The Ugly Truth About Paint Protection Film (PPF) After Just 6 Months & 3,500 Miles

My car is fully ppf'ed. Aside the roof which doesn't count because it is a tesla and it is just glass. I was involved in an accident that was not fatal, Another car just scrapped through my right rear door down to the wheel arch and bumber. The whole area was heavily scuffed and a dent was created at the wheel arch area. The ppf saved my car paint and clearcoat. It protected it. My installer removed it and it was again like new. I had pdr done on the dented area and new ppf was installed instead of the one that was ruined on the door and back right side again. This car is white pearl. If i had to repaint and keep it look like new, it would end up repainting the whole right side of the car or otherwise it wouldn't be perfect color blending. So ppf was worth it to me. Car also looks much glossier than without it so it shines alot more. The ppf is self healing so any minor scratches just dissappear under the warm sun and the shine level remains high.

I was interested in what you thought. I have a 2020 Lexus RC350 F-Sport with factory PPF on the front of the car and 25% of the hood. After 47,000 miles of about 75% freeway driving, and after careful inspection, I have 2 small slightly noticeable defects in the PPF, the edges have not lifted and the car is left outside 100%. My prior vehicle was full of paint chips throughout the front bumper and hood without PPF, and thus I am very pleased with the PPF purchase which was about $600 from the factory. Obviously who installs the PPF and the manufacture of the PPF may play a role in the final visual aspects of the film after years of higher speed driving.

I’ve had ppf for 4 years 50k miles. No scrapes or stone chips in the paint. I’m going to replace the hood and front spoiler area because it has done its job. The rest is still near perfect. Doesn’t look quite as good as a corrected car but I don’t have to stress about it, either.

Thank you for sharing your POV. I've been thinking about installing it in my car but when I saw your video I'm thinking thrice. They said there are self healing PPF, I might find a review for that.

Yeah, I don’t think so. Very strange viewpoint in my humble opinion. I own about 40 cars and almost all of them have some PPF and I probably have about 10 cars that I have full PF on them. The proper way to protect a new car is Pain correction, then, PPF, then ceramic coating over the PPF. In the last seven or so years, I’ve used three different shops. One of them does amazing work every time, the other two, it depends on who did the job as far as the technician himself. That new EXPEL thicker film is awesome. Also, the matte film is terrific in my opinion. My matte paint cars I don’t even drive at all until they are PPFed. As far as staining, yes, I have had one year old PPF redone twice. Both times it had to do with the fact that the car sat in the sun with sapp stains on the PPF. And, regardless of what it is, older, film, seven years plus old, will need to be replaced if you drive the car at all. I am a big fan of ceramic coating, but only if it goes on top of the PPF. Lastly, the worstPPF that I have seen both from the application technique perspective as well as the quality of the film itself, is Factory PPF on the newer Porsches.

992 gt3 with 11k mi No PPF , hand wash only, professional detail and ceramic once a year , few stone chips Carrara white. My spyder is Brewster green and I did PPF and absolutely hate it , finish is different, ages drives me crazy. On the next car will do only critical areas (behind wheels and sides )

Heads-up to people with white cars. PPF changes the colour of white, so you can tell which panels have it if it’s not installed on the whole car.

Does anyone know how much paint of a car’s paintwork will be taken off during the removal of the PPF when it is to be replaced by a fresh one? I understand PPF is only good for a number of years. But when they’re to be replaced, they’d take some paint off with them when they’re removed from the body. (A person in the car’s paint protection industry told me this. I didn’t ask him my query though). Hence, I don’t much see the point of PPF unless it only takes a minute amount of paint with them during removal, as it kinda defeats the purpose.

I was very disappointed to see the poor installation of that PPF on the Mercedes. Almost criminal. I've had PPF on my Lexus for 13 years and gave it to my son. It's still perfect. No lifting edges or bubbles. I had my new Lexus done in PPF (hood, fenders, mirrors and ft. bumper) just like my old one and I'm hoping it's as good as the last one. I really enjoyed the video great job. Cheers

I have had bugs that would swell and even stain paint but it goes away after being baked in the hot sun for a day or two. The way I look at cars is that unless it's collectable just drive the car, it won't make a difference when you go trade it in. Also a lot of times, if the paint is not perfect on a car, it will damage the paint than not having it.

