❔ QUESTION Am I an idiot if I skip PPF?

[luciddaydream]

I have a Nimbus Emira.
I've driven it 400 miles.

I now want to add exhaust and other fun stuff.

But I just don't really want to PPF it.
It costs a lot of money, and I want to break this car in instead of dropping it off at a place and waiting for them to dick around with it for a week.


And if a few rocks hit it now and then.. does it really matter?

I mean its not a dark car (rock chips show up much more on dark cars) and I am not putting 100k miles on it...


Do you ever feel we're overconcerned about PPFing?

Or am I an idiot?

 

[seriously]

If you are going partial PPF, you should get paint corrected on the whole car not just the PPF portion.

 

[morphious]

I was going to wrap mine but now I am just going to drive it like I stole it. Looked at my 1998 Lexus ES300 and didn't notice any thing that bothered me so will just deal with any thing that happens or bothers me.

 

[SirSoysauce]

Nimbus is a complex paint and will be a bitch to colour match if you ever need a panel repainted.

That and Meridian Blue seem like the hardest to maintain colors. Touch ups are going to stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[John777]

This is all true. However, sanding isn't something anyone should take lightly and definitely not for the inexperienced. Also, you can only sand down the clear so many times.
To each his own, of course, but for me, on an expensive car, I'd rather the film take the beating and leave my factory paint alone. On a sub $75k car, touch up paint all the way.

Take to a paint professional if your uneasy.

I've only ever gotten 1 or 2 chips..on any car I've owned or none... I must be lucky or carefull.. ..

So if I take to get fixed by a professional.. that's gonna cost maybe a couple hundred...whereas full ppf costs me thousands upfront..


I'd rather deal with any possible paint chips as they come..
To each their own.
As well as I usually only keep my cars around 3 years.. but this one might be a permanent addition.

 

[John777]

I get what you are saying, but hear me out.

Have you ever taken the paint code a builder used in your home to a paint store and tried to touch up a wall mark? It’s never quite the perfect shade and you end up having to repaint the whole wall.

Touch up paint is very much like that. 99% of people will never notice, and some can be fine with it. But I will always know it’s not right and that I should paint “the whole wall”.

So PPF can save me the headache of over analysis, and save me from painting the wall a few times during ownership.

Really? most stone chips aren't visible 6 feet away or even 3 feet away.. so small .. but hey let's repaint the whole side of the car.. lol.. wow? ok. sure.. to each their own.. no wrong answer. everyone will do as they wish.

 

[KCMO68_510]

Really? most stone chips aren't visible 6 feet away or even 3 feet away.. so small .. but hey let's repaint the whole side of the car.. lol.. wow? ok. sure.. to each their own.. no wrong answer. everyone will do as they wish.

What we've discovered is the difference in what you want to accomplish and what I want to accomplish. You are ok if it's hard to tell from 6 feet out. I just want it to be right from any angle any distance, and for it to be easy to maintain. From all accounts the black pack on these cars swirls and scatches very easily. I don't want to be constantly dealing with it.

 

[Magma]

Take to a paint professional if your uneasy.

I've only ever gotten 1 or 2 chips..on any car I've owned or none... I must be lucky or carefull.. ..

So if I take to get fixed by a professional.. that's gonna cost maybe a couple hundred...whereas full ppf costs me thousands upfront..


I'd rather deal with any possible paint chips as they come..
To each their own.
As well as I usually only keep my cars around 3 years.. but this one might be a permanent addition.

I do all my own detailing. The last time I took a Porsche to a shop for PPF who came HIGHLY recommended in the Portland, OR area, he had a detailer who he'd been working with for 20 years. The detailer actually taught classes. I felt very comfortable having him do the paint correction and was actually just excited to have a pro do my paint stuff this time.

Absolute terrible job on the paint correction and ceramic coating. The guy didn't even own a paint depth gauge and he whittled the paint down to 2.3 mils in some areas. It turned into a huge mess. The film job was excellent, but I swore never again would I have an "expert" touch my car. Not that there aren't good ones out there.

I only apply PPF to the front of the car. The high impact areas and usually the rockers and add a larger piece behind the rear wheels. Usually runs $2500 or so. I'd much rather spend that money than have to deal with paint touch ups. Those rear wheel areas just naturally get peppered.
And again, because PPF is several mills thick, it offers very strong protection against rub marks, etc. I've seen some nasty looking damage on the film be nothing on the paint when it's pulled. I've been lucky with my garage queens. But you just never know...

 

[John777]

Copied from Facebook Below
Lotus Emira North
Elton Si


"Props to Gentry Lane for not pulling a Porsche. No added extra cost on dealer upgrades.

Price for PPF is reasonable:

For PPF:
Full Kit - Hood, Fender, mirrors, front bumper and then front and rear wheel impact area kit $3742.50 - Add Roofline and Pillar Kit to full kit additional $225
Front Bumper kit $1275
Front Bumper plus mirrors $1375
Full Hood and Fender kit $1987.50
Roofline and Pillar kit $292.50

This can be done with either Xpel or 3M. Both are equally great and come with 10 yr warranty."

