Guides
Wrap, PPF and window tint, explained
Updated · Wrap Workx, Lingfield, Surrey
Straight answers from the workshop — what the films do, what UK law allows, how to look after the finish. No sales copy; when a job needs a professional we say so.
What paint protection film does, and what it does not
Paint protection film, or PPF, is a clear urethane film fitted over painted panels so that stone chips, gravel rash and wash marks land on the film instead of the paint. It is not a wrap and it does not change the colour. Here is what it actually does on a car that lives on the roads around Lingfield, and the questions worth asking before you book it.
ReadWrap or respray? An honest comparison
People come to us wanting a new colour and assume a wrap is the only answer we will give. It is not. A wrap and a respray do different things, and the right one depends on the condition of the car, how long you will keep it and what you want it to look like in five years. This is how we talk it through in the workshop.
ReadWindow tint and UK law: what is actually legal
There is more myth around tint law than around almost anything else we fit. The rules themselves are short. The front glass has legal minimums for how much light must pass through; the glass behind the driver has none. Everything else is detail, and the detail is where people get caught out.
ReadGloss or satin: choosing a wrap finish
Colour is the first decision on a wrap and finish is the second, and the second one changes the car more than most people expect. The same grey in gloss and in satin looks like two different cars. This is how the finishes behave in daylight, in the wash and over time, so you can choose with your eyes open.
ReadWhy the edges decide whether a wrap lasts
Two wraps in the same colour on the same car can look identical on the day they are collected and completely different a year later. The difference is almost never the film. It is what happened at the edges: whether the film was wrapped around them, whether it was heated afterwards, and where the cuts were made. This is the part of the job nobody photographs and the part that decides everything.
ReadLooking after a wrap or PPF
Film is not paint. It is tougher than paint in some ways and more particular in others, and most of the wraps we see fail early were washed to death rather than worn out. None of this is difficult. It is a handful of habits, most of which also happen to be good for paint.
ReadPPF or ceramic coating? They do different jobs
The question we hear most about protection is "PPF or ceramic?", as if it were a choice between two versions of the same thing. It is not. Paint protection film is a physical barrier that takes impacts. A ceramic coating is a chemical layer that makes paint harder to mark and easier to clean. They protect against different things, and a lot of cars are better with both.
ReadChoosing a window tint shade
Most people choose tint by pointing at the darkest car they have seen. That works for privacy and for looks, and it tells you nothing about heat, glare or how the car will feel at night. The shade and the film are separate decisions. This guide explains the numbers and the trade-offs so you can pick both on purpose.
ReadGetting a car ready for a wrap
A wrap is only as good as the surface under it. Film follows every bump, sticks to whatever the top layer of paint is doing and shows every speck it was laid over. Most of the disappointment we see in wraps fitted elsewhere started before the film came off the roll. Here is what needs to be true about the car, what you can do yourself, and what we do when it arrives.
ReadHaving a car wrapped at our Lingfield workshop: what to expect
If you have never had a car wrapped, the process is a bit of a mystery: how long it takes, what you need to bring, what the car goes through and what you get back. This is the plain version of how a colour change runs at our Lingfield workshop, from the first message to the drive home.
Read
Read what you need, then tell us the vehicle and the finish you are after — we will quote it in writing, with the film and the preparation spelled out.