If you care for PPF the same as you would care for bare paint (keep it clean and protected), it will look fantastic for as long as you are willing to care for it. I've had great looking PPF on a half dozen vehicles and I'll never be without it. The key to being satisfied is starting with a qualified installer and then take care of it. I think you just weren't good at installing PPF (most installers aren't) and now you're trying to talk everyone out of it just because you don't want to offer it as a service. That's fine, but it's ridiculous to try to suggest that PPF isn't a great choice for many vehicle owners. Your entire rant is truly absurd.

I'm sorry but that's not the hard truth about PPF. It's the truth about someone not maintaining their vehicle. If you don't like it or want ir as a service, it's ok, but please don't make videos saying things about PPF that are not correct. And before you ask I have been installing PPF for more than 3 years now.
PPF needs to be cleaned regularly like normal (unprotected) paint. And also protecting the PPF with a coating to me is mandatory because it will prevent stuff from sticking on it and will help with the cleaning process. Off course if you do a long roadtrip you will have bugs. If you don't clean them and leave them on the sun for instances it will damage the PPF like it will damage paint. I have seen severely damaged paint because of bugs and polishing won't do anything. I have a car with PPF that has done more than 15k and doesn't have one single bug mark. Because I maintain it well. Regarding that installation in particular it's indeed really poor and the client should ask for his money back and hope that front end is not totally scratched from the cutting.

So back in 2013, I bought a brand new Lexus LS 460 in the long body. And I won’t go through the nightmare. It took me to get the long body in a burgundy color because Lexus doesn’t make a whole lot of big cars in Burgundy. They go with the safe colors of black, white, gray. So I had it delivered to Austin Texas from another state. When my dealership received it, and I went to pick it up, he told me that they could add a screen of protection on the front of the car for what I believe at the time was like $600. it didn’t make much sense to me, but I went ahead and said go ahead and do it. Once I started driving the car, everywhere I went, people were walking up to me, and saying, man your car looks so awesome, but then they would say, oh man somebody scratched your hood. And I would say, no, that’s paint protection screen. Eventually, I got tired of it looking like it was scratched and people saying it. So I took it off after like two or three weeks. I drove the car for four years and put almost 100,000 miles on it. And the front of the car was immaculate. I didn’t need that screen protection. And I want to thank you for this video and giving everybody this information.

Great video. Thanks for the breakdown.

You made me want PPF after watching this video. If it gets damaged and saves the paint, then fine. You failed to provide a better alternative, and something is better than nothing. It sounds to me that if your story is true, then the owner of that car didn't clean it often enough and let the bugs damage the PPF. You t h en criticized people who care about protecting their car. Nice.

I’ve had PPF on my car since 2018. I have 60,000 miles on my car and it’s still looks pretty darn good. I’d much rather remove it and install a new PPF layer if I need to just to avoid the Stone chips and that’s the only reason I have it on my car. I do a paint sealer on my car twice a year and I have no complaints. I think I paid $400 for the kit to do the front bumper 1/3 of the hood a strip across the roof on the front. The mirrors and fenders and headlights so if you do it yourself it’s not that expensive.

I didn't even finish your lengthy introduction. You kept dragging it.

A guy who works basically polishing and applying coating talking shit about a bad PPF wrap, and hundreds of idiots licking his ass saying "thanks for opening my eyes". Fantastic.

Of course PPF is not a wall of concrete in front of the paint, but it keeps the paint in mint conditions for a decade easily and avoids 90% of chips, dents with other cars' doors and most paint/varnish damage.

Of course a guy who does coating for a living will say it's worthless (and it is sometimes, but not 90% of the times, or for cars under 100K) because he prefers your money once a year in his pocket than on a PPF wrap, because you will NOT visit his business for years. It's amazing the amount of idiots on the comments...

