Detailing question in regards to paint protection film

[Elonheater32]

Just picked up a McLaren 570s that has 2/3rds of it wrapped in protective clear film. I was curious as to if there was special detailing procedures that were recommended for clear wrapped cars.
My BMW M4 has a small piece of film covering the rear fenders and it has gotten pretty dingy. I am considering pulling it off my M4 because quite frankly although it protects the car... it’s an eyesore especially with the M4 being white.
The 570s is papaya spark which is a metallic orange color. Clearly, I want the car looking the best it can so any advice would be great helping me keep the clear wrap as good as possible. I definitely don’t want it getting dingy and making the paint look dull much like the protective film on my M4 has.
Any help would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks guys in advance!

[ExplicitDetail]

Just picked up a McLaren 570s that has 2/3rds of it wrapped in protective clear film. I was curious as to if there was special detailing procedures that were recommended for the car I’d clear wrapped cars.
My BMW M4 has a small piece of film covering the rear fenders and it has gotten pretty dingy. I am considering pulling it off my M4 because quite frankly although it protects the car... it’s an eyesore especially with the M4 being white.
The 570s is papaya spark which is a metallic orange color. Clearly, I want the car looking the best it can so any advice would be great helping me keep the clear wrap as good as possible. I definitely don’t want it getting dingy and making the paint look dull much like the protective film on my M4 has.
Any help would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks guys in advance!

I wouldn`t just pull it off, you should heat it first (the team that vinyl wrapped my vehicle and installed PPF uses a steamer) to help the adhesive release more "clean".

Hand washing is the way to go, avoid a pressure washer near any corners/edges where the film isn`t wrapped around. Be careful near those edges even when hand washing. Previously I was told by a SunTek installer that he prefers a spray wax (recommended TurtleWax ICE in particular), I`ve personally used some Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax on PPF in the past and it seemed to work about the same as it does on paint. On the flipside, I had read NOT to put a sealant on the PPF. In this case, I was using Wolfgang`s Deep Gloss Sealant 3.0 on the exposed paint, but read somewhere that it was strongly advised not to get it on the PPF. Oddly enough, I found this blurb on a certified installer`s site: "Suntek UltraULTIMATE does not require any special maintenance. However, if the film is treated twice a year, it will last longer and will be easier to clean. You can use Suntek UltraFlawless Finish Paint Protection Film Sealant to treat the film."

More recently, I applied GTechniq Halo (flexible film coating) to my car, both the vinyl and the PPF. It`s specifically designed for these materials and so far, so good...but it`s still pretty early on so we`ll see how it holds up over time.

If you can figure out what type of material it is (SunTek, Xpel, Bodyfence, 3M, etc) you could always reach out to the manufacturer to see what their specific care recommendations are.

[Coatings=crack]

Yes their are coatings specific for ppf. I would recommend on the ppf on your M4 to check out GYEON Renew. Designed to polish out PPF. Then coat with a PPF specific coating. I know Gtechnic, fenylab and Car pros makes them. Haven’t used yet personally.

Beautiful car and good luck.


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[Elonheater32]

I am surprised that there isn’t a reputable company such as Wolfgang that makes a specialized product to clean and protect film. I am assuming that ppf is an acronym for paint protection film. Clearly, cleaning a plastic film is much different than cleaning a painted panel. Any more input would be appreciated. It concerns me that some people said no sealant. Clearly there’s gotta be an optimal way to protect the plastic film so it doesn’t inhibit the clarity.
The film on my M4 looks horrible and don’t want the same thing happening to the 570s.

[PearTree]

I am surprised that there isn’t a reputable company such as Wolfgang that makes a specialized product to clean and protect film. I am assuming that ppf is an acronym for paint protection film. Clearly, cleaning a plastic film is much different than cleaning a painted panel. Any more input would be appreciated. It concerns me that some people said no sealant. Clearly there’s gotta be an optimal way to protect the plastic film so it doesn’t inhibit the clarity.
The film on my M4 looks horrible and don’t want the same thing happening to the 570s.

