As a body shop owner, we work on high-end and exotics, heres my 2c: PPF is a catch 22 and complete BS for the average car We've repaired many vehicles with PPF with very minor damage that the PPF wasn't able to protect against. So now you pay us $95 hr to remove the PPF + decon + cost of repair & refinish, then you can't PPF for another 60-90 days till the clear is fully cured. So if you have a vehicle which on average costs $1200 $1500+ to repair & refinish the front bumper i.e LC500, M4 Comp ect .. And you get a slight gash from a scuff that goes through PPF or minor fender bender. You've just introduced an extra $600-$800+ to the cost of just refinishing PPF might be worth it on Exotics or Collectibles, Hypercars which a bumper can run you 2k $3k++ ect because if you have endless pockets then whatever. Things we've ran in to with PPF cars: -Permanent water spot damage on the film looks like dog crap -Some films leave a ton of residue behind on removal $$ -Some films have horrible orange peel -Some films take away from the depth and gloss of the original finish -On hand cut & polished vehicles like Bentleys and Lambos you totally kill the glass look of these cars with PPF Anyways, it's a catch 22, whats next another film to protect the PPF? 😂
Depends on what you're trying to protect against? None of my rides are ppf'd, they are all cut and polished and ceramic coated As far as rock chips, on my weekend rides I make sure I keep enough distance away from the car in front of me on the road The faster the speed, the larger the distance Gives that pebble enough room for gravity to do its thing
I knew PPF wasn't perfect, but I didn't know it was that bad. I've been doing ceramic coatings for years now and they're great with new or old cars. Then I top the cured ceramic coating with Collinite 815 or 945 and then continue that wax regimen moving forward. Extremely deep and long lasting gloss, like a second clear coat. PPF is relatively new and cars I've seen with it have this "plastic look" up close. Still, I was considering it for my new car since it was "self-healing". Now I'll just stick to ceramic + wax. You just saved me the equivalent of $2000.
@@bo3baid I apply around 3 coats minimum. I only apply them under shade because they cure too fast in sunlight. I apply them using an applicator pad, in strokes, then buff them using a dual action polisher. Have to be careful since ceramic can streak. After the ceramic coating is cured, I top them off with Collinite 476s (for my light colored cars) or 915 (for my dark colored cars). I continue topping off with Collinite wax after every two or three car washes, so my initial ceramic coating is still there. Collinite lasts a lot longer than most wax. Only Soft99 Fusso can compete among carnauba-based waxes from experience.
It is completely unnecessary for a full body PPF I run a shop all. I tell my customers is you just need the front bumper, both fenders, full hood and side mirrors. Rocks typically don't hit the back of the vehicle or the doors. So front end do PPF and then from the doors back doing nice ceramic coating
I agree 100%. I’m getting mine done next week. All that you said, plus the pillars and rear spoiler, only bc their piano black, and scratch just from breathing too hard on it lol.
I dont agree i got full ppf and had a rock go from my front tire to my rear passenger door while making a lane change. It looks like it saved my paint from a massive scratch. So happy i got the full body ppf worth every penny. I wont know until i take the ppf off but i believe it only grazed the plastic layer
@@Xx-VSM-xX PPF is worth the money for specialty cars, but let’s be realistic a Rivian is not a specialty vehicle. No matter what quality of product is being used, it breaks down over time. Using it on a vehicle that is used regularly can be a problem. The cost to remove PPF after it has degraded can be more than it was to install. I’m all for people spending money however they like, but putting it on a rear door of a pickup is amusing to me.
@@Xx-VSM-xX it costs several thousand dollars to do ppf. Derrrrrp. Tell me you don't know what you're talking about without telling me you don't know what you're talking about. (If you've found it for less, they're using trash film.) My truck is $105k and I didn't even put it on that. My G63 and G550 have it though.
@@brianshockley6429 Just because it’s electric doesn’t make it not a truck. It’s actually supposed to have some real capabilities. Lots of trucks cost that much. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan.
I have been in the auto body business since 20 years. Ceramic coating lasts a few weeks so it’s not worth the money. Protective coating is only good if you do not scratch or wreck the car. If you get a small, scratch in the protective coating, it will cost you another $3000 to have it done again. Versus $500 for a small scratch. Protective coating is a rip off. Stop ripping people off!
