Team-BHP - Horrible experience with 3M PPF | Completely deteriorated & hard to remove

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Originally Posted by EV NXT (Post 5239057)

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If you ever visit a car factory they allow you to view every area EXCEPT THE PAINTING SECTION because they do not like to make known the processes they follow. Most paints are applied with the body shell being heated so that the paint enters the steel molecules - this gives it a finish and protection hard to replicate.

In fact I would like to bring these two more concerning reasons why the paint shop is restricted for entry…

-Paint fumes are hazardous if inhaled
-They want the environment contaminant free (that humans carry on their clothes - dust, hair, oils and cloth fibres)

There is hardly any secrecy aspect as you always see videos of the paint process whenever a good program takes you on a factory tour.

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Originally Posted by Tgo (Post 5239162)

:thumbs up
To minimise contamination, the car factories also take following measures:

Entrances to the paint shop will have two doors each. You open the outer door, land inside a cabin, close the outer door and then open the inner door. This way, the inside environment isn't directly exposed to the outside dusty air.
The air handling and circulation system in the paint shop maintains the inside air pressure slightly higher than that on the outside. This ensures no leak of dusty air from outside, through any gaps or crevices.

Sad to see a car in this state. This being from a reputed brand like 3M, hurts more. But considering that not all vehicles with 3M PPF turn like this, there must be some unknown chemical reaction or something that has lead to this. 3M PPF was always known to turn yellow but this is an extreme case I guess. If my car had turned like this I'd never go near a PPF again. My 5+ year old car has been detailed twice with ceramic coating and it looks new even now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EV NXT (Post 5239057)

If you ever visit a car factory they allow you to view every area EXCEPT THE PAINTING SECTION because they do not like to make known the processes they follow.

Factories do not take general visitors into paint area as that is a highly controlled environment with respect to temperature, humidity and cleanliness. Of course they have to maintain a certain level of confidentiality but the general process is known. Couple of links where it is explained neatly is Here and Here

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Most paints are applied with the body shell being heated so that the paint enters the steel molecules - this gives it a finish and protection hard to replicate.

NO!! paint doesn't enter steel molecules!!!

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Given this level of OE production quality anything applied over the original coat can never hope to protect, guard or enhance the looks except temporarily.

OE production quality paint also has a clear coat. In simple terms, a ceramic coating is also nothing but a clear coat. But a ceramic by property has higher hardness levels making it comparatively more resistant to scratches. Of course it is temporary, it is not a must have and it doesn't come cheap but if you want to have it and can afford, it certainly gives a higher level of protection for a longer amount of time.

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The analogy I use when friends ask me is to compare buying 22 Carat gold and covering it with false gold because false gold shines better. Yes, it would. Temporarily.

Wrong analogy! paint is already the "false gold" layer that covers the Iron alloy and plastics underneath. So would you rather buy an unpainted car? Ceramic coating is just an "additional" layer. Paint is also temporary, ceramic coating is also temporary. Without paint the vehicle body will look new for 'x' amount of time, with paint the vehicle body will look new 'x+y' amount of time and with ceramic coating, it will looks new for 'x+y+z' amount of time.

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Originally Posted by audioholic (Post 5238791)

Over the last two years that I have had full PPF on my Innova, it has saved me from painting the front bumper twice due to scuffs with pillar, rear quarter panel from a scuff while reversing in parking, bonnet from vandalism and rear bumper and brake light from a drunk biker. If the PPF werent there, I would have had to repaint so many panels and still not get the factory finish in spite of spending money.

It's a difficult decision to generalize but a decent paint shop or ASC can easily achieve a perfect match with factory paint. And depending on your driving environment, doing those touch ups after accumulating a few scratches might work out cheaper. Most of all, as you say, you avoid the unknown answer to - what happens if I want to take the protection film off?

I have the same issue with the door edge guards. The glue used there damages the paint on the door edge - the very thing it was supposed to protect!

This thread validates my stand on the sheer wastefulness of fads like PPF. It is an unnecessary overkill, particularly in our climate and usage conditions.

The paint jobs these days (for the German extended family, Tata and the others, in that order) are so, sooo good, you really don't need to go in for PPF / Ceramic / Virus-repellants. Simply waxing the car every 3 months can help you maintain an outstanding finish.

