PPF Installed With Water Stains - Should the Installer Be Standing Behind their Work?

HelfFL

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
236
Reaction score
238
Location
FL
Vehicles
'20 Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Back in June, I had Suntek Ultra PPF installed on the entire front and side mirrors of my Jet Black Metallic car. In August I had full-car ceramic coating (Gtechniq) applied. Shortly after the ceramic coating, when I washing my car I noticed dried water stains on the hood which is under the PPF or ceramic coating. This is the first time I have had PPF or ceramic coating on a car but I presume there should be no water staining - especially since there is no staining under the other parts of the car that has PPF.

I brought it back to the installer to look at and they believe the staining is likely under the PPF. They are willing to redo the hood but, surprisingly, they don't think they should be responsible to redo it at their cost. They said they would give me a "fair" price to redo and I'm waiting for them to tell me what that is.

Admittedly, I didn't notice the staining until a few weeks after they finished the ceramic coating as it is not noticeable in any kind of sun or bright light. Only when I had the car in my garage under moderate light did I notice the stains. Thankfully, it is limited to just the hood. I can't get any good pictures, but the spotting is prevalent in several areas of the hood. It's definitely not an eye-sore unless you're looking really carefully, but I know the spots are there and if I ever go to sell the car, I presume a buyer would have an issue with it.

So the questions for this group:

1. Do you think the installer should be charging me anything to redo the PPF and ceramic coating on the hood? Or should they be standing 100% behind their work?

2. Is there any risk of damage to the original paint if they remove the PPF and ceramic coating and reapply now that it has been on my car for a few months?

Thanks for the anticipated thoughts.
Sponsored

 

PanameraFrank

Well-Known Member
First Name
Frank
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Threads
14
Messages
912
Reaction score
1,490
Location
Seattle
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Was the PPF and ceramic done by the same company? Can you try to get some photos or video, really hard to say what the cause might have been without them.

But I mean, if the PPF was in June and you only brought a problem to them in October or November it's a tough sell. PPF is not invincible and it's possible you created the water spots unintentionally when cleaning. Not blaming you, just noting that's a long period of time and user error/accidents can certainly cause a problem like that.

Did the installer give any possible causes for the problem? What's your normal cleaning process, do you ever use an automated wash or pressure washer?
 
OP
OP
HelfFL

HelfFL

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
236
Reaction score
238
Location
FL
Vehicles
'20 Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Thanks Frank - I want the candor as to whether I need to take some of the blame. That's what I'm trying to determine. Unfortunately, I can't get any pictures no matter what angle I try.

Yes, the same installer did the PPF and CC, just at different times. They do believe that the watermarks are under the PPF which means it wasn't from my washing. So far I have only hand-washed without a pressure washer, just hose with nozzle.
 

wemct

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2019
Threads
20
Messages
732
Reaction score
1,258
Location
Georgia, USA
Vehicles
'23 Cayenne S Coupe; '22 AMG SL55; Taycan 4S(sold)
Country flag
Thanks Frank - I want the candor as to whether I need to take some of the blame. That's what I'm trying to determine. Unfortunately, I can't get any pictures no matter what angle I try.

Yes, the same installer did the PPF and CC, just at different times. They do believe that the watermarks are under the PPF which means it wasn't from my washing. So far I have only hand-washed without a pressure washer, just hose with nozzle.
On one of my other cars I had the installer redo the film on my hood. No charge. I also had ceramic coating changed to another brand because I wasn’t happy with it at no charge to me. On the off chance that the water stains are on the film, the suntek film is seal healing. Take a small wash cloth, put it in a bowl with water and heat it in the microwave for a minute. Place the hot wet wash cloth on the water spot. If the water stain is on the surface of the suntek ppf the stain will vanish. The same trick works to remove etchings from bird droppings and scratches in self healing ppf.
 

PanameraFrank

Well-Known Member
First Name
Frank
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Threads
14
Messages
912
Reaction score
1,490
Location
Seattle
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
Thanks Frank - I want the candor as to whether I need to take some of the blame. That's what I'm trying to determine. Unfortunately, I can't get any pictures no matter what angle I try.

Yes, the same installer did the PPF and CC, just at different times. They do believe that the watermarks are under the PPF which means it wasn't from my washing. So far I have only hand-washed without a pressure washer, just hose with nozzle.
I was thinking maybe a seam or scratch allowed water to get under the PPF. Have you noticed any exposed seams or cuts in the PPF?

If not, I do think a really good installer would fix it for free. If they can't explain why it's not their fault, it's probably their fault. But with that time gap I think it'll be hard to force them to do anything if they're resistant.

I'd take it to another company for an estimate and their thought on what caused it.

Also to be clear.. if their response was basically "oh boyyy a water spot? Bummer! We can fix that for you it'll cost ___" without any explanation for what might have caused it, after you paid them for PPF & ceramic, leave them a 1 star review and get it fixed elsewhere. They suck.
 
Last edited:


bootsie

Well-Known Member
First Name
Steve
Joined
Aug 16, 2020
Threads
15
Messages
344
Reaction score
262
Location
Northants, UK
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo, Golf GTI 16v
Country flag
If it's under the PPF then surely that's a failure in their prep work somewhere - how could you get water under the film?
If it's on top then it's a different story - I know that some ceramic coatings can be pretty intolerant of water spots snd you'd have to re-polish the area and re-apply the coating to fix it. Not sure what you'd do when you have the PPF as well though.
Is there some sort of warranty with the PPF? Perhaps ask the PPF manufacturer for advice if it's been applied by one of their approved agents.
 

Scandinavian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Peter
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Threads
47
Messages
3,049
Reaction score
2,640
Location
France
Vehicles
Taycan T, Tesla M3P, Aston Martin DB9, Porsche 996 C4 Cab
Country flag
If it's under the PPF then surely that's a failure in their prep work somewhere - how could you get water under the film?
If it's on top then it's a different story - I know that some ceramic coatings can be pretty intolerant of water spots snd you'd have to re-polish the area and re-apply the coating to fix it. Not sure what you'd do when you have the PPF as well though.
Is there some sort of warranty with the PPF? Perhaps ask the PPF manufacturer for advice if it's been applied by one of their approved agents.
I agree with you about the prep work and the conclusion.

Did OP have the car detailed before the PPF install? It could have been in the paint of the cars paint before the install?

I have had some problems with PPF on a blue BMW earlier. I only discovered this about 5 months after the install when I was on holiday with the car. I had water bubbles under the film, which could have come driving in heavy rain or perhaps with a high pressure wash. I contacted the detailed on return, and they replaced the film, coating and fix it all, no issues what so ever. There was a long warranty on the film and I think a year warranty on the work itself.

I am very surprised that they would ask for any money, since they agree the water spots are under the film. Unless of course they were not commissioned to do a detailing first?
 
OP
OP
HelfFL

HelfFL

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
236
Reaction score
238
Location
FL
Vehicles
'20 Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback. They definitely prepped and detailed car before installing the PPF. Then they further detailed the car before applying the ceramic coating. So they certainly had the opportunity to catch it again before they applied the CC.

I'll keep working with the installer and let you know how it turns out. Much appreciated.
Sponsored

 
 




Top