first timer ppf / wrap questions

[Fletch]

i’d like to do a full color changing wrap, but a little confused by the options out there.

first, the problem - have a chalk taycan with black wheels and trim and it looks absolutely killer. HOWEVER, found a great deal on a barely used GLE63S for my wife, but it’s alpine gray with black trim and wheels - basically the same color combo. she’s not a fan…

so the wrap would be for the GLE. not sure it matters, but throwing it out there
She wants a cool satin or matte black. i’m all for it

i’m unsure on a few basics:

1. has anyone done such a drastic color change? can they get in door jambs and such so you don’t ever see the original color (except maybe under the hood or someplace you don’t often look)?
2. vinyl wraps seem cheaper than XPEL type PPF, which is great. But is it worth getting a color PPF instead of vinyl? seems hard to find so i imagine pricey. curious if color changing PPF is really a thing.
3. do vinyl matte/satin wraps require a lot of manual maintenance? like constantly coating it or something for UV protection? I’m in Austin so it’s HOT here. but car is garaged.
4. what’s the real deal with car washes? i get the warnings from the manufactures and such, but is it really bad? i do not have a great hand wash driveway situation and am frankly pretty lazy lol. i would def prefer to run this through a car wash

would love any recommendations in austin, tx area as well.

thanks!

Sponsored

 

[violuma]

has anyone done such a drastic color change? [...] is it worth getting a color PPF instead of vinyl?

If you google "OCDetailing aurora aqua prius", you will find a video showing before, during and after of the process of turning my spouse's car from silver to color-shifting green-to-blue mermaid. The film they used is 9mm, which is even a bit thicker than the 8mm clear STEK DynoSHIELD that's on my Taycan. The manufacturer defect warranty is 10 years, and the installer said that thinner vinyl wraps often tend to break down within a year or two.

Obviously, don't take my word for things, but my take is that if you want to treat it like a permanent color change, get colored PPF. If it's like changing your fingernail polish, a fashion statement that you'll get tired of and want to change frequently, stick with vinyl.

Either way, the most important decision you will make is the installer. Pick somebody that has worked on a lot of Taycans, and ask them everything you are curious about. If they can't give you definitive answers off the top of their head, keep looking until you find somebody who can. Let them choose the products that they are comfortable working with and standing behind.

can they get in door jambs and such so you don’t ever see the original color (except maybe under the hood or someplace you don’t often look)?

The exterior door handles were more challenging on the Prius than they were on the Taycan. Maybe the calculus is different for thinner vinyl, but PPF is thick enough that I think you would be best served to think of it as "everything visible from the outside when parked", with one potential exception. So no on the inside of door jambs - those will be the original color.

The exception is the little V-shaped valley on either side of the trunk, which you should definitely ask your installer how they plan to handle. Mine said that after doing a ton of Taycans, they eventually decided that the safest thing to do was to make a V incision in the film, so there is a small uncovered crevice in the center of that valley. They tried covering it entirely, but the geometry of that valley makes it so that the film gets unnaturally stretched in that particular spot. It's obviously invisible on mine because the film is clear, but you can feel how thick the film is if you touch there. I think that would be the trickiest part of a Taycan to color-change.

like constantly coating it or something for UV protection? I’m in Austin so it’s HOT here. but car is garaged.

Both of us have ceramic coating on top of the PPF (CQuartz on the Taycan, DQuartz on the Prius) that protects against UV among other things.

what’s the real deal with car washes?

The same OCDetailing YT channel with the Prius video has videos explaining how to handwash, and I simply followed Joe's directions as best as I could. If you are going through automated car washes, he recommends only touchless ones.

i do not have a great hand wash driveway situation and am frankly pretty lazy lol. i would def prefer to run this through a car wash

Our driveway is fairly steep, so I usually wash the cars inside the garage. The videos go into much more detail, but there isn't a ton of water involved. You fill up a bucket partway, throw in a couple of capfuls of detergent, fill up a pump sprayer, put another capful in there, and then just spray some water on, "pet" the car lightly with a wet mitt, and dry with a towel.

Before I got the Taycan, I could probably count the number of times that I had handwashed a car in my life without needing feet or maybe even two hands, so it's not like I'm some car-washing fanatic. But it's honestly pretty soothing and rewarding. Takes maybe 20 minutes (perhaps modulo wheels), and the dirt comes off like magic, leaving it looking showroom glossy (the full version of my avatar photo is in the "scenery" thread, is unretouched and taken after a 100 mile drive through dust) and even slick to the touch.

The chemistry of the ceramic is borderline magical to me.

PS. I just realized you're not asking about the Taycan, and I don't know anything about the shape of the car you are asking about. I think I'll just leave this comment as-is in case somebody who wants to color-shift a Taycan comes across it and finds it of any use.

 

[jcroix]

I can’t help you with colors, but I might be able to provide some input for you as I, too, live in Austin. We have 3 cars (2022 Taycan 4S, Tesla Model Y, and MB 450 GLE hybrid) that all have PPF on them. All of the PPF installs were done at Sunbusters Window Tinting on Research Blvd. Sunbusters also did all of our window tinting at the same time. I can’t recommend PPF or the good folks at Sunbusters highly enough.

I had somebody side swipe my Taycan, and my wife had a piece of plastic thrown up on the Model Y when she was on I35 heading to Dallas. In both cases, paint transferred to the PPF but not the car. In both cases the paint actually washed off of the PPF, but there were some tears in it as a result of the impacts. We had to replace the PPF pieces that were hit, and the Model Y needed paintless dent repair, but all cars still look brand new. I posted some pictures of my Taycan after being hit on some thread in the forum, if you’re interested.

Our cars are in the garage while at home, but they’re outside when we’re at work (the Taycan in a covered garage), so they’re exposed to the high temps and direct sun. No issues at all.

In terms of washing, we use hand washing places. Check out The Wash Shop at 12600 Research. Not all of The Wash Shop locations are hand wash, but that one is. There’s also Clear Car Wash & Detail on Anderson Mill Rd (I obviously live in NW Austin). I’m sure there are hand wash places in South Austin if you live south of Lady Bird Lake.

Hope this helps!

Sponsored