How effective is to wrap the entire pre-owned FF?

If you want to wrap the whole car I would take off what it currently has, have it professional detailed/paint correction, then have it fully wrapped by one person/company with one material. Just my .02

 

+1 most def

 

I agree with above. Remove film, have paint corrected, re-apply entire car film. Its going to cost some $$$ but your paint will be much more perfect for a lot longer time.

 

Agree with the above.

Wrap won't really protect you from dents. Also if you're planning to drive this vehicle often, film will hold dirt and grime about 10x more than the clear coat- so cleaning the car becomes more of a chore- and since its much softer than clear coat- its also easier to put swirls into.

The new films are better in terms of looking good and light transmission so if you wrap the whole car it can look pretty good.

Congratulations no matter what you decide!

 

When wrap is older than 3yrs. I would definately replace it, regardless of the wrap for rest of the car.

 

Triple layer paint is tricky. But you have the whole front end wrapped. The rest of the car has a tiny chance of an issue. The money to wrap it all (in part or all new) is more than a 1 ding hit on resale, or repair (if repair is possible).

More likely to hurt the paint with a wax job, watch the edges!

Save your money, you just negotiated hard to get your deal. At the least live with it a couple weeks. Wrap takes away the depth, looks more plastic and reflective. It's not a Speciale at the track.

 

Sorry to the OP for going off topic. Can someone provide some infos on this three-layer paint option? Most cars nowadays, even econo-cars, roll off the assembly line with multi-layer paint. Does F-cars without this option come with less than three layers of pain? Or is there something unusual with this option?

 

Hi all,

I just joined this forum today; this is my first post here. I've been googling PPF and have come across FerrariChat more than once. Looks like a deep mine of amazing information — I hope I can give back one day!

I read the OP and initially wondered if I'd been posting in my sleep! I'm also about to acquire a 2012 FF (on Wednesday), although it's not wrapped at all. I enquired about paint protection wrapping just over the border in Germany (usually orders of magnitude better value than Switzerland) and was quoted "about" €7,000 ($7,000 after tax and forex adjustments), which I thought was steep, but having read a few threads here, seems not too over the top. However, I didn't ask which product they use... now I know more about the options, I'll ask for more info.

A few people here have talked about paint correction prior to applying the PPF. Is this detailing, including claying, or something more intensive?

Has everyone been relatively happy with the finish of their PPF (especially Xpel, which seems to be the most recommend alternative) — i.e. I get that it protects the paint, but does the film itself scratch easily and ultimately look as bad as scratched or chipped paintwork, thereby necessitating a $7k rewrap? How long could I hope to go before reaching that point?

And finally... anything I should know about FFs, now that I've paid in advance and passed the point of no return?

Merci from Switzerland!

 

Paint correction is professional detailing.

The wrap can also be polished, had this done on my "factory" wrap.

My detailing guys say that a wrap should be renewed after 3 years, which may make the 7k$/€ look a bit expensive.

I would wrap front + hood and thats it.

 

Triple color layer paint, is a better way to explain it. It's like a $30,000 option, so yes, it's unique. Pearl white, and reds that are super deep. If you have a rock or a rub with a waxing wheel then it's almost impossible, especially on an edge, to make it match.

 

Check your PM's.

Marcel Massini

 

I'm not a fan of taking away the luster of the car's paint by putting plastic wrap all over them.

I'm amazed by how many people subscribe to this fad. Certainly I understand why the dealers and vendors sell it.

My experience is that I hate the corners of the wrap, the wax that catches every edge, the smudges on the plastic, the horrific lines on cars like the FF where one piece doesn't cover the entire hood, the parts that never quite go back together the same when your wrap expert dismantled your entire car to reduce the edges from showing, the change of color on the car from the plastic bubble you applied, the cost, the replacement requirement, and more.

 

I think your €7,000 = ~$8,000. If you are discussing a typical wrap job, I'd say thats about 2.5-3x more expensive than in the USA. I just pulled up the receipt to do the front, lower rockers, mirrors of my F430 and it came out to $2,702 with tax back in 2012.

