Full Front vs No PPF for M3Cx

[Aalfred]

Ive been reading about the benefits of PPF and how they are great for protection etc. I have a M3Cx Portimao Blue coming in and was initially planning on doing the Xpel full front with A pillars and rockers- was quoted $3K and Xpel ceramic for another $1.3K. I know I want to go with ceramic to help with the road salts in WI and making it easier for washing but Im debating if I would see any benefit from the front PPF. This wont be my daily and looking at my current car, it appears that the scratches are where the handles are, the rear doors and rear quarter panels (my kids tend to run into my car with their bikes !!!) I do intend to park my car in the garage and wondering if I would regret paying for full front only to have the scratches appear on the non PPF area which defeats the whole purpose of trying to avoid scratches. I plan to keep this car for atleast 5 yrs and not a stickler for small scratches or dents. I dont plan on handwashing the car but am worried about the yellowing of the PPF in the long run too. The first scratch is the hard one but after that, its just a car. I dont want to pay 7k for a full PPF and with ceramic, atleast I get benefit for the whole car while washing, but is it worth paying 3K for partial PPF. Anyone who done the partial been on the same boat with scratches happening outside of the PPF area? Thanks

[How1tz3r]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Ive been reading about the benefits of PPF and how they are great for protection etc. I have a M3Cx Portimao Blue coming in and was initially planning on doing the Xpel full front with A pillars and rockers- was quoted $3K and Xpel ceramic for another $1.3K. I know I want to go with ceramic to help with the road salts in WI and making it easier for washing but Im debating if I would see any benefit from the front PPF. This wont be my daily and looking at my current car, it appears that the scratches are where the handles are, the rear doors and rear quarter panels (my kids tend to run into my car with their bikes !!!) I do intend to park my car in the garage and wondering if I would regret paying for full front only to have the scratches appear on the non PPF area which defeats the whole purpose of trying to avoid scratches. I plan to keep this car for atleast 5 yrs and not a stickler for small scratches or dents. I dont plan on handwashing the car but am worried about the yellowing of the PPF in the long run too. The first scratch is the hard one but after that, its just a car. I dont want to pay 7k for a full PPF and with ceramic, atleast I get benefit for the whole car while washing, but is it worth paying 3K for partial PPF. Anyone who done the partial been on the same boat with scratches happening outside of the PPF area? Thanks

Hey, I've had cars with partial PPF, and for those who don't care much for small dings and scratches on doors, partial is all you need. Rock chips are the biggest culprit of causing harm to your car and front PPF will prevent serious damage. If you plan on keeping the car long term, PPF will prevent paint from swirling. For colors such as Tanzanite and BSM, PPF is a must to prevent swirls. If you don't care? No need. Everyone has their own preferences. With regards to yellowing, XPEL ultimate and other newer PPF's from Suntek do not yellow long term as far as I know.

[JDUNITNOW]

If you are keeping the car for five years, I would at least do the full front and rockers. Also do the b pillars and carbon roof. I did my b pillars because most people will touch them shutting the door and the black plastic will get beat up. I am taking mine back in to do roof because I have had two rocks hit my roof on interstate and see this being a issue. I didn't spend money on ceramic coating because I wash .y car frequently and just did a paint correction and use a spray on wax with ceramic in it.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by How1tz3r

Hey, I've had cars with partial PPF, and for those who don't care much for small dings and scratches on doors, partial is all you need. Rock chips are the biggest culprit of causing harm to your car and front PPF will prevent serious damage. If you plan on keeping the car long term, PPF will prevent paint from swirling. For colors such as Tanzanite and BSM, PPF is a must to prevent swirls. If you don't care? No need. Everyone has their own preferences. With regards to yellowing, XPEL ultimate and other newer PPF's from Suntek do not yellow long term as far as I know.

Thanks. Would the paint fade differently in the PPF protected areas vs non PPF areas at 5 yrs?

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by JDUNITNOW

If you are keeping the car for five years, I would at least do the full front and rockers. Also do the b pillars and carbon roof. I did my b pillars because most people will touch them shutting the door and the black plastic will get beat up. I am taking mine back in to do roof because I have had two rocks hit my roof on interstate and see this being a issue. I didn't spend money on ceramic coating because I wash .y car frequently and just did a paint correction and use a spray on wax with ceramic in it.

