Pro`s & Con`s of PPF on new White Macan

I

IXLRS

New member
Hello everyone. I know there is no "right answer" but I value your thoughts. My situation is...
New 2018 Carrara White Metallic Porsche Macan (Base) will arrive in the next few weeks
Enjoy detailing cars -at least when they are brand new :)
Brand new garage (22X26)
Only drive 8-12K miles a year, mostly city, only occasional trips though the mountains.
I was planning having a local shop install Suntek Ultra film on the bumper, full hood (must be 3 pc`s because of the size of the hood), mirrors ect for $1,500.
I read that the new film`s are better at not yellowing like the old films (not sure this is the case).
The Macan sits up higher off the road than my wifes gards red Cayman.
I plan on keeping this car for at least 10yrs.
I don`t want to "coat" the car (polish & wax yes).

My question is....

Should I even bother with PPF?

It sort of bothers me to think that I will not be able to use a polisher on the PPF hood but would be fine with hand waxing the PPF.

I`m most concerned that 5 yrs down the road I`ll notice a difference in the the PPF sections and the original paint. Should I be?

Should I just put PPF on the front bumper and door handle cups and call it a day?

Thanks for your thoughts.

My new garage...
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Macan
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If you’re concerned about chips then yes do the film. But check other installers as mine has done one piece hoods on those. I’d check the life span of any film as if you keep the vehicle long enough you will need to replace it after a certain period of time. You can machine polish film. You need to be gentle but it can be done, we do it all the time to bring back clarity.
 
Mike lambert said:
If you’re concerned about chips then yes do the film. But check other installers as mine has done one piece hoods on those. I’d check the life span of any film as if you keep the vehicle long enough you will need to replace it after a certain period of time. You can machine polish film. You need to be gentle but it can be done, we do it all the time to bring back clarity.
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I agree with this^^ any installer worth his weight in gold will be able to one-piece that hood, of course thats with a few extra sets of hands, but none the less one piece of film.
 
IXLRS --
Congrats on some beautiful cars in a beautifully set up garage !!!

I have used Clear Bra material on a variety of vehicles over around 15 years, and have never had any issues with it.. Only much older clear bra material was thicker and tended to lose all its UV rejection properties, dried out, and yellowed..

I know nothing of SunTek, but know a lot about the Venture Shield (which was bought out by 3M) product, and the newest 3M product which is outstanding..

I always have a complete front bumper clear bra installed, up the hood about half way, the backs of the outside mirrors, the door cups, and a thin edge on the door edges..

And I never have any rock chips to deal with which I absolutely love.. :)

And as Mike Lambert has already said, yes one can very gently polish some of the crap out of clear bra`s and they will look better, but one has to still remember that it is only a sheet of plastic, not paintwork and with that, it will not dissipate heat anything like metal does, so one has to be careful when using a machine..

I have coated all my vehicles, and a lot of Client vehicles including the clear bra portions, and that keeps the clear bra parts very clean for awhile but not as long as the metal parts, because you are coating a plastic vs paintwork..

And as has already been said above, a real clearbra installer can cut a 1 piece sheet and tuck it up so tight underneath that you can not even see where it is attached to the vehicle..

Your guy is probably getting a template and his machine is cutting it up into several pieces I assume.. While this will work, I would really be having a hard time with the 2 seams... What if something gets in between there??? Yes, its white, and it may be harder to see it, but I just dont like the idea of having seams butted up in any clear bra... I have never even seen one like that..

1 piece is always the best way to go..

I don`t know where you live, but there is an awesome guy up in the NJ area who owns the website detailersdomaindotcom that installs these all the time and they always use 1 piece of film.. Just an idea... :)

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
 
Thanks for the quick replies everyone. A few shops that are local can stretch the film to make it work with the understanding that I may see some stretch marks as a result. Not sure where the stretch marks could be seen against a white car. Sounds like it might be better to stretch and end up with some stretch marks vs 2 exposed seams. I’ll have to contact my preferred shop to clearify further. My preferred installer modifies the stock patterns to fit on site. They recommend meguirs tech wax for wax on ppf. Thxs!
 
