calgold06

Any recommendations on where I can get paint protection film for the front hood done in Dallas area? I think $599 at dealership is expensive.

scoresman

Yes, it is expensive; good luck. In my case, I was able to use protective film to "close the deal." They agreed to throw it in at their last proposed price - picked mine up yesterday!

mikemu30

What do they do - just the hood? Invisible to the naked eye?

lesz

What is the dealer covering for $599?

The basic paint protection film package offered by many Lexus dealers includes film on the front portion of the hood and the front portion of the fenders, but there is much more area on the car that is vulnerable to damage from stones and other debris. On my 2017 ES, I have paint protection film on the full hood, the full front fenders, the full front bumper, the mirrors, the door edges, and the door handle cups. Besides providing protection from stones, the film also provides protection against paint damage caused by bird droppings, tree sap, and other environmental contaminants. Another advantage of covering the full hood and the full fenders is that there is no visible line where the film ends.

If the dealer is charging $599 for just the front portion of the hood and the front portion of the fenders, that price is probably fairly typical, but, again, just covering the front of the hood and the front part of the fenders isn't really providing much protection. If the protection extends to areas like I described above, I'd expect the price to be somewhat higher than $599.

bc6152

I got a quote of $2500.00 for what you had done Les.

lesz

When I bought my car, that is about what the dealer's advertised price was for the paint protection package that I described above, and that is about what the local trim shops were charging for the same amount of coverage. I saved the paint protection package for the last item in the negotiations for the car, and the dealer sold me the package for $1200.

I'm sure that the paint protection package is a high markup item and that the dealer still made a little money at the $1200 price point, but, at least, it wasn't at an outrageous level.

TechNut

lesz

Unless something has changed recently, the basic paint protection film package that most Lexus dealers have offered for $500 or $600 does not even include covering the bumper. It has only included the front portion of the hood and the front portion of the fenders.

And, yes, the various manufacturers of the film usually have at least 2 or 3 grades of the their film, and the grade used can make a noticeable difference in the price.

SugarmillM

ES63

SugarmillM

Thank you for the information. I'm north of Tampa so I will ask around to locate a high quality shop and use your information as a good guideline.

Dan

lesz

I'll add a few other thoughts about paint protection film options.

If you compare the least expensive grades of film with the higher grades, you will see that there is quite a bit of difference with regard to how thick the film is. The thicker (and more expensive) films should provide a higher level of resistance to tearing if they are struck by a sharp piece of gravel or other debris.

Also, there is a wide range of warranties provided with different products. Some of the cheaper films come with warranties against tearing, yellowing, etc. that can be as short as 3 years. The higher grades of films can have warranties as long as 10 years.

Part of the reason why paint protection film is expensive is that installing the film takes skill, patience, and a good amount of time. Installation of larger pieces, like those on the full hood and full fenders, compared to installation on just part of the hood or fenders, requires significantly more time because the installer has to stretch and work the film, with those larger pieces, to have it lay evenly over contours and to work out all air bubbles. The installer also needs to be careful to make sure that, during the longer time needed to work on larger panels, tiny pieces of dust don't settle on the panel because even tiny specs of dust will be quite visible under the film.

When I had the film installed on my car, there was a small piece of dust under one of the smaller pieces of film on the bumper. I took the car back and had the installer take that piece of film off and put a new piece onto the car. I watched him do the re-installation, and I would guess that he spent close to an hour just to re-install that one piece of film on the car.

The bottom line is that all film products and all installations are not created equal.

SugarmillM

That is great information to know! Was this 3M film or another brand that you used?

lesz

The installer who did mine (at the dealership) uses the highest grade of both Xpel and 3M. I'm actually not sure which of the two were used on my car. I do know that it is quite thick. When the one piece was replaced, I asked the installer to give me the piece that he took off, and I played around with it to see how hard it was to damage. I could not tear it, and it took considerable effort to puncture it. Whichever of the 2 products I have, it has a 10 year warranty against "yellowing, staining, cracking, blistering, and delaminating".

Regardless of the manufacturer, the quality of the various protection films has improved considerably since they first started to become popular about 15 years ago. The early films often had problems with the film yellowing over time. If you had a dark colored vehicle, the yellowing would likely have not been readily noticeable, but, on light colored cars, it looked awful. The films from the various manufacturers today are much less prone to that yellowing. Also, most of the films used today are self-healing. If the film gets scuffed from the impact of a stone or other object, it should, in a short period of time with exposure to the sun, heal itself (but, if the film is actually cut or pierced, that damage will not heal).

bc6152

Here's a link to some excellent information regarding quality, cost, and type of PPF. Includes Expel, 3M, suntek and LLumar brands.

https://exclusivedetail.com/best-paint-protection-film/