]

I am debating about PPF....

I see its benefit in protecting the paint. But is it a worth it?

I did it in my previous cars, and I was warned about it by the dealer and some body shop worker. The film could damage the paint after 5-6 yrs, although the manfactuers' claim is 10yrs. So I was recommended to inspect and maybe rewrap after 5-6 yrs to be safe.

And does PPF make color matching harder to do if the car needed to be sprayed after an accident???

I am thinking to skip PPF this time, and just let it age gracefully.

A little paint chip here and there is fine after 5-6yrs, right?

[JABCAT]

All my vehicles have ppf. I generally don't put much weight in advice from dealers or bodyshop workers, especially when they make generalized comments without any actual data to back them up.

[BLKM]

I PPF all my cars as well as it saves and protects from from daily stone chips and swirl marks…my cars alway look great especially when they are ceramic coated as well.

Todays modern cars paints are very thin, soft and not so durable to everyday driving

On the colour matching issue, any good body shop would have no issues in matching any fading or alterations of colour… my body shop guy uses a digital reader to analyse the colour tints

I recently sold my Jaguar F-Type and the day prior to hand over I ran over a rogue branch on the highway and it seemed to damage the passenger under door sill… the film protected the paint and bodywork like a shield. The film was damaged and looked like it was ripped and scratched off but my PPF guy just removed the film and the car’s paint was as new… no damage

Good PPF is worth it👍🏼

[DSTR]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

All my vehicles have ppf. I generally don't put much weight in advice from dealers or bodyshop workers, especially when they make generalized comments without any actual data to back them up.

This^^^^^^^^^^ research and contact the maker of the film for stats and data first. Not a tech. Its easy to email the PPF maker and research online.

[abrandonment]

I started to do the front only. I'm going to end up with the whole thing, even though I didn't want it.

I'll write it up later. Trying to get the annoyance pass.

[LeggoRacing]

If you keep vehicle for a while and care about protection it’s a no brainer. Especially in forward impact areas.

[Smilodon]

Not the entire car, but the vulnerable areas. Considering the quality of the product these days (and if you know a good installer), it is must do for me now.

Had a "long story" thing on my previous vehicle regarding dealer coating stuff and eventually repainted the front of the vehicle and had PPF installed. This time, the PPF appoint was made as soon as I had a delivery date and the car mostly stayed in the garage until it was done.

In Florida, we have a "love bug" plague about twice a year, and the bugs will destroy the paint on the nose of a car. But, our biggest problem with the last car was dump trucks leaving a cloud of grit behind them.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by LeggoRacing

If you keep vehicle for a while and care about protection it’s a no brainer. Especially in forward impact areas.

100%. I drive I35 from Austin to Dallas and back every weekend. It's a mine field of debris & large trucks. I can already see impact areas on the front end and hood. Those would be a lot of paint chips. Instead the ppf self-heals in most of the impacted areas, keeping the paint looking new

[MineralGreyMetallic]

I created a similar poll in the F87 forum before I bought that car. I was very much on the fence and skeptical.

I ended up doing a "track package" on the F87 and the results were so good that I did a full body PPF on my G87 this time around.

I did not see any discoloration or other issues with the F87's PPF after 7 years.

[M_Power Rob]

Originally Posted by twlai

I am debating about PPF....

I see its benefit in protecting the paint. But is it a worth it?

I did it in my previous cars, and I was warned about it by the dealer and some body shop worker. The film could damage the paint after 5-6 yrs, although the manfactuers' claim is 10yrs. So I was recommended to inspect and maybe rewrap after 5-6 yrs to be safe.

And does PPF make color matching harder to do if the car needed to be sprayed after an accident???

I am thinking to skip PPF this time, and just let it age gracefully.

A little paint chip here and there is fine after 5-6yrs, right?

PPF on the front clip (bumper, fender, hood, mirrors and cf roof) is a must in my books, along with ceramiccoatingafter.

However, based on your bolded section above, seems as if you dont care too much for your cars.

[iifymbro]

Originally Posted by Smilodon

Not the entire car, but the vulnerable areas. Considering the quality of the product these days (and if you know a good installer), it is must do for me now.

Had a "long story" thing on my previous vehicle regarding dealer coating stuff and eventually repainted the front of the vehicle and had PPF installed. This time, the PPF appoint was made as soon as I had a delivery date and the car mostly stayed in the garage until it was done.

In Florida, we have a "love bug" plague about twice a year, and the bugs will destroy the paint on the nose of a car. But, our biggest problem with the last car was dump trucks leaving a cloud of grit behind them.

I'm in South FL and the love bugs aren't too terrible down here thank god, still would need a good ceramic coat at a minimum to keep bug juice off the clear coat though. The gravel/dump trucks are so annoying, really the only source of rock chips down here since the roads are so nice and regular downpours keep them clean.

Read something that made me never look at PPF the same way though, that it's like when your grandma wrapped her new couch in plastic so it was in perfect condition years later...when she got rid of it for a new one lol.

I do think it has merit if you live in an area with lots of loose gravel/stones on the roads though, like the mountain areas or up north in general where they salt/gravel the roads and frost heave is constantly leaving broken areas for cars to throw stuff into you. I went around inspecting friends/family member's cars that are 3+ years old 40k miles and it was hard to find any notable rock chips on them, certainly didn't look at them and think "damn they should've spent thousands on PPF when they got this".