This video is ridiculous hahahahha, my god...

Have an 11 year old Jaguar XF with 125000 miles on it. No PPF. Front bumper chipped to hell. Had it repainted plus front plate delete (holes), for $900. Looks brand new.

Not sure if it is just me, I would run out of patience to watch the rest if the presenter doesn't get to the point in the first 2 minutes.

No issues with Xpel pre cut kits and is more like insurance against damage and you may get a little spec under film but this isn't good.

its a result of superficial individual who buys German vehicle and hire cheap PPF installer, yet, the customer him/her-self feeling satisfied that he/she got a great deal... There are just toooooo many low IQ individuals who just want to look gooooood while keeping those industry bad apples survive...

I work on brand new aircrafts and that’s what ppf was designed for,
And it’s meant to have a edge sealer bead on all edges, not to be perfect but protec from erosion,
And i garantee that guys cuting the paint will cause the paint to come off the car when you rip it out,
Funny how people spend 2500$ to get a better resale value? Maybe?

Great vid, thanks for sharing. A poor install for sure, probably a beginner learning while earning. You’ve made good points, the PPF is like a condom, I will keep you out of trouble the majority of time but is not flawless. As a sacrificial layer it’s not the way it looks when on the vehicle but what the vehicle looks like after removal. I’ve used it many times without disappointment, and at the point of resale many have asked me if the car had been repainted for lack of damage exhibited. Always my concern is rust for that chip that goes down to the metal forcing a repaint that itself does not always last and is ridiculously expensive today. As an anal car enthusiast PPF allows me the freedom to drive without worry, a freeing experience for the anal amongst us. Additionally with the front fenders PPF’d the engine servicing is of less a concern, how many times has a car come back scratched to hell from bad dealer mechanics leaning over them with belt buckles, hammers, knives, screw drivers, watches, chains, or what ever else they shouldn’t be near your car with? Just my opinion from too many years of experience, and yes I was a professional detailer years ago, now enjoying it as a passion only. Be well.

I've had ppf on my Bentley for 6 years.. It looks amazing to this day

I've had PPF (and ceramic) on my Audi S5 SB for years. It still looks beautiful and turns heads. If the PPF layer is an example of what the permanent damage could have been to the paint, it's money well spent. In my opinion, this is a nit picking video. The average person that gets PPF could care less about about a few things. Gas prices. Bug smudges that they have to literally dig into just to find and complain about. And the price of getting a good detail. The PPF prevented 99.9% of potential permanent damage. And you're complaining about the 0.1%?

Nit picking PPF bug smudges and critiquing someone else's work? Not educational in my opinion.

Thank you so much for this video! I didn’t realize all the bad things about getting PPF. I thought about getting PPF on my cars but after watching your video I’ve decided not to spend the money on it. Thank you!

This video for has come at a great time. I am looking to have my model y front end ppf and the car ceramic coated. Since it’s a daily driver I think doing the ceramic coat only will be a better value. I do plan on driving this car into ground as they say.

"I am a professional specialized in paint correction and ceramic coating. PPF is not worth the cost and inconvenience, I recommend paint correction and ceramic coating. Trust me, bro!"
🤣

A year ago I bought a 4 year old Mercedes SL450 with full PPF over the entire car. The car was just off lease and had spent it's life in Florida, bug capital of the US.
The paint was flawless. Not a swirl, not a stain, no blems except for a couple of chips on a mirror.
What creates flaws in the paint is driving 70 mph on the highway or perhaps a windy day around town. Dust, fine particles of dirt and the like create micro abrasions in the paint. This is where you benefit from ppf. The ppf protects from these types of abrasions and they don't seem to damage the ppf at all.
After my owning the car for another year, the paint looks like it just came out of the factory.
Yes, it's expensive, but unless you drag out the buffing wheel once a year, and I don't, the ppf will, in most cases, keep your paint looking factory fresh.

Get in with it. Too long winded.

Yeah but better damaging the “paint protector” than the actual paint right?

