PPF bra on my '26 Badlands

[FoCoBronc]

I had a '22 OBX for 4 years and would say 95%+ of all front paint scratches, nicks were in the first 1-2" of the hood leading edge. The guy that does my tinting also does PPF and ExoShield. He has never done this but agreed to put an ~2.5" bra on the hood. Hope my track record of only leading edge continues. It is noticeable when close and looking for it. Otherwise, fairly inconspicuous.

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[23OBX2.7]

Interesting....I did the black body armor and only have one tiny chip to primer on top of hood at 10K miles...

 

[box986]

back in the day that was how PPF was done on hoods, there was no such thing as a full hood piece

 

[DrewBronc21]

back in the day that was how PPF was done on hoods, there was no such thing as a full hood piece

Or people wrapping their entire cars for like 10% of the entire value of the car.

 

[box986]

Or people wrapping their entire cars for like 10% of the entire value of the car.

The PPF done in 03 on a EXT I still have looks horrible now and will prob ruin the paint to get it off.

 

[GoHawks63]

Looks good.

The only issue I have seen with a partial PPF where the seams are visible is that seam can collect dirt over time and become more visible.

Or people wrapping their entire cars for like 10% of the entire value of the car.

To each their own, I guess.

I had my entire Bronco PPF'd (except for the top obviously) a year ago with STEK Dynoshield.

Now I was fortunate that the company I work for in my "retirement job" has a shop that does PPF and window tinting, so I paid for the materials and wasn't charged for the labor which is the most expensive part. The film they used on my Bronco is infused with ceramic and in addition to protecting against chips and scratches, also does a pretty good job of repelling dirt. I can use the foam brushes at those self-serve car washes without any worry about micro-scratches on the paint. I hit a few trails last year where I had branches contacting the paint, and with that, along with a year of driving and washes, I don't have a chip or scratch on the paint.

In hindsight, even if I would've had to pay for labor and materials, I would've had it done again.

 

[GoHawks63]

The PPF done in 03 on a EXT I still have looks horrible now and will prob ruin the paint to get it off.

Not sure when you had your film applied. With mine, it has a 10-year warranty, and it's supposed to be removed around that time. I know older films didn't last as long.

I also do apply a coat of ceramic spray on occasion to ensure that the film doesn't dry out.

 

[23OBX2.7]

The PPF done in 03 on a EXT I still have looks horrible now and will prob ruin the paint to get it off.

Massive improvements to ppf film since then and obviously parking in doors or using car cover helps a lot. If you know the ppf brand and have a receipt send a pic to tech support and ask how to remove.

I expect ample hot water, a steamer or heat gun, plus adhesive remover and a few hours will get it off.

These ppf warranties are a joke anyway try and make a claim - they will state abuse, road debris, did not use approved chemicals, used caustic car wash soap bla bla bla to avoid.

Need the HDD 12-15 mil ppf anyway if getting a lot of gravel and rock impacts that will easily penetrate standard thickness ppf and guess what, no warranty for that.


That's why I went with hard body armor with minimal ppf after having black mustang 100% ppf that did keep it looking fresh and prevented some keying damage despite the penetration.

 

[Desmolicious]

Not sure when you had your film applied. With mine, it has a 10-year warranty, and it's supposed to be removed around that time. I know older films didn't last as long.

I also do apply a coat of ceramic spray on occasion to ensure that the film doesn't dry out.

Forget the ceramic spray - you should really put another layer of ppf on to protect the ppf underneath it.

 

[box986]

Massive improvements to ppf film since then and obviously parking in doors or using car cover helps a lot.

Yeah, I am hoping latest film does not do this & also ceramic on top should help a lot. The EXT was garaged most of it's life but this film is now 22yrs old, although the cracking probably started 10yrs ago. I have full PPF on my Bronco & GX with ceramic and both are garaged, so time will tell since I keep my rides forever. I did try to take the 3M film off my headlight lenses on the EXT by steaming, it was a nightmare and ended up just replacing the lenses. Might try pressure washing the film off the paint but doubt it will work well.

 

[Desmolicious]

The PPF done in 03 on a EXT I still have looks horrible now and will prob ruin the paint to get it off.

let me guess, it had a 10year warranty?



removing old ppf is a huge ordeal and it is really easy to damage the paint. The ppf removal videos I’ve seen pretty much demonstrate it with freshly applied ppf.

I installed a partial hood ppf myself after watching a youtube video - I figured how hard could it be? - and it took me less than an hour by myself, first time doing it. It is fiddly and you have to trust that you need to stretch it in place by repeatedly wetting it and using the squeegee.
But it went fine and saved me $500 which made me realize that these places in essence are charging $500-$750 an hour for labor!
What I did notice is that the adhesive is very strong and even with fresh pieces was very hard to remove if needed. So good luck once it is years old and needs taking off!

In the early stages of trying to stretch/apply it:

End result:

I’m thinking I should have just got one of those hood deflectors for $80!

 

[heavyD]

That's how it was done back in the day but most people now get the entire hood done to eliminate the cut line and color variance as the film ages.

 

[userdude]

The PPF done in 03 on a EXT I still have looks horrible now and will prob ruin the paint to get it off.

Boy, that's character. Throw some rust in there and a busted duct-taped mirror and someone might thing you use that there truck! Ha! Ha.

 

[23OBX2.7]

Yeah, I am hoping latest film does not do this & also ceramic on top should help a lot. The EXT was garaged most of it's life but this film is now 22yrs old, although the cracking probably started 10yrs ago. I have full PPF on my Bronco & GX with ceramic and both are garaged, so time will tell since I keep my rides forever. I did try to take the 3M film off my headlight lenses on the EXT by steaming, it was a nightmare and ended up just replacing the lenses. Might try pressure washing the film off the paint but doubt it will work well.

PPF shops ise commercial steamers or boiling water I have used boiling water and works great but that cracked ppf will be a pits although maybe its dried out enough will come off easily...

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