To PPF or not to PPF, that is the question

How much PPF?


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BMT1071

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I don't think people really understand how easy it is to do the ceramic coating yourself. All you do is wipe it on, let it haze, wipe it off. Instant 1-3 years of paint protection (depending on how well you take care of your car).
To be fair the professional ceramic coating process is much more involved than that. Claybar, paint correction, alcohol wipe down, etc. They also claim the quality of the coating is superior to the DIY products.
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Kevin C

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My last car had tons of rock chips in the front end and hood after 4 years. I paid more for the Mach-E than I ever have before and want to protect it. I had XPEL do the full front and have no regrets. And you absolutely cannot see it on the vehicle. They wrapped the edges and it looks fantastic. I'm very happy with it.
 
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Mach-Tony

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The resale value is more to the point of how many chips do you want on your car when you go to sell it? To me PPF is for me not as much for resale. I just don't want to spend the money it costs on a GT to end up having rock chips all over the front of it.
It's kind of the same thing, though, they won't really lower the price much for small chips because they will just touch them up. It's all a gamble, really.
 

Scarpia

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I wouldn't, nor ceramic coating. Biggest case of people believing they hype in a long time.
"Hype" would indicate the product doesn't work. Why do you think that? Lots of people have PPF and are very satisfied with the performance and protection it provides. Do you have examples that show it overpromises and/or underperforms?

I totally understand if people don't want to spend the $$, it is expensive, but at this point I think there's enough evidence and testimonials that it's a proven commodity.
 

RickMachE

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Hype goes with ceramic coating. Use Collinite 845.

As to PPF, I think when cars are wrapped in plastic it's too visible. Maybe the front bumper, that's it.
 


Scarpia

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Hype goes with ceramic coating. Use Collinite 845.

As to PPF, I think when cars are wrapped in plastic it's too visible. Maybe the front bumper, that's it.
OK, fair enough. It wasn't clear to me which of the two you were referring to.

My car is Infinite Blue and I got XPEL Ultimate on the front hood, bumper, mirrors, headlights...but not the fenders. I absolutely cannot see the difference between the hood and fenders, and they're obviously right next to one another. Perhaps it depends on the brand, age, paint color, or thickness of the PPF, but there's no visual difference with my paint job. They did a great job and wrapped all the corners so it is hidden very well.
 
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Scooby24

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I've gotten quite handy touching up rock chips to the point you wouldn't notice them from more than 2 feet away. Having removed PPF from some cars during details because the PPF was old, yellowed, brittle, etc....I won't bother with it except for small areas that cannot be corrected with touch up paint. The black nose of the GT bumper I'd protect, mirrors, and probably the front spoiler.
The rest of it I'll just keep up on touch up paint.
 

Scooby24

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Hype goes with ceramic coating. Use Collinite 845.

As to PPF, I think when cars are wrapped in plastic it's too visible. Maybe the front bumper, that's it.
There's a reason it's hyped. Collinite 845? I was detailing with that like 15 years ago...it wasn't even great then. It's really not great now compared to what's available.
 

blue92lx

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It's kind of the same thing, though, they won't really lower the price much for small chips because they will just touch them up. It's all a gamble, really.
That's also on a trade in, if you do a personal sell the new buyer might not be so keen on needing to touch up the front end of a car. Again, that's also after you've personally lived with a bunch of chips on the front of the car yourself, which could also be avoided. I get why people don't do PPF, I've never done it before either. But this car is like a giant flat billboard waiting to get peppered with rocks when a semi is in front of you.
 

shutterbug

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I was actually given 3 choice:

  1. Covers front bumper, partial of the hood, partial of the front fenders, and mirror caps.
  2. Covers front bumper, full hood, full front fenders, mirror caps, and headlights.
  3. Full Body
I went with #2. That way there is no visible seam on the hood.
 

blue92lx

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I was actually given 3 choice:

  1. Covers front bumper, partial of the hood, partial of the front fenders, and mirror caps.
  2. Covers front bumper, full hood, full front fenders, mirror caps, and headlights.
  3. Full Body
I went with #2. That way there is no visible seam on the hood.
Yeah I think the biggest mistake is doing partial panels. That's where you really see the PPF right up in your face. If you do the full panels you can't tell it's even on there.
 

Motomax

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Keep in mind that if you have to remove the PPF for some reason you run the risk of damaging the paint anyways.
 

ChasingCoral

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I actually went PPF from the mirrors forward, plus the black plastic side boards, rear wheel lips and rear bumper area. Then ceramic over the whole thing.
 

Pushrods&Capacitors

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The resale value is more to the point of how many chips do you want on your car when you go to sell it? To me PPF is for me not as much for resale. I just don't want to spend the money it costs on a GT to end up having rock chips all over the front of it.
Bingo. Exactly right, some people donā€™t care about dozens of rock chips peppering their front end but I canā€™t stand it. And, that detracts from resale value as well. Why not PPF and not have to pay for paint correction to get your car looking fresh again? Iā€™ve seen full frontal precut 3M Pro PPF kits starting at $379 for the MME from the place where I purchased my SS sedan PPF kit. Self install is not that damn difficult either. Iā€™m ordering a kit to install on our 4X as soon as we get it.

https://carprotectionpros.com/2021-...-series-clear-bra-deluxe-paint-protection-kit

Then Iā€™m going to take another 2-3 hrs and apply my ā€œpoor-manā€™s Ceramicā€ Turtle Wax Hybrid solutions 53409 Ceramic Coating that cost $14.99 for the bottle and offers 95% of the benefit you get from the ā€œProā€ kits that cost many multiples more.
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