Mister_Tad Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 I'm thinking I should get some PPF done, just not sure how far to go? Front bumper is a given - not sure it's worth going any further than that though. The front clam doesn't seem to me like it would pick up much, and the rear arches already have that token spot on it that seems like it was strategically placed. I'll also be going to a ceramic coating all over, which won't stop the stones, but will at least let the muck come off a lot more easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulLF1 Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 All of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 Instead of a ceramic coating plus selective bits of PPF? I was inclined to think that would be expensive and largely unnecessary, though won't say that it didn't appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulLF1 Posted May 16, 2018 Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 (edited) I think The Pits got most of his Evora protected with ppf. I am sure he will be along to advise. I got most of my LF1 covered and it helps greatly as black is not the best colour to keep clean. Edited May 16, 2018 by PaulLF1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 16, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2018 (edited) That's a good point, perhaps worth covering the black roof on mine as well. I was referred to these guys - http://pwpro.co.uk/ Visited today to get an estimate for some work on my BMW, and started talking about coating/film for the Evora and getting some estimates. Expensive, but reassuringly so. The fact they're a 20 min drive from home is a nice bonus though and I was further reassured by the chat and having a look around at their work in progress. Edited May 16, 2018 by Mister_Tad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoflOnMyWaffle Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Most cars are circa £4k for a full PPF job. and quite frankly, it's not needed unless you own a £200k+ car! I had my front end done for the Nismo, bumpers wings and bonnet. I have at current count 4 nicks in it, from stones and other road debris. Paint underneath is fine so that's good! The one downside is you will lose some shine of the paint, unless you pay even more to have it all detailed before and go balls deep with it all afterwards too - I didn't cause it was already £1200 for just the front. It does however let me drive it all over the place and not worry about the car in front chipping my paint. Another down side is if you aren't meticulous with maintenance and cleaning, you will get dirt under the edges like mine has, but its been on for over a year. It's nothing major, just bugs me personally. To compare it to regular vinyl, I believe it is 8mm thick, where as normal is around 3mm? I'm not 100% sure on this but thats what I seem to recall. If you need any pictures please let me know and I'll get them for you - just let me know what you want to see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 That's confirmed a few of my concerns actually - I was worried that on an orange car, the seams getting grimy would be particularly visible. I got quotes for front bumper and front clam, but my mental estimations got me to the same ~£4000 figure as it happens. So might stick with the details and ceramic coating all over and the film either on just the front bumper, or front clam as well for £14-1800 all in, and just make sure I park in the boonies. My 7er has a whole bunch of battle scars down the sides, but then it's 50k miles in and spends much of its life in airport multi-storeys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoflOnMyWaffle Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 (edited) Just took some quick pics for ya, this is a years worth of damage and 7000 miles. It comes and goes, as I wash the car - it looks bad now cause of all the sticky pollen! The first pic is to show you that the lines are clean and crisp, you know they are there, if you look, but they are very hard to see from further away unless you look for it. Edited May 17, 2018 by RoflOnMyWaffle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Nice one, thanks. Which film is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoflOnMyWaffle Posted May 17, 2018 Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 Was Xpel, fitted by RaceByDesign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold FFM TomE Posted May 17, 2018 Gold FFM Report Share Posted May 17, 2018 I had my 2011 car done nearly 7 years ago when I bought it as a 6 month old ex demo car. Annoyingly it had already picked up a couple of visible chips on the bonnet before it was filmed. I went for the standard 3M kit: bumper, half bonnet, headlights, front wings, wing mirrors, cills below the door line, lower section between door rear edge and front of rear wheel arch. From memory it was £800 fitted. The 3M-approved installer was excellent. They refused to do the work on site at dealer JCT and picked the car up to take it (covered) to their temperature, humidity and dust-controlled fitting room. They weren’t happy with the initial fit on the bumper and one headlight so replaced it all within the original quote. Car delivered back to JCT. Seven years (and 21k miles) later it has stood up really well. No yellowing, no visible lifted edges, no significant holes in it. The film where it turns under the lowest part of the front bumper is frayed in places (road rash) and there are some small nicks in the lower cills. Considering I mostly drive pot-holed and rough-edged narrow country lanes it has stood up well to the regular gravel rash underneath. On one headlight the film got badly scratched - had a massive bird poo strike and I should have used more water/cleaner to soak the dried mess first rather than elbow grease. On the un-filmed areas, surprisingly the only place I’ve picked up stone chips is on the roof, particularly the leading edge just above the windscreen. The fit is very good and if you look hard you can see it, but not from a normal viewing. With hindsight I’d go for full bonnet rather than half, as the edge is more visible in some lighting. No problems with detailing over it and you don’t notice a difference between filmed and unfilmed sections when it’s newly polished, waxed and sealed. You have to be careful to buff out excess detailing product along the film edge, but if you do that the edge stays clean, firmly attached and not visible. I’ll take some close up pics and post over the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 I think I'll toss a coin on bumper and headlights only, +bonnet, and +bonnet +roof in that case - depending on what the estimates come back as. I wouldn't have really considered the roof would want doing, so appreciate the input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LotusLeftLotusRight Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 Yes the roof is an odd one. I got hit by a small stone chipping pinged up by a BMW M3 (or M4) that landed right on my roof. Would have happened to any car to be honest. When the GT430 came out I worried about the poor buggers driving behind being peppered with the debris shot through the rear wheel arch vents, but when you actually look around, many vehicles on our roads now have exposed rear tyres to some extent or other including vans and lorries. It seems that mud flaps are deemed unnecessary nowadays and that it is OK to spray debris at the vehicle behind. Therefore you're highly likely to get chippings damage today, especially with the dire condition of our roads. In 2015 I paid 699 quid for PPF on the full front bumper, half bonnet, half front wings, cills, lower front part of rear wings and on a couple of other small areas. Still looks fine today, apart from a bit of film lifting at a very complex angled part of the front bumper. I think it was Xpel film. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domguy Posted May 18, 2018 Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 I chose to have the entire car fitted with Xpel, the uplift in cost seemed very reasonable vs only having the impact areas protected. My GTE paintwork is starlight black, I'm not sure which brand of paint Lotus uses (seems quite soft) but paint swirls from cleaning etc after only 12 months started to show. I decided to have these removed, chips blown over and the entire car Xpel'ed. The paintwork now has a deep uniform colour, even in direct sunlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2018 I've booked in the car now - getting a detail, ceramic coating all around and "some" PPF (also Xpel) - front bumper and headlights definitely, and then a ballpark of ~£350 ish per panel for the rest of it, with a week to decide how far I want to go. I'm thinking probably worth the £700 to get the bonnet and roof done as well, but not another £2000 again to go the whole hog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSzalay Posted May 25, 2018 Report Share Posted May 25, 2018 The part under the door, and the panel between the door and the rear wheels is also subject to damage. I would recommend to cover that area for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister_Tad Posted May 27, 2018 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2018 Mine is black packed, so matte under the door, which I'm hoping hides any chips quite well anyway. I've gone ahead and booked it in for full ceramic, and then xpel on the bumper, front clam, fluid hatch and roof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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