Is Paint Protection Film (PPF) worth it?

[S650Mustang]

My mustang is on order and while I wait I am preparing for delivery. My mustang will not be a daily driver so it will not be seeing the excessive wear that a daily would. I have not seen too many post about paint protection film (PPF) and I am going back and forth if I can justify the cost of it. Regardless of PPF or not, the mustang will be coated. My question for those that already have their mustang and especially those with aftermarket wheel/tire setups, are you guys seeing a lot of paint chips in front of and behind the rear wheels? I see the benefit of full front PPF on the car, but the areas around the rear wheel are vulnerable as well. At this point you are close the wrapping the entire mustang in PPF and that is very costly and will have to be taken off and reapplied in the future. Please let me know how the paint is holding up on your mustangs.

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[Mustang1987]

The front of my 2024 is wrapped in PPF and it has a 10 year warranty. Haven't noticed any paint chips anywhere, but I've also haven't taken it on the interstate too much yet. About 1700 miles on it so far.

 

[Mastermind46]

After seeing how thrashed the PPF is on my friends C8 in 30k miles, I can only image how wrecked the paint would have been without it. CO roads have a lot of gravel on them.

If you daily drive the car and don't want to worry every time you drive it, I think it is very worth it. If you do not care about your paint looking good then probably not worth it. I spent $2300 to get the forward facing parts covered.

 

[jeffnudi]

I got my new 2024 Mustang EcoBoost Premium on December 26 and had already decided to not have any Paint Protection (or other dealer stuff) added. My previous ride was a 2018 Mustang EcoBoost Premium and it had 99,000 miles with no chips or other paint defects. I am not saying it is a waste of money, just saying I don't see it as a need for me.

 

[UNSAFE]

A thought. I know this idea isn’t the most popular as far as aesthetics, but it could be used on a temporary basis when traveling at speed on the highway. Cool thing about it is it’s removable - can use/remove at will. Even better, can be had for around $500. Way less than PPF.

Ordered a ‘24 black GT convertible two weeks ago and can’t wait. May go this route

 

[Skye]

I drive my car primarily on weekends and Holidays. It's been covered in PPF from roof to rockers.

While your car is on order, tour several detailing shops in-person, see their work and discuss options. The detailer that supports me is a XPEL franchisee. They have plotters in the back which cut the film, using XPELs vehicle database. Each piece is cut with just a bit of overlap, to wrap around the edges of each panel. If done correctly, you have to look really close to see it. All the work and materials is warrantied for 10 years.

I took the path I did because I intend to keep the car until I cannot drive any more. CO not only has sand, grit (Winter prep) and whatnot naturally on the roads, a lot of people have been moving here the last several years. Dump trucks, cement trucks, SUVs with huge tires and no mud flaps are easily 30% of traffic. New roads and remnants of construction.

PPF has saved me at least six times this last season. I could tell from the strike marks on the surface. Balance that against several years of strikes, the difficulty of matching paint with metallics, thin paint at that, etc. I'm glad I did it. The detailer that did the work offered that at least half her PPF clients are people that were developing chips and regretted not getting it done early on.

Where to place it....

I'm at one extreme.

Next, all forward facing areas (front of car, A-pillars, mirror backs, rocker panels, wheel well lips, first several inches of the roof line). Anywhere you could receive a chip from another vehicle, or, kick one up from your own tires, especially if you'll use Summer treads.

Finally, front third of car only.

Ceramic coat the entire car. A fine option for protecting the finish of the paint, but I would not consider this as something for impact protection.

Consider long-term what you're doing with the car. If keeping a good while, I believe it's worth it, to cover at least all front-facing areas. If you like changing cars every few years, maybe no protection at all.

Two seasons in and the PPF looks flawless. The detailers can give you guidance on what they think is best, what they typically install and how to look after it.

I use Gyeon's Bath as my maintenance soap, PPF Wash as a decon and PPF Maintain as a sealer.

https://gyeonusa.com/products/q2m-bathe?_pos=2&_sid=df3fcecaf&_ss=r

https://gyeonusa.com/products/q2m-ppf-wash?_pos=1&_sid=8be5c570b&_ss=r

https://gyeonusa.com/products/q2m-ppf-maintain?_pos=1&_sid=ddf8753f2&_ss=r

Edit: I'd never consider a dealer to do this type of work; they're going to look at costs, not the quality of the material or craftsmanship. A local or regional detailer with a good background works with these materials all the time and can do the best job. If done correctly, you won't notice it unless you're literally right on top of it and looking for a seam.

 

[Mastermind46]

A thought. I know this idea isn’t the most popular as far as aesthetics, but it could be used on a temporary basis when traveling at speed on the highway. Cool thing about it is it’s removable - can use/remove at will. Even better, can be had for around $500. Way less than PPF.

Ordered a ‘24 black GT convertible two weeks ago and can’t wait. May go this route

I feel like those destroy the paint underneath them. Definitely not something I would consider. I have never had one on a car but its not like they are sealed to the paint so debris can get under them and natural movement of the panels and bra would sand away at the clear coat. Hopefully someone with actual experience with these can chime in.

