PPF Lessons learned

[Mr.Smith]

TL;DR: Next time I'm going to PPF my entire car and Windshield

I love the feel and look of paint so I tried to minimize PPF to only the most high impact areas and the full front and windshield. Being so obsessive with perfect paint, it ended up not being optimal.


On my last run in the canyons ridding a 991 GT3 RS, I trashed my paint in places I didn't suspect

The culprits

My car came out of the wrapper straight to get Stek windshield protection. Its not prefect, but its saved me 3x from a new windshield and from tons of small chips

Every inch should be PPFed next time

Front fender PPF needs to be replaced, but that's better than rock chips

A pillar has multiple rock chips. I didn't think that would happen

Taycan doesn't have these door handles, but rock chips can be in the smallest places

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[ciaranob]

100% on windshield - I too can see a ton of minor hits on it and I am absolutely convinced that on 3 separate occasions in the last two years I would have had a cracked windshield w/o the Stek. And to me just the hassle/pain/downtime of getting a windshield replacement alone warrants the $400 install and mine now 2+ years on.

I only have my front half paint PPF'd but also a few areas around where I had custom painted side skirts/lip etc. but indeed whatever car is next may well finally just get 100% wrapped - stuff is magical in respect protection from minor to even moderate hits!

 

[Mr.Smith]

100% on windshield - I too can see a ton of minor hits on it and I am absolutely convinced that on 3 separate occasions in the last two years I would have had a cracked windshield w/o the Stek. And to me just the hassle/pain/downtime of getting a windshield replacement alone warrants the $400 install and mine now 2+ years on.

I only have my front half paint PPF'd but also a few areas around where I had custom painted side skirts/lip etc. but indeed whatever car is next may well finally just get 100% wrapped - stuff is magical in respect protection from minor to even moderate hits!

I like a clean, no chips windshield. I also think it's never the same once it's replaced. Nothing beats OEM from the factory.

 

[Tighlines]

When the corvette owner asks to come:

 

[MTGBUK]

We had a storm in the UK a couple of weeks ago. Looks a piece of foil backed insulation foam flying through the air did the damage. Car only has PPF to the front end. Bit annoyed I didn't do the whole car as it could've saved needing a repray on those parts.

 

[RAHRCR]

From a cost point of view, it is much less expensive to do a rock chip repair than a PPF panel replacement. Given that Taycan’s dont hold value anyway, there is good rationale to avoid doing PPF on the whole car. I did my entire car for OCD type reasons but I knew going in that this didnt make good financial sense.

 

[ciaranob]

From a cost point of view, it is much less expensive to do a rock chip repair than a PPF panel replacement. Given that Taycan’s dont hold value anyway, there is good rationale to avoid doing PPF on the whole car. I did my entire car for OCD type reasons but I knew going in that this didnt make good financial sense.

The exception (imo) being for those of us planning longer term ownership (ca 8yrs plus) - had the same rationale re cost in doing front-half only too (although perhaps more to do with 'hits' being more likely to that area), but in hindsight might have and I guess could still do different.

The paint dent into sub-layers in the last post would look crap if repaired (imo) so almost certainly a full panel repair - not cheap.

 

[RAHRCR]

The exception (imo) being for those of us planning longer term ownership (ca 8yrs plus) - had the same rationale re cost in doing front-half only too (although perhaps more to do with 'hits' being more likely to that area), but in hindsight might have and I guess could still do different.

The paint dent into sub-layers in the last post would look crap if repaired (imo) so almost certainly a full panel repair - not cheap.

I think you are correct as the first owner. My point is that (2) 5-8 year old Taycans sitting next to each other on a used car lot will essentially garner the same money. Regardless if one had rock chips that were repaired and the other had PPF. It is very unlikely to ever seen a benefit on the PPF expense…whether its the initial cost or subsequent panel replacements.

Of course, I say all of this as a guy with full PPF that happily flushed the money down the toilet because it simply makes me feel better to have it.

 

[Andy0565]

PPF makes as much financial sense as buying a Taycan. But then a meal in a Michelin starred restaurant makes no financial sense when it comes to how you put calories in your body, however, I still eat in them from time to time.

 

[ciaranob]

I think you are correct as the first owner. My point is that (2) 5-8 year old Taycans sitting next to each other on a used car lot will essentially garner the same money. Regardless if one had rock chips that were repaired and the other had PPF. It is very unlikely to ever seen a benefit on the PPF expense…whether its the initial cost or subsequent panel replacements.

Of course, I say all of this as a guy with full PPF that happily flushed the money down the toilet because it simply makes me feel better to have it.

I think you are missing the point entirely - for me it has zero to do with resale and all to do with keeping a car looking as unblemished as you can if that's your thing (and it is for me).
Paying for PPF purely to retain value would indeed be a bit delusional.

 

[XLR82XS]

TL;DR: Next time I'm going to PPF my entire car and Windshield

Amen! I preach full-body wrap for anyone who has a new car (new paint) that wants to keep it new for years. Not only does it protect against flying debris but it always looks great even when touch-ups are done since the clearcoat cannot get scratched. Great peace of mind and zero 'love marks' aka paint swirls from rubbing on it with a microfiber towel.

 

[RAHRCR]

I think you are missing the point entirely - for me it has zero to do with resale and all to do with keeping a car looking as unblemished as you can if that's your thing (and it is for me).
Paying for PPF purely to retain value would indeed be a bit delusional.

LOL. Based on your last two statements, I think we are good here.

 

[jcroix]

I had an elderly gentleman sideswipe the back of my Taycan 4S when he attempt to park too close. His car was red, mine Neptune blue. You can see the red paint transfer to the wheels and PPF. At the end of the day, all I needed was 2 new pieces of PPF since he hit the soft/flexible part of the car as there was no damage to the body or underlying paint. The red paint even washed off of the PPF. The only reason I needed new PPF was that it had a rip in it. Glad I PPF’ed the entire car!

 

[Mr.Smith]

I had an elderly gentleman sideswipe the back of my Taycan 4S when he attempt to park too close. His car was red, mine Neptune blue. You can see the red paint transfer to the wheels and PPF. At the end of the day, all I needed was 2 new pieces of PPF since he hit the soft/flexible part of the car as there was no damage to the body or underlying paint. The red paint even washed off of the PPF. The only reason I needed new PPF was that it had a rip in it. Glad I PPF’ed the entire car!

Perfect example. Someone bumped into me too but its not as bad
Another reason for full PPF

 

[mystermykee]

I pretty much have every part of the car wrapped except for rear fenders and trunk. Why would you ever need PPF in those areas.....

Rear fender has a small scratch--dont know how I got it.
Just the other day, I opened the trunk from inside the car and forgot how close I was to an overreaching bush. Doh.

I also like how I can dig in hard with a towel or my finger nails to get stubborn dirt/bugs off without having to worry about scratching the paint/clear coat.

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