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  1. #16

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    BP. When do you pick up the new toy.

    How`s this for a idea. Swing by said installers you may be using. Like we do with wax test....pick up some remenents of PPF film. Apply it to the same panel . Drive it on ur daily. Peel it off weeks later before you make ur decision. Compare and contrast like we do with LSP. Optics wise, when u have them side to side, there are night&day differences that should point you in one direction or another
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  2. #17

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Oopsie. The one that has less orange peel though will show more blemishes down the road (just because its harder and thinner).
    The one that has less orange peel will take a but more abuse and not show it as much.

    I know. 2 conflicting statements to some degree eh
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  3. #18

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Throwback Tuesday. Where`s Rydawg or the like that can send some samples ;-0

  4. #19
    Rasky's Auto Detailing RaskyR1's Avatar
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1 View Post
    Well it certainly seems as if PPF is a solid option. I believe the product I`d be having applied (if we end up going that way) is STEK DynoShield: https://stek-usa.com/dynoshield.html

    We`re gonna be replacing my wife`s summer toy (black 2004 Corvette) with a new 2019 model so figure may as well invest in something new (protection-wise), if appropriate. While it is a summer-only `toy` she pretty much uses it as her main vehicle unless the snow is flying. It will be getting groceries, running errands, sitting in the rain in the morning and then sun in the afternoon and pretty much being used as any other commuter/daily driver in the nice weather. We kept the last one for 14 years so I`m guessing that barring any unforeseen incidents, this will be the last `fun` car, likely the one we drive to the retirement home in 10 or 15 years.

    Some questions/concerns I`ll need to address with the shop/vendor are:

    1. How long do the hydrophobic properties built into the PPF last and what do ya do if they diminish after a year or 2?


    2. Does a PPF like this *need* a coating on top of it and if ya do coat on top of it, does that mask the self-healing properties of the underlying PPF?


    3. Do the coatings hydrophobic/self-cleaning aspects meet (or exceed) that of a coating?


    4. If I only do (PPF) front half of car and coat the back half, will it be a visually noticeable difference between front and back half or is this a reason to coat the entire care to maintain visual consistency? Which brings us back to point #2 a bit, that being a coating masking the self-healing properties of the PPF?


    5. If the entire car (or front half) is PPF + Coating, what happens in 2 or 3 years when the coating needs to be re-done? Can ya just polish the coating off and re-coat or what does one do when a coating `refresh` is needed? I would guess that takes a bit of finesse if indeed you can polish a coating off of PPF surfaces.


    6. If the surface somehow gets some light marring/surface scuffing (not really a scratch), how is that dealt with on PPF?


    7. Any special care/maintenance needed for PPF or will current Gyeon Foam, Gyeon Bathe routine suffice?
    Thanks for the quick and extensive feedback, very helpful.



    1) I actually applied STEK to the hood of a C7 a few weeks ago and its a very good looking film...it was actually a hair smoother than the Suntek it was replacing. I have it on the deck lid of my wife`s car too and the hydrophobics are impressive so far. That being said I haven`t been able to see how it will hold up long term yet and I would still apply an actual coating regardless.

    2) I feel all PPF needs some sort of added protection, whether its a wax/ sealant, or coating. I applied lots of different coatings both pro and consumer grade to self-healing films and I`ve never seen any negative effects from it. I have heard a few others say these 5+ layer coatings can diminish it, but I`ve not seen it myself...probably because I don`t use those coatings.

    3) Haven`t tested this myself

    4) You will see a little difference just having the film applied (in some cases the film looks better) but as far as coating I think any visible difference would be minimal but it depends on the color of the car and coating used. Regardless, I would coat both the paint and film as the film is still susceptible to staining IMO.

    5) in 2-3 years if you decide to recoat the film I would wash the car, decon, clay, and a very light polish just to clean and "scuff" the surface.

    6) Light marring should self-heal. Surface scuffs can vary greatly so it`s hard to say. You can polish lightly but it should be kept to a minimum. Aggressive polish can remove the top coat and your self-healing ability.


    7) Maintain it like you do the paint.


