Paint Protection Film

I have this on my truck as a port installed option. No idea if it is offered outside of the southeast. It has some nasty cloudy spots that won't buff out. Trying to decide if I should just remove it and be done with it or if I should accept the offer to replace it, but of course they are claiming that it is an environmental damage and not covered by the lifetime warranty. They are offering a goodwill gesture and I pay $125 to have it replace. That covers material and labor of removal and reinstall. Not a bad price compared to what these price out at trim shops.

My concern is that the replacement will have the same problem as the current one and I always wonder what the paint will be like when I take it off in a few years. I kind of like it since my hood will be perfect and seeing the nasty dings on my roof makes me worried about what the hood would look like.

Anyone have any experience replacing and long term use removal of these?

 

My 16" Tacoma had the paint protection that was installed by SET (I think that distributor is located in Jacksonville, FL). After a couple of years it started getting small yellow discolorations in spots. I decided to remove it from the hood, fenders, and mirrors. That process was a first class "bitch" to complete. I tried everything I knew and even advice from a body shop. But, it finely all came off and I (thankfully) sold the truck. Fortunately my 2020 TRD did not have that crap on it!

My advice (that and a $1 will buy you a large drink at McDonald's): DON'T REPLACE IT!!

 

OP - Do you have any pictures? What kind (brand) of film do you have on the truck?

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I'm interested in this topic as there seems to be MANY new paint protection films (xpel, Stek...), coatings (ceramic, etc?), magical 'self-healing' applications, etc. that promise protection against anything from oxidation, fading, and rock chips, to thermo-nuclear attack.

I do not have experience with any of these - but would appreciate insight from those of you who have - the good, the bad and the ugly... (as appears to be in the above case). I do imagine that removal would be a B*tch... with possibly scratching ocurring due to this removal...

Some folks on TW seem willing to spend thousands on these products (as I've read), while others wish they could coat the whole truck as they praise the benefits... which would indicate that some of these actually work - or at least provide some benefit.

Last I explored this - a few years back- it all seemed poppycock and I've resorted to a good quality wax as paint maintenance myself... (Obviously not for Rock-chip protection...).

 

Yeah it’s offered in the northeast as I have it on mine...bought the truck new back in 2017 no issues at all. It’s listed on the factory window sticker so I’m assuming it was factory installed. If it’s cloudy under the film then they fucked up!

 

RHINOLINER.

 

I'm not a fan of protection film after doing some research to determine whether to cover my C7 Grandsport. It's very expensive, not as durable as manufacturer states and there always seems to be a reason why an issue isn't covered under warranty.

 

It boils down to film quality, if you garage vehicle & how well installed. I can assure you that “port / dealer installed” will be cheap and cheap on two of those.
Yes it’s worth if, But only if you get quality film and garage you vehicle. 5 years outside will kill even the best film.

Pay them the to $125 to remove it, it’s worth that just in your time, then if they f the paint, it’s their problem.

 

Picture of what it looks like -
It almost looks like spider webbing. Mostly around the front of the hood. When the dealer said that it was 'environmental', I asked why it didn't extend onto the paint or the grill. Of course no answer.

I wish I could find out the vendor that makes it so I could go to them. Not expecting them to do anything, but give me a better idea of what happened and if it is likely to occur again.

 

Owning a 2017 Taco, I pulled off the clear coating on my other vehicle, a 2009 Altima and after 170K has COMPLETELY kept the paint in perfect condition even after my 'Arizona' paint job on the remaining part of the hood and roof is nearly destroyed. Anyone in AZ know of a company/dealer that specialized in adding this onto vehicles?

 

What's been your findings? It seemed like Xpel ultimate was the go to film for whole car cover on a supercar. The self healing demo with the wire brush and heat gun is impressive. I do have concern of dirty creeping under the edges and being abrasive to the paint.

