fusion Posted August 24 Share Posted August 24 I recently painted my 280z and want to add paint protection film in key areas. The car is lowered and has wider tires with flares. What would be the key areas to cover? I'm assuming behind the rear tires from the bottom of the quarter to about 8" up, the rocker panels, the area behind the front tires on the fender from the bottom up to the body line, and the front valance/air dam. Does that sound right? Any other areas? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calZ Posted August 25 Share Posted August 25 On 8/23/2024 at 7:53 PM, fusion said: I recently painted my 280z and want to add paint protection film in key areas. The car is lowered and has wider tires with flares. What would be the key areas to cover? I'm assuming behind the rear tires from the bottom of the quarter to about 8" up, the rocker panels, the area behind the front tires on the fender from the bottom up to the body line, and the front valance/air dam. Does that sound right? Any other areas? Thanks Do you know the cost different between piecemeal and just doing the whole car? I'd be tempted to just do the whole thing. All those areas are good to protect you from rocks your own tires are throwing, but my daily has chips in the most random areas from other cars throwing stuff. Plus, you'd avoid the possibility of seeing the edges of the film. I had a car that was done only in the "danger areas", and after years of sun and exposure, the edges started to lift. It looked terrible. I'm sure that was more of an issue since my car was parked outside a lot and your Z likely won't be, but it's something to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusion Posted August 25 Author Share Posted August 25 Thanks for your comments Cal. I am planning on doing it myself so sticking to simpler areas really increase the likelihood of it turning out well. The cost of the film isn't crazy high so if it does look bad after a while I could always remove it. But your comments are definitely valid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gb20 Posted August 26 Share Posted August 26 I do PPF installation as part of my business, whatever that's worth. At the very least, I would do the full front end (hood, fenders, headlight buckets, air damn, and lights) along with the lower rocker area going down the sides, then some on the rear quarter, in front and behind the wheel. Any body panel that is slightly sloped downwards, like the doors and rear valance, has a high risk of getting damaged, so think about covering those as well. You can then do a ceramic coating over the rest of the car which will help prevent the dirt build up along the edges and protect the rest of the car from UV and chemical damage. Doing it yourself can be done, but if it's your first time, it can be surprisingly difficult to get it right, so plan on wasting some film and getting frustrated. Also, be careful of inexpensive film. It's usually very poor quality which will yellow and crack on you very quickly and is a pain in the butt to remove. Oh, and check with the painter to see how long you should wait before applying the film. If you do it too early, it can cause all kinds of problems leading to needing a repaint. I don't get on here nearly as often as I'd like, but you can feel free to reach out on FB at fb.me/devilsdetailsgb or instagram.com/detailsdevils with any questions. I'm happy to help however I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusion Posted August 26 Author Share Posted August 26 Thanks for your comments, very insightful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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