    I think you`d be very happy with STEK film, but Suntek, Xpel, and 3M are all very good too.
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  5. #20

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Rasky or Any Pros.

    Aside from the install of film, have you guys peeled off film that was on for 24 months+....that you guys know what the baseline of it`s clarity was when originally installed.
    If so, what are your thoughts/opinion be on clarity compared to new.

  6. #21
    Rasky's Auto Detailing RaskyR1's Avatar
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    Rasky or Any Pros.

    Aside from the install of film, have you guys peeled off film that was on for 24 months+....that you guys know what the baseline of it`s clarity was when originally installed.
    If so, what are your thoughts/opinion be on clarity compared to new.
    It`s definitely yellowed significantly on all the films I`ve removed, even the C7 I just did. While the film was 4 years old the car only had 6000 miles on it and is always stored inside and usually covered. When the films on the car you usually only see it on the light colors, though a trained eye could see it and if pointed out the owner probably would too.
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  7. #22

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    At least one person confirms what I`m trying to tell the OP...

    I recognize the benefits film brings but optically, for someone who is not aware and spends the big bucks, I hope they understand optics wise, what it does as well. Eh, depends how golden one`s eyes are
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  8. #23
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by RaskyR1 View Post
    1) I actually applied STEK to the hood of a C7 a few weeks ago and its a very good looking film...it was actually a hair smoother than the Suntek it was replacing. I have it on the deck lid of my wife`s car too and the hydrophobics are impressive so far. That being said I haven`t been able to see how it will hold up long term yet and I would still apply an actual coating regardless.

    2) I feel all PPF needs some sort of added protection, whether its a wax/ sealant, or coating. I applied lots of different coatings both pro and consumer grade to self-healing films and I`ve never seen any negative effects from it. I have heard a few others say these 5+ layer coatings can diminish it, but I`ve not seen it myself...probably because I don`t use those coatings.

    3) Haven`t tested this myself

    4) You will see a little difference just having the film applied (in some cases the film looks better) but as far as coating I think any visible difference would be minimal but it depends on the color of the car and coating used. Regardless, I would coat both the paint and film as the film is still susceptible to staining IMO.

    5) in 2-3 years if you decide to recoat the film I would wash the car, decon, clay, and a very light polish just to clean and "scuff" the surface.

    6) Light marring should self-heal. Surface scuffs can vary greatly so it`s hard to say. You can polish lightly but it should be kept to a minimum. Aggressive polish can remove the top coat and your self-healing ability.


    7) Maintain it like you do the paint.


    I think you`d be very happy with STEK film, but Suntek, Xpel, and 3M are all very good too.
    Wow...great info, really appreciate it.

    Talked with installer, maybe maintain with a `lighter` product such as PA Cosmic Spritz or Overcoat.

    The ability for any light/limited self healing possibilities even under a coating is a bit confounding to me but all have said it`s so...so it must be so. Interesting.
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  9. #24
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    At least one person confirms what I`m trying to tell the OP...

    I recognize the benefits film brings but optically, for someone who is not aware and spends the big bucks, I hope they understand optics wise, what it does as well. Eh, depends how golden one`s eyes are
    Much like coatings, I`m thinking that PPF does have it`s limitations as well. There are no be-all, end-all solutions methinks but I`m likely gonna give this a go and see how life with PPF is. Coatings age and get a bit less optically pure after a while, not surprising PPF ages as well. Car is gonna be black (of course) so we`ll see how it goes. Downside with PPF is that when time to remove/reapply that`s even a bigger workload than removing a coating and not one I can do myself so figuring that into the longer-term budget as well. There is no perfect solution but interested to give this one a try.

  10. #25
    Rasky's Auto Detailing RaskyR1's Avatar
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1 View Post
    Wow...great info, really appreciate it.

    Talked with installer, maybe maintain with a `lighter` product such as PA Cosmic Spritz or Overcoat.

    The ability for any light/limited self healing possibilities even under a coating is a bit confounding to me but all have said it`s so...so it must be so. Interesting.
    Those would be good as well.

