To PPF or not to PPF?

[abirozy]

Good afternoon

With my delivery approaching soon (just signed my preliminary buyers agreement) I find myself still undecided on if i should get PPF or not. I know I will get paint correction and ceramic coating, but not sure about a full front PPF.

I got the full front on my Tesla done and over time, it has began to peel a little around the edges and collects dust around those edges.

Is it worth it? I drive about 40 miles each way to work so will put on a lot of miles, but there are videos in other posts where a detailer argues that it is almost better to simply have touch up paint applied every so often.

Thoughts?

Adam

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[ATL_R1S]

Get PPF with a warranty that specifies coverage with regards to peeling. I'm sure certain installers and products offer it.

 

[Speedrye]

I find driving conditions matter a lot for this question. 90% of my driving is country back roads. As such, I'm rarely ever behind vehicles and PPF is a waste of money. If I were on highways regularly where debris is often kicked up, I'd be more likely to consider it.

 

[shamoo]

I think this completely depends on your preference.

However if you're willing to do paint correction and ceramic coating, I'm curious why you wouldn't do PPF. If it is peeling on edges, then I'd venture to say it wasn't installed correctly. A good installer should have the PPF be perfect for many years.

I assume (since you are doing paint correction/ceramic coating) that you know you don't always go with the cheapest place, but the most reputable place, even if it is a little more money. Since you're in Southern California (like me), I'm sure you know there are a number of good ones. Precision Film Solutions (https://protectivefilmsolutions.com/) in Costa Mesa is one of the top ones. I know of a couple more if you want to PM me.

That place charges $2500 for full front FYI. Same price for most other cars I've priced out there (Telsa Model S, Porsche 911, BMW X5M).

40 miles is not much. Drive it slow and don't tailgate people.

 

[LaunchGreen]

You're in Southern California - just walk through any parking lot and pay attention to the vehicles. You can make your own judgement, but in my opinion, nearly every vehicle from the last 10 years looks perfectly fine, and guess what, almost none of them have PPF.

My opinion is that for your use case it's: a) a waste of money b) looks worse c) will do almost nothing for you.

 

[shamoo]

You're in Southern California - just walk through any parking lot and pay attention to the vehicles. You can make your own judgement, but in my opinion, nearly every vehicle from the last 10 years looks perfectly fine, and guess what, almost none of them have PPF.

My opinion is that for your use case it's: a) a waste of money b) looks worse c) will do almost nothing for you.

It depends heavily on how you drive.

My mom's car she bought brand new 6 years ago that she drives very slow and not very often? Looks brand new. My Honda Accord I bought brand new 6 years ago and drive fast on freeways as a daily drive.....front bumper has chips all over the place. I would have installed PPF if I knew I was going to keep it (I bought it for my mom first but it was too big for her and she gave it back to me). Ending up keeping it as a daily.

Some cars I see look brand new, some look terrible.

Granted SoCal cars DO have better condition front ends than other states I've lived in since our roads are pretty nice.

 

[Engi_Nerd]

Given how simple the front of the R1T is, I'm probably doing to try my hand at doing my own PPF on the highest wearing areas.

 

[jollyroger]

I find that with ICE vehicles, the front's don't look too bad because of the very large grille, and the often plastic grille parts, most EV's have a lot of surface area and are therefore more prone to get a peppered look within just a few months. I noticed this with our first EV the Hyundai Ioniq electric. Was pretty amendment that I put PPF in front of the Tesla, eve that's got a few dings in it at this point but I know the paint underneath is protected.

When I get my R1T I'm pretty sure I'll at least clear bra it.

 

[frostbit3]

I will likely personally just do some sort of PPF for the flat front end of the truck, but other than that I won't be doing PPF. The cost of PPF to do half/full vehicle is going to be more expensive just to do paint correction in 3-5 years. I'm just not going to worry about it outside of the massive flat grill that's going to get destroyed by rocks.

