PPF Costs

[Kyofu]

Decided to get best PPF; hood, front fenders, front bumper, headlights, and side mirrors for $2.4K by the most reputable company in Central Florida. Now I’m on the fence about tinting. 28% is the legal limit (I think) in Florida but I’m thinking 35% for all but windshield. Honest Question: If a car isn’t in the sun other than when driving (saving upholstery) and the AC works great (cooling), what purpose(s) does tinting serve or is just esthetics? Please help me out here as I’ve never had tinting before.

Tinting helps reduce glare and sun directly on you, so you’re more comfortable. There’s some pretty awesome tint materials that actually reduce heat too. Less heat coming in means less AC needed. Not sure how it works. Xpel dealer showed it to me a couple of weeks ago while I was shopping for ppf, tint, and ceramic. They had this light box setup where I could feel the heat reduction (on my hand) as he cycled thru the 3 types of tint materials they offered.

For me, tint is also just a nice privacy thing. Makes it harder for people to stare at you or inside your car all the time.

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[qwertypop]

Just a heads up for anyone who's considering PPF:

So when I took my car from the dealership, I requested they not do anything to the car. They didn't listen to my request and did a half-ass job removing things. One of the things they partially removed was the protective film on the hood and roof. This isn't like those white stickers you see on new cars typically but more like a paste (think rubber glue but more plastic) that must have hardened over time. You can kinda tell it's on there in the first picture. They peeled this bit off but left the edges on and a simple wash doesn't address this bit so the additional work to remove the rest of the film and prep for PPF is going to cost me an additional ~$250+ in labor.

TLDR: If you're taking delivery of your car and request the techs not to prep the car in any way, prepare for additional costs in labor when the time comes to prep it as the adhesive film is not easy to remove.