To PPF or not - Page 1 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

I’ve bought a used 992 T . The car has over 4000 miles on it and is in bog standard white. A few small stone chips on the front bumper but nothing on the bonnet but it does have the carbon roof. I’m in two minds to have PPF applied. I’ve got PPF on a white Tesla and tbh I still have small stone chips ( car has covered 28000 miles ) and on the front bumper it has some of the PPF damaged and looks untidy. The cost is approaching £4000 for PPF with ceramic coasting. I’m thinking of just forgetting about it and enjoying the car and respraying later but my main concern is the carbon roof. I just can’t get my head around spending £4000 on a product that doesn’t even stop full on stone chips and looks untidy after a few years. People thoughts appreciated on this matter.

If the car has a few chips already I really wouldn't bother with ppf. If it's a new car then yes, it will protect it up to a point as you know with the Tesla. You'd be unlucky to get stone chips on the c/f roof, though of course not impossible. Save the £4k for a respray later.

gred said: If the car has a few chips already I really wouldn't bother with ppf. If it's a new car then yes, it will protect it up to a point as you know with the Tesla. You'd be unlucky to get stone chips on the c/f roof, though of course not impossible. Save the £4k for a respray later. I PPF'd the front end of my new R8 when I got it. First trip away, a stone hit the roof.....

No. It does protect, but not completely. It will need replacing (albeit maybe 8-10 years down the line). It never feels or looks quite right to me (but then perhaps I have only seen second rate jobs). And it costs more than a good front end respray.

JohnnyUK said: gred said: If the car has a few chips already I really wouldn't bother with ppf. If it's a new car then yes, it will protect it up to a point as you know with the Tesla. You'd be unlucky to get stone chips on the c/f roof, though of course not impossible. Save the £4k for a respray later. I PPF'd the front end of my new R8 when I got it. First trip away, a stone hit the roof..... I did the full front end of mine and ended up with a chip right on the edge of the PPF and one on the door which wasn’t protected. I think that I would still go for it on a newish car but only if it didn’t already have chips. Bumpers and bonnets seem to get resprayed on a regular basis so I’d leave it and then if it bugs you down the line, get it resprayed then and apply PPF

Other benefit of full ppf (with ceramic or not) is that you can wash it without any swirl marks or worry about paint at all. That is worth the price of entry for me as someone who cares but isn’t a competent home detailer!

Devilspoke said: Other benefit of full ppf (with ceramic or not) is that you can wash it without any swirl marks or worry about paint at all. That is worth the price of entry for me as someone who cares but isn’t a competent home detailer! I’d just get a bucket with a grit guard and use a new sponge each time if you are worried. If you wash it badly you’ll just swirl and discolour the ppf

Just get a decent detailer to ceramic coat it. It'll be a fraction of the cost of PPF, and work just as well.

I simply can't understand people paying more for PPF than it would cost to sort any paint out at a later date. Also, how much does your insurance go up every year if you have PPF'd your car? Some insurers can be really funny about PPF. No idea why, but they can.

Geoffcapes said: Just get a decent detailer to ceramic coat it. It'll be a fraction of the cost of PPF, and work just as well.

Geoffcapes said: Just get a decent detailer to ceramic coat it. It'll be a fraction of the cost of PPF, and work just as well. A ceramic coating is 1-2 microns thick, PPF varies from around 150 microns to 300 for the ultra defense films. Clearly a ceramic coating offers scant protection vs. PPF.

Ed.Neumann said: I simply can't understand people paying more for PPF than it would cost to sort any paint out at a later date. This is my take on it, too. It also looks dreadful when it starts to go, and can very easily take off bits of clear coat off when it is removed. I’m also not too keen on ceramic coating, either. I like wax and ‘keeping on top of it’, but for convenience I understand its merits. Machine polish to the extent necessary to correct any swirls, and from then on protect with a good wax every few months. Any swirls are easily removed thereafter with a very light polish.

ive had a front end ppf and front body wrap on my car. It did not stop a chip when a large piece of road was flicked up and hit the frunk cover and windscreen. But the piece was bige enough to crack my screen. Since then after 4 years of driving the wrap has done its job. Just removed it and had the car polished and it looks, frankly, brand new. 24,000 miles - mixed driving, track days and hill climbing. so if keeping the car long term I think it makes sense but for a 2 year ownership period it's a lot of money to drop.

kmpowell said: Geoffcapes said: Just get a decent detailer to ceramic coat it. It'll be a fraction of the cost of PPF, and work just as well. I know it's bonkers that people think a ceramic coating will protect a car from scratches and stone chips, easier to wash and shiny yes but that's where it ends.

I’ve decided to leave it. I’ve used Topaz twice before but it was over £4K for front end and skirts and carbon roof with a ceramic coating. What annoys me is when companies quote ££££ + Vat . Next step is ££££ + Vat + CT + NI . Anyway what did it in the end was seeing a 23 plate turbo cab in carmine red with PPF and I think 5000 miles which looked lovely but a huge stone chip glaring back at me on the bonnet.. I think I would have had to remove the ppf if I had that stone chip and repaint.

Chipper said: I’ve decided to leave it. I’ve used Topaz twice before but it was over £4K for front end and skirts and carbon roof with a ceramic coating. What annoys me is when companies quote ££££ + Vat . Next step is ££££ + Vat + CT + NI . Anyway what did it in the end was seeing a 23 plate turbo cab in carmine red with PPF and I think 5000 miles which looked lovely but a huge stone chip glaring back at me on the bonnet.. I think I would have had to remove the ppf if I had that stone chip and repaint. Like your username.

£4K!!!!!! Holy Sh!t Batman! If you're having a full body PPF then yeah but not for what is basically a track pack. I'd look elsewhere. As a guide, I paid £2k for a track package, including side skirts, PPF plus ceramic of all the paintwork plus wheels.

I put about 3-5k miles on my car a year - normally one Euro trip a year plus local thrashings. After 5yrs I have a few stone chips, small enough not to upset me, but you can just about see them when you wash it. I will pay about 1.5k - 2k for a front end respray and it will keep me happy for another 5yrs. I had it Ceramic coated when I got it, that helps make washing quicker and I don't wash it with a gritty sponge, so there are no swirl marks. Once washed it actually still looks new