The enclosed images of my 3 year old Rapid may validate my point:

Since I am based out of a small town down South, I have the luxury of hosing my car with good quality ground-water. City dwellers should try and prevent the car-wash guy / security guard from using detergent and AND THEN NOT RINSING IT OFF

How can PPF be a fad when it has protected my car from what could have been deep scratches, not once but TWICE! You just peel it off and that area is as untouched as ever. Like magic! It is a good product, and there is an area where the 3M PPF serves till date (My car is 2017 model). Rest of the bumper and contact areas have DREXLER PPF protecting it

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Originally Posted by KANNURAN (Post 5239536)

This thread validates my stand on the sheer wastefulness of fads like PPF. It is an unnecessary overkill, particularly in our climate and usage conditions.

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Originally Posted by Adam (Post 5239355)

I had a similar experience on my polo, used 3M PPF, not quite even sure now if it was genuine and when I tried to remove it after 6 years the clear coat came along with it. I ended up repainting my car exterior due to this.
So basically the item which was supposed to protect the paint ended up ruining it completely. Nowadays I stay far away from PPF no matter how reputed the manufacturer is.

Is the place you got it from still in business?

I used to get my car washed at 3m in my city. Once I asked him to re-apply the vinyl on the b-pillar which was missing after a repair. That’s when he explained to me how 3m is facing challenges with duplicate products being used by their franchises.

Eventually he too broke off the franchise tie but still calls his place “3m car wash” using similar looking logos and a very different looking service bay but when you speak to him about it he says he uses 3m products and mostly does. Limited to wash and wax only these days. Doesn’t do anything related to films.

Lot of these places have run out of business and i am sure they would have begun substituting original products with similar looking but low quality stuff to increase their margins.

I remember having come across a white Vento standing at one of the detailers outlet.
The car looked well maintained and had a good gloss except for the fact that it was looking slightly yellowish. However, when I looked at the other side of the car I was :Shockked: it was completely shabby with glue marks. Yes you guessed it right, they tried to remove the PPF. In the process the paint was probably damaged.

So all that glitters is not gold :D

I hope your good looking PPF does not create similar issues when you try to remove the PPF.

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Originally Posted by viXit (Post 5238556)

+1
It was installed at the 3M Store in Hyderabad.

If I have the money, I'd PPF my car again, only issue is the yellowing, But good brands like Stek and LLumar have yellowing warranties for upto 8 odd years.

Here are the pictures of my car, You can see the yellowing but no matte finish or breaking down of the PPF anywhere.

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan (Post 5238726)

Very sorry to learn of the OP's horrid experience with 3M PPF. My sympathies with him. It is enough to make one livid.

While i am not here to hold a candle for 3M, my experience with PPF over 7 years {Volvo XC60} and 5 years {Lexus ES300h} has been very favourable and touchwood no problems thus far. I hope tomorrow doesn't bring some sad experience. Photos from 2021 below of both cars. Why has my experience been different - I do not know. Will my cars suffer the same fate eventually - well I do not know that either. Is it working well 7 years down - yes it is.

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Originally Posted by KANNURAN (Post 5239536)

This thread validates my stand on the sheer wastefulness of fads like PPF. It is an unnecessary overkill, particularly in our climate and usage conditions.

Calling PPF a fad basing it off couple of remote bad experiences is stretching things a bit too far, IMO.

Any clean car would look good from a distance, I would love to flash a LED on the paint surface and look. That is when you would appreciate say a proper self healing good quality PPF over any car which is just washed and waxed by hand. As they say different strokes for different people.

PPF on my car has saved it from nasty stone chips, one significant impact from a 6-7 cm blue metal piece that fell off a tipper truck I was following, still couldn't damage the paint, the PPF took full brunt and developed a small insignificant puncture. Likewise bird droppings, tree sap, etc couldn't do any damage even when I had to leave the car as is for few days due to lockdown and other priorities. Washing the car is so easy on PPFed panels, it has very high gloss when looked up close. I was a non-believer too, until a close friend got it on couple of his brand new cars and I got to experience the whole application and after effects, first hand. Then took the plunge for my own car. So yes, there is definitely a learning curve.

Sad to read this post. Me too thought about PPF for my new Compass, but stayed away after speaking to multiple vendors. Whichever premium brand you choose, you got to remove it before 5 years ( atleast that message was clear as no vendor was confident that it will last beyond that ). Moreover my car is white, and even though most premium brands protects against discoloration, the vendors said within 2-3 years, we will able to see minor color difference ( darker colors might be okay still ). I went with Menza pro ceramic coating ( with 3 year warranty ).