When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
If you do a lot of freeway/highway driving then it might not be a bad idea. It will also depend on what the roads are like where you are. We get a ton of debris on the roads around here. I've been through 5 windshields on 3 different trucks in the past 3 years around here, but some people don't end up having those kinds of issues. What I have noticed is that the front hood edge on all of these trucks is relatively unscathed. The grilles have a few chips though. If you mainly drive on lower speed roads then the PPF might not be that necessary.
I have been debating whether to do this or not also. I have done other cars of mine - it's fairly expensive but does give you peace of mind. Just make sure you get one done that is pre-cut. Don't let a knife anywhere near your car - they will cut the paint eventually. For the new G, I am wondering if the most needed area for PPF is actually the leading edge of the rear fender flares. This area seems to pick up all the debris from the truck's own front tires. For those of you with some mileage on your car (and no PPF), do you see pit marks on the rear fender flares ? I'm wondering if a small piece of PPF needs to go on here just like 911's have a small piece covering the rear wheel haunches. Thoughts ?
It’s a tough call. I have a two other dailys so this is part of my occasional joy car fleet among others. So not a ton of highway miles at all. Not sure if it’s worth the spend for full ppf for that kind of utility.
It’s a tough call. I have a two other dailys so this is part of my occasional joy car fleet among others. So not a ton of highway miles at all. Not sure if it’s worth the spend for full ppf for that kind of utility.
I have mine ceramic coated including the wheels. I had PPF on my entire GT3, but it sat so low to the ground, it was a must. I had a rock hit the hood on the highway. If you had matte paint, I’d say PPF for sure, I don’t think you need it with metallic paint.
Thoughts? I want to have worry free driving. I’m fine to do it but would rather save my cash if it’s not worth it or a pain to deal with?
I also have a slight fear of someone taking apart the truck.
I am with you on having someone taking stuff apart and having a little issue. Or damaging something else when trying to do it. I had it on a 911, on the full car and hated it. The stuff always had an edge working up somewhere. I have had it on the last probably 5 cars and am done with it. All from different installers too. Even with wrapped edges it's a pain, at least it was for me. It seems impossible to get it down and not find an air bubble or some contamination somewhere under the film that is forever trapped. A gal friend of mine had a 911 as well and it had the whole front end done. Well she got a rock chip and it went through the film and got to the paint. So then she had to pay the body shop to remove the film. Problem was that it was on for so long that when they got it off, it left a glue residue on the hood that had to be wet sanded off. At that point you are paying for the removal, losing clear coat from the wet sanding, then paying to put it back on if you decided too. A fine artist brush and a little paint is what I do now. I have also had body shops feather in some spots by hand with a drop of paint, a drop of clear and wet sanding and polishing. It's not that noticeable and it saves a lot of money. Plus you don't have to detail with special soaps or waxes. And when you do detail you can actually feel the smooth paint instead of plastic. I am only going to ceramic coat my G63 and thats it. I will do that myself too. The only finish I would PPF is the matte finishes because they are so fragile compared to the regular paints. This is just my opinion and do as you wish. Save your money and use it toward the next trade. They are not going to ding you if a few paint chips have been filled in. Maybe on a super car but not on a G in my opinion. I just back off the traffic a bit, and when I pass big trucks I slide over a bit for possible spray. Not only the paint but saving that windshield. If you are in a high gravel rock prone area, it might be worth checking into. It's all what you decide and there are good and bad points. For what some of the installers charge, its almost like you paying to have it painted anyways. The last thing I forgot to mention is white. I hated it when I had film on that color because the edges of the film always showed dirt lines.
Last edited by Jagdpanzer; 12-24-2021 at 09:52 AM.
I 100% agree. After a lot of thought and looking into it I’m just doing ceramic coat and that’s it. The worn film and dirty edge look to me is much worse than rock chip blemish that can be fixed if needed.
You”ll have the most protection with combination of PPF topped with ceramic coating. A good quality clear mask will give some insurance for road debris and small rocks. Front hood, fenders and mirror housing benefits the most. Ceramic coating keeps the car looking cleaner, easier to maintain and wash and enhance the color. Protection is there from minor scratches. To me matte finishes being hard to repair, should have at least one or the other. On cars I care about I do both, the ones intended to leave the household within a year, I minimize that expense. Leased cars get none. Enjoy your ride.
