PPF Worth It or a Waste?

I mean they do sell protection film for watches. Pretty useful for the clasp if someone is prone to banging it around.

Im aware lol. Over polishing a Rolex could hypothetically cause it to lose metal and impact value…but proper scuffs and scratches give a watch character.

Yep the bottom of my Seamaster has tons of character. And the gold on my TT Sea-dweller “gains character” every time I breathe on it!

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I wash my cars by hand and yes PPF is easy to maintain because swirls are just not a thing due to self healing properties. Put it under the sun and any swirls they disappear.

Imagine hiring a guy to detail/polish your car, $500 plus each time for a decent shop to do some paint correction, over time the costs adds up.

It all comes down to how nice your car is going to look in 4-5 years.

If you are putting a lot of highway mileage then you are bound to get lots of small rock chips, nothing can be done about it.

I’m very picky when it comes down to the car look, I want my car to always look nice.

Also no amount of detail is going to fix rock chips, it’s gonna need a new repaint.

You could still get rock chips with a PPF if you hit a big enough rock, but it’s very rare, and even then the paint may be protected.

I disagree that PPF is for only high end cars, it comes down to how much you value your car and intend to keep it looking nice over time.

PPF is not just for those ultra high end cars. If I am going to spend 80-150k for a car that I will be owning for 5+ years then it’s totally reasonable to get frontal ppf.

You could make the same case about window tinting if you want to be picky.

Anyways, I rest my case, I expect most here would be against ppf since most lease their cars so cosmetic damage is not much of a concern.

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Not only the cost of paint correction, but you lose clearcoat every time you compound. There’s only a finite amount of clearcoat, so the PPF is really nice by not having to wear it down.

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So you halved the cost for install how exactly?

I assume just the same way as I did. By broadening the search for a credible installer, making more calls, and finding someone you’re comfortable using with a better price.

In my search here’s what I learned- most of my local detailing garages employ/contract/hire ppf installers to do the jobs. Those shops will always be more expensive. Find the shop who is run by the installer = significantly better price. This will typically be a smaller/lower volume garage.

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By dropping the pursuit of perfection which entailed removal and reinstall of side view mirrors, badges, spoiler etc for a seamless install. That would’ve made more sense for stealth PPF installation as you don’t want the shiny bits to be visible but this is a non issue for regular PPF, which I opted for. I had the front clip and the door edges wrapped but the rest of the body panels were wrapped up to the edges.

I also had them install window tint on three vehicles, including the one getting full PPF. I chose XPEL Prime XR Plus, an excellent but very expensive tint, to be applied on all glass surfaces including windshield. The total out-the-door cost was still 50% less than any other quote I received.

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I agree with everything you said. People don’t realize how expensive ceramic coating is in the long run. Just a single stage polish with ceramic coating costs $1000+ Add double or triple stage and you’re looking at an almost $3000 bill.

Then you have to painstakingly maintain the finish which still ends up getting swirls and water spots. PPF offers more bang for the buck. You get protection, great shine and low maintenance which is mostly guaranteed for 10 years, compared to ceramic coating which barely lasts 3 years, even the best of them.

I’ve had cars polished to perfection with 3 layers of the best ceramic coating swirl up in a matter of weeks. What a waste of money and effort that was.

For a family hauler, and a vehicle as large as the X7, I would, at the very least, get the front end covered with PPF.

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I need to come back and update here. My authorized dealer called me and told me he just got in a blue GMT on the jubilee bracelet (the “batgirl”). Told him I’ll take it!

Glad I skipped the PPF. I’ll be picking up tomorrow almost exactly the same time as my PPF appointment was!

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Lucky. I have been waiting over a year for a polar Explorer II and still no ETA from my AD.

I recently switched over to this guy. I bought a gold Cartier Santos from him and he’s been great. I introduced him to a friend and he got him the “white walker” Yachtmaster with a 3 week wait. I’m getting my GMT with a longer (but not absurd) 3 month wait.

3 month wait on a GMT is close to nothing tbh. I know people who have been waiting close to 2 years and will still likely not get it anytime soon, if ever. I’m on the list for a Pepsi myself but have no purchase history whatsoever. Going to stop by the AD and do my 3 month follow up tomorrow

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He bought a Gold Cartier Santos. This is how you move up on the list in the watch world.

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Love my Santos. Not gonna lie, I definitely think it helped. I appreciate my AD being very upfront with me. He basically said with ~30k spend, he could do a GMT. 50k spend would get me a Daytona. Santos was roughly 37k with tax, and behold, GMT has arrived.


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Coming back to update once more. Got it! I like this better than the PPF


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That is fairly. cheap for a Daytona. Most places are $100k+ in jewelry, watches not included.

My AD just sells Rolex, no other brands. I was hoping my Air King purchase would get me an Explorer or GMT faster but guess not.

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