Paint protection film

[purple haze]

I'm after advice /recommendations for my 2008 Boxster. I'm thinking of doing the complete front i.e front bumper wings and bonnet and also wing mirrors. Which companies/[products have you used and what is your experience?

[Cheib]

I’d look at Max Protect in Kings Langley do very good work without charging mental money. Do a lot of work on Porsche’s as they are near JZM who use them a lot. I’ve used them for both 911 and rear bumper on our Cayenne/Macan. I’d actually say the latter is one of the best uses of PPF’s,….wife and dog proofs the rear bumper

[zainster]

So had my 718 CGTS very recently PPF'd. I asked for quotes from the companies below for full front bumper including the piano black inserts, front splitter, front wings and side sills/ rocker panels. (Prices incl. VAT).

Auto Curators Ltd £1345
Topaz £1500
XPEL UK £900 (after discont)
Auto Protek £1400
Max Protect £2412

I went with XPEL UK, I'm also a PCGB member, to which they offer a 15% discount. I also got a free loan car from them too.
Excellent service and results, highly recommended. No idea how Max Protect can justify that quote?!

Edited by zainster on Tuesday 1st February 13:54

Edited by zainster on Tuesday 1st February 18:14

[Armitage.Shanks]

purple haze said:

I'm after advice /recommendations for my 2008 Boxster. I'm thinking of doing the complete front i.e front bumper wings and bonnet and also wing mirrors. Which companies/[products have you used and what is your experience?

I take it being a 2008 car it has been repainted and is perfect? That said I'd question spending so much on PPF given the paint is unlikely to be original and any stone chip removal front end respray will be well under the PPF costs.

I'm not a fan of PPF as most who have it done get rid of their cars after a few years and pass any long term potential problems on to the next owner.

[Twinfan]

^ what he said.

It's a waste of money unless you know the car is going to get absolutely hammered with stones on a very, very regular basis i.e. it lives on a track.

[981SPYGANG]

I bought a car that had been ppf’d.
It’s a 2016 and apart from one stone blemish in the film on front spoiler there is not a mark on it.
If a bit ocd like myself it’s great for not getting swirl marks but then someone who knows what they are doing can ‘mop’ those out.
Bit like Ceramics, nice to have but not sure I’d bother if buying new.

[Melvynr]

Twinfan said:

^ what he said.

It's a waste of money unless you know the car is going to get absolutely hammered with stones on a very, very regular basis i.e. it lives on a track.

Serious question not being a track user.

Is it the gravel from the gravel traps that get spilt onto the track or the rubber marbles that come off the slick and semi tyres that do the damage?

[Crazy4557]

My car's been ppf'd on the frontal impact area's and in 12k miles/2 years it's suffered several attacks from errant flying stones. Without the film I'd be looking at repainting a lot of the front of the car to keep it looking mint so absolutely worth it.
Lots seem to think it's a waste but who wants stone chips on your pride and joy?
OP definitely do it I say.

[zainster]

Crazy4557 said:

My car's been ppf'd on the frontal impact area's and in 12k miles/2 years it's suffered several attacks from errant flying stones. Without the film I'd be looking at repainting a lot of the front of the car to keep it looking mint so absolutely worth it.
Lots seem to think it's a waste but who wants stone chips on your pride and joy?
OP definitely do it I say.

+1

I took the car on a road trip to Wales and the amount of roads with loose gravel was quite eye opening. Defo worth it in my experience.

Edited by zainster on Tuesday 1st February 20:35

spelling

Edited by zainster on Tuesday 1st February 20:36

[LiamH66]

Crazy4557 said:

My car's been ppf'd on the frontal impact area's and in 12k miles/2 years it's suffered several attacks from errant flying stones. Without the film I'd be looking at repainting a lot of the front of the car to keep it looking mint so absolutely worth it.
Lots seem to think it's a waste but who wants stone chips on your pride and joy?
OP definitely do it I say.

