Here’s my take on PPF film…
Back in ‘15, I made a big (for me) vehicle purchase. No, not a $3M Ferrari, which I watched being filmed at Xpel, but a NICE sports car. Considered full PPF. Lived in San Antonio at the time, right near Xpel’s headquarters. Got to tour their facility & see lots of prime examples of their work. Here is my take:
If you plan on taking your RHO down narrow trails where tree branches will scrape the sides, or if you like taking your vehicles thru commercial car washes…by all means, spend $6K-$8K to film your entire RHO. My neighbor scraped the heck out of his newly filmed Raptor on a narrow trail…after a few hours in the sun, the PPF self-healed & everything looked fine.
But, if your truck is going to be a pavement queen, hand washed, never scraped against trees & brush, just PPF the body colored fender extensions above the front bumper, headlights, mirror skull caps (if painted) & leading edge of the bed sides (these areas get hammered by rocks & debris, even on pavement). And, plan on changing out these pieces as they become damaged (self-healing can’t recover from a sharp stone nick). It’s a little expensive, but way cheaper than full PPF.
Or, don’t film anything. Why? The film is expensive…almost as much as re-painting the high exposure areas. Also, the top-of-the-line Xpel film contains its own surface defects & anomalies…some related to install, some are just the nature of the film. And even the best installs have issues with edges lifting. Also, many installers use Xpel’s plotter programs that cuts the film to each vehicle’s dimensions for easy install, leaving lots of exposed edges (looks like sh#t, especially as dirt & polishes collect). Finally, film does not guarantee the underlying paint won’t be damaged. Hit a big enough rock at 80 MPH, your paint will be damaged!
BTW, my NICE sports car has a short life as a perfect vehicle. 2nd day of ownership on my way to a haircut, a deer ran into my door. No, I didn’t hit the deer. It hit ME! Would PPF have saved the day? Heck no. Needed a new door, mirror & full paint down the side of the car. PPF would have just complicated things & resulted in greater cost to me since insurance rarely covers PPF.