[abrandonment]

Originally Posted by iifymbro

I'm in South FL and the love bugs aren't too terrible down here thank god, still would need a good ceramic coat at a minimum to keep bug juice off the clear coat though. The gravel/dump trucks are so annoying, really the only source of rock chips down here since the roads are so nice and regular downpours keep them clean.

Read something that made me never look at PPF the same way though, that it's like when your grandma wrapped her new couch in plastic so it was in perfect condition years later...when she got rid of it for a new one lol.

I do think it has merit if you live in an area with lots of loose gravel/stones on the roads though, like the mountain areas or up north in general where they salt/gravel the roads and frost heave is constantly leaving broken areas for cars to throw stuff into you. I went around inspecting friends/family member's cars that are 3+ years old 40k miles and it was hard to find any notable rock chips on them, certainly didn't look at them and think "damn they should've spent thousands on PPF when they got this".

Agree with this. Even though I'm going to have a full wrap.

[M2PDX]

PPF is old tech.

Clarity Coat (sprayed on) is what you want to look into.

https://claritycoat.com/


You can do it clear, or literally ANY BMW color.

I autoflexed my F87 San Marino Blue. More protective than PPF, and looked exactly like BMW paint.

[///M TOWN]

Originally Posted by M2PDX

PPF is old tech.

Clarity Coat (sprayed on) is what you want to look into.

https://claritycoat.com/


You can do it clear, or literally ANY BMW color.

I autoflexed my F87 San Marino Blue. More protective than PPF, and looked exactly like BMW paint.

That’s looks absolutely awesome…

[Tag]

Originally Posted by twlai

I did it in my previous cars, and I was warned about it by the dealer and some body shop worker. The film could damage the paint after 5-6 yrs, although the manfactuers' claim is 10yrs. So I was recommended to inspect and maybe rewrap after 5-6 yrs to be safe.

Manufacturer recommended replacement time is just a metric of how long the PPF will last before it needs to be replaced due to rock hits, peeling, etc. Has nothing to do with damaging the paint itself.

Originally Posted by twlai

And does PPF make color matching harder to do if the car needed to be sprayed after an accident???

Older PPF would turn yellow over time, but that's mostly a thing of the past. Most of the major brands on the market today do not yellow.

[HockeyDad]

I do. Learned my lesson the hard way on my OG F87 M2. I do a fair amount of highway driving in N Texas and after 4 years and 60K miles the front end of that Long Beach blue M2 was toast. LOTS of debris on our roads and the front clip looked like it had been sand blasted. Did a track pack on my G87 using Expel Steath. Pleased with how it turned out.

[MineralGreyMetallic]

Originally Posted by iifymbro

Read something that made me never look at PPF the same way though, that it's like when your grandma wrapped her new couch in plastic so it was in perfect condition years later...when she got rid of it for a new one lol.

That's not my reasoning at all.

I'm not mainly protecting resale value, although that's something I'll surely be thankful for during the trade negotiation process.

I'm protecting myself from the anger and frustration of seeing pimples all over my car just from normal driving. Not having to cringe every time I hear the tires kicking rocks up into the rear quarter.

I'll pay for that.

[matty_f]

To me it’s mental insurance. I don’t have to be as careful washing my car, there’s no worries about swirls. If there’s a bird crap I don’t have to immediately stop what I’m doing an clean it off. If I’m passing a camper in the fast lane I don’t worry about bumper rash if I have to get a little closer to shoot the gap. I still am careful about where I park, but there’s a little piece of mind leaving my car in the shopping lot. All those things make it worth it to me.

[Ronin76]

Originally Posted by M2PDX

PPF is old tech.

Clarity Coat (sprayed on) is what you want to look into.

https://claritycoat.com/


You can do it clear, or literally ANY BMW color.

I autoflexed my F87 San Marino Blue. More protective than PPF, and looked exactly like BMW paint.

This is something I would be intereted in but it is nkt a service that is provided in my area so PPF it is for me.

[mynameisnick4]

I did PPF but only the front bumper.

[clydefrog]

I did full front PPF + roof (CF) + rocker panels. Ceramic coat the whole car otherwise as well all when I did the tint.

If I did it again I would probably just do the whole car or at least the rocker panels as well. I like that I don't have to care about the paint where it's coated.

Agree with someone else make sure they paint correct or ask for it before they PPF; I assumed all installers do this but not everyone does.

Also make sure full front includes the A-pillars or ask for it if you care about it. I thought it did but mine came out with unprotected A-pillars. Ended up leaving them off.

Make sure the shop you work with will back up their work. The front bumper on this car is a pain in the ass. I've seen some people say it's not that bad (even the best installer at the shop that did the job) but I had to have the bumper re-done after it lifted all over the place. Also the initial cut they did had a huge amount of seams that they were able to eliminate on the 2nd go around. Still needed multiple follow ups to make sure it was as good as they could do it.

I recently washed the car for the first time and saw some other parts that I'm not super happy with, and wish they had tucked it more into the panel (there is a jagged cut on my rockers that picked up some dirt that looks more noticeable than I would like, but I'm a little over fussing about it)

Overall would do it again and will do it to future cars I care about.

[abrandonment]

Pics of your front seams?