PPF vs Sytner Protect

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Grumpyjohn1957
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PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by Grumpyjohn1957 » Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:35 pm

When I bought the car it was booked in for PPF, alas along came lockdown and unfortunately it never happened. That was 2 years ago.

Having spent the Saturday prior to the Nottingham meet cleaning every inch I realise Brunhilda is now a shameful mess. The leading edge of the bonnet, the splitter and the side skirts are absolutely peppered with stone chips. (Way beyond repairing with Chippex)
In this regard my previous G31 fared better, especially the side skirts which are sandblasted to bare plastic for the first 100mm after the front wheels.

Whilst having pads changed at Sytner Leicester I asked the Bodyshop to take a look. The result is now in. I’d welcome any thoughts and wisdom.

Sytner advise remove & respray both bonnet, bumper & splitter, blend the new paint into front wings which will then require replacement decals to both wings and splitter.
All a bit pricey but they assure me, car goes back to something approaching showroom.
At this point I could either PPF or wait two years for it to rash up once more, then have it resprayed again - there’s not much in the cost!

To protect the respray Sytner offered a system called “Liquid Protect” link below.

https://www.sytner.co.uk/bmw/car-mainte ... d-protect/

What do you think? Its PPF money but looks better.
Am I expecting too much for a car that gets used heavily? Should I accept the fact it's going to get battered or do my utmost to preserve its condition?
John
2019 G31 B5 Biturbo Touring #336 - Sophisto Grey
(Brunhilda)

ScooBeeFive
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Re: PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by ScooBeeFive » Thu Apr 28, 2022 10:08 pm

Hi John,

I think if you're going to the expense of getting it resprayed, I'd invest in getting it protected too. Whilst the cost might be similar to a second respray, consider that it should look close to perfect for the next 2 years, rather than steadily degrading back to the point where you are now.

It might be worth getting a quote on the spray protection from these guys. They were about the first I saw to offer this and they have done cars for people like Chris Harris:

https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/paint- ... ion-spray/

I'd imagine they come in cheaper than Sytner? Certainly worth an ask.....
Paul

2013 F11 B5 BiTurbo Touring #135 - Alpina Blue
2017 F33 B4S BiTurbo Cabrio #235 - Tanzanite Blue

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jolls
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Re: PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by jolls » Sat Apr 30, 2022 10:46 am

ScooBeeFive wrote:
Thu Apr 28, 2022 10:08 pm

It might be worth getting a quote on the spray protection from these guys. They were about the first I saw to offer this and they have done cars for people like Chris Harris:

https://www.litchfieldmotors.com/paint- ... ion-spray/

I'd imagine they come in cheaper than Sytner? Certainly worth an ask.....
That's interesting. I wonder how the spray protection adheres to the gloss paint?
B3 E46 no.265

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Re: PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by 440 » Mon May 02, 2022 9:09 am

Grumpyjohn1957 wrote:
Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:35 pm
When I bought the car it was booked in for PPF, alas along came lockdown and unfortunately it never happened. That was 2 years ago.
Shame this did not go ahead back then, it was the right time to do it. Now you need to correct the paint before you install the PPF.

My Alpina has PPF, I love it and highly recommend it. No swirl marks and no damage to the bodywork paint. I know XPEL PPF self-heals with heat (under sunlight for example although that will take longer in the UK :P). It is pricey but absolutely worth it (in my opinion).

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jolls
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Re: PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by jolls » Mon May 02, 2022 10:53 am

Regarding the sprayed protection a question I would be asking is what happens if a small repair needs doing? How is the protection removed prior to painting or can it be painted over? What happens if you need to take colour onto another panel to blend in?
B3 E46 no.265

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Re: PPF vs Sytner Protect

Post by Gorgerak » Thu Jul 21, 2022 2:17 pm

I had the Liquid protect applied to my M140i just before lockdown by Cotswold BMW (they called it liquid wrap) then a ceramic coating applied on top.

The liquid wrap was applied to the 'front end' - bonnet, bumper, front wings and wing mirrors. The ceramic coating then applied to that and the rest of the car. The solution used is the same product used by Topaz detailing in London (the one all the youtubers use for their supercars), and requires a licence from the manufacturer to apply - so it's a high quality product, applied by a qualified detailer.

Cost for the above was just over £2,000 - £1400 for the wrap and £600 for the ceramic.

There is an option to have the car fully wrapped - which is a lot more, if my memory is correct the quote for the M140i full body wrap was ~£4500 - I can see this being worthwhile on a car with very expensive and/or bespoke paint, but not regular production line paint.

I have been massively impressed by it - there are no stone chips on the front end, no yellowing or peeling of the wrap like you can get with regular PPF and the colour all over is bright and still pops in the sun like new.

I would definitely have this done again on my next car - I asked for a quote for the front end treatment on a B3 and was quoted ~£2,200 for the wrap and ~£700 for the ceramic (A full car wrap on a B3 was quoted at ~£8000)

Regarding repair work, I'm no expert but I believe the liquid wrap is designed to be manually peeled away if damaged or no longer needed and then reapplied to the panel in question. Clearly the cost of doing so would depend on the size of the panel, so weigh the value of doing so up on a case by case basis.

I would also highly recommend getting the protection put on if you are going to the cost of having the paintwork corrected. It may be worth asking if it can be applied to the body panels behind the wheels (especially rear wheels) if you are concerned about them being sandblasted. Although it is worth noting that you can't protect part of a body panel - you spray all of it or none of it. This is due to the way the liquid spray wraps around the edges of the panel and bonds to the paint (or so I was told).

Regular PPF has the advantage here as you can cut off a strip of any size and apply it to anywhere.

The other advantage with liquid wrap is the customisation that is possible - you can have a colour put into it to change the colour of your car if you wish, possibly for a special occasion, rally or trip, or just a change of colour desire (not sure if you would need to tell the DVLA or insurance company about this though). Additionally you can have a matte or gloss effect applied to turn your gloss paint to a matte effect or vice versa.

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