[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by emix84

Afaik you can't even put ppf on top of ceramic coating, it won't stick and it's pointless. You do the PPF and then apply ceramic coating on top of it.


And to answer the OP. Yes I'm doing a full PPF, imo paint quality in recent years has been steadily decreasing across all brands, it's becoming ever more brittle, possibly due to eco regulations on what compounds can be used in its preparation. Stone chips drive me nuts.

Bmw just put millions into a new paint program

[rogurat]

Originally Posted by pcai

Stealth ppf can change the appearance of frozen paints by a significant amount:
https://g80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1816445 (scroll down there's a comparison photo)
There's no way I would want to put stealth ppf over that frozen blue if it changes the paint like that. I think frozen paints just became much less appealing for me...

I put this in that other thread.

"What would happen if you used regular XPEL (non stealth) over Frozen colors?" - Would that be invisible similar to gloss?

[pcai]

Originally Posted by rogurat

I put this in that other thread.

"What would happen if you used regular XPEL (non stealth) over Frozen colors?" - Would that be invisible similar to gloss?

I think it makes the paint glossy again, hence why you have to put stealth ppf over matte paints.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by LBbluem2

Bmw just put millions into a new paint program

And what's supposed to be different about it?

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by snareman

And what's supposed to be different about it?

The number of swirl marks that come standard is reduced by approximately 1.75%, but the paint is softer so it's easier to add the remaining ones in yourself

[TrentMeister]

Originally Posted by snareman

And what's supposed to be different about it?

Well I can't tell you exactly but every detailer who's worked on the new paint and has video says it's miles better than bmws of old.

One example is obsessed garage video

[tsixtial]

So here’s a Frozen Blue M4 with Xpel Stealth

[tsixtial]

So only the front end has been completed on the car.

I just purchased a frozen blue M3 and plan on PPF the entire car as well as PPF my carbon seats (I have 2 young daughters, don’t want them to kick the carbon loll)

[NYCMT]

Originally Posted by tsixtial

So here’s a Frozen Blue M4 with Xpel Stealth

Something about the frozen colors just seems to work well with this generation, grill and various assorted funky bits included. I don't know what it is...

[LuckyBrand]

I'm on the fence with PPF. I just got a quote for $1600 to do the rockers, rear fender behind wheel, mirrors, partial hood and fenders and front bumper. I have never done anything like this before and always try take the best care of my car I can. I know this is the new thing to do is PPF and ceramic but man the money gets ridiculous in my opinion and there are draw backs from what I've read in some threads. I've had some cars 6 to 8 years and the chipping and road rash aren't that bad and I've had cars 3 years and plenty of chips. Just trying to weigh the best way to spend my money on this car without over doing it. I would much rather spend it on exhaust and other mods but I feel like all the gloss black on this car is gonna get beat to crap after a couple of years. I just don't know which direction to go?

Any advice?

[soonerkozy]

Originally Posted by tsixtial

So here’s a Frozen Blue M4 with Xpel Stealth

So basically you put a matte wrap on a matte paint job? I didn't think a matte paint job could be transformed into shiny again with a non-stealth ppf wrap.

[Neophyte]

Is that or ceramic coating really that necessary? Costs a significant amount of $$. Debating doing any of those but the $$ is turning me away from it.

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by LuckyBrand

I'm on the fence with PPF. I just got a quote for $1600 to do the rockers, rear fender behind wheel, mirrors, partial hood and fenders and front bumper. I have never done anything like this before and always try take the best care of my car I can. I know this is the new thing to do is PPF and ceramic but man the money gets ridiculous in my opinion and there are draw backs from what I've read in some threads. I've had some cars 6 to 8 years and the chipping and road rash aren't that bad and I've had cars 3 years and plenty of chips. Just trying to weigh the best way to spend my money on this car without over doing it. I would much rather spend it on exhaust and other mods but I feel like all the gloss black on this car is gonna get beat to crap after a couple of years. I just don't know which direction to go?

Any advice?

I did full PPF on the front, plus the side skirts, and ceramic all over. I have BGM, which seems pretty low maintenance so far (in terms of showing dirt), and like you haven't really been too concerned about chips in the past, but I'm still glad I did it. At a minimum I would do the side skirts + mirror caps. I think without PPF on them the shiny black will look terrible in no time

Edit: I personally wouldn't do partial hood, I think that line in the middle of the hood looks bad and just collects dirt. I would do full hood or nothing.

[calibro9]

I just do full hood, mirrors, and rocker panels. Thats all you need really for highway rock chips. I was quoted $1800

[jonahk]

Originally Posted by LuckyBrand

I'm on the fence with PPF. I just got a quote for $1600 to do the rockers, rear fender behind wheel, mirrors, partial hood and fenders and front bumper. I have never done anything like this before and always try take the best care of my car I can. I know this is the new thing to do is PPF and ceramic but man the money gets ridiculous in my opinion and there are draw backs from what I've read in some threads. I've had some cars 6 to 8 years and the chipping and road rash aren't that bad and I've had cars 3 years and plenty of chips. Just trying to weigh the best way to spend my money on this car without over doing it. I would much rather spend it on exhaust and other mods but I feel like all the gloss black on this car is gonna get beat to crap after a couple of years. I just don't know which direction to go?

Any advice?

Value is incredibly subjective, and the value you assign to PPF/coatings totally depends on how much you obsess over the little details of your car's paint.