I am with you on having someone taking stuff apart and having a little issue. Or damaging something else when trying to do it. I had it on a 911, on the full car and hated it. The stuff always had an edge working up somewhere. I have had it on the last probably 5 cars and am done with it. All from different installers too. Even with wrapped edges it's a pain, at least it was for me. It seems impossible to get it down and not find an air bubble or some contamination somewhere under the film that is forever trapped. A gal friend of mine had a 911 as well and it had the whole front end done. Well she got a rock chip and it went through the film and got to the paint. So then she had to pay the body shop to remove the film. Problem was that it was on for so long that when they got it off, it left a glue residue on the hood that had to be wet sanded off. At that point you are paying for the removal, losing clear coat from the wet sanding, then paying to put it back on if you decided too. A fine artist brush and a little paint is what I do now. I have also had body shops feather in some spots by hand with a drop of paint, a drop of clear and wet sanding and polishing. It's not that noticeable and it saves a lot of money. Plus you don't have to detail with special soaps or waxes. And when you do detail you can actually feel the smooth paint instead of plastic. I am only going to ceramic coat my G63 and thats it. I will do that myself too. The only finish I would PPF is the matte finishes because they are so fragile compared to the regular paints. This is just my opinion and do as you wish. Save your money and use it toward the next trade. They are not going to ding you if a few paint chips have been filled in. Maybe on a super car but not on a G in my opinion. I just back off the traffic a bit, and when I pass big trucks I slide over a bit for possible spray. Not only the paint but saving that windshield. If you are in a high gravel rock prone area, it might be worth checking into. It's all what you decide and there are good and bad points. For what some of the installers charge, its almost like you paying to have it painted anyways. The last thing I forgot to mention is white. I hated it when I had film on that color because the edges of the film always showed dirt lines.
Best response, and one that can almost kill an industry, lol. I feel like it only makes sense on super or HyperCars.
When I had it on my last car I found a bit of contamination between the film and the paint. I said what about the lil air bubbles. He goes oh we will use a syringe to get those out. And what about these couple spots. Oh thats probably dust in the air lol. He said it was next to impossible to get it on without one lil issue here and there. And then there are the types that use razors to trim. No thanks, we are only human and there is a reason they put erasers on pencils. I think PPF is great for certain apps, but in my opinion its not for me. Maybe it will be for the next person.
Last edited by Jagdpanzer; 12-24-2021 at 01:35 PM.
I do as well. I have the ceramic and will be doing paint correction in my garage in the next week or two. I love doing my own stuff if I can. Listen to the radio and drink a pop. Good times (: Really I will just be claying it off and applying the ceramic. The paint is not swirled or messed up in any way. Will do the wheels last
Driving home from work today and saw a dime sized rock fall vertically and innocently against the windshield and thought huh that’s weird.
Found point of impact on front edge of hood. Now question is do I bother fixing it which requires new hood PPF then opti-coat on top or let it ride.
Really glad it didn’t hit windshield directly at least.
That sucks and when the rocks get too big not much will protect it. If it were my G I would try to fix it, but thats up to you. Everyone will have different reasons. I had a nick paint fixed once on a Porsche with a dab of paint, wet sanded, than a dab of clear and wet sanded and polished. It was through film as well but when they put the film back down it hid it rather well.
Last edited by Jagdpanzer; 12-28-2021 at 07:07 PM.
Driving home from work today and saw a dime sized rock fall vertically and innocently against the windshield and thought huh that’s weird.
Found point of impact on front edge of hood. Now question is do I bother fixing it which requires new hood PPF then opti-coat on top or let it ride.
Really glad it didn’t hit windshield directly at least.
if it were my car, it would constantly bother me and I would have it fixed. I would think the whole PPF would have to be removed and reapplied but I am no expert. A good detail person might have better ideas. Which brings up the point of clear mask when it gets dinged and something penetrates through it. I think having just the ceramics is advantageous for that reason.
Yeah I agree--I'm leaning that way to get it fixed--it looks like there's a small chip under the PPF after all.
