What paint protection film does, and what it does not

What the film is

PPF is a thick, clear thermoplastic urethane with an adhesive on the back and a hard top coat on the face. Typical films are around 150 to 200 microns thick, which is several times thicker than a colour-change wrap film. That thickness is the whole point: a stone that would chip lacquer hits a layer that absorbs the impact and springs back.

The top coat on modern films is what people mean by self-healing. Light swirls and fine scratches in that top coat close up with warmth, from the sun or from warm water. It is a real effect and it works. It does not repair a gouge, a deep key mark or a chip that has gone through the film, and it does nothing for damage to the paint underneath. Treat it as a way to keep the film looking new.

Fitted properly the film is close to invisible. A satin version exists if you want to change the sheen of a factory gloss finish while protecting it.

What it protects against

• Stone chips on the bonnet, front bumper and wing leading edges — the damage most drivers notice first on a new car.
• Gravel rash behind the wheels, on sills and on the lower doors.
• Wash marring and swirls from brushes and drying towels, which the top coat shrugs off.
• Bird lime and tree sap etching into lacquer if it is left for a few days in summer.
• Bag scuffs and belt buckles around door handles and the boot lip.

What it will not do: it will not stop a dent, it will not hide existing chips (they must be repaired before the film goes on, or they show through), and it will not stop paint underneath from fading if the car spends its life outside. It is a barrier against contact damage, and it is very good at that one job.

Where it goes on the car

Most customers do not film the whole car. The common packages, in order of how often we fit them, are a front end (bonnet, front wings, front bumper, mirror caps and headlights where the lens allows), a partial front (the leading third of the bonnet and wings plus the bumper), and a full body. High-wear extras are the sill tops, the load lip on the boot, door edges and the strip behind the rear wheels on a car that sees gravel drives.

A partial front is cheaper but it leaves a line across the bonnet where the film stops. On a light colour that line is nearly impossible to see; on a dark car in low sun you can find it if you look. We tell people this before they choose. A full bonnet avoids the line entirely because the film is wrapped around the edges of the panel.

Edges matter more on PPF than on anything else we fit. Where the panel shape allows, the film is wrapped over the edge and tucked, so there is no exposed film edge to catch a wash mitt or a fingernail. Where it cannot be wrapped, the edge is cut back a couple of millimetres from the panel edge and sealed. A film edge cut on the paint is the first thing to lift.

Common mistakes

• Filming over chips or a badly polished panel. Whatever is under the film stays under the film. Paint correction and chip repair come first.
• Choosing the thinnest, cheapest film for a car that does motorway miles. Thin film is fine on a garage queen; on a commuter it is asking a lot of it.
• Washing the car the day after fitting. The adhesive needs time to cure. We say leave it a week, and no pressure washer near the edges for longer than that.
• Expecting self-healing to fix a scratch you can feel with a fingernail. If you can feel it, it is through the top coat.
• Fitting film to a brand-new car before the dealer prep has been checked. Dealer valeting often leaves swirls and holograms that will be locked in.

When to book a professional, and when to leave it

PPF is one of the least forgiving films to fit. It is thick, it needs a slip solution and a tack solution used in the right amounts, and every bubble or speck of dust under it stays there for years. A kit from the internet on a warm day in a driveway rarely ends well. If you want it done, have it done in a clean, temperature-controlled workshop by someone who fits it every week.

It is also fine to decide against it. A ten-year-old daily driver with a few chips already does not need a full front. A new car on lease that you will hand back in three years might benefit from a partial front and nothing else. A car you plan to keep, that you care about, that does real miles, is where a full front or full body earns its money. We will say which of those you are when we look at the car.

Every job we quote is a fixed written quotation for exactly the panels agreed, and the work carries a written warranty. If a panel needs paint work first, that is said up front.