[shancz]

Sorry to see this happening and sadly it confirms my concern.
Thanks for sharing, we are learning at your cost unfortunately.

For me the first deterrent was the concept and then the cost of installation and then the maintenance when scratches happen.
Just not worth it.

I would rather let the manufacturer's paint(which I have already paid for) endure the real world, like me and deal with what comes rather than pay unreasonable amount to keep the paint in pristine condition for the the next buyer or the scrapyard

Practically, when the inevitable scratches happen the sides will have to be painted anyway, with or without the PPF. PPF will add an unnecessary complication of getting removed.

Polish works best, the only thing I am open to trying is the Turtle Wax Ceramic spray or something similar as it reduces the buffing effort.

[Ashish_1989]

Very sorry to see what happened to your beloved car. We invest so much on such products to ensure that Paint quality is maintained and seeing the effect they ultimately have on the car, raises serious questions on these products.
I personally feel that rather than investing in PPF, regular due care like waxing, proper parking are key to ensuring long-term shine on the paint.

[EV NXT]

This will happen to EVERY CAR with PPF after a certain period of time - some sooner and some later according to how the car has been exposed to the ravages of sunlight / UV rays.

One of my cars has its original paint for more than 22 years with the exception of a bumper corner touched up. Not even once has it even been detailed during these 22 years. The only care that my cars receive are occasional waxing and covered parking.

Some of the institutions who do PPF laugh when I question them about the need for or the long term efficacy of PPF and say “Sir, the owners want them and if we don’t have it they will go some place else, we have to make money too. “

[Rhik94]

Originally Posted by GTO

I keep my cars for long (typically 10 years), so thank you for this thread. Was always worried about how PPF would age over a decade. We did ponder over PPF, but eventually decided against it.

What works for me is good parking + car cover + detailing twice a year

Hey GTO, I have been following your threads for a long time now and you seem to treat your cars the exact same way I do i.e. DRIVE THEM!

I have a VW Polo 1.0 TSi Highline Plus MT and it has done about 14000 kms in my 1 year of ownership. Do you have any issues with flying stone chips on the highway causing paint chips? I already have 2 chips on each of my front doors. Any suggestions as to what to do about it? Since it happens due to no fault of mine it hurts worse!

For reference, following are some of the trips that I have done to give you an idea of the kind of exposure my car has to the highways!
1. Kolkata-Hyderabad-Kolkata
2. Kolkata-Gurudongmar-Kolkata
3. Kolkata- Chennai-Pondicherry-Kochi-Bangalore
4. Bangalore-Hyderabad

[motoholic31]

Originally Posted by goenkakushal

Was the car previously parked in covered parking and later in open parking under the sun?

The car was always parked in shade. In Mumbai, it used to be parked in multi-level parking both in the office and at home. For the last 8 months or so, it has been parked under the porch in my hometown, Lucknow. Here is the picture of the current parking for your reference.

Originally Posted by GTO

What works for me is good parking + car cover + detailing twice a year

Originally Posted by Ashish_1989

I personally feel that rather than investing in PPF, regular due care like waxing, proper parking are key to ensuring long-term shine on the paint.

After using PPF for more than 5 years I can say confidently that we are better off not using it. There is nothing like original paint gloss with good detailing. You cannot get this feeling when the car is covered with PPF where it feels plasticky to touch and is a nightmare to clean.

Cheers

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Thanks for the valuable feedback. Will suggest the friends and relatives to stay away from the PPF.

Originally Posted by Rhik94

Do you have any issues with flying stone chips on the highway causing paint chips? I already have 2 chips on each of my front doors. Any suggestions as to what to do about it? Since it happens due to no fault of mine it hurts worse!

For reference, following are some of the trips that I have done to give you an idea of the kind of exposure my car has to the highways!
1. Kolkata-Hyderabad-Kolkata
2. Kolkata-Gurudongmar-Kolkata
3. Kolkata- Chennai-Pondicherry-Kochi-Bangalore
4. Bangalore-Hyderabad

The only way to avoid stones jumping on your car is to keep away from those dumpers carrying sand. Don't drive behind them. Either let them go fast or overtake them quickly.

Wish you happy miles. Enjoy your long trips.

[audioholic]

I believe this was 3M vinyl ppf and not their Urethane PPF which came much later. My uncles Innova got its bumper corners and door edge covered in this PPF and its a mess today, after around six years of use. There were also lot of these fake 3M vinyl ppf in the market which even I had got in a shop for a mere Rs. 40/sft. While I didnt continue using this since I moved on to different materials from different sources, wherever I had applied this became a mess even to remove since the adhesive would fail and only the vinyl would come out leaving the gum on the paint. This even after applying a coat of wax before ppf application. And this is the film which would yellow over time.

Moving on I think 3M now only sells Urethane PPF(which they call self healing) which should not have such issues. Firstly Urethane is more resistant to hardening and is very flexible compared to vinyl which hardens over time and even cracks. Second the type of glue is different in the two materials.

Also one thing to note wrt removal of PPF based on my personal experience: No use of heatgun. This would heat the film unevenly and would also stretch it unevenly while removing and also accelerate the adhesive failure. Instead like others mentioned steam or even simpler park the car in a warm place which will evenly warm up the car and not get too hot. While peeling the film, one should apply gentle pressure but with a lot of patience. You can see the glue getting released slowly when pressure is applied. Any attempts to apply excess pressure would either rip off the film or wont give the adhesive enough time to get released from the paint and instead it would get released from the film.

Peeling it off slowly will also prevent paint from lifting off any repainted panels or at least give a chance to prevent this from happening as soon as this is spotted. I dont think factory paint can get ripped off due to PPF unless someone rips it off like how they rip off table cloth leaving the cutlery intact. Hence, a lot of patience is needed for this.