+1 My last new 718 Cayman wasn't PPF'd. Got the front bumper repainted at about 14k miles because it was much too peppered with stone chips for touching in. Sold at 17k miles, and fortunately entire car was still mint, as I had been doing fewer long motorway journeys. Whatever the overpriced coating the OPC used (Pure Guard maybe?) was amazing, but obviously wasn't going to prevent stone chips. Car still pretty much like new at 18 months old, perfect water beading. It was only ever washed with plain water (2 buckets mind you) and was never once polished. Just never needed it despite an incredibly hard winter on salty roads.

Collected latest 718 Cayman from PPF film installer/detailer rather than Porsche Centre. Got them to do all the pre-delivery prep of bodywork. Only got the front bumper film covered as it's the only part that I know gets bad, ceramic/"glass" coat on the rest. I'm expecting not to need to get this one painted anything like as early, if at all. We'll see.

The car that does see some track time (981 GT4) will get PPF on all the areas that suffer stone chips, etc. at some point, but only after all those bits have been painted, and only once I am sure PPF actually works. Couple of months into winter use of the 718, and I'm relatively confident that it does.

Liam

[Twinfan]

Melvynr said:

Serious question not being a track user.

Is it the gravel from the gravel traps that get spilt onto the track or the rubber marbles that come off the slick and semi tyres that do the damage?

Bit of both I suspect, along with small stones from grassed areas as they get worn away.

[Twinfan]

Crazy4557 said:

Lots seem to think it's a waste but who wants stone chips on your pride and joy?

I don't want them, but I don't care enough about them to cover my car in overpriced cling film

For me, cars are there to be used and enjoyed and over time parts will rust, require replacing, require painting etc etc. Personally I don't mind a bit of patina, I've never cared about keeping a car factory fresh as it's an expensive, time consuming and never ending task in my opinion.

Everyone's different though, and I appear to be more different than most when it comes to Porsche ownership

[Freakuk]

purple haze said:

I'm after advice /recommendations for my 2008 Boxster. I'm thinking of doing the complete front i.e front bumper wings and bonnet and also wing mirrors. Which companies/[products have you used and what is your experience?

Had my car done, the extended package (front bumper, wings, mirrors, A pillar/top of windscreen, sills, rear arches and boot lip) by Autoshine and Tinting in Telford.

Great customer service and very active on social media, they have a great YouTube channel you could check out.

[purple haze]

Many thanks for all the info guys - now I have to wade through it and make some decisions . Bought my Boxster 8 years ago when it was 6 years old with 10k on the clock - it's up to 30k now. Not a lot I know but it's used mainly in the summer (and sparsely in winter) purely for pleasure. So apart from one small stone chip on the bonnet the front is currently unscathed. I've a service coming up soon so will talk to my local specialist (Steve Bull in Devizes) when the car's in about next steps.

[J Chitty]

Another thing to think about is paint matching when having the bumpers done. GT silver can be quite difficult to blend in without seeing the panel has been painted. Paragon had to repaint my rear bumper after draggging it along the workshop floor and even though the paint was flawless, it always looked slightly different in some light conditions.
Had that cayman s 13 years and when I got the gt4 I specced the same colour as I still love it.

[anonymous-user]

J Chitty said:

Another thing to think about is paint matching when having the bumpers done. GT silver can be quite difficult to blend in without seeing the panel has been painted. Paragon had to repaint my rear bumper after draggging it along the workshop floor and even though the paint was flawless, it always looked slightly different in some light conditions.
Had that cayman s 13 years and when I got the gt4 I specced the same colour as I still love it.

Well obviously the paint job wasn't Flawless if it looked different in varying light conditions

[J Chitty]

Metallic flake orientation I guess….
In isolation the bumper was flawless…

[SpyderMatt]

Twinfan said:

Bit of both I suspect, along with small stones from grassed areas as they get worn away.

@Twinfan did you get ceramic coating on the GT4 or just leave as is ex dealer?