[BrakHorseBarhat]

Hello, fellow BHPians

Unfortunately, I was met with a minor accident today when an autorickshaw driver turned right from the leftmost lane while I was driving to my office.

Here's the footage from my dashcam for reference:-
http://www.kapwing.com/videos/67dbf820bcfe49506918a462

While it is common in Delhi that people turn in whatever direction they please irrespective of their relative position on the road, they usually do so while paying attention to their surroundings. Every once in a while, someone gets unlucky. That someone turned out to be me today despite honking and letting the auto know that my car was passing through.



Thankfully, my car's PPF took the majority of the Damage and there only seems to be a minor dent after applying scratch remover on the PPF.



Last time my car had received a deeper scrape from the wing mirror of a car that tried to overtake my car despite there not being enough space. But that too was absorbed by the PPF.



While it saddens me that my precious car has to go through these ordeals I am grateful that I had PPF applied to it because it turned both of these major scapes into minor dents that are barely noticeable.

In the past i was confused as to whether i should get PPF or just go with ceramic coating but in hindsight i couldn't be happier with my decision.

[Sebring]

Even I had two major scrapes, and both times I got the PPF replaced. (On inspection everyone told me the car needed repainting)

But I just got the 3M PPF peeled off using a heat gun, and to our shock and surprise the paint was intact. The film had taken the hit. Second application was DREXLER.

Now, the car will be going for its third PPF application.

[Schroeter]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Even I had two major scrapes, and both times I got the PPF replaced. (On inspection everyone told me the car needed repainting)

But I just got the 3M PPF peeled off using a heat gun, and to our shock and surprise the paint was intact. The film had taken the hit. Second application was DREXLER.

Now, the car will be going for its third PPF application.

I'm assuming it was just a partial replacement. What is the typical cost involved in removing the older PPF and applying a new one?

[Sebring]

Originally Posted by Schroeter

I'm assuming it was just a partial replacement. What is the typical cost involved in removing the older PPF and applying a new one?

I paid Rs 7000 for partial replacement

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by BrakHorseBarhat

In the past i was confused as to whether i should get PPF or just go with ceramic coating but in hindsight i couldn't be happier with my decision.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Even I had two major scrapes, and both times I got the PPF replaced. (On inspection everyone told me the car needed repainting)

Great to know both of you

I am currently in the same dilemma for something which I may purchase - graphene coating or PPF.

Not sure whether I will go ahead with the purchase at this point but after reading your posts which seem to be a God send, will lean towards PPF only.

Thank you guys!

Cheers

[BrakHorseBarhat]

Originally Posted by Cyborg

Great to know both of you

Not sure whether I will go ahead with the purchase at this point but after reading your posts which seem to be a God send, will lean towards PPF only.

Thank you guys!

Cheers

Happy to help, I know how confused I was so I just wanted to give clarity to others who may be in a similar dilemma.

While PPF is more expensive than Ceramic coating, it gives one peace of mind. Especially in a country like ours where people often drive without the slightest consideration for others on the road. I drive relatively slowly in order to avoid any mishaps, but we often suffer from not only our own mistakes but also those of others.

P.S. I realized that I didn't provide the "after photo" for the scrape caused by the wing mirror so I'll attach those photos here.

Before:-


After:-

[speed79]

Originally Posted by BrakHorseBarhat

P.S. I realized that I didn't provide the "after photo" for the scrape caused by the wing mirror so I'll attach those photos here.

I think I can see dent and the damaged paint. So how does having PPF really help?

Also, is the PPF replacement cost covered by the insurance?

[BrakHorseBarhat]

Originally Posted by speed79

I think I can see dent and the damaged paint. So how does having PPF really help?

Also, is the PPF replacement cost covered by the insurance?

PPF can obviously not make the car impervious to the force applied to it during a collision, however, what it does is that it protects the original paint of the car. It primarily protects from chips that are caused by rocks being flung by the tires of the vehicle in front of you. It has also protected my car from people who deliberately tried to scratch/key the paint because of jealousy.

But yeah, beyond a certain threshold, PPF can only do so much. In both the collisions in question, the force was enough to shake my car up and slightly change its direction. In such cases, you can be almost sure that there is going to be a dent but minor dents can be fixed. Whereas, repainting isn't usually as good as the original paint of the car. And the other functions of the ppf are similar to ceramic coating which include: Protecting the paint of the car from fading due to exposure to the sun, damage from things like bird dropping which are acidic, and making the car a bit more hydrophobic and easier to clean.

Also, while it may look like the paint has been damaged in the picture in reality the paint is in great condition. It's the ppf on top that's been damaged so much that it's gotten torn off at the point of impact, which is causing it to look like the pain is damaged.

As far as I know, PPF replacement is not covered by insurance.

Hope this answers your question.

[shrey14]

PPF is a very helpful thing for car enthusiasts like us, I have a White car so PPF is not suitable on it but it has a Ceramic coating done. However I would always recommend getting PPF done if someone cares a lot about their car, or the repainting of their particular car and colour costs more than the PPF replacement on any panel usually recommended on premium segment cars. However PPF is also suitable if you wanna save up that resale value and factory paint of the car

[shikh_oberoi]

Originally Posted by BrakHorseBarhat

Before:-
Attachment 2739249

After:-
Attachment 2739250

PPF is an utter waste. 5rs rubbing compound will do the same job.


My i10 had similar damage back in 2012. This was not just a side mirror but a metal thing protruding out of a tractor trolley.

Chipping stone damage? The only logical sense to have PPF is to maintain the paint gloss(especially high end cars where spending that much on ppf makes some sense)
Even that can be attained by having proper washing methods which you can do in 5k-7k per year.

[ST7677]

PPF application and repair is too expensive.
You can get denting and painting in less than 7k for the panel...

[mammoth]

I would tend to agree about PPF having limited use. In my case, just got a new Bear 650. I briefly considered getting PPF done for the motorcycle, (which is not the same as a car, I know). PPF cost quoted to me for the tank only was 7.5K. Cost of a new brand new tank was 8250 approx.

For my car, Maruti service painting charges are similar per panel as the cost of PPF per panel. You also can claim insurance for many dents and dings.

It did not make sense. In fact the 3M PPF shop owner had a super meteor parked, which had PPF applied. He also advised to avoid putting PPF, at least on motorcycles.

[ASP007]

Denting and panel repainting often cheaper than the PPF replacement. This can be true for up to certain segments. It makes sense to apply PPF for luxury cars where repainting would be costly affairs.

[TN_57]

In my opinion PPF is overrated, it’s is only to protect paint shine and avoid the swirl marks from the daily wash(which can be avoided by good car wash techniques/a good Teflon coat). For any kind of damage which involves denting repair. Removing the PPF ,denting ,painting and reapplying the PPF will be twice costly.

[am1m]

Maybe I am not interpreting the photos correctly, but I too don't see any advantage having PPF gave in this situation. Seems like one will also have to reapply the PPF in such a situation, so added expense.