Things Just Got Real

Be careful experimenting with ceramic. It makes a chemical bond to whatever its on and getting it off is possible, but you have to be fairly skilled. Its not like you put too much wax on and want to take it off. I'd leave this to the pros.

 

Seems very reasonable! Who ya going with?

 

Just let them know it is a Ferrari. Is 10k just for the wrap or wrap with ceramic?

 

Yes, works great over PPF. This particular brand is almost idiot proof; you don't have to wait for it to "flash" off like CQuartz and other brands, and the application window is basically wipe on/wipe off. Sheets water like mad, and the spray booster of the same brand line is great. It's supposed to last up to three years, but I put it on once a year just for the therapy

 

Having to put a Ceramic top coat on a film these days is old hat - is a sign the film is not high end. There is film available now where the Hydrophobic never wears off and is an overall part of the film composition. This type of film repels everything and it takes one heck of a stone impact to even mark it. Amazing stuff. The finish is flawless. I paid over 11 for the whole car so 10+ is not unreasonable if the film is the right quality and the installer has patterned the film for the car so no blades are required. Patterning a car like this properly takes a lot of film and time so the pieces are exact.

 

The Pista has a lot of angles, curves, etc- I would think its a little more involved to PPF than a 458. It takes me a little bit longer to wash it and I am always thinking this would be pretty hard to PPF.

 

Exactly. I recal my dealer telling me to be patient and await for this guy to do mine as they had pistas come back from other so called good installers (cheaper) and the result was not to customer expectation and all those cars wound up back getting redone at this guys shop. It takes a lot of time to do properly and you dont want blades used.

 

I guess I look closer than most people. Here is my take on it.
Dealer will prep the car, satisfactorily ? Doubt it but then again you might receive your car with no flaws.

Make sure they have the touch up paint for you. Odds are there could be a stone chip here and there as they drive all the Ferraris on the track and the road. Italy doesn't have perfect roads.
The FORGET PRICE, price has nothing to do with it at all. You want protection and it to look perfect.
The single most important thing is the installer, that's what you pay for.
The film like Xpel is precut and thick. It will be heated , pulled and stretched. This process alone can change the optics. A BAD job and you can see it. Also you will see joins easily where it has to be cut. He needs to be a pro that can also make parts that are not on the computer , like under the sill , in the door jamb and more importantly under the car either painted or carbon surface etc if you want to be anal like me. People have the idea out of sight out of mind , not me .

I have seen countless bad jobs , its a shame. Take the mirrors there are 6 pieces to it. Not done properly and you will see a mash of film.

Love my Xpel and more importantly the installer , so much talent !

Then I would ceramic coat.

Lastly many that don't care is the maintenance, how much you look after it.

Tap water has all sorts of minerals , chloride , fluoride etc etc. These leave water spots on your car.

Your have a lot of money invested in this car. Don't be stingy
get a water filter , a proper pressure washer with settings and use snow shampoo then dryer here down using a blower.

I will tell you the less you touch the car the better.

Added advantage the heat from the blower also the self correcting film.

In this picture the Jam is all covered. Why not , its so big a jamb.

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Best bet also if they have already done a PISTA, if not your the guinea pig and they will be self learning also

 

This. I know all the best bra guys in AZ and there’s not one that will do an entire car full edgeless bra job on a Pista for anywhere near $6500 (unless there’s some sort of promo deal). Not to mention including paint correction. You get what you pay for with bra work just like anything else.

 

I don't believe any of these Pista customers or the dealer were idiots either. These other PPF shops were all very good PPF shops and long time in the game, also quite fine doing other types of cars however, conceded Pista was a highly specialized job and maybe they just weren't able to put the time into getting it perfect - who knows? It also wasn't as if they weren't able to wrap these Pistas because they did. However the finished result did not meet the standard expected by the dealer here or, the customers either but I guess this had a lot to do with them seeing a Pista which had been done by this other guy who is re-known as Mr perfect. So these cars wound up back at this place to be re done. I think it all comes down to what you are used to seeing as well and what you are comparing your job against. This particular guy is very special for sure and puts so much time into his patterns and develops the film with the manufacturer to get the film the way it is. As i said earlier the stuff is like virtually bulletproof and nothing sticks to it. I haven't come across any other film quite like it and I've seen a lot of cars with the high end suntek and expel. You may well not be able to get the film he uses. One of my other cars has the hydrophobic expel and it truly doesn't compare so yeah you may need to ceramic coat that stuff to bring it up a bit. I don't think his film could be ceramic'd from what I can see as nothing sticks even the stickers come off if you aren't careful drying the car off (I have it on my gt2 too).

Also, once the dealer delivers the car then it's over to the customer to weed through the good and not so good and deal with any shortfalls. Many guys don't mind that if there are savings involved that mean something to them. Its always that way for most us after unloading so much $ on the car so it's perfectly understandable to go for a saving wherever it seems to present. For me I cant go back now - I'm over taking chances on cars of this value.

 

Ah, sweet relief. Dealer tells me it’s on the truck for transport west tomorrow...c’mon baby!!!

 

Bro , go with your gut not the peanut gallery. My money is on you. Best ,Kirk.

 

WooHoo! Can you do me a favor, I have seen plenty of pictures. Can you take some video maybe have someone ride with you so it’s video with you driving? Would love to see your impressions.

 

Just to set expectations, my PPf guy fit the entire bumper in one piece, the carbon bits were done individually. This is not for the average installer. My mirrors have no lines whatsoever. The rear valance will take multiple pieces and is fairly intricate - you will see what I mean when you get the car. I also had the carbon floors and the interior metal surfaces wrapped to ensure they don't get scuffed. One ride with my wife with her 5" heels made this worthwhile.

You are no rookie so I am sure you will work it out. Looking forward to your pics and impressions, I am sure you will bet blown away.

 

Christmas arriving early. Fortunately you live in AZ and can break the Pista in over the winter. Looking forward to the delivery pics.

 

Your updates and posts are even making me anxious to see the car LOL, can't wait!

 

Congrats, beautiful spec! Enjoy in good health!