I think his main problem with ppf here is the insane price it costs to install. That’s why the thumbnail actually says “is ppf worth the $$$?” Else that’s exactly what they are for. (To take all the damage that was supposed to go to your paint so you can always remove or replace it later on)

I wonder what impact on the environment this material has, especially the chemical composition of the slippage and adhesives?

that's why I'm only doing PPF on the front bumper of my G80 with pre-cuts. It should mitigate most rock chip i encounter. PPF has no added value in any shape or form. We're not talking about limited edition Ferraris and Lamborghini's here.

Came very close to getting PPF on my brand new car, but for how expensive it was I honestly couldn't justify it, just doesn't make any sense. Rock chips will not reduce the value of a used car. It's a used car, it's gonna have some dings here and there, no single rock chip affect resale value, unless it like ripped your door off. You also risk someone cutting your panel which then can lead to rust getting up under the car. Seen it happen on supercars, not worth that risk. I have a 10 year old car and it has very little rock chips, only one that's noticeable. Based on my experience having owned a 10 year old car and having very few rock chips, again, can't justify the price

Agreed. Dr. Colorchip is way cheaper.

Is PPF worth the money?
That's like asking if Sudden Impact is a good movie.
6 months of PPF and 3500 miles is Again, subjective.
Waaaay too many variables to be suggesting that people not use it. I've had it in my Hellcat since 2018. Expel. Professionally installed. Absolutely no issues, ZERO, with the performance of the film. In fact, not only was mine ceramic coated but it also actually has Several Several Several Knicks and dings because Texass roads.
You bug stains problem is an issue with the owner not taking care of their vehicle. Bug stains are far worse in paint as the bug guts and chemicals etch into paint. I'd MUCH rather have it etched on the PPF and NOT the paint.
Wash your damn car man. Just because it's PPFd and Ceramic coated, does Not mean ya just drive it and forget it down the next 80 years.
C'mon man.

Shouldn’t ceramics on top of the ppf inhibit the bug stains on the ppf? The bugs stains on paint ruins it also. Ceramic only on paint and the outcome of bugs should be no more or no less than a ceramic on the ppf. Thus, ppf and a layer of ceramic on it is better than ceramic on paint in every case.

Did the entire front end, mirrors, and side sills on my Tesla myself. Cost less than $750 with Avery pre-cut film and has held up for 2 years and 35k miles like new 🤷🏻‍♂️

If you add ceramic coating to the PPF does it still have the same bug stains ?

PPF is awesome ive been using it for years. literally preserves everything its installed on. bought new headlamps for my car in 2015, put X-pel PPF on it and they still look brand new 9 years later, sounds like this guy is losing money on other services because PPF is preventing other issues that need other types of paint correction

I wish you would have shown the before and after. Great review though.

I believe PPF is good for people who don’t like scratches, point blank. It’s not about making things perfect. When parking in parking lots or driving long periods. It’s helpful to know you have that extra layer of protection instead of getting your car re painted.

PPF = Paint Protection Film. Yes it is a protection.

I almost bought it when I recently bought a new 6 cylinder 2023 Audi Q7. I did not trust the protection.

The tradeoff of having protection from scratches, parking lot idiots and stone chips makes the film still worth it. I wouldn't replace the PPF because of a few bug stains and rock chips.

Thank god he did PPF. Better to deal with PPF then permanent damages.

So I didn't quite understand... What options would you use to avoid repainting the whole bonnet? I guess is cheaper to replace the ppf on the bonnet after it stain or brake than get it painted specially on those cars... Plus it avoid getting your car pulled apart for no reason.... Plus ppf helps a lot on parking lot or when dirt on on the paint and you wash your car not tho scratch paint and keep it look better than others.😂 I'll never switch from ppf to anything else is the best thing ever made worth every penny 😂... Plus people get what they pay for so if they get a bad job they must have paid for a bad job

Thanks for providing this informative video, I just purchased a BMW 3 series. This car is very special to me and I was considering doing a PPF but now I don't know if I should after watching your video. This will be a daily driver and I work from home so the car will not be driven on highways, I also live in the city.