IXLRS said:
Thanks for the quick replies everyone. A few shops that are local can stretch the film to make it work with the understanding that I may see some stretch marks as a result. Not sure where the stretch marks could be seen against a white car. Sounds like it might be better to stretch and end up with some stretch marks vs 2 exposed seams. I’ll have to contact my preferred shop to clearify further. My preferred installer modifies the stock patterns to fit on site. They recommend meguirs tech wax for wax on ppf. Thxs!
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IXLRS --
I have never heard of anyone making " stretch marks" with this material.. I am positive this would never be acceptable to me.. :)
Is there no such thing as getting this material wide enough to fit your entire hood ? It is not like there are no wider hoods on vehicles than yours, right ? :)

How is it that people can install vinyl car wraps on an entire vehicle and I never see the seams ?? :)
Dan F
 
I think it depends on where/how you will use the car. If you were traveling a lot on faster roads and traffic with lots of debris, it pays off. Otherwise IMO it is a waste of money. The germans use great paint that doesn`t chip easily. I do lots of highway travel and don`t tailgate so at most I end up with a chip or two a year. If you know what you are doing, especially on white, they are easy to touchup.

I personally dislike the look of film on a car and I just don`t think the ROI is there for most.
 
personally, especially on white, I would not ppf it, unless you were replacing it every 3 years or so, based on your 10 year comment.
film IMO is still porus. Darker colors maybe, but white....I would definately second guess myself
 
You also need to know that especially on white if there is an edge visible, you will get dirt under the edge which leaves a black line.
 
IXLRS- Welcome to Autopia!

That white Macon oughta be great, and pretty easy to keep *VERY* nice without too much work.

Sorta-random thoughts (from a guy who keeps his vehicles a *long* time and basically gets by fine without PPF):

-Yes, find a different installer. Between the "stretch marks" bit and recommending a specific wax (let alone that one, I assume he means NXT...yuck) I`d grant him zero credibility; he`s a CYA-type even if he is actually competent and clearly has limited knowledge

-There are apparently self-healing films that shouldn`t need correction unless you`re really tough on them

-I`ve had rock chips go through the PPF and all the layers of paint, happened while my wife was driving home from a big PPF install and no she wasn`t tailgating/etc. (and that`s a big part of why I don`t bother with PPFs any more)

-I strongly encourage you to see [whatever particular PPF you go with] on a white vehicle just to make sure you know what it`s gonna look like. IN PERSON, not via pix or the internet

-Just FWIW, and repeating that I keep our vehicles for a long time and put hard miles on `em, I skip the PPF and have the leading surfaces/hood/whatever repainted if it becomes necessary. Even with lots of hard use, it seldom does become necessary...but that`s just me and if you want to PPF it just be careful about how you go about it
 
2 more comments.....depending on the installer - who has the film in the size you need for a single film install.
The hood looks pretty staight with just a single contour in the middle.
Pros do use HOT water or steam and do pull/keyword(stretch) on the install to some degree. But`s that`s more in how they massage the film to fit the contours. It`s not like it`s laid flat and just squeeged. There is some level of stretching regardless on how flat the surface of plane is.

I don`t know if I explicity said it, but when I said film is porous, it`s just that.....
No installer will tell you that since it`s a upsell....
You may or may not notice it, depending on your golden your eyes are...
For sure, if you peel it off in X years, you will notice that the film is not optically clear and may look yellowish due to it sucking in the elements.
YMMV but 8-12K miles per year, sounds like pretty average driving and it not being a garage queen.

If you are just strictly concerned about repaint, do it.
For looks, I would skip it.
Pros/cons of each
 
I am still the only one, I guess who votes for clear bra`s ! :)

Certainly everyone`s driving habits and the amount of crap that hits your clear bra differs, so I can only tell you the long term result of mine on the 2009 Black Grand Cherokee alone; over 38 thousand miles of the interstate between Washington State, Northern California, and San Antonio, Texas, that I have 0, Zero rock chips in the paint on the entire big black front end of this vehicle and the hood..

Compare this to even 1 year of driving the Washington State Freeways systems in the Seattle, surrounding areas of concrete freeway in the rain, and there will be a lot of paint missing from the front of the car.. The water hitting your car from the cars in front of you, in the rain all the time mixed with all the delightful sand, etc., that comes off of the concrete freeway does a great job of sandblasting your paint without any help at all.. :)

In the 8 years of the Venture Shield on the same Grand Cherokee I speak of, there is no delamination, no discoloration that can be seen (on black, I assume it would be harder to see), and the product is still keeping my perfect paint perfect..