 

[MrClean]

I’m for PPF on a new sports car like the Emira (low). I’ve had many cars with and without PPF and only regretted not doing it to an S2000 because the paint was so thin. I had a partial PPF kit on my white 981B for 7-8 years before it yellowed and looked like ass. I will say that it did its job and after removal my 28k mile car still looked great. After I had it removed and the car paint corrected, I decided NOT to PPF it again. There were chips in other places and the deep shine (as much as white can have) had me thinking I’d pass this time around.

On a new car, yes, I’m still pro-PPF but after years and miles, let the chips fall where they may.

I plan to wrap the entire car this time just for the added peace of mind. The place I use in central Ohio tucks and wraps the edges for a seamless look.

 

[RyanGphoto]

No way would I NOT PPF the car. I had mine done by the dealer with the warranteed PPF for $2700. That covered the front, the mirrors, and the rear wheel arch. It is a very low car. I think once you get some chips you will regret not doing it, but good luck.

$2,700??? Naples wants 2x that for their same area covering.. I might need to take it up to NC..

 

[nickorette]

Yes you're an idiot.

PPF is a helluva lot cheaper then a re-spray. You can maybe get away without if you were living in a remote area with little traffic, but if you're going to be doing much highway driving in busy areas your front end will look very bad, very quickly.

At least do high-impact areas. Find a quality installer, you get what you pay for. Properly installed ppf won't give you any problems

 

[Wiz33]

I would do a front and door edge at a minimum and I was quoted $2300 for a front and rear with one coat of CC which I think is really reasonable.

 

[Shyatic]

My logic to PPF is a bit different. I live in Texas and if I’m driving a nice car daily (this will be my daily driver) the odds of people hitting it with a car door, with a brush past it, etc - increase exponentially.

So for the careless people around yeah, I’ll PPF it because all the people I see in parking lots who are careless are who I am guarding against. Plus those people who have a jealousy and will try to key the car or something else.

 

[@Life411]

I"m PPFing mine but nothing wrong with not doing it. If you're fine with it not being as pristine when you got it don't worry about the PPF. Just drive and dont worry about it if thats your thing.

Love your Ferris Buehler profile pic! I used that clip in a video.

 

[@Life411]

My logic to PPF is a bit different. I live in Texas and if I’m driving a nice car daily (this will be my daily driver) the odds of people hitting it with a car door, with a brush past it, etc - increase exponentially.

So for the careless people around yeah, I’ll PPF it because all the people I see in parking lots who are careless are who I am guarding against. Plus those people who have a jealousy and will try to key the car or something else.

So you're going full body PPF? The cars I've owned didn't have it far enough up to protect against the things you mentioned. But I understand from Gator that Lotus is offering 3 levels of PPF coverage including one for those with the upper blackpack that covers the roof.

 

[@Life411]

I would do a front and door edge at a minimum and I was quoted $2300 for a front and rear with one coat of CC which I think is really reasonable.

So...I'm no expert on this, but my understanding is that CC (Ceramic Coating) is a detailing product and will not protect a vehicle against rocks, dings, scratches, etc. like a physical barrier like PPF (Paint Protective Film) will. A detailer explained this to me and google seems to confirm it. Anyone's understanding different from this?

 

[Aero]

So...I'm no expert on this, but my understanding is that CC (Ceramic Coating) is a detailing product and will not protect a vehicle against rocks, dings, scratches, etc. like a physical barrier like PPF (Paint Protective Film) will. A detailer explained this to me and google seems to confirm it. Anyone's understanding different from this?

Kudos to the detailer for not overselling you on ceramic. It provides no additional physical barriers from an impact hit. It does help if a chemical/poop/dirt/water spots get on the paint and adhering in first place. Much easier to wipe that stuff right off and left on for a longer period without marking your treated paint.

 

[Wiz33]

So...I'm no expert on this, but my understanding is that CC (Ceramic Coating) is a detailing product and will not protect a vehicle against rocks, dings, scratches, etc. like a physical barrier like PPF (Paint Protective Film) will. A detailer explained this to me and google seems to confirm it. Anyone's understanding different from this?

Yea, the CC just makes it easier to keep the car clean & protect the paint. You can probably do it yourself in a day. In that case, just doing the front wrap and the door edge should be ~$2K or less.

 

[tnbuilder]

The paint is so soft on these cars. I only have about 150 miles on mine and I am seeing very slight beginnings of chipping on the back quarters, below the vents. I have not followed cars too close to be concerned about frontal rock chips. The factory small PPF for the sides does not come up high enough. This led me to basically PPF'ing the whole car. I stings to spend that much money, but I like to keep my stuff nice. Mine is also DV color, so any chips will show white underneath and show pretty bad. Price to pay for being particular about your stuff....but once done I am going to drive the heck out of it!

 

[tnbuilder]

Also..mine really needed paint correction done to it (lots of swirls). The dealer was going to take care of it, but I just opted to let my local guy take care of it all.