 

[UNSAFE]

That is a valid concern. What I can say is that I used one on long trips on a new Jeep Wrangler I purchased in 1997 and never had any issues with it damaging the paint surface. Now that said, I did end up with chips etc on the front of it that I attribute to the non-use times. To clarify, I did not leave it on all the time as I’m sure it could cause some discoloration if left on after rain, snow.

However, I am considering having a ceramic coating.

 

[DukeCLR]

I currently have my S550 in a shop that does Xpel, he is just polishing that one up but I have several chips in the paint that will effect how much I for it. I will definitely be getting PPF and a ceramic coating, I just need to figure out how to deal with the factory stripes, they are flat and a PPF would make them glossy and I don't know how that will look.

 

[Skye]

I just need to figure out how to deal with the factory stripes

For my car, I had them bring the PPF right up to the stripe. I did not cover the stripes.

One option for anyone with stripes is to use clear matte (or gloss) and create a ghost stripe. PPF is installed as mine was above. Then, a piece of PPF is fab'd to go on top of the factory stripe. I passed. The stripes are nice, but I thought if they go beat up too much over time, I'd buy a kit and have them replaced. I consider the stripe a sacrificial layer. I didn't get a quote for the ghost stripe.

Not an option and not something I'd entertain is taking one sheet of PPF and going across the panel and the stripe. Lifting is a long-term problem, where the transition from paint to stripe occurs.

You can get the stripes ceramic coated; this might be a nice option between nothing and PPF-over-stripe. I passed on this as well. I'm not aware of anyone dealing with fading. And if it does, I'll just replace the stripe/s.

 

[DukeCLR]

For my car, I had them bring the PPF right up to the stripe. I did not cover the stripes.

One option for anyone with stripes is to use clear matte (or gloss) and create a ghost stripe. PPF is installed as mine was above. Then, a piece of PPF is fab'd to go on top of the factory stripe. I passed. The stripes are nice, but I thought if they go beat up too much over time, I'd buy a kit and have them replaced. I consider the stripe a sacrificial layer. I didn't get a quote for the ghost stripe.

Not an option and not something I'd entertain is taking one sheet of PPF and going across the panel and the stripe. Lifting is a long-term problem, where the transition from paint to stripe occurs.

You can get the stripes ceramic coated; this might be a nice option between nothing and PPF-over-stripe. I passed on this as well. I'm not aware of anyone dealing with fading. And if it does, I'll just replace the stripe/s.

I'm going to sit with the guy and see about adding a bronze stripe up the middle to match the bronze package, this could change the way I go forward with the job.

 

[Skye]

For those of you considering PPF, attached are two examples.

One is along the rocker stripe. The other, rear taillight area.

The paint itself is clear, naturally glossy. It displays as a polished finish, but not glassy or fake.

 

[N1T3MRE]

I feel like those destroy the paint underneath them. Definitely not something I would consider. I have never had one on a car but its not like they are sealed to the paint so debris can get under them and natural movement of the panels and bra would sand away at the clear coat. Hopefully someone with actual experience with these can chime in.

Hi guys, come from central Qld Australia, and down here they are called car bra's.....had one on a 98 Honda prelude vtir, and when I traded it in 100k km later, there was not one mark on the front of the car.

I lived in a remote area with single lane roads, so when I reached civilisation, I would put into the boot, a very safe option to protect the front of the car......only downside was it made the sunroof unusable at highway speeds due to the air disturbance

Side note, I only ever put on when the car was clean

Hope this helps, good luck...... personally going with full ppf when mine turns up down here in next 6 to 12 months (going xpel), not even sure if the car bra company still exists down here anymore

 

[DFB5.0]

Hi guys, come from central Qld Australia, and down here they are called car bra's.....had one on a 98 Honda prelude vtir, and when I traded it in 100k km later, there was not one mark on the front of the car.

I lived in a remote area with single lane roads, so when I reached civilisation, I would put into the boot, a very safe option to protect the front of the car......only downside was it made the sunroof unusable at highway speeds due to the air disturbance

Side note, I only ever put on when the car was clean

Hope this helps, good luck...... personally going with full ppf when mine turns up down here in next 6 to 12 months (going xpel), not even sure if the car bra company still exists down here anymore

I have one for both of my Falcon's. Bit fiddly to install and remove, but they certainly protect the front end for long distance road trips.

 

[Vapor Blue GT]

We wrapped the whole car in PPF. In Florida we have sand and gravel everywhere. Only had the car since October and already been saved 4 times from rock chips and it’s only got 2100 on it. Our other car has 7 rock chips in the windshield and over two dozen on the hood and front end. The car had zero when we moved here four years ago. We also plan on keeping the car for a long time and the wrap has a 10 year warranty. The ppf also doesn’t need to be removed every 3-4 years like cheap color wraps do.

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