In my humble opinion, I think that anything that protects the Original Paint, will always be the best thing that can happen to any vehicle..

No one except the factory robots will ever be able to repaint the vehicle as good and once the original paint is gone, I am sure this diminishes the value of the car if you ever decided to sell it...

And as far as maintenance of the clear bra, and my Coatings, the best thing that ever happened to mine and all my Clients vehicles was when they invented and started selling Car Pro Reset Shampoo, years ago..

I did not want to say anything about your guy recommending any Meguiars product for clear bra maintenance, but since Senor Accumulator` already started it,
I could not agree more with his comments...

And I always tell my Clients that anything that says "wax" on the label is always going to invite dirt to stick to it, so you need to be ok with that..

The mixed signals of the product your guy mentioned - high tech wax that acts like a polymer sealant, etc... does one really believe that statement in the first place??

I have in the past year worked for a really good, probably one of the best clear bra installers up here, doing the paint correction prep work before he installs that awesome 3m product, and I even had him do the front end of my Acura TL Type-S before I took that 2,000 mile one-way trip to Texas and back, and that 3M product performed flawlessly, no rock chips, etc., on that 4000 mile trip...

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
 
If you`re concerned about rock chips and plan on keeping it that long then I`d say have the film done, however, while Suntek looks great, on white I would NOT go with Suntek as IME it seems more prone to yellowing on clinets cars that I`ve seen. I also know many installers can stretch the film to do it in one piece but I also question how it affects the film appearance too as I can`t find a local installer capable of doing a defect free install even WITHOUT stretching it to fit. That being said I would rather have a stretched 1-piece with stretch marks vs. having seems and a multi-piece hood, especially on white as the edges can get dirty over time and become more noticeable.

With a self-healing film I`m not sure why you would want to polish it though? With proper care it really shouldn`t need it, just wash and apply a good clear LSP like Opti-Seal and call it a day...I do feel a coating would be far better on film though. FWIW, if you "need" to polish the film it can be done, just know the self-healing top coat and especially some of the new "coated" films are thin and excessive polishing can remove or diminish them. I know a lot of coating installers are flying over some of the new coated films with a polisher prior to coating them too.
 
Hey, I have a Q: are PPFs sensitive to the stuff in some LSPs? I simply don`t know. Older PPFs (like the stuff on older Audis/Porsches) *are* kinda sensitive about what could be used on `em and are especially sensitive to abrasives; thinning them via abrasion is a no-no.

Stokdgs- Ya know...actually I`m *NOT* anti-PPF even though my previous post strongly implied that (heh heh, yeah..."Accumulator is talking out of both sides of his big mouth :D ), at least not categorically. Why [shoot], I still want to find somebody to put a few pieces of it on a couple of my vehicles (where the`re gonna get touched, not on the leading surfaces). Now that I`ve thoroughly equivocated...

-Yes indeed, I`m generally a fanatic for original paint. "Better imperfect oe paint than a repaint!" gee, how many times have I posted that?!? Yeah, I too believe it`s better in many (if not all) ways than even the finest repaint. E.g., post-production paintwork is always, IME, more prone to chipping. If IXLRS is gonna have stone chip issues, that`s a perfectly good reason to PPF it, and he oughta know what his challenges are better than I do!

-If there *is* any discoloration of the PPF, I`d expect it to show on white.

-Conditions/circumstances differ, so it might be just the ticket for many people no matter what.

I did not want to say anything about your guy recommending any Meguiars product for clear bra maintenance, but since Senor Accumulator` already started it,
I could not agree more with his comments...
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That "use [this particular Last Step Product on it]", offered without supporting rationale, is just *such* a red flag! I`d thank him for his time and leave after hearing that...something`s off there.

And I always tell my Clients that anything that says "wax" on the label is always going to invite dirt to stick to it, so you need to be ok with that..

The mixed signals of the product your guy mentioned - high tech wax that acts like a polymer sealant, etc... does one really believe that statement in the first place??
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In a few cases I do believe that...