Thanks. I didnt think about the roof and B pillars...

[JDUNITNOW]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. I didnt think about the roof and B pillars...

Me either, u til I got the two rock chips. They are very small and hard to see but I k ow they are there. It sounds like someone is shooting at you when it happens...😅

[How1tz3r]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. Would the paint fade differently in the PPF protected areas vs non PPF areas at 5 yrs?

Depending on which color you buy, your car may show swirls in non PPF areas. I ordered full PPF for that reason alone. Tanzanite is a very swirl heavy color without PPF so I had to get it. The paint itself shouldn't fade differently since you are ceramic coating the whole car. I saw you mentioning that you planned on taking the car into car washes, so I'd be aware of the risk for swirls. For colors such as Brooklyn grey, swirls are much harder to see.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by How1tz3r

Depending on which color you buy, your car may show swirls in non PPF areas. I ordered full PPF for that reason alone. Tanzanite is a very swirl heavy color without PPF so I had to get it. The paint itself shouldn't fade differently since you are ceramic coating the whole car. I saw you mentioning that you planned on taking the car into car washes, so I'd be aware of the risk for swirls. For colors such as Brooklyn grey, swirls are much harder to see.

Thanks. I have a Portimao Blue coming in. I was going to do the touchfree automatic car washes that dont have the brush. Just the water jet. Do u still get swirls if there are no brushes? If it has a lot of road salt, I plan on rinsing them with water first before going through the "laser" car wash

[How1tz3r]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. I have a Portimao Blue coming in. I was going to do the touchfree automatic car washes that dont have the brush. Just the water jet. Do u still get swirls if there are no brushes? If it has a lot of road salt, I plan on rinsing them with water first before going through the "laser" car wash

I'm not entirely sure of Portimao blue, but it appears to hold off swirls better than some other colors. I'm no paint expert, but I've seen cars that are meticulously handwashed end up with small swirls over the course of several years. If swirls are your primary concern, most reputable PPF shops will do paint correction for a small fee where they remove any swirls. Over the course of 5-10 years the price should still be less than full body PPF if you don't care about small door dings, etc.

[Aalfred]

Originally Posted by How1tz3r

I'm not entirely sure of Portimao blue, but it appears to hold off swirls better than some other colors. I'm no paint expert, but I've seen cars that are meticulously handwashed end up with small swirls over the course of several years. If swirls are your primary concern, most reputable PPF shops will do paint correction for a small fee where they remove any swirls. Over the course of 5-10 years the price should still be less than full body PPF if you don't care about small door dings, etc.

Thanks. Thats what Im thinking about. Its more for resale value than my issues with swirls or chips. Of course, Id like my car to look nice but dont want to go out of the way to keep it from suffering normal wear and tear. And who knows, at 5 yrs with the way the depreciation is going, the paint condition might fetch me an additional 1K vs putting all this money upfront. Worst case, ill do paint correction like you mentioned and make it presentable

[JDUNITNOW]

Originally Posted by Aalfred

Thanks. I have a Portimao Blue coming in. I was going to do the touchfree automatic car washes that dont have the brush. Just the water jet. Do u still get swirls if there are no brushes? If it has a lot of road salt, I plan on rinsing them with water first before going through the "laser" car wash

I don't care for them either. They tend to force water I'm places that may damage car. If you do ut occasionally you are ok. Find a reputable mobile detailer to come by a couple of times a month. I don't daily my car or drive in inclement weather so I use ONR in the winter in my garage and when weather is over freezing, I wash and pull in garage to finish up.

[Melloco2201]

Originally Posted by How1tz3r

I'm not entirely sure of Portimao blue, but it appears to hold off swirls better than some other colors. I'm no paint expert, but I've seen cars that are meticulously handwashed end up with small swirls over the course of several years. If swirls are your primary concern, most reputable PPF shops will do paint correction for a small fee where they remove any swirls. Over the course of 5-10 years the price should still be less than full body PPF if you don't care about small door dings, etc.

Hi
will you even do ceramic coating?

[How1tz3r]

Originally Posted by Melloco2201

Hi
will you even do ceramic coating?

I probably still will to make washing easier. Most PPF shops will give you a deal if you bundle them together anyway.