New ride came with PPF, care question

[Mikebsu]

Hi all!

I picked up a mid life crisis. Macan S; Black with RED leather. More to come about this.

The front has PPF. I've never had a car with this and I want to make sure I don't mess this up. My plan is to do the full detail when I get it home in a week. 2 bucket, ironX, clay bar, buff with 7424 and MF pad using menzerna, seal with Wolfgang 3.0. I tape all my edges and rubber when I do this process, but my question is what do I do with the PPF? My guess is dont ironX, clay bar, or buff the stuff and keep the pad away from the edge ???

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Mike Phillips]

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Great questions...


You're on the right track.

PPF stands for Paint Protection Film, which is a thermoplastic urethane film applied to painted surfaces of a new or used car in order to protect the paint from stone chips, bug splatters, and minor abrasions.


The most popular brand for PPF is Scotchgard by 3M but there are other quality products on the market.



Here's the link to the 3M website page for Scotchgard PPF


From the above page,

Paint Protection Film of the future is here now. Introducing NEW 3M™ Scotchgard Paint Protection Film Pro Series

There are many choices in the market today for paint protection films (PPF), but the company that invented paint protection film is re-inventing it. We have leveraged our technical capability and scientific knowledge to create a film that offers world class protection for your vehicle finish.

• Unrivaled scratch and stain resistance
• Exceptional clarity
• Superior resistance to yellowing
• Self-healing technology makes most scratches disappear
• Tough, durable and maintenance free

3M states their film is maintenance free. I think the specific point they make is besides normal washing, there's nothing they recommend you apply over it to preserve and protect it.


Here's what I would recommend, anytime you "touch" it. This means

• Washing
• Drying
• Wiping

Use the softest, cleanest highest quality materials you can obtain according to your budget or your resources.

I actually state the above sentence in the first episode of Competition Ready as it's something I say all the time in my detailing classes when talking about maintaining a swirl and scratch free surface no matter what the surface material is.

Everything comes down to how you touch the surface.


I find most people will apply a NON-cleaning sealant or wax over the PPF as a part of waxing the rest of the car. This means whatever they are using on the car they go ahead and apply and remove a thin film of the same product to the PPF.

Note there's a LOT of difference between a non-cleaning wax or sealant and a cleaner/wax or AIO.

There's also LOTS of information on these topics on this forum.


The Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 is a NON-cleaning synthetic sealant and as long as you apply a thin coat to a clean surface using a clean applicator pad I don't see a problem with using this product.


Hope that helps...

[Mikebsu]

Thanks Mike! I'll be safe around any edges of the film with the buffer and give it a nice smooth finish with the Wolfgang!

I'm not thrilled by PPF, but then I had to be dragged into the synthetic protection products too, so I must be old school.

[swanicyouth]

Do you know what brand PPF it is? I'm guessing no...? But, anyway, I'm familiar with XPEL.

So, you can basically ALMOST treat it like paint. You can clay it (gently), you can Iron X it (don't let the Iron X dry), and you can polish it (if need be). The stuff is actually fairly robust if installed and treated correctly.

The BIGGEST tip I'm going to give you is DO NOT wax it. By "wax it" - I mean - don't apply paste wax type products. Reason being is you can get wax build up in the edges that can be quite unsightly and difficult to remove. Simply protect it by using a clear durable spray wax product like HydroMax or Rupes Spray Sealant.

XPEL makes their own sealant (which I have), but it's really no different than any of the liquid sealants AGO sells and isn't worth an additional purchase.

[Mikebsu]

I don't know what brand it is. I've got the dealer looking into a couple of things from the prior owner for me. I'll add that to the list. Thanks!

I also use the liquid form of the Wolfgang, so I'll have a few options of the stuff on hand. Great advice, thanks!

Today I used a clay mitt rather than clay bar on a different car. Wow, I must say, that saved me an hour or more. I'm not sure it worked quite as well, but it was fine for what I was needing from it.

Thanks again!