    FYI: Several year ago now Eric Witt of Tru-Shine detailing brought in some Opti-Coat (or Opti-Guard back then...) to the Xpel Training class where they tested the coating to see if it effected the self-healing ability, which they found it did not. On top of that Xpel is going to be coming to market with their own ceramic coating soon too, which also says a lot IMO about it being fine for use on self-healing films. Obviously there are hundreds of coating options now as well as many film manufactures so that`s not to say some may still be incompatible.
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  11. #26

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    BP. Found a old pic on my computer
    Wild guesstimate is 3 year old film

    It was sealed since day 1 and constantly sealed as I know how porus and how grim it sucs in. Notice the color or clarity, however you want to interpret

  12. #27
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    BP. Found a old pic on my computer
    Wild guesstimate is 3 year old film

    It was sealed since day 1 and constantly sealed as I know how porus and how grim it sucs in. Notice the color or clarity, however you want to interpret

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/jwjwd3r4ue...dfilm.jpg?dl=0
    Nice to see a bit of the dark side as well. Like everything, there is no absolute great answer for every situation, no certainties.

    Sometimes ya just gotta saddle up and take a shot if you really, specifically wanna know for sure if it works for you and what level of your particular requirements will be met.

    Sometimes learning hurts...although I hope not in this case.

  13. #28
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by BudgetPlan1 View Post
    Pondering PPF and I`m guessing that (much like coatings) sometimes the hype doesn`t live up to the reality of the situation. Cost aside, for those that have experience with this kinda thing what are the downsides? I realize that if a tremendous boulder gets kicked up and punctures/tears the film, fixing that is more involved than a coating, requiring removal and reapplication, but just how tough is this stuff in daily use? Aside from minor scratches and nicks from road debris, what happens if it gets lightly scuffed/marred? Can it be lightly polished out without compromising the top coat? Is coating on top REALLY necessary?

    Tell me your horror stories (or your love stories) regarding PPF...cuz I haven`t a clue...
    I`ve had and used PPF`s on nearly a dozen of my cars and have had bad rips or damage done to them by rocks and other debris. One was a goose even. Still very much worth it IMO. Keep in mind, they have a layer of clear coat on them thus will get sand-blasted just like regular paint and will also benefit from coatings but the idea overall is they do protect the paint under them. In my case, the best part is when I remove them prior to selling a vehicle in order to reveal a perfectly preserved front end. I`ve done that twice and both times on black vehicles.
    2018 Midnight Black Metallic AWD Infiniti Q50S Red Sport 400 | Burger MS JB4
    2018 Ruby Red Metallic AWD Lincoln MK-C Reserve | 2.3l EcoBoost - Wife`s
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  14. #29

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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    BP. Have you decided 100% if you`re going film. Vet vet VET vet out your installer. If you care for your vette

    Ever see where lines/wraps are perfect . Imagine a panel with a 4/5 dimensional plan and the film is just perfect cut to a recessed line on the plane. You know how custom cuts are made. They literally tack the film down and run a sharp olfa on it - in the precision cut where the blade is piercing the film enough to cut the film but not the paint. I`ve removed enough old film on various cars to know what really happens to paint with those custom cuts...
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  15. #30
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    Re: PPF...the good, the bad and the ugly?

    Quote Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
    BP. Have you decided 100% if you`re going film. Vet vet VET vet out your installer. If you care for your vette

    Ever see where lines/wraps are perfect . Imagine a panel with a 4/5 dimensional plan and the film is just perfect cut to a recessed line on the plane. You know how custom cuts are made. They literally tack the film down and run a sharp olfa on it - in the precision cut where the blade is piercing the film enough to cut the film but not the paint. I`ve removed enough old film on various cars to know what really happens to paint with those custom cuts...
    Still pondering but still leaning in that direction. Got to get up close and personal with some PPF`d cars recently...poked around `em for a good bit and honestly couldn`t find anything that would be objectionable to me. Couldn`t find much of any indication of film, actually.

    Now, dont really know what exactly I was looking for, just looking in obvious areas for things that would make me say "Hmmm...".

 

 
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