PPF and Tint through Porsche or third-party?

myjc · #11

I got partial PPF through the dealer and felt like I will need to get those done again pretty soon. I was under the impression the full car PPF should cover every inch of the car, but my partial PPF does not go to the edge of the area that it's supposed to cover... Also, 3 stones chips already... sign....

Window tint I always go to a local shop and I don't think it would make any difference getting it through Porsche.

Another thing I now regret getting through Porsche was the dash camera... I thought they'd offer one integrated with the rearview mirror like an old Audi I had but turns out for $1600 I got some Amazon $200 dash camera installed...

Austin111 · #12

I live in NW-NJ and my town battles snow and ice with stone-chips rather than salt/brine. Cleanup doesn't take place till May, so if I wanted to start driving in the spring, I needed full Xpel wrap. So Xpel Ultimate Plus w Xpel Prime XR black window tint (35 side front, 30 side rear, 20 rear) and Gtechiq Crystal Serum coating. Expensive but....the alternative is to keep it garaged for additional 2 months ($8500).

: BCM1 911.JPG (148.19 KiB) Viewed 2411 times

Tom · #13

Austin111 wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 11:06 am I live in NW-NJ and my town battles snow and ice with stone-chips rather than salt/brine. Cleanup doesn't take place till May, so if I wanted to start driving in the spring, I needed full Xpel wrap. So Xpel Ultimate Plus w Xpel Prime XR black window tint (35 side front, 30 side rear, 20 rear) and Gtechiq Crystal Serum coating. Expensive but....the alternative is to keep it garaged for additional 2 months ($8500). BCM1 911.JPG

Welcome Austin111 -- car looks great! Do you think the Gtechiq Serum added anything to the xpel?

Austin111 · #14

To be honest, I don't see the benefit of the Gtechniq Serum on top of the Xpel. I was told it protects the Xpel from bird droppings/acidic things but overall shine; no difference. The other downside is I need to use Gtechniq C2 to remove water spots (my high mineral water). I tried another product and it clouded the Xpel (temporarily).

If someone decides to Xpel the headlights, may sure installer pays close attention and never wash the car after the Xpel has been moved from sun to shade, it fogged up (temporarily).

As far as rock protections ++++++

I hope this helps.

Austin (happy to be part of this group)

Tom · #15

Austin111 wrote: Wed Jan 12, 2022 2:38 pm To be honest, I don't see the benefit of the Gtechniq Serum on top of the Xpel. I was told it protects the Xpel from bird droppings/acidic things but overall shine; no difference. The other downside is I need to use Gtechniq C2 to remove water spots (my high mineral water). I tried another product and it clouded the Xpel (temporarily).

If someone decides to Xpel the headlights, may sure installer pays close attention and never wash the car after the Xpel has been moved from sun to shade, it fogged up (temporarily).

As far as rock protections ++++++

I hope this helps.

Austin (happy to be part of this group)

Yes, very helpful thanks. My car is fully wrapped in Suntek, and I keep seeing people who offer to (or swear by) adding one a ceramic coatings over the top, and I never really got the draw. My car wipes clean with detailer spray with no issues at all, and looks as good as any (to my eye anyway) -- so was just wondering if I was really missing something....

Very happy to have you on Carpokes.

Spyder Scott · #16

I have a new 2022 Spyder coming mid-March. I am debating the PPF & ceramic options. There does not seem to be a consensus on this? I HATE stone chips on the front of my car. I was thinking of PPF on the front end only including the hood. I've heard to put ceramic over the entire car then. I've also heard one of the PPF's already has ceramic on it? Suntek? One of the postings said they would rather just take care of paint chips. What process would you use? I know there are some paint chip touch-up products out there...Dr Color Chip is one. Never heard anyone state how well it works? I'm always a bit skeptical on a quick fix product like that. I'd also hate to start repainting the front bumper once a year to keep it looking like new. PPF made sense to me, especially some of the newer "self-healing" versions.

I'm open to more opinions and input...

Hawk · #17

Spyder Scott wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:51 pm I have a new 2022 Spyder coming mid-March. I am debating the PPF & ceramic options. There does not seem to be a consensus on this? I HATE stone chips on the front of my car. I was thinking of PPF on the front end only including the hood. I've heard to put ceramic over the entire car then. I've also heard one of the PPF's already has ceramic on it? Suntek? One of the postings said they would rather just take care of paint chips. What process would you use? I know there are some paint chip touch-up products out there...Dr Color Chip is one. Never heard anyone state how well it works? I'm always a bit skeptical on a quick fix product like that. I'd also hate to start repainting the front bumper once a year to keep it looking like new. PPF made sense to me, especially some of the newer "self-healing" versions.

