If you PPF your FL5, Did you Opt for the Roof?

[madbikes]

I heard one occasion that someone in the forum got paint chips on the rear spoiler. At first I thought it is not that easy to get one there, but eventually I got a nick on the clear coat.

I went on a road trip last weekend and heard something landed on the roof while on a freeway so hard that I can clearly hear it. Did not even notice I got chips until I got home.

That got me curious how many of you have considered getting PPF done on the roof from the start.

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[Kevv_Her]

I got a small section of the roof done in Xpel ppf....like a bra

 

[Clark_Kent]

You may want to modify your poll to distinguish between full roof and the A-pillar kit and roof kit that comes with ~6" of the leading edge of the roof. Someone voting no can mean there is no ppf on the car at all which will skew the data. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe you want to know, "If you have ppf on your car, did you ppf the roof?"

A. Yes, Full roof
B. Yes, A-Pillar and Roof Kit
C. No

 

[madbikes]

Good call. It appears that I can add, but not edit existing options. So I did the best I can

 

[mbaapk]

Full car custom cut. The roof might not need it if you do a really good ceramic - i did both though. Full front is definitely worth it as Ive had my FL1 for a year and there is at least 6-7 chips on the hood. That will be a respray at some point.

 

[UJX]

I opted for the front, fenders, side skirts, front door, mirrors, and rear bumper. Passenger side doors shouldn't really need it if you have the fender vent mesh/guards and the roof is very rarely ever hit with anything.

Kind of up to you. You can always go back and get it done at a later time but I have 5,000 miles on mine and the roof appears to be perfect.

 

[TypeRD]

I got full front ppf including mirrors, door cups, and what my detailer refers to as the “track pack” where the ppf basically covers the entire lower part of the car all the way around. Ceramic on everything, including windows. All top of the line Xpel products w/ 10 yr warranty.

 

[albi]

Yes, did the entire car in Xpel PPF and ceramic coat, and could not be happier. Had two large rocks hit the front bumper, large plastic piece hit the hood on the highway that a car in front of me kicked up, a mower throw a large rock on the driver rear door, and several things falling from trees onto the roof that hit pretty hard. PPF has done wonders in mitigating all of them and saved the paint.

 

[Clark_Kent]

I had the following areas covered with XPEL Ultimate: Front bumper, full hood, front fenders, headlights, a-pillar kit w/ roof kit (~6" of the leading edge of the roof), side mirrors, rocker panels includes side skirts and rear impact area on rear bumper, b-pillars, door cups, and a custom piece of film on each side near the rear wheel.

I also had Exoshield done on the windshield. Ceramic coating on the entire car including the windshield.

Full car custom cut. The roof might not need it if you do a really good ceramic - i did both though. Full front is definitely worth it as Ive had my FL1 for a year and there is at least 6-7 chips on the hood. That will be a respray at some point.

A note re the ceramic coating comment. A ceramic coating will not prevent rock chips.

I opted for the front, fenders, side skirts, front door, mirrors, and rear bumper. Passenger side doors shouldn't really need it if you have the fender vent mesh/guards and the roof is very rarely ever hit with anything.

Kind of up to you. You can always go back and get it done at a later time but I have 5,000 miles on mine and the roof appears to be perfect.

FYI - Agree; however, you cannot go back and add ppf if the car is ceramic coated. The film will not adhere to the coating.

 

[Phil Devtec]

I did full with ceramic coat. XPEL.

 

[Bazgab]

FYI - Agree; however, you cannot go back and add ppf if the car is ceramic coated. The film will not adhere to the coating.

The answer is somewhere in the middle. Can you put PPF on top of a ceramic coat? The answer is definitely "NO".

You would have to mechanically remove the ceramic coat via polishing to apply PPF to an area with a previously applied ceramic coating. Obviously if this step is done poorly then you will have adhesion problems with the PPF still.

Regarding the topic. No roof PPF for me. I maybe get one rock chip around the roof and/or a-pillars on cars that I keep for 5-6 years on average.

My FL5 has STEK PPF on full front end, headlights, mirrors, rocker panels/side skirts, and on a section of the rear bumper under the hatch opening.

I have applied Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light to all body panels, wheels, and brake calipers. This was the topped with a layer of Gtechniq EXOv5. All glass coated with Wolf's Nano Glass.

 

[jdOTFL5]

full car STEK ppf with ceramic coating here.

 

[drift117]

I got my fl5 entirely PPf'd. Yes i opted for the roof, because on my last car the first chip i got was on the sunroof near the front.

 

[fanofRs]

I had the following areas covered with XPEL Ultimate: Front bumper, full hood, front fenders, headlights, a-pillar kit w/ roof kit (~6" of the leading edge of the roof), side mirrors, rocker panels includes side skirts and rear impact area on rear bumper, b-pillars, door cups, and a custom piece of film on each side near the rear wheel.

I also had Exoshield done on the windshield. Ceramic coating on the entire car including the windshield.


A note re the ceramic coating comment. A ceramic coating will not prevent rock chips.


FYI - Agree; however, you cannot go back and add ppf if the car is ceramic coated. The film will not adhere to the coating.

Hi. How do you like the Exoshield on the windshield? Considering it. I know the older windshield film had a problem with clarity. Was wondering about the new products like this and Clearplex. Thanks.

 

[Clark_Kent]

Hi. How do you like the Exoshield on the windshield? Considering it. I know the older windshield film had a problem with clarity. Was wondering about the new products like this and Clearplex. Thanks.

BLUF: I recommend Exoshield and would purchase again for the right car. I would give it a 9.5/10. While the optical clarity is very good there is minor distortion.

I researched the films extensively prior to purchase. I saw them in person and spoke to various owners and installers to get comfortable with it. You're correct, the early films had issues. The product has evolved and gotten better with time. It's much like ppf 15-20 years ago. The early 3M stuff was terrible relative to what's on the market today. It was highly susceptible to peeling, cracking, and yellowing in just a couple years. The optical clarity was also mediocre at best.

I like Exoshield a lot and would purchase again depending on the car. For context, I have it on the GT4 (8 months) and on the CTR (4 months). No issues with the film whatsoever and it is holding up well. No issues in the rain or with nighttime visibility. The film is ceramic coated with Gtechniq CSL w/ EXOv4, C2V3 just like the painted surfaces. I top off the windshield after every wash with the quick detailer and hit the wiper blades as well. The cars haven’t seen rain but the wipers aren’t necessary as the water will just run off. The optical clarity is very good. This is coming from someone who is extremely sensitive to windshield clarity and one of the reasons I will never tint my windshield again unless the films mature. It’s one thing to tint a side window or the back window; however, entirely something different tinting the windshield, which you look out of 99% of the time while driving. I always hear people say when referring to windshield, “It’s like the tint isn’t there.” That’s not true. You can definitely tell it’s there.

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