Kinda leaves me at a crossroads--do I even bother with PPF in the future if I get rock chips anyway, or how bad would this have been without the PPF?
I've sent pictures to my installer to see what they think. Will keep you all posted.
Thats why I don't do the film anymore. If it gets through it has to come off and then go back on if a person is set on getting it for the smaller stuff protection. I figure if it's bad enough I will just have it painted. But most of the driving I do is in town and not highway stuff, and less prone to the fast traveling stones. So not knocking anyone that does PPF. As mentioned in my previous post, it might be able to be filled in and put the film down to kind of meld it all together and make it less noticeable. I think the metallics are a bit harder to spot match though because of how the metal flakes lie when sprayed etc. But a good paint shop will know whats best. Hope it is fixed well and you are happy.
I think PPF is good if you want to change the look (ie stealth or pearl effect like some of the newer PPFs). But paint protection? I dunno if it makes too much sense. I personally don’t know of anyone who has changed out their ppf after it started to show wear, scuff and trapped dirt. Whereas I know plenty more people who have done paint correction/wet sanding for different paint related issues.
the amount of paint “work” that’s needed when the ppf comes off is effectively a full paint correction procedure.
I think PPF is good if you want to change the look (ie stealth or pearl effect like some of the newer PPFs). But paint protection? I dunno if it makes too much sense. I personally don’t know of anyone who has changed out their ppf after it started to show wear, scuff and trapped dirt. Whereas I know plenty more people who have done paint correction/wet sanding for different paint related issues.
the amount of paint “work” that’s needed when the ppf comes off is effectively a full paint correction procedure.
Interesting, I never knew they did PPF films in stealth etc as you mentioned. I had a white pickup that I drove over the winters and that front end took a lot of gravel. I got a small camel hair brush and a paint pen and in 30 mins filled like 20 small chips. And honestly it was hard to tell unless u were looking for it. White is pretty easy! I know this might sound dumb. But where I live now in the midwest, it is still good roads with no gravel on them since there has been little snow. I just got my G63 near two weeks ago. Well here comes the dumb part maybe to some. I will garage it before the big snow they say is coming this Saturday and will keep it garaged until spring. I have a pickup to drive and figure why mess that G up. I will detail it soon in ceramic in my garage and have it waiting pretty in the spring. IF it was the only thing I had available to drive then so be it. I am going to use it but with the mindset of no salt and gravel and the possible broken window or sand blasted front end syndrome come spring. (:
Interesting, I never knew they did PPF films in stealth etc as you mentioned. I had a white pickup that I drove over the winters and that front end took a lot of gravel. I got a small camel hair brush and a paint pen and in 30 mins filled like 20 small chips. And honestly it was hard to tell unless u were looking for it. White is pretty easy! I know this might sound dumb. But where I live now in the midwest, it is still good roads with no gravel on them since there has been little snow. I just got my G63 near two weeks ago. Well here comes the dumb part maybe to some. I will garage it before the big snow they say is coming this Saturday and will keep it garaged until spring. I have a pickup to drive and figure why mess that G up. I will detail it soon in ceramic in my garage and have it waiting pretty in the spring. IF it was the only thing I had available to drive then so be it. I am going to use it but with the mindset of no salt and gravel and the possible broken window or sand blasted front end syndrome come spring. (:
I agree with you. My car doesn't leave the garage too often in the winter months (at least not when there is any chance of snow/salt/sand on the roads - no thanks). If I lived in a state with warmer winters, I'd be using it all year for sure. Worth noting though, I have friends that have new G's and they drive in all conditions and I have to say - the paint used on these cars is pretty resilient. It doesn't seem like soft paint that is prone to pitting and chips.
12-21-2021 | 12:00 AM
When I had it on my last car I found a bit of contamination between the film and the paint. I said what about the lil air bubbles. He goes oh we will use a syringe to get those out. And what about these couple spots. Oh thats probably dust in the air lol. He said it was next to impossible to get it on without one lil issue here and there. And then there are the types that use razors to trim. No thanks, we are only human and there is a reason they put erasers on pencils. I think PPF is great for certain apps, but in my opinion its not for me. Maybe it will be for the next person.