As coatings said there are. Gtechniq makes a specific coating for ppf called halo and carpro has one as well. Gyeon makes a polish specifically for ppf. If it were my vehicle I would polish with carpro essence then coat it with halo.

[Lonnie]

Elonheater32:
First off, congratulations on the ownership of the McLaren 570. Most of us will never SEE a McLaren in person, let alone own one.

Anyway, you bring up an extremely good point about maintaining a Paint Protective Film (PPF) on partially wrapped vehicles. That seems to be a new trend in protecting ANY vehicle exterior paint on susceptible areas with PPF, like front parts of hoods, front bumper fasciae, rocker/sill/fender panels behind the tires, and the front of front fender (if that makes sense!), even on more pedestrian daily drivers, since the average price of a new car/truck/SUV/van approaches $30,000. New vehicle owners want to protect their investment. I am wondering is there special maintenance soap(s) for vehicle washes that is(are) PPF-friendly, or does that even matter?

[Elonheater32]

Thanks for the compliments on the McLaren!
Going to check out the Gtechniq and Carpro stuff....... thanks guys for the helpful information!

[Stokdgs]

I have been cleaning and polishing clearbra`s for a couple of decades..
The earliest ones were not nearly as good as the ones in the last 10 years or so, of course..

I wash the clearbra`s on Clients cars and my own vehicles the same way, nothing special about that..

I can - very carefully - polish some older, neglected, clearbras to look a - little - better, but that is it..

It is - Plastic - it will never be fully correctable.. It is very susceptible to heat, so one has to be very careful when polishing it..

Also, it is - Plastic - it will - release - everything put on it faster than paint will.. Its - Plastic - ..

Probably any good, quality, QD will help it live longer with any amount of extra UV protection, but its going to do its own thing no matter what you do to it..

I have applied Optimum coatings only once, to clearbra material to my 2 vehicles over the years and I cannot really tell if it made a difference or not.. I am sure since it is Plastic, it is probably already gone, no way to tell for sure.. It has not harmed the clearbra material, and I have full front end, half the hood and half the front fenders on both my vehicles covered..

Show me valid test results over a period of - Years - where anything applied to clearbra material really did what it says on the bottle, please..

If its all discolored, and not clear any longer, it is not going to get better, by anything you do to it..

Better off to see if has a warranty, and have it replaced, regardless, if it bothers you..

Removing clearbra is easy with a heat gun, used carefully, or steam used carefully..

Either way, it will still leave a - LOT - of Glue on the panel that will be even harder to remove, because it just wants to slide around and gunk up your towels quickly..
But it can be all removed; it will just take more time than it did to remove the big pieces of it..

I saw the newest 3M clearbra at SEMA 2018 and it looks really nice...
3M probably - well no, for sure, has the most experience with these types of products and I have it on 1 of my vehicles and its outstanding.. You can hardly detect the line going across the hood..

Good luck with your project !
Dan F

[The Guz]

I am surprised that there isn’t a reputable company such as Wolfgang that makes a specialized product to clean and protect film. I am assuming that ppf is an acronym for paint protection film. Clearly, cleaning a plastic film is much different than cleaning a painted panel. Any more input would be appreciated. It concerns me that some people said no sealant. Clearly there’s gotta be an optimal way to protect the plastic film so it doesn’t inhibit the clarity.
The film on my M4 looks horrible and don’t want the same thing happening to the 570s.

CarPro Skin (coating)
GTechniq Halo (coating)
Gyeon PPF Renew(polish w/ protection)

I have a review on Skin either here or on Autogeek that you can search for.

Detailed Image has write ups in these as well.

[The Driver]

I have done Car-pro`s gliss on multiple PPF`d cars, it works very well and is almost foolproof in its application.

[rlmccarty2000]

Has anyone used CarPro Dlux on PPF? It’s good on plastics so it should work on PPF. My only concern with using a coating on PPF would be that a coating will hinder the self-healing properties of some PPFs.

[The Guz]

My only concern with using a coating on PPF would be that a coating will hinder the self-healing properties of some PPFs.

CarPro has said Skin does not.