After trying out a film on my daily BMW- as a way to audition someone new who was highly recommended- I have come to the conclusion that film is great if its on a car that is used for pleasure driving during fair weather. Basically its there to protect against the errant rock chip into your paint.

But if you are going to use it in foul weather, then you are going to spend extra time caring for it or replace it every 1-2 years. I found the film on the BMW held so much dirt, muck, and grime. When I went to clay the clear coat on the BMW I found roughly 10x more dirt embedded into the film. It makes sense as its a lot softer. This means it will be easier to be scratched by someone at a car wash etc. My daily car goes through the car wash- I wish I had the time to do it by hand but I don't. So, that's just my opinion.

Paint protection before filming usually means whatever is needed to remove any swirls or other obvious issues with the clear coat.

As to Twosherpaz points- those are valid points. There are definitely pros and cons. I'm not so sure I would call it a fad though. Just about anyone with an affinity for cars usually desires to protect their car. I have to tell you I've seen well done protective film jobs and while there is still a difference to the naked clear coat, its actually really impressive. In my area there are a lot of loose rocks and gravel and other things. I decided its worth it for me.

 

I have a guy who can pull any door ding (and much worse) for $100.

I'm sorry you think someone would key your car. To me that's a karma issue, don't be a jerk and many people don't see a Ferrari they see beautiful. Living in fear is no way to live. You have insurance for a major problem. It's not a soon to be collector car, they can be painted.

Agreed. I did the front FF bumper as it's plastic anyway, it might look better now with Xpel..

 

IMHO a wrap on an older car is a total waste of money, even more on the FF which are meant to be driven. Just take everything off except behind the wheel arches, drive the hell out of it and fix the bigger items when they happen and live with the small ones. The small imperfection give character to my manual 612.

Even with a wrap your car will get minor damage, even more around NY...

 

The film won't really help with door dings. But it will help with all the junk on the roads in NY.

 

Had the whole front bumper done by dealer then had Protek of Ascot do the whole bonnet in self healing wrap. Cost £400 for the bonnet (hood) and they are very professional with an extended warranty.

Thought about having the rest done but agree with other comments so not bothering.

 

Yes. I don't know where you will be parking. But I am in the suburbs. My work parking affords me to park in between two building supports and my parking neighbors and I know each other well. When I go to the local shops I go at a slightly off peak time and park about ¾ of the way toward the end. I park right in the middle of one spot- not the take up 2 spots like a jerk parking- and usually people will park near but not next to me. The times they do park next to me they are courteous. This is in NYS. Most of the time they just want to say nice car- or ask about owning one, what's it like etc. My wife will park in the same shopping center in a prime spot and she gets door dings. I think its a different mentality between one who must park next to the shops and one who is willing to take the extra 1 minute walk. (sounds silly but people act like its an extra mile of walking)

 

If you treat the car and others with respect, they do the same to you. Americans like a winner and view a Fcar owner as a winner (right or wrong), plus it's a unique car and unique is interesting to car people. Not a status car/2 door.

Everyone sees the prancing horse and is careful, so this fear of being keyed or disrespected is not my experience.

 

You may be over thinking it

FF is not a "hey F you, I have a cool car" car ... even in Red.

 

As a recent owner of an F430, I'll go through my thought process -

My car has the front bumper, rocker panels and partial hood wrapped in PPF (was that way when I bought it). I am having the old film removed and wrapping the full front end (full hood, fenders, bumper) along with new wrap on the rocker panels and behind the rear wheels. I'm doing this because the amount of damage a car takes when driven is amazing. I'm also extremely anal about my cars. It's not just my Ferrari but any of my cars. I am wrapping it because it will prevent numerous small stone chips from forming on the "high wear" areas. But I also plan to remove the film after about three years and have new put on.

As some have pointed out, you will need to take care of the film because it does scratch easier than the paint. But I would rather remove film and replace it than have a paint job done that may or may not match the rest of the car along with potential overspray etc.

So for me, I like a film because it is easy to "refurbish" and I don't sacrifice the "original" components of the car. But your level of OCD will determine how far you are willing to go. Just my .02