 

Greetlings Mattleg from Tucson. Honestly, 'nothing' at the moment. After realizing how impressive the factory coating was on my sun-worn Altima, this is what got me thinking. My Blazing Blue Pearl is gorgeous, though maybe not the exact color I wanted, it's definitely growing on me. For that reason, I may have this truck for a while and here in AZ, the rocks thrown up by ALL vehicles even here on the main highways, are ridiculously atrocious... This is why I believe the small investment here to 'help' the paint, would pay dividends upon reselling. I'll see about grabbing a photo of the wife's car to prove after 170K, the sealing wrap really does work. But, for the point of this, the rocks and debris you can expect to hit your front end outside of countless windshield replacements, is why I want to do this. Being new to Tacoma World, I'm hoping with the bazillion Tacos here (in AZ), someone surely knows of a great location to acquire this. As soon as I learn this, I'll definitely share it.

 

Yes, please share. Rock chips are my main concern so it would be interesting. I drive chipseal roads a lot, the bumper and hood of my two older cars are just blasted with rock chips. I'm thinking the AVS skin on the hood and film on the front facing areas, bumper, grill, headlights, mirrors and A-piller.

 

My 2016 tacoma mgm color had the factory clear bra packages install prior to buying it and would do it over again for sure but of course my truck is garaged so maybe that makes a difference. No lifting on the edges and it still looks great.

 

I had Expel installed by a certified installer on half of the hood, the whole front painted trim and the door cups. My truck did not come with the pre-installed PPF. OP's picture looks like the etching you would see directly on paint. If you decide to go with more PPF, check out Expel. Warranty is 7 years, I think. It aint cheap, though. I detest rock chips on the front of my vehicles, that's why I use it. My previous car had 3M PPF and it started to yellow after 18 months. Stay away from 3M as far as PPF goes. Expel hasn't dulled or yellowed in the 18 months I've had it on the truck and is great condition, and I live where the sun beats down on surfaces. I think the key is to use a carnauba wax or similar non-chemical wax to keep it from drying out and discoloring. I wax it often...maybe every other wash. Not sure if you treated your PPF.

 

Agree my wife has Expel on her 2016 and it's like new I even applies ceramic to it.

 

I paid for it to be applied professionally on my Charger but it wasn't an OEM add on. I did it later through a local company with a good history of using it and I think the brand they used was 3M of course that was 7 years ago and it help up extremely well with zero clouding or yellowing. I've thought about doing it again on the Taco but haven't gotten the desire to spend 800 bucks on it yet

 

@mattleg my new 2020 is in the shop now getting that exact film on it. It’s being put on the Entire front end up to the risers and on the headlights. From there back it’s only going on the rocker panels. I waited 16yrs to get a new truck and have had an 04 first gen ever since so I’m taking care of this one for the long term. Here in NJ the whole front end and rocker panels cost $2200 to do.
No major concern of the rocker panels getting chipped here in Nj even wo mud flaps from testimonials ive gotten from other taco drivers, at least compared to states like AZ and for people that travel gravel roads, but still it was an extra 400$ to do them and I was already dropping 1800 to protect the paint, now I won’t be overly concerned when I take off the flaps and if I chose to take off the oem tube steps as well. (For looks). Gonna see how I feel about it after I level it and get the wheels and tires on.

 

2017. Got a guy who did it as his side gig. I got a sweet deal and installed in on almost every part of the truck. It is still nearly perfect to this day. You got a bad install and excuses. Dont let that take away from the fact that it is the best thing you could do fir your paint. I paid him $800 for bumper, grill shroud, hood, a-pillars, leading edge of roof, entire length of rocker panels, door pockets, headlights, foglights. Paid him another $400 to do my grill and bushwackers a few months later. Toyota wanted $1200 just for bumper and hood

 

Sound like unfortunately but......my new truck has a sticker on the windshield that says “Perma Plate” and I do see some kind of film in places. I looked company up and they do that kind of stuff. Maybe yours is that type as well??

 

I think the Co. i used was ABC. film in Mesa off power McKellips its not cheep but they use Quality product they did my FJ and BMW, FJ lived outside for 4 years no fade and the wife BMW was the same and had no fade after 6 years