Here’s something I discovered when I had the 812 GTS PPFed. As you may know the 812 has a piece of matte black plastic trim at the end of the hood by the windshield that is made of the exact same plastic that they use for all the side skirts, and front/rear bumper inserts and pretty much all their cars. We decided to see wheat would happen if we PPFed the entire hood including the plastic bit as opposed to just doing the painted part, and it came out great. What was before a piece of matte black plastic looks like gloss painted and matches all the gloss black elements of the windshield. I mention this because now that I know this I plan to order the 296 GTS without any exterior carbon and just PPF all the plastic and it will turn it gloss black just like it did on the 812. My OCD gets triggered with both current options because the gloss black roof matches neither the matte plastic trim nor the greyish looking gloss carbon fibre, so this way the car will have just two color finishes all around, the paint color and gloss black on the roof and all around the bottom, It’s a simple and inexpensive solution that solves the problem on a car with massive side skirts. The only thing to note is that plastic trim pieces have slightly more texture to them than prepped metal, so once wrapped with ppf and get glossified, if you get really up close you will nice a smidgen of texture to the finish. I can’t tell when I look at my car but some might, so you might want to try just one side skirt and see how you like it. Image Unavailable, Please Login
You need to put paint on the splitters/diffuror first before you can wrap it !! Thats at least what my PPF guy told me. I asked why this is neccessary, he said first, you will see alot of texture when you are close to the part and second (and most important) it won't last/stick long an the plastic, because on the texture. Well putting paint on it in a paint shop looks as if it is the alternative to carbon fibre
That isn't plastic trim on the hood on the 812. It is part of the single sheet metal pressing of the panel and is finished in satin black paint to give the visual illusion that the windscreen has more depth from the front. Take a look at your second production photo which shows the painted body before it enters the line to start build. At this stage there are no extra trim panels on the car and you'll see that satin black painted section of your hood on it. They also paint section of the cabin in satin black where the seat runners and seat belts are attached during build. I enquired about wrapping the lower body plastic areas on my Roma which has the same texture as the standard plastic trim on the 296. My PPF installer said the same as Scheki's - it's a no go as the texture on these panels means the film will not fully adhere and will simply pull away as dirt/water gets in under the edges.
It looked to me like it was made of the exact same material as the side skirts and bumper inserts, and there's definitely a seam between the two. The texture was definitely different that the rest of the hood, as in it didn't look like what one panel painted two different color would look like, for example when there are painted stripes on the hood. When you shine a light directly onto it now that it has ppf on it it reflects differently than the rest of the hood texture wise which wouldn't be the case if it was just a paint difference. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that it seems to me that PPFing the lower trim pieces might yield the same effect. It certainly wouldn't hurt to try a panel. And if there's an adhesion issue it's still going to be a lot cheaper and match the rest of the gloss top and pillars a lot closer by removing those pieces, having them sanded, and wrapping them in black vinyl over buying the whole exterior CF painted black option. Again this is only for crazy people like myself whose OCD cannot handle the different gloss finishes of the top of the car to the much lighter gloss finish of the factory CF. I'd actually rather have the standard matte plastic down there than mismatched gloss finishes.
Next time you are beside you car put your hand under the edge of the hood and you'll see that this is a single piece of pressed metal with no plastic insert on top. The "seam" you are seeing is the paint masking line and the texture difference is caused by the satin laquer coat applied to this section which does not reflect light like the gloss laquer on the rest of the hood. This line is painted where there is a stamped recess on the panel which gives the visual illusion that it is a separate panel. Here is the panel on my car. You can feel the masking line edge between the two different paint finishes. The grained finish on the plastic windscreen scuttle below it is quite different. Image Unavailable, Please Login
To all above. This is the exact reason I asked. And I suppose why it’s so expensive. Someone has mentioned prior it’s $15k to have that trim pieces painted black. Well that’s true……and not true. They can only paint the carbon, not the plastic. So it ends up being $43k. And reputable body shop is likely going to tell you the same thing. The paint won’t stick to the plastic pieces. And neither will PPF, most likely. And it’s a shame bc the car looks much better with those pieces in shiny black. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I’m a little confused though why a shop can’t sand, primer and paint the plastic trim pieces - aren’t a lot of painted parts on cars made of plastic to begin with?
