What did you ppf?

[AJ28]

What shop did you go to? I’m located in California also. Looking for a ppf place lol

husslecustoms on Yelp or instagram. Very easy to work with and are located in Van Nuys, CA

Sponsored

 

[ransack87]

STEK DynoMatt Full Vehicle PPF paired with GYEON Type 1 EVO Infinite Ceramic Coating

 

[Bbfl5]

Absolutely nothing. It's a 50k toy not a piece of artwork that will gain life changing money down the road lol

 

[fredzy]

I wasn't going to do any PPF. Never have before and my cars were just fine. It was bothering me though. As "just fine" as my last 2 vehicles were after 70,000 and 80,000 miles respectively, I was not comfortable asking myself if I would be OK with that kind of damage vs. mileage today people change, cars get more valuable etc.

I think it was the CRAZY level of bugs we've had this year that finally put me over the edge. I'll run 2 miles down the road to get milk in the evening and the car is caked. I'm getting full front + hood xpel on both.

I am a little on the fence about headlights though. I haven't talked to the installer yet in detail about it but I've heard there is risk of damage to the surface (UV coat pulling up, delamination or something) during removal.

 

[Clark_Kent]

I wasn't going to do any PPF. Never have before and my cars were just fine. It was bothering me though. As "just fine" as my last 2 vehicles were after 70,000 and 80,000 miles respectively, I was not comfortable asking myself if I would be OK with that kind of damage vs. mileage today people change, cars get more valuable etc.

I think it was the CRAZY level of bugs we've had this year that finally put me over the edge. I'll run 2 miles down the road to get milk in the evening and the car is caked. I'm getting full front + hood xpel on both.

I am a little on the fence about headlights though. I haven't talked to the installer yet in detail about it but I've heard there is risk of damage to the surface (UV coat pulling up, delamination or something) during removal.

The risk of headlight delamination caused by PPF has been discussed for many years now. It was a common discussion point on Porsche headlights, but the noise has quieted in recent years. There was also a disclaimer on the XPEL website many years ago that is now gone. What was explained to me by a handful of detailers is if the film is properly removed (with steam and appropriate technique) you will not run into any issues with headlight delamination or paint coming up with the PPF. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not, but not something I'm worried about.

FWIW, I have PPF'd headlights on all of my cars over the years including a Porsche (and the FL5) with no issues. It's worth noting, I've never had to remove the film. The headlights will undoubtedly get sandblasted over time without the film. It's up to you to decide if the risk of headlight delamination is greater than your appetite for the headlights taking on damage from road debris.

 

[fredzy]

The risk of headlight delamination caused by PPF has been discussed for many years now. It was a common discussion point on Porsche headlights, but the noise has quieted in recent years. There was also a disclaimer on the XPEL website many years ago that is now gone. What was explained to me by a handful of detailers is if the film is properly removed (with steam and appropriate technique) you will not run into any issues with headlight delamination or paint coming up with the PPF. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not, but not something I'm worried about.

FWIW, I have PPF'd headlights on all of my cars over the years including a Porsche (and the FL5) with no issues. It's worth noting, I've never had to remove the film. The headlights will undoubtedly get sandblasted over time. It's up to you to decide if the risk of headlight delamination is greater than your appetite for the headlights taking on damage from road debris.

Thanks for that, yeah I'll most likely do it. A big part of my hesitation is that the last 3 vehicles I put big miles on, the headlights held up to such an impressive degree. Like things have definitely changed in last 10-15 years for headlight plastics. Our 2015 Sienna with 90k miles, they're effectively like new. You have to really get in close to see the few scratches and pits. (We don't get the sand blasting near as bad as the fair-weather folks, but the tradeoff is salt.)

They need to make the whole front end of the car out of headlight plastic haha

All this just makes me think... why can't they make a scratch resistant gauge cluster plastic!?!

 

[Clark_Kent]

Thanks for that, yeah I'll most likely do it. A big part of my hesitation is that the last 3 vehicles I put big miles on, the headlights held up to such an impressive degree. Like things have definitely changed in last 10-15 years for headlight plastics. Our 2015 Sienna with 90k miles, they're effectively like new. You have to really get in close to see the few scratches and pits. (We don't get the sand blasting near as bad as the fair-weather folks, but the tradeoff is salt.)