@@ooodinimagic2151 im not joking. To add clear protection to a front end of a car is over $1500. In 8 years that stuff will harden and never “peel off” making it impossible to remove. If you scratch the bumper, the average price to paint a bumper is $500. But to paint a bumper and re-wrap it is about $1200. Does that make sense?
paint is meant to protect your car from the elements. this is a little silly. why do you need the original paint to stay untouched pristine on a truck? buff out the scratches, touch up the rock chips don't spend thousands on some film that will need replaced eventually anyway.
As long it doesn’t end up looking like the front of the Toyota Camrys hood protective film? all dried up and yellow after a few years.. As much as a car costs, I think it would be worthwhile investment.
The only reason i want to use protection on my car is because people for some reason are attracted to my car, in the parking lots people’s just love to park very close next to my car & they open the door & hit my car for no reason & without saying sorry, i get scratches every time because of that🤬 I just want protection on my doors thats it🌚
Especially on a rivian, they need a full paint correction right from the dealer, the quality of paint and panel gaps is truly absurd for the price of them.
PPF is too expensive, not worth it, if you ceramic coat it and call it a day, if you keep the car for 10+ years, and the paint has gone bad, repaint it for half the price, PPF for the whole car is 4-7k ridiculous.
Anyone who repaints your car for less than the price of a full PPF, is gonna Jack your shit up. Overspray. Don’t even bother removing trim, drip marks, the whole 9 yards. I can guarantee my customers 100% all out wraps and PPF look as good as OEM paint, and 10X better than any aftermarket paint shop can produce at the rate we charge. You’d need a $10k paint job to match our work.
@@dontbestupid6664 not all body shops are the worst example of a body shop. I've sent a couple hundred cars to local body shops, full paint jobs. They remove the trim, and rarely give me a car with overspray and drips and the few times they have, they rectified it. It's a matter of finding professionals. I could have a Corolla painted twice for $8,000 and no one with an untrained eye could tell.
lol i love clear bras and all this. your car ages gracefully while inder the clear stay nice guaranteeing youll need a new paint job. leave it on longer and it cracks making your car look worse. this is for leased cars #bet
On top of PPF. My reason is because it will then protect both the PPF layer and the paint at the same time. If coating is under PPF then only paint is protected and the PPF layer itself on top will oxidize faster.
@@fzrshiny I work in the auto auction business and can only speak from my experience dealing with thousands of cars in the Texas sun. Maybe your experience has been different.
I have suntek reaction witch is the same paint protection film with a ceramic coating. I love it. Worth every penny. Seems like that PPF has orange peel like 3M does
This film also does not protect you 100% from rock chips just as a ceramic coating doesn’t. I had this film on my wife’s 2021 C63 literally the entire car wrapped in this film from the dealer. The hood and from bumper took a beating. Especially living out in the Arizona desert.
My new lexus just got wrapped in XRPlus Xpel. At pickup there were so many bubbles and loose edges. Called and asked owner if this is normal and he said its still in curing period. After 3 weeks (the inspection) they gonna use heat gun to stick all the loose edges. I just want to know if these r the standard PPF process?
When you say full-body do you color the windshield? If that is something else for the windshield how do you make sure that any windshield film does not affect the rain sensing wipers?
Well, PFF - Except for those permanent bug stains, rock strikes that pierce the film, installer’s razor blade scratches, yellowing, pealing PFF that must be replaced in 6 months - all for thousands of dollars a pop. Like EV’s, it sounds like the science isn’t there yet.
What are you yappin on about , That is all covered by the 10-12 year Warranty, Any imperfection I have ever had. They always fix, Especially yellowing, or damage or peeling
This whole paint protection thing hasn't got ridiculous at all. The paint has a clear coating over it as a basic protection (some I'm sure will argue it doesn't provide much/any protection...whatever). You should get a ceramic to protect the clearcoat. Then PPF to protect the ceramic. But what will protect the expensive PPF?? Get a ceramic coating for that. but better get a PPF to protect that ceramic. ..orrrr...and bear with me on this...or accept that it's only paint and the world won't end if you get a chip
Nah the paint will still deteriorate from UV. But it would be in much better condition than having no PPF+Ccoating. Topping up a good ceramic coating (one with decent chemical and UV resistance) on top of the PPF every few years would help.
@Jay rad i decided to do a graphine ceramic coating instead. I just wanted it for light scratches, and i did it myself. Way cheaper, too. I would want PPE, but it's an investment i was not willing to make.