Some "waxes" that DO NOT retain/attract dirt and dust IME are: Meguiar`s M16 (a "real", old-school wax with carnauba in it); Optimum Car Wax (dunno what`s really in that one, I`d guess polymers, but it sure surprised me in a positive way); Finish Kare FK1000P, which they do *call* a "High Temp Paste Wax"; Collinite 845 Insulator Wax. But most of those are more synthetics or "resins" than they are natural waxes like carnauba, and anybody can call their products whatever they want so they`re "waxes". Otherwise, yeah...I do agree that waxes, real WAXES, don`t stay clean all that well compared to stuff like sealants, let alone coatings.

IIRC, I`ve used all the LSPs I listed above, and also Klasse Sealant Glaze, on PPF with zero issues at all, and with no dirt attraction/retention.

(Regulars here know I`d put FK1000P on that white Macan and never even consider anything else...whether PPFed or not ;) Oh man would that look/last/protect great.)

IXLRS- Hope I haven`t merely muddied the waters, easy enough to just ignore me if I have :D
 
Wow, you guys have got my head spinning! I appreciate ALL your opinions and advise. Just don`t feel bad if I don`t take it ^_^

I firmly believe there is no right answer and you can make a case for a number of "must have products" for one`s detail arsenal.

I`m diving pretty heavy into the detailer vortex but don`t have nearly as much experience is this group has so I`m sure I`ll make a few mistakes along the way.

I`ve invested a lot of bank in the past several weeks to get ready for this first detail of my Macan.

Accumulator-I`ll check out this Klasse Sealant Glaze, may have to pick this up!
What is a LSP?

Stretchhhhing of film - ALL the high end film installers in my area (west coast) offer either a 3 pc solution or say they say they can stretch to fit. The issue is the Macan has a clamshell hood which is wider than than the film is made - regardless of the manufacture (!)

Yellowing - I heard that Xpel is thicker then the Suntec film and not as optically clear (could be BS). The Xpel installer charges over 2K for a full hood, bumpers, mirrors, ect, no thank you.
My favorite film installer - in defense of his "product recommendation", I was the one who asked him what he recommended for maintenance of the film. He said that his shop uses the Maguires Tech Wax 2.0. He has flawless reputation.
Film maintenance - I`m sure there are many other possibly better products out there. I plan on trying several and hopefully find one I like. FWIW, I did hear to avoid Carnauba wax and opt for a good synthetic. I`m planning on trying CB All in One wax/sealant and others. I need a maintenance (cleaning and quick detailing) and waxing solution. Open to recommendations.

I`m diving deep into the process and learning a great deal along the way. I can`t wait to use the products I`ve purchased. The steps I`m taking...
Wash cannon & 2 bucket -strip wash
Chemically decontaminate (gyon iron)
Paint prep and inspection
Taping
Claybar
Full correction & polish (maybe not full correction but as needed)
Glaze
Seal
Wax
Trim dressing
Tire dressing

I look forward to getting started. Today I heard that my Macan should arrive at my dealer next week ;)

Thanks for everyone`s help and comments!
 
For film maintenance after wash or in between washes from what I already have - Griots Speed Shine detailer Griots Best of Show detailer, Maguiers Last Touch detailer or pick up some CB Clear Seal Gloss Enhancer.

For wax I could try Collinite 845, CB All in One, CB Butter wet wax - which I have on deck or could pick up some KK 1000P.
 
IXLRS said:


Yellowing - I heard that Xpel is thicker then the Suntec film and not as optically clear (could be BS). The Xpel installer charges over 2K for a full hood, bumpers, mirrors, ect, no thank you.
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Couple more things. Research, research, research is key. Which in this thread you are doing...

Installer is KEY as well, mainly because these guys are literally taking xacto knives mm away from your paint....and there has been more than one instance where I`ve seen installs from the BEST in the industry, when you remove the film, you see cut marks. The film sort of masks the slight ~nick~ that is made from the Xacto.....

Lastly, $2K sounds inline with what my current local MARKET rates are. Pricing is regional....so I can`t comment on that, but 2K seems about right to me if not even $500 less than what the local installer here would be...

Seek NOT just a film installer but maybe align yourself with a great detailer who has relationships with a film installer. This IMO would be the course I would seek if I`m dead set on a fim install. Great detailer followed by a great film installer. A Synergistic Combo I suppose
 
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