[nishsingh]

The pictures in this thread that show the horror of Paint Protection Films and their impact on the paint somehow aptly sum up the cheesy joke we heard in our childhood :

"The operation was successful, but the patient died."

[BhayanaV]

3M had given complimentary PPF on ORVM and bumper corners, both are cracked now after 5 years. May be parked in semi open garage for long due to Covid (was parked in office basement for 10 hours everyday before) is another reason. It is not coming off now, have to get it done at 3M during next visit.

[motoholic31]

Originally Posted by nishsingh

"The operation was successful, but the patient died."

You echoed my feelings with this quote. After 5 years of usage and 60K on odo, my car had zero dents or scratches. Now because of the PPF, which chipped the paint from the bumper at multiple places, I need to get it repainted, which was PPF’s sole purpose of protecting the paint .

[rd18]

Originally Posted by GTO

What works for me is good parking + car cover + detailing twice a year + other simple best practices listed in this article.

Please elaborate more on “detialing twice a year”. What we need to ask the detailer to do here? Some kind of polish etc. / foam wash ?

[Kartman]

Originally Posted by motoholic31

Hi All,

I had a horrible experience with 3M PPF which I had got done 5 years ago in 3M Thane. Over the period of time, PPF had become brittle and got converted from glossy to matt as you can see below:

Attachment 2260504

Decided to get it removed which was a nightmare. PPF had a strong adhesive and because it became brittle it was coming out in pieces. Below are some pictures for reference.

Attachment 2260507

Attachment 2260506

Due to the strong adhesive, the paint also came out along with PPF at some places, especially plastic panels.

Attachment 2260505

I have learnt a lesson and I'm never going to opt for PPF for any of my cars in future. May be ceramic coating is a better bet than PPF after having such a horrible experience.


Cheers

I used to be a loyal customer of the 3M Thane store till about 2014. Once I had given my car for polishing and they sprayed water directly in the fuse box of my XUV500 and the car stalled. When I went to pick up the car, first they told me it’s not ready and when I pushed them more, they said the car won’t start. All in all I had to put my foot down and speak with the owner of 3M and get him to pay for the damages as all the fuses and the fuse box had to be replaced.

These guys just have a brand name and not the proper tools or skills to apply the product.

As mentioned you should check the warranty card (if they gave you one) and see what are the terms and conditions listed there. IMHO, the PPF should not have scratched up to a matte finish like you said.

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I believe this was 3M vinyl ppf and not their Urethane PPF which came much later. My uncles Innova got its bumper corners and door edge covered in this PPF and its a mess today, after around six years of use.

Makes total sense. Urethane PPF would not disintegrate like this into bits and pieces.

PVC films become brittle and yellow with age/heat cool cycles. TPU films maintain properties as they age and pass through several heat cool cycles.

Between detailing a car twice a year and having a PPF for say 10 years, I would personally choose the latter, due to peace of mind from stone chips, bird droppings, weather elements over time. Also detailing the car everytime consumes few nanometers of clear coat and/or paint, everything boils down to the guy holding the polisher to the car. Small mistakes can lead to paint wearing out in the corners to the extent of exposing the primer. And thinner paint is more prone to stone chip, bird droppings and weather elements damages.

Also if we calculate the cumulative costs of detailing twice a year for same period of time, the detailing cost is a significant fraction of initial cost of PPF.

PPFed panels are very easy to maintain and clean as well, the current gen films are TPU based, non yellowing, and have excellent self healing and water repelling qualities. No, self healing is not snake oil, I personally have brushed my car against the wall while parking, which showed bruises on PPF, and it just went away with time, I did nothing but park my car in the sun.

P.S: Not a detailer or reseller of PPF myself, just putting across my viewpoints from the other side of the court.

[Jude300]

Oh no! This is a real nightmare and a risk many are not aware of.

I have always felt PPF, underbody anti rust coating, Ceramic treatment and other protective coating are just hyped and expensive products (not solutions) that the automotive detailing industry come up with to keep thriving. They try to manipulate our sentiments for a new car and charge a bomb for these treatments. We would be better off by maintaining the car ourselves financially and also mentally for some like me who love to detail their own car (good exerciseas well). In case you scratched your car badly, these treatments will not protect you anyway and the cost of a repaint is a fraction of the amount you spend on these treatments.

I maintain my car myself with Meguire ultimate polish, Collinite 845 insulator wax, Sonax trim protectant and recently bought Formula 1 Mr. Leather cleaner and conditioner. The first 2 last really long and I still can use them for another 3 or 4 coats.

I have used PPF on door sills to protect from scratches from shoes. Tried using it on door edges and it turned out to be a failure. So usage is minimum and it really serves the purpose. Again, that was another DIY project and I can replace the film whenever I want to as I have enough left with me.

[allinbalance]

Originally Posted by audioholic

I believe this was 3M vinyl ppf and not their Urethane PPF which came much later. ..

Moving on I think 3M now only sells Urethane PPF(which they call self healing) which should not have such issues. Firstly Urethane is more resistant to hardening and is very flexible compared to vinyl which hardens over time and even cracks. Second the type of glue is different in the two materials...

I agree, what @motoholic31 reported was precisely what I feared about PPF application. I checked before I committed to PPF for my Audi (Silver) and BMW (Black). The complaint was the same usual one - bumper, fender and body scratches from flying stone chips or debris on the highways.

What I learnt from a classmate who works in 3M Bangalore is that the film material has vastly improved in the last 3-4 years and the new urethane material is much "stretchier" and does not turn brittle over time. The glue too is a very different type.