My first BMW was BSM 135i, and I thought I would love having a black car but I hated it. Every scratch and swirl mark was evident (to me) from 10' away and it was my first "nice" car that I wanted to take good care of and could never keep up.

Next car was an AW M235, and I had that just Ceramic Coated. Ceramic is great for making the car easy to clean and keeps the gloss but does nothing to protect against rock chips and after 3 years my hood and front bumper were pretty well pitted (I drive in the winter).

Then I got my dream car, a 2018 AW M2 decided to do full front end PPF; bumper, hood, front fenders, mirrors + Ceramic Pro. This was a great combo and set me back around $2500. Car had 15K+ rally miles at high speeds in close proximity to other cars and got absolutely beat. (Three windshields). The PPF was pretty beat up but the paint underneath was totally fine. The problem for me was the ramp I parked in gave me a lot of door dings, something PPF would have fixed. Did it affect my trade in value? No. Did I get value out of the price for a car that always looked good and always got compliments on how clean it was even the dead of a Minnesota winter? Absolutely.

Now with my G80, and an infant (so I can't park in the back of the lot all the time like i did with my M2), I'm going full PPF on the entire car. The other difference is the quality of films has gone way up in the last few years to where they are almost self healing and some, like STEK, come with a ceramic coat baked into the film. My buddy had his track Vette done with a full wrap with STEK last year and it looks immaculate. He doesn't even have to two-bucket wash the car either just a pressure wash, foam cannon, and a wipe down with a mitt. He does a lot of waterless washes after track days too so its much easier to take care of than even Ceramic Pro. I'm looking at around $5K to get the G80 done in full PPF and even if I only keep the car for three years its worth it to me.

Would I get more value out of the $5K if I spent it on a front splitter and carbon fiber side intakes? Or an exhaust system or a tune? Maybe. But for me at this point in time its worth it to protect the car the moment it rolls off the lot and I can decide on those upgrades later.

Good luck in your decision 👍

[tsixtial]

Originally Posted by soonerkozy

So basically you put a matte wrap on a matte paint job? I didn't think a matte paint job could be transformed into shiny again with a non-stealth ppf wrap.

That isn’t my car but a local shop that does PPF sent it to me because I was concerned how it would come out.


I do have a frozen m3 that I will be wrapping the entire car with Xpel stealth PPF. It’s unfortunate that I need to matte wrap a matte car but I want to protect the paint.

[BMdoubleUTIFUL]

I just talked with my detailer and he even advised that the ceramic will harden over the gloss black and serve as a swirl protectant if that's what some are worried about. Rock chips are another story and could penetrate the ppf as well. Therefore I'm just doing the ceramic

[barryc365]

I've been on the fence about this.

It's pretty expensive and I do very low miles and finding the PPF hard to justify.

I'm tempted to just enjoy the car and not worry about the occasional rock chip. The car is not going to be winning any car shows after all. It's really a family car for me to enjoy.

My daughter puked up in it last week for gods sake luckily it was all contained to her car seat but I'm thinking this might not be the car for me to get super anal about.

I'll keep it waxed and clean and just enjoy it with out freaking out about every little mark. I hope!

[Pantagathus]

Originally Posted by barryc365

I've been on the fence about this.

It's pretty expensive and I do very low miles and finding the PPF hard to justify.

I'm tempted to just enjoy the car and not worry about the occasional rock chip. The car is not going to be winning any car shows after all. It's really a family car for me to enjoy.

My daughter puked up in it last week for gods sake luckily it was all contained to her car seat but I'm thinking this might not be the car for me to get super anal about.

I'll keep it waxed and clean and just enjoy it with out freaking out about every little mark. I hope!

I had a friend who's kid did an epic spew in their car, and they weren't on solids so it was all fermented milk (formula at that), and they could never get the smell out and decided to sell the car instead. The thought of that happening in my M3 is traumatizing

[jonahk]

Originally Posted by Pantagathus

I had a friend who's kid did an epic spew in their car, and they weren't on solids so it was all fermented milk (formula at that), and they could never get the smell out and decided to sell the car instead. The thought of that happening in my M3 is traumatizing

Everyone says this is going to happen to me. Breast milk all over Fiona red. If it happens I'm sure my wife will blame it on my driving

[barryc365]

Originally Posted by jonahk

Everyone says this is going to happen to me. Breast milk all over Fiona red. If it happens I'm sure my wife will blame it on my driving

Haha, this actually was my fault. I definitely was driving little too enthusiastically so I got my just rewards!

[NYCMT]

We've had one vomit so far (fortunately pretty contained), and a few near misses.
This suspension + our terrible roads + my rusty clutch work = a toddler's worst nightmare....
It's our first car since having kids, and the last few years have been one long trail of vomit in rental cars across the country. I thought the kids might be old enough now, but given the above, maybe not...

Back to the topic at hand... the data above (limited and biased... but remaining relatively consistent as responses increase), indicate that most responders on the G8X sub-forum are putting on some amount of PPF, though usually not doing the whole thing. Conjecture: I suspect a sizable proportion of people skipping PPF altogether are leasing, and presumably not intending to purchase it after.

Our G80 is BSM, and I opted for the full wrap because of where I park the car. Otherwise, I probably would have just done the full front plus rear bumper plus the gloss black.

***Big thanks to the forum members for their advice in helping me think through the paint protection options.***