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Thanks for the feedback. I have yet to see the car so as it is still in the detailer's shop. I was initially very concerned as the manual said that polish or wax with abrasives are not recommended and my installer used some Fenlab P100 to lightly polish the hood to remove the light scratch created by the dealership when the car was prepped for delivery. He hadn't talked to me before he did that and I was pretty upset. I hope everything is OK but I would have better idea when I see the car. The installer assured me that very minimal amount of the self-healing clear coat was removed to get rid of the scratch. I could only take his words for at this time. The last thing I want is to shell out big bucks to put PPF on and my over-zealous installer damages my clear coat. My installer upsold me to have PPF covering the entire hood, entire front fenders and bumper, mirrors, headlights, A pillars and rocker panels. However, there is no protection on the grill. There is no mud guards in the US market. I am ordering some Chinese mud guards without paint to see if they fit. There is a dealership in Corona who would order OEM mud guards from Japan. The cost $375 before shipping and handling. I can hope everything would be OK and there are no damages to the paint.
I wouldn't really worry about the so called self healing paint. I have yet to see anything showing that self healing paint works. If it does self heal I would bet the healing scratch would not be seen by the naked eye. Covering the full hood and fenders is a good thing. Mine came with 3M PPF on a third of the hood only direct from Lexus posted on the window sticker. I must say it looks awful and the Xpel is a much better product. I really wouldn't worry if the installer corrects some minor scratches. Xpel does an excellent job hiding minor scratches. Please post pics. on the 4th gen. GS side when ya get your car, we'd love to see it. Just as an FYI, I completely paint corrected my GS prior to the Xpel install. All the minor scratches that I couldn't get out buffing the Xpel completely masked them. You might notice the the PPF has even better gloss than the factory paint. My PPF can be seen on the side of the bumper.
I got a new 2019 GS 350. I have hired a car detailing guy from yelps to put PPF on my hood. He seems to be an experienced person based on the reviews and I have seen examples of his PPF wrapping work. I didn't read the manual at the time and did not tell my detailing guy about the self-healing coating when I gave him to car to put the films on. Before he put the film on the hood, he used his special light to do inspection on the hood and he saw a light scratch on the hood probably from the dealer preparation before delivery. He said I would not be able to see the scratch under normal lighting condition. He must be a over-zealous car detailing guy and he said he used some polishing compound to remove the scratch. When I heard about that, it really feaked me out as Lexus does not recommend using any abrasives. I have yet to see the car in his shop, and he swore to me that the clear self-healing coating remains "intact" except the scratch is gone. I am not sure how much damage he has done to the self-healing coating. Is there a way for me to see the effect on the self-healing coating with the clear Xpel fim on. This is my first Lexus and I don't want the car to suffer from unnecessary damages on my blend new Lexus by a over-zealous detail guy. Thank you very much for sharing with me your experience on maintaining and care of this self-healing clear coating. To be honest, I wish Lexus just put the regular clear coat on instead of this self-healing coating.
Why does it matter if its covered in self healing PPF?
Don't worry about it, its just paint like any other paint.
Though PPF provides great protection, it has one big downside. The paint finish and gloss on a panel with film will, over time, usually look dull with uneven reflections of the film almost resembling a poorly painted panel with orange peel effect, also it's not very hydrophobic – so it tends to cause water spots.
As a result, PPF's popularity is limited and ceramic coatings gained more as they provided exemplary gloss and mirror finish to the paint with better protection than traditional wax and sealants. However, Ceramic coatings, no matter what was advertised would barely survive a year in harsh conditions
Last edited by GaryJG; 06-23-19 at 03:06 PM.
Reason: Spelling
Though PPF provides great protection, it has one big downside. The paint finish and gloss on a panel with film will, over time, usually look dull with uneven reflections of the film almost resembling a poorly painted panel with orange peel effect, also it's not very hydrophobic – so it tends to cause water spots.
