For those installing PPF on Rivian

[mgc0216]

I'm a complete neophyte wrt paint protection, so can you explain the benefit of PPF and ceramic? I guess I thought it was one or the other since the PPF will cover the ceramic?

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[NY_Rob]

Usually once they get the emblems off, they remove the OEM tape/glue from them and apply all new adhesive.. so they should look perfect after the PPF.

We had our Model Y and Model 3 PPF'd and zero problems with the emblems.

 

[NY_Rob]

I'm a complete neophyte wrt paint protection, so can you explain the benefit of PPF and ceramic? I guess I thought it was one or the other since the PPF will cover the ceramic?

PPF is an actual film like product that gets applied over the paint/plastic (headlight/tail light,etc) surfaces of the vehicle. It's a physical barrier or "skin". You can then apply ceramic liquid on top of the PPF to help it shed dirt and dust more easily then non-ceramic coated surfaces.

The two are not mutually exclusive, you can have PPF without ceramic coating on top of it or you can have just ceramic coating without PPF.

Looking at the front of the truck, I would think it is imperative to apply PPF to the headlight lenses and the front fascia section of the hood as soon as you get the vehicle. That bull nose design of the hood is going to get damaged very easily and those horizontal headlight lenses are going to be rock magnets.

 

[Attesan997]

I'm a complete neophyte wrt paint protection, so can you explain the benefit of PPF and ceramic? I guess I thought it was one or the other since the PPF will cover the ceramic?

PPF is a thin clear film that protects against small impacts such as road debris. No different than the vinyl bras of yesteryear but not limited to the front of the vehicle. Protection is possible anywhere it’s it’s applied. You can also add UV protection into the mix for PPF. Ceramic makes things easy to clean and brings out complexity, think what a freshly waxed car looks like, but without the work of having to do it as frequently. Doesnt last forever though, will need to be applied again at a recommended interval. Some may choose one or the other but in my experience Ive gone with a mix of both.

 

[the long way downunder]

it is imperative to apply PPF to the headlight lenses and the front fascia section of the hood as soon as you get the vehicle. That bull nose design of the hood is going to get damaged very easily and those horizontal headlight lenses are going to be rock magnets.

Yep. Rivian should be delivering the R1 with PPF as a factory option (it's a default for tunnel doors.) Some cheap film around the nose and wheels is my first step next week before freeway or high speed off-road. Even a mediocre film is almost invisible at 20 feet, but stone chips are forever.

 

[Gator42]

Thanks, that’s actually less than I thought it would be

Me, too

 

[Sdvictor]

Seattle area PPF installers are asking approx 7500-8500 for XPEL and STEK films on a full R1T and R1S. The STEK has to be cut while the XPEL have patterns. Stek is hydrophobic and seems to be popular with the rennlist folks.

Oddly, multiple shops (all 3 I called) told me don’t bother with the ceramic especially since I’m applying the PPF on a new car.

 

[Gator42]

There’s an entire post on protection. While I respect the decision to wrap the whole vehicle it’s debatable what the best strategy is. I had a partial wrap on my Porsche- hood, front quarters, rockers, rear wheel bulge- then did the ceramic. In hindsight I wished I had saved the $$ on the wrap and just gone with the ceramic. While Xpel is ‘self healing’ the impacts of debris and insects still show on the film. I wished I had saved a few grand and just gone full ceramic and let the shop buff out any damage later…

 

[Gator42]

I’d note I have the full factory wrap on my Defender. The dealer just put a nic in the film on one of the doors. Now I have to have LR try and fix it instead of a competent Xpel shop. Feels like a mistake…

 

[Rousie13]

I guess I don’t understand the whole PPF thing. I had the rockers done on my Model 3 and still got a rock chip through the film, so that was my first and last time getting PPF. If it’s $7000-8000 for the film, then that’s a lot of paint repair work that can be done down the road if needed. I just can’t see spending that amount of money for the film. We don’t typically keep our vehicles that long anyway, so PPF is a complete waste of money for us.

 

[Ron S]

Note there is PPF on the gear tunnel doors and a small area right behind the front wheels.

 

[Jafresh]

So I thought I would document my findings regarding PPF and emblems as the same circumstances may apply to others. I had the emblems removed to provide the best protection and cleanest look. The shop said the glue/tape on the emblems could not be re-used. CS says they will only sell new emblems for a SC(not mobile) to install for $650. I could not purchase them. I’m not sure of the reasoning on this but ok. I had the shop put double sided tape on the existing emblems and reinstall. They look fine. Hope they stay on.

 

[Mysta]

A proper ppf shop will send your badges to a place that applies very precise oem adhesive to them and sends them back

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

I pick up mine tomorrow morning (Friday) from full front PPF and I'll see how they handled badges for sure in a few hours....They've done multiple cars for me (all with badge removal)....did 8 mil on the frontal area and satin on the silver front under piece skid plate looking piece.......

 

[davidaugust]

I typically "shave" the lettering off my cars. The one time that I thought I might have replace the double sided tape and reposition the entire backside model, marque, edition lettering the dealer bodyshop told me that much easier (and way cheaper if you're paying for labor) is to replace with new- this example was $95 on a single piece of pre-spaced template peel and stick.

The Rivian's lettering is nicer looking than average; am still debating whether they'll all come off when I receive mine.

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