 

[Gator42]

Yah- a peeling wrap should be warrantied by the installer. It’s usually an easy adjustment your shop should be happy to correct…

I have done partial wraps (front, hood, rockers) but I’m thinking I might skip the wrap and just do correction/ceramic this time. Stuff that nics the paint can also put little marks and imperfections in the wrap, so if you’re looking to stay pristine it’s back to the shop with more $$ to re wrap?Did your shop put the ceramic on top of the wrap? More $$$…

I’m thinking I’ll use the savings from wrap for polishing out imperfections. A good shop can work wonders, especially with the extra mils from the ceramic…

I suppose it matters what your Rivian’s purpose is, what you’re willing to tolerate and how much $$ you’re willing to spend…

 

[Attesan997]

Good afternoon

With my delivery approaching soon (just signed my preliminary buyers agreement) I find myself still undecided on if i should get PPF or not. I know I will get paint correction and ceramic coating, but not sure about a full front PPF.

I got the full front on my Tesla done and over time, it has began to peel a little around the edges and collects dust around those edges.

Is it worth it? I drive about 40 miles each way to work so will put on a lot of miles, but there are videos in other posts where a detailer argues that it is almost better to simply have touch up paint applied every so often.

Thoughts?

Adam

It sounds like you just had a bad install if you saw peeling. PPF I'm always going back and forth on, it's absolutely not necessary in my case at least. Luckily state EV incentives covered most of the install the first time around so I figured why not on my Model Y. Heading into another EV purchase I'm thinking I'd at least do the front since the R1T is more upright and I'd get to pocket the other half of the incentive. Since I'm likely to be pushed out to a 1H2023 delivery the extra to do full PPF may not matter as much.

 

[No.92]

Good afternoon

With my delivery approaching soon (just signed my preliminary buyers agreement) I find myself still undecided on if i should get PPF or not. I know I will get paint correction and ceramic coating, but not sure about a full front PPF.

I got the full front on my Tesla done and over time, it has began to peel a little around the edges and collects dust around those edges.

Is it worth it? I drive about 40 miles each way to work so will put on a lot of miles, but there are videos in other posts where a detailer argues that it is almost better to simply have touch up paint applied every so often.

Thoughts?

Adam

What I have figured out having done PPF on 2 vehicles now, is you should definitely get PPF (especially on the R1T due to the flat nature of the front) on the front bumper area and possibly hood of the R1T, BUT also get ceramic or graphene coating to go on top of the PPF. This would be double protection but what it does to the PPF is that it should prevent it from discoloration over time. I did the PPF only (because there really wasn't ceramic when I bought it) on my Porsche Cayenne and after a few years, the PPF started to be noticeable due to discoloration. Ceramic/Graphene should take care of that as PPF goes under the coating. With a vehicle this expensive, it's worth spending a bit more on the paint protection.

 

[swazi]

For all the years I have owned vehicles and never installed ppf on any of them I know from hindsight that it would have been a waste. So I never planned to do it on my R1T.
Last week I received my truck and this past weekend took it on a quick road trip. I already got a small chip on the front of the hood. And caught so many bugs on the front flat part. So I have changed my mind. But I am going to try to wrap it myself. At least the front and see where it goes from there.
Covering the front and hood (and maybe the fenders) should go a long way.
I am with the OP; kinda sceptical about longevity.

 

[Heimat]

Every owner will have a different opinion. I've never had a vehicle worth PPF until now. I live on a farm and drive 6 miles of gravel every day. Also our rescue cats that my wife will never give up, love to sit on the hoods of vehicles leaving claw scratches all over. The R1T is getting PPF on the front clip and lower door panels today

 

[abirozy]

Here is another thing I had not thought of. My tesla has always been garaged, but my R1T will be an outside car because it will not fit in my garage.

I just got off the phone with a shop and he actually said if I was going to keep my R1T outside all the time, I may not want to get the PPF because he is just not sure how it would hold up to the weather. While he has never seen anything happen due to being outside, he said it i went into it knowing it would be an outside car, he would recommend against it. ?

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