As a result, PPF's popularity is limited and ceramic coatings gained more as they provided exemplary gloss and mirror finish to the paint with better protection than traditional wax and sealants. However, Ceramic coatings, no matter what was advertised would barely survive a year in harsh conditions
I think your thinking as pertains to PPF is out of date. That may have been the case with older films, but newer films hold up much better to the elements, and can be sealed or ceramic coated just like paint. Modern PPF is also very hydrophobic. Modern films are warrantied for 5+ years against dulling, yellowing and fading.
Ceramic coatings are completely different than PPF. PPF is designed to protect against rock chips where ceramic coatings won't provide any protection against paint chipping. Applied properly a good ceramic coating will last far longer than. a year in harsh conditions also. Comparing PPF and Ceramic coatings shows a lack of knowledge about both products.
At the end of the day, remember that PPF is a temporary protective fixture on your vehicle. It is not meant to be a permanent addition. The main reason for this is mainly related to the lifespan of the adhesive. So, if it is not removed in the proper window of years, a super bond can form. When removing PPF after the adhesive has passed its optimal period and the super bond has started to take hold it is entirely possible to lift paint off with the film. Also, PPF can prematurely wear out for a number of reasons, including taking repeated beatings to extreme conditions, constant UV exposure or from an improperly prepped install.
Paint Protection Film or PPF is an exceptional way of protecting the front of any vehicle from damage caused by small rocks and other road debris. It isn’t intended to enhance the shine or luster of your vehicle, nor is it very good at keeping the vehicle cleaner. The important item to remember is that PPF is not bulletproof, or the ultimate layer of protection that some people think.
PPF and ceramic coatings work together for optimal protection. if you install PPF on the entire vehicle it would be advantageous to install a ceramic coating over top for the slickness, hydrophobicity, and ease of cleaning.
What is the optimal time window to safely remove the PPF? 5 to 10 years? I have seen people on youtube use googone, heat gun, etc. to safely remove very old 3M PPFs.
Got the car back today. Expel Ultimate plus films on full hood, front bumper, headlights, front fenders, A pillars, mirrors, and rocker panels. There are also two-inch wide films at the bottom of the doors, and bottom half of the rear bumper since there are are no mud guards for now. Will try to install mud guards when they arrive. There are no protections for the front chrome plastic and grill. Curious if any of the folks here have put any protection on the grill, etc. Would some kind of clear and glossy plastic dip work?
Theres nothing you can put on the grill. Its a fine line between protecting it and making it look ugly all the time. Would the grill look better down the line with a couple chips in it or covered in nasty plasti dip? You can always replace the grille down the line if it gets chewed up.
Its like people who put plastic on top of their beautiful furniture...
I agree on the grill. Whatever dip you'd put on it will make it look worse when it chips. I have 8k on my 18 GS and don't have any chips on the grill that I can see. How do you like the Xpel?
I have had 3M, Venturashield, and Xpel films on my vehicles over the last 22 years. I would say Xpel is among the best and Venturashield is absolute garbage. Overall, my installer did a very good job in doing the installation. He even had to take care of some of the mishap of the distributor sending him a GS F kit instead of GS 350 F sport kit. He went back to the distributor to get a correct kit. He doesn't like the mirror kit and he even bulk-wrapped my mirrors. I think he even bulk-wrapped the rocker panels of the car.
A couple of questions for you folks. I agree that I would leave the grill alone. The chrome on the front bumper also has no bumper coverage and I wonder if you guys also have any PPF on it. I also wonder if you folks have installed any mud guards. There are no OEM mud guards available in the US. There are some Chinese knock-offs available at Ebay and Amazon. I am not sure if those would fit.
I'm thinking about covering the lower section of the chrome on mine. It does get a little nicked up, and I have some extra film leftover that my installer gave me. One thing you might want to consider is not having the film on the big L emblem on the grill. I have mine covered and I think it causes the radar cruise control to respond slowly. That's where the sensor for it is located.
Oh, the L emblem is covered too. I will check to see if the auto cruise control has a slower response time. I am thinking using 3M vinly or VVivid film to cover the chrome pieces. I have used vinly tapes to cover my older car and it seems to work quite well to avoid stop chip damages.
06-23-19, 10:25 AM