I'm open to more opinions and input...

I, like you, "HATE" stone chips and prefer to ppf my cars. In addition, touching up or repainting the front bumper or hood is not always desirable from a buyer's perspective when you are ready to move on. The single most important piece of advice I can offer is to find the best installer (personal references are always best) in your area and listen to their advice regarding which film to apply. The ppf's are all very much of equal quality and some are even made by the same manufacturer. The "best" film to apply is the one your installer is most comfortable working with. I prefer to ppf the entire car but, at a minimum I would do the front bumper, entire hood, headlights, front fenders, mirrors, rocker panels, and the rear quarters. It all comes down to a matter of personal preference and budget. If you ppf the entire car I don't really see the value in adding a ceramic coating over the top of the ppf. If you go the partial ppf route I would then consider having a ceramic coating applied to the entire car for protection of the non ppf panels and to have a uniform gloss across the entire car. I also have my wheels removed and ceramic coated along with the calipers. It really helps keep the wheels clean and easier to remove brake dust. Just my two cents. As you said, there is no consensus on this.

Tom · #18

Hawk wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:02 am
I, like you, "HATE" stone chips and prefer to ppf my cars. In addition, touching up or repainting the front bumper or hood is not always desirable from a buyer's perspective when you are ready to move on. The single most important piece of advice I can offer is to find the best installer (personal references are always best) in your area and listen to their advice regarding which film to apply. The ppf's are all very much of equal quality and some are even made by the same manufacturer. The "best" film to apply is the one your installer is most comfortable working with. I prefer to ppf the entire car but, at a minimum I would do the front bumper, entire hood, headlights, front fenders, mirrors, rocker panels, and the rear quarters. It all comes down to a matter of personal preference and budget. If you ppf the entire car I don't really see the value in adding a ceramic coating over the top of the ppf. If you go the partial ppf route I would then consider having a ceramic coating applied to the entire car for protection of the non ppf panels and to have a uniform gloss across the entire car. I also have my wheels removed and ceramic coated. It really helps keep the wheels clean and easier to remove brake dust. Just my two cents. As you said, there is no consensus on this.

Agree completely. Also, if your installer wants to use a pre-cut kit, I'd keep looking personally. You end up with visible cut lines around door knobs an headlights, etc. Speaking of cut lines, my last car had 3M film whereas my new car has SunTek. The one practical difference I've noticed is that cut lines would collect dirt and turn black with the 3M, no matter how much I cleaned, whereas cut lines wipe clean easily with the SunTek. Makes a big difference of the 911 stone guard ares for example. Also, although they both are advertised as 8mil thick, the 3M seems stiffer and harder to work with. Proponents say it offers more protection. Opponents say it takes longer to install and it more likely to create 'fingers' around tight curves. My feeling is that if you get hit by a rock big enough to cut through the film, 99.9% of the time that rock would cut through any of the popular films. So I totally agree with Hawk about shopping for the installer not the film.

And another thing.... the front clip (only) of my 944 is wrapped (3M) and looks great. Visually, you can wrap portions of the car without really worrying about it looking different than the rest of the car. However, it does mean that I need to use different products to clean and 'wax' the wrapped vs unwrapped portion of the car. No big deal, but just another thing to keep in mind.

Spyder Scott · #19

Hawk....I am in Fort Myers. Who do you recommend for PPF & ceramic? I do not mind taking my car to Naples to get it done. I am purchasing my car at Porsche Naples.

Hawk · #20

Spyder Scott wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:08 pm Hawk....I am in Fort Myers. Who do you recommend for PPF & ceramic? I do not mind taking my car to Naples to get it done. I am purchasing my car at Porsche Naples.

Small world. Porsche Naples is also my dealer.

I have used four different installers / companies in the area (three in Naples and one in Sarasota). I highly recommend Bradley at Naples Auto Armour. Check out his website at https://www.naplesautoarmour.com/ and take a look at some of his work on his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/NaplesAutoArmour/videos

Just sent you a PM with details.