They need to make the whole front end of the car out of headlight plastic haha

All this just makes me think... why can't they make a scratch resistant gauge cluster plastic!?!

Might be worth a skip if after 90K miles the minivan's headlights are in good condition. The motorways where speeds are greater than or equal to 55 mph is where cars taking a beating. Like everything else, YMMV.

You comment on gauge cluster plastic: truer words were never spoken. That stuff is the worst. Might even be worse than piano black trim and that stuff is awful.

 

[fredzy]

Might be worth a skip if after 90K miles the minivan's headlights are in good condition. The motorways where speeds are greater than or equal to 55 mph is where cars taking a beating. Like everything else, YMMV.

You comment on gauge cluster plastic: truer words were never spoken. That stuff is the worst. Might even be worse than piano black trim and that stuff is awful.

The cluster plastic has caused me much distress. I usually get by for years at a time without touching them (except light swiffer dusting) by being careful when/how I sneeze

I knew the CTR was going to be trouble since as-delivered it had what looked like a fine spritz of something oily on there. Fear confirmed when the swiffer smeared the droplets. I pulled off the cleaning yesterday with no visible scratches ... this time. My process fwiw:

1. Swiffer all loose dust
2. Warm water and a few drops of dawn scrubbed into the silky/fuzzy high-pile type microfiber, wet but not dripping
3. One quick swipe across the face with a rolling motion that goes against the direction of wiping to prevent any particles from being dragged
4. Do the same single wipe with rolling motion with a clean/dry silky microfiber.
5. Any big spots of remaining residue around edges etc, wrap the clean side of the towel around finger and swipe/roll.
6. Don't try to make it perfect as it will just get worse from there

 

[SlippyFist]

i PPF'd the entire thing

 

[evlsmurf]

I did full front (bumper, headlights, hood, fenders). I did not do the mirror caps because they are cheap to replace and I plan to do something else anyway. I also did the rocker panels, B & C pillars, and the piano black on the rear bumper. I did a matte black vinyl roof as well. The PPF wasn't done well, so they are going to redo it.

 

[s2kdriver80]

I would also add the front "H" badge to the list. These badges will eventually crack and you may get sick of constantly replacing them, but at least the film will hold it in place and you wouldn't be able to notice the damage from a distance. These badges aren't cheap either.

I also had PPF + ceramic applied to the CF accessory wing. Some extra UV and impact protection doesn't hurt, especially on an expensive piece - from air turbulence, constant sun exposure, bird bombs, rear wiper scraping when being lifted (at least on the FK8), accidental garage door hits, etc. Note that PPF will likely only cover the top and will wrap around to cover just a portion of the bottom, since they have to make relief cuts due to the irregular shape.

 

[Clark_Kent]

I would also add the front "H" badge to the list. These badges will eventually crack and you may get sick of constantly replacing them, but at least the film will hold it in place and you wouldn't be able to notice the damage from a distance. These badges aren't cheap either.

I also had PPF + ceramic applied to the CF accessory wing. Some extra UV and impact protection doesn't hurt, especially on an expensive piece - from air turbulence, constant sun exposure, bird bombs, rear wiper scraping when being lifted (at least on the FK8), accidental garage door hits, etc. Note that PPF will likely only cover the top and will wrap around to cover just a portion of the bottom, since they have to make relief cuts due to the irregular shape.

Fair call out, but a majority of folks are getting pre-cut kits installed off the plotter. The front bumper kit includes the front H badge. Similarly, the rear hatch kit includes the rear H badge.

 

[s2kdriver80]

Fair call out, but a majority of folks are getting pre-cut kits installed off the plotter. The front bumper kit includes the front H badge. Similarly, the rear hatch kit includes the rear H badge.

That's good to know. Wasn't sure if the badges were included.

 

[fenix-silver]

I DIY'd using precut pieces for everything but the hood (did a bulk sheet on that so that as it's just way easier and I wanted to get it properly tucked under the hood vent). Did the full front, a-pillars, roof front, rockers, lower doors, and rear bumper top. Skipped the mirrors as someone previously said it's hard to get the precut pieces looking good on the mirrors and they're an easy replacement if they eventually take a beating. Only things I skipped from the precut kit was some of the piano black from bumper pieces as they are truly a PITA and would probably have looked like crap.

Sponsored