[AE86Guy]

I've had this car for 1000 miles, still no issues. I've never PPF'd or had a car with PPF before and while I understand what it offers the cost is pretty steep in the PNW from what I can find and I hesitate to pay that much to PPF a Corolla.

I plan to track once or twice a year and while this is technically my daily we spend most of the time in the wife's car.

I intend to keep this car for life so I'm not really looking to protect an "investment" just enjoy the car. I figured if the front ever got some nicks just use a touch up stick and in the feature pony up for a front end respray if it ever got to that point (although the car is garage kept).

Anyone else have an opinion?

 

[wind_slash]

daring aren't we. seriously though, i may end up doing the same (or just cc 9H) if i keep my dedicated dd.

 

[driftingintowalls]

i'll be dailying this and no, not doing PPF. never did on any of my cars and i'm not going to start unless it was some high end exotic. you're spending almost as much on the PPF as you would on a respray. makes absolutely no sense to me. the only reasonable amount of ppf is just the front if you do a lot of highway driving. and maybe behind wheels.

 

[IceCap]

I’m not. I want to keep the car nice and in good shape because I want to have it for a long time. I spent about $60 on diy materials to do a spray on ceramic coating, and I’ll do that every 1-2 years.

But thousands of dollars for a film that will be to be replaced after 5(?) years? Screw it. I’ll just invest in a wrap someday if the rock chips get that bad. Someone could turn left in front of me at an intersection tomorrow, cause an accident, and that’d be thousands of dollars down the drain.

This is my DD, not a garage queen. I respect it and want to keep it nice, but life’s too short for some of this stuff.

 

[AE86Guy]

I think I need to look more into ceramic coating... $60 makes it almost compulsory. Can you link any DIYs you found? The weather is unpredictable in the PNW right now but if I can find a span of clear days I'll give it a shot.

 

[Cptnslo]

I skipped ppf but I did do 2 layers of ceramic. Not the same but I wanted some protection. It’s my daily as well

 

[mdp5094]

I've had this car for 1000 miles, still no issues. I've never PPF'd or had a car with PPF before and while I understand what it offers the cost is pretty steep in the PNW from what I can find and I hesitate to pay that much to PPF a Corolla.

I plan to track once or twice a year and while this is technically my daily we spend most of the time in the wife's car.

I intend to keep this car for life so I'm not really looking to protect an "investment" just enjoy the car. I figured if the front ever got some nicks just use a touch up stick and in the feature pony up for a front end respray if it ever got to that point (although the car is garage kept).

Anyone else have an opinion?

NOPE, this car will be far from a garage queen! Its being driven and daily used every single day. And its getting dirty and not triple super duper PPF'd and ceramic coated. I live in the NE in PA, its going to see snow, salt, track days, dirt etc. Its a rally car let it get dirty! Its a corolla afterall!, not a 1970 boss 429 mustang for pete sake. I'm at 1800 miles and its been fine, I try to wash it every few weeks. But its tough in the cold weather. Also hearing how much its costed ppl for ceramic and PPF has also been a huge turn off. But again its a corolla. Just drive it. And most of all ENJOY it.

 

[almazing]

Nope. I'm enjoying my car. I'm not gonna get it all nice and pretty and spotless for the next guy. Whatever rock chips it gets, it gets.

 

[driftingintowalls]

I think I need to look more into ceramic coating... $60 makes it almost compulsory. Can you link any DIYs you found? The weather is unpredictable in the PNW right now but if I can find a span of clear days I'll give it a shot.

adam's graphene ceramic

 

[Dan]

Did full frontal PPF once. Saved the paint from chips but didn't save the hood from dents (highway rocks). PDR would have required removal and reapplication of PPF. Also had someone back into my car and rip up the PPF. Both times, I didn't want to pay another $1k+ to have the film replaced, and it looked like crap even though the paint underneath was fine.

I don't think it's worth doing unless you have fuck it money.

 

[Mr Hatchy]

Great question, I was wondering the exact same thing. Is it worth it? I have never done it to any car before but am considering it. How expensive can it be to just do the front of the car? Is ceramic coating worth it? Again never used any of it but is it that much of a difference to justify the cost?

 

[gregbo24]

It's totally not really a necessary thing. I've just started to realize as I've gotten older and have more expendable money that I really don't like my twice/year chip fill, sand, cut, and polish routine. If it was truly a garage queen, I wouldn't bother because it's easier to maintain paint when it sits most of the time and won't get as many rock chips, I only plan on it BECAUSE it's going to be a daily driver.

 

[Riq G]

Just ceramic coat. It's supposed to be hard enough to protect from rock chips but we'll see about that. Plus I don't mind doing corrective paint, or polishing if needed, or re apply another layer of ceramic coat.

 

[Tonka]

I really wanted PPF on the full front clip but couldn’t justify the cost, I was getting quotes between 2800 and 5k for just the front clip.. I opted for paint correction and ceramic coating to at least provide a little bit of protection. I doubt ceramic makes a huge impact on preventing rock chips but at least it helps with the swirls and taking care of black paint

 

[teereqs]

I haven't done PPF on any of my cars, but on cars I've seen with any sort of clear hood protector you can always see a hard line where dirt or debris has built up on the edge of the film. Is this just the nature of it?

 

[Jeonsa]

I haven't done PPF on any of my cars, but on cars I've seen with any sort of clear hood protector you can always see a hard line where dirt or debris has built up on the edge of the film. Is this just the nature of it?

Yup unless they go the extra mile and hide the edges between the panels

 

[teereqs]

Yup unless they go the extra mile and hide the edges between the panels

The hard line looks worse than a rock chip imo. Just depends on the use case I guess

 

[almazing]

I haven't done PPF on any of my cars, but on cars I've seen with any sort of clear hood protector you can always see a hard line where dirt or debris has built up on the edge of the film. Is this just the nature of it?

Dealer installed that clear hood, fender, and mirror protector today since they owed me it(along with window tint) as part of the bullshit markup package I couldn't opt out of. They did such a terrible job because it had bubbles and dust underneath. I tried to pop the bubbles with a needle but it did nothing. In addition, whatever method they used to 'clean' the hood, fender, and mirror caps left swirls and lines. So the installer guy is using dirty fucking rags to do his job. Shoulda known better and asked them just to do the tint. Got home, took that protector shit off, and did minor paint correction on the hood, mirror caps, and fenders. Thankfully, the white paint hides all that pretty well and is barely noticeable now. I really hate dealership work. I dread the day I need to take it in for service.

They gave me a regular white Corolla sedan as a loaner while they did their work. That loaner also had the clear protection crap on. The dirt and debris line was noticeable. On the fenders, the film stopped adhering on the curved section so there's a pocket full of dirt and grime. And the protection film surface looked yellower than the bare paint surface. One of the reasons why I took that shit off on my GRC.

 

[GRavel]

I once had the the opportunity to work on a 1 of 4 Ferrari that was worth $36 Million. When I got there the owner had zero qualms about jumping in the car and driving a few miles over semi-rural public roads to his other garage. Traffic, potholes, plenty of stray gravel, you name it. I suspect he was looking for an excuse to take it out. That car most certainly did not have anything protecting it other than its paint.

Cars are built to be driven, so stop worrying and go have some fun. Your Corolla that is worth 1/1000 of that Ferrari will be fine.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

Just to throw my .02 in, this is the first car ive ever planned to do ppf on, and for me, it's because I think this car is something special and will be highly sought after one day. I plan to keep it for a very long time and I tend to be a bit anal with my cars. It's not a classic car right now but it could be.