The exterior plastic parts can be painted at the factory. Here is the ordering code. It's an Atelier option but any dealer should be able to request it using the order code. Image Unavailable, Please Login Painting exterior plastic trim should not be an issue to any good paint shop. There are specific flexible primers for exactly this type of application. F Chat member godwinlee1800 had the exterior black pastic parts painted on his Roma (same texture/plastic as the 296). See post #7 https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/portofino-painted-black-plastic.650329/#post-148184371
A friends' friend did paint the exterior plastic in Canna di fucile at the dealers site before he got his Portofino M. The dealer cooperates with a paint shop. The plastic can be painted. And Canna di fucile is the closest to carbon fibre, better than gloss black. Last photo shows the stardard wheel painted in Canna di fucile besides the carbon fibre side skirts. I think it matches perfectly. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks all. I'll definitely NOT be spending $43k for painted exterior carbon. But I'll likely be painting this exterior plastic if I can find a shop to do it. Just looks so much better. Any specifics on which body shop actually did the work would be great. DM would be fine. I have a great local shop and if they could communicate with that body shop if necessary that would be helpful.
I suspect the figure of $43k came from a sales person at your dealership? They are possibly unaware of the Atelier options list or not studied it in any depth. It's amazing how few dealers know about the options available on these cars. The cost for the painted exterior plastic package is nowhere near $43k and will be in line with the cost here which is £7.7k before tax. If you take the factory version, the option will be added to the specification list on your build plaque in the frunk. I don't know how important that is to resale value in the US but may be worthy of consideration depending upon how long you intend keeping the car.
Any competent body shop can prep and paint plastic trim. The paint will not adhere as well on a plastic surface, so I would refrain from putting PPF on it. Nonetheless, the painted result should look good.
Is it possible that they're referring to dyed carbon fiber, not painted? I'm speculating, but I'd bet there's some misunderstanding here and that they don't know about (or think you wouldn't want) the Atelier painted plastic option.
YES, THAT'S IT !! I wondered how some sales guy could tell you the painted exterior plastic is 43.000$. This would make sense as dyed carbon fibre is really expensive.
In a couple of weeks I am attempting to take my spec to the next stage with the dealer, I have it down to one of a number of reds , Magma,Fuoco ,Maranello & Coburn I need to try and see them . I want to do high gloss black (Nero) on the out front , back and sides instead of carbon along with wheels in Nero gloss which can also be done as Carbon wheels will just ask for trouble imho. Interior is settled . If I get the price I will let you know. The extended plastic parts is the option noted and its code is PPE1 - Nero Momo ( exterior painted plastic parts pack ) spec . This code came from my current config which as I said is not settled .
The exterior carbon fibre in special coloured carbon adds £7.7k before tax to the cost of the front splitter, side sill covers and rear diffuser carbon options here so around $9k US before local taxes.
Nope. $28K for all exterior carbon and then $15k on top of that to have it painted black....... This is not tinted carbon.
That’s interesting my guy told me that he couldn’t wrap the bottom of my Roma…. Which sounded like he just didn’t want to do it. He did say that it wouldn’t hold. So let me know how you go. May the Horse be with you
Yes this the code I referenced to my dealer in atelier module and they said it makes the carbon compulsory. So it automatically selects the carbon before it can be painted black. I'd be very curious what your dealer has to say.
I checked with my dealer today on the painted exterior plastics option PPE1 and they confirmed it is the standard lower plastic trim - front splitters, under door side covers and rear diffuser - that are painted. It does not require the carbon options to be selected and the factory offer a choice of colours for this trim. You can have Nero DS, Nero Daytona, Canna di Fucile, or Grigio Silverstone in gloss finish and Grigio Silverstone Opaco in matt finish. This PPE1 option is also available, in the same colours, for the Purosangue in case anyone is spec'ing one of those and does not want the exterior carbon options.
