Areas to check when picking up after PPF?

[Gooner]

Hi all

My car is currently in being PPF’d. Hopefully I’ll be heading down to collect it tomorrow afternoon.

For those that have had theirs PPF’d, are there any areas I should pay particular attention to when checking it over? The company doing it are excellent so I’m not anticipating any issues, but this is their first Emira and thought I may as well ask the group if there are any specific areas that they have had issues with?

Thanks

 

[Nova]

Yes.

 

[ADC]

Depending on whether it was done from template or hand-cut, look for how neatly reliefs have been done in top corners of the side intakes, around the front bumper intakes, on the buttresses where the hatch meets the boot lid, and rear wheel arch vents.

(and even though you aren't expecting issues, don't be gaslit into accepting anything scrappy because "it's a tricky car"... there are certain things that are unavoidable, like sharp corners can't be edge-wrapped completely, but mine turned out as well as I could have hoped)

 

[Nova]

But seriously. I've seen that the area around the side vent as well as the rear vents are especially problematic. Some installers had to cut a seam into it, or make it a two-piece install. For the rear vent, some use a relief cut, or other tricks. I think I've only seen one install where they got a single piece to stretch/fit in place, but that was rare.

 

[Sandalwood]

Thanks for the details here. Mine is coincidentally also in for PPF.

 

[EZcheezy]

the issues mine has were near those little vents that are on either side of the back window

 

[Gooner]

Thanks all, appreciate the details.

 

[WindJunkie]

The PPF at the cut seams on mine were not folded around the fenders and hood well enough to where they are now coming undone. Also, the PPF on my mirror caps wasn't done properly as well, so inspect your mirror caps closely.

 

[Gooner]

They have used precut templates but interestingly there was a note on for the bonnet saying not to wrap it round (see below). This is using Suntek Reactions film.

The installer extended the template and managed to do it, but it was a PITA by the sounds of it!

 

[seriously]

+1 on mirror caps, top and bottom. Curved vents, Generally the wrapped edges, like top edge of door, you can see from the seated position looking out. You’ll probably have little bubbles here and there that they may want you to wait on to see if they self resolve before taking the air out.

This car more than others benefits from a good installer that is willing to fix inevitable little issues

 

[grezex]

lots of pictures around areas to point out on this page of the thread:

So Cal PPF installers and customer experiences

Consolidating the info will be great. I haven't used XPEL in a while but I would never use it again compared to STEK, which has a hydrophobic layer already built in so ceramic coating it would be a waste, IMHO. I just plan on CC my wheels and calipers. Hopefully as more Emira's get delivered...

www.emiraforum.com

oh yeah: make sure the first edition badges (or any badge for that matter) aren't sticking out too much that'd catch. Most installers say the 3M tape they use are never as thin as the factory ones (assuming they debadged to wrap instead of cut around). Thankfully badges aren't too expensive compared to other brands *cough p*

 

[drjazzsk]

I have seen this issue for years with the 3M tape for badges. I wonder why one cant get the same tape the car companies use for sticking on badges. The 3M tape does make it stand out noticeably. Just odd that the PPF places cant get the factory stuff. I guess the only option is to buy new badges.

 

[kitkat]

Your car will have issues, that’s just how ppf goes. Take it home, drive it, let it enjoy some sun. Examine it in a week or so, some edges or corners will lift, you may get some glue lines, maybe some fingers in areas. Standard practice is a follow up to fix those issues by either steaming and tacking them back down, trimming, or replacing the panel as a last resort.

 

[kitkat]

I have seen this issue for years with the 3M tape for badges. I wonder why one cant get the same tape the car companies use for sticking on badges. The 3M tape does make it stand out noticeably. Just odd that the PPF places cant get the factory stuff. I guess the only option is to buy new badges.

3M VHB comes in different thicknesses, it just costs a bunch for authentic stuff.

 

[Gooner]

Still not collected!

The installer wasn’t happy with the mirrors the morning I was due to collect, so has redone them.

It’s also taken a lot longer than he expected to apply across the total car. It’s taken him as long to do the rear bumper, tailgate and diffuser than a whole front end kit on the ‘normal’ cars he’s installs on. Don’t think he’ll be in a rush to do another Emira

 

[allenyao09]

The shop I went to has a standard procedure of rechecking the ppf after 2 weeks. Basically the shop examines the edges and fixes the defects if there's any.