Is applying car paint protection film worth it?MINTY tells you
“Do I really need to apply car paint protection film to my newly purchased car?” This is a question that many customers who come to comprehensive automotive service shops often ask.
Indeed, at present, applying car paint protection film is the most direct and most effective physical protection method for car paint, and together with window tint film, it has already become the project with the largest share in the automotive modification market. However, applying car paint protection film also has many disadvantages, which make most ordinary car owners find it difficult to accept, and even regret applying car paint protection film. Therefore, if you do not know how to answer this type of question from customers, you will understand after reading this post. This is said both for car owners and for customers of our comprehensive shops.
Advantages
First, let’s talk about the advantages of car paint protection film. Because the current mainstream car paint protection film is made of thermoplastic polyurethane, that is, TPU, when car paint protection film is applied on your car paint, some common car paint damage, such as minor scratches and scuffs, swirl marks caused by car washing, fingernail scratches around the door handle area, and small stone chips on the hood and bumper, can all be avoided. This is because TPU has the characteristics of wear resistance, high hardness, good elasticity, and high toughness, and car paint protection film will show “reversibility” for minor damage according to the increase or decrease of temperature. That is why people who have applied car paint protection film or shops that apply car paint protection film will tell you that even if car paint protection film is scratched, it does not matter; after exposure to the sun or after washing the car, car paint protection film will automatically recover. This is true.
Therefore, for most ordinary cars with low car wash frequency, or cars that often go through automatic car wash machines at gas stations, or cars that frequently drive on highways, or cars in crowded parking conditions that want to reduce scraping losses, as well as new cars whose original factory paint you consider relatively valuable, applying car paint protection film is indeed a very good one-time investment. OK, the advantages are finished. Many car owners place orders directly after hearing these advantages—too hasty!
Disadvantages
Now let’s focus on the disadvantages, or risks, of applying car paint protection film. We will go from minor to more serious. First, the smallest issue is that whether it is applying window film or applying car paint protection film, there is a probability that knife marks may appear on your car paint. The reason is very simple: the more you pursue the ultimate wrapping effect of car paint protection film on the body panels, the more you need to use a utility knife for detailed trimming. Even very skilled technicians cannot guarantee that they will absolutely not cut into the car paint.
At this time, some shops will say that they have data scans of the body panels for each car model in their database, and can directly pre-cut car paint protection film without using a knife. That is correct in theory. However, pre-cut car paint protection film also has a probability that the edges and corners of the body panels cannot be perfectly wrapped. In this case, if no knife is used, there will definitely be imperfections at these edges and corners. Therefore, using a knife is actually a standard operation, and also the most basic skill of a film installation shop. If a shop cannot use a knife, it should not be operating a film installation business.
However, there is no need to worry too much. As long as the technician is skilled, even if knife marks appear on the paint, they are very slight, and in most cases can be removed by polishing. So the key issue is whether the technician responsible for applying car paint protection film has a sense of responsibility.
The second risk of applying car paint protection film is the risk of abnormal noise from parts.
If you want to pursue an extremely seamless effect with car paint protection film, fully wrapping every part of the body panels with no visible seams at all, then many small components on the car body need to be removed, including but not limited to all badges, all trim pieces, all lights, rearview mirrors, door handles, all door interior panels, and in some cases even the wiper arms. Not to mention the risk of damage during disassembly and reassembly, as long as these parts are fixed with plastic clips, once they are removed and reinstalled, there is a possibility of abnormal noise during driving. So here you need to make a trade-off. For example, if you do not remove the rearview mirror, there will be a seam on the car paint protection film on the door, which looks unattractive and may trap dust or cause lifting at the edges. If you choose to remove it, then it involves removing the door interior panel. Therefore, you need to make your own judgment. The higher your requirements, the more disassembly is needed, or it depends on how familiar the shop is with the specific car model. The more familiar the shop is, the better they know how to disassemble it, and the lower the probability of damaging these parts.
The third risk of applying car paint protection film is that removing car paint protection film may peel off the car paint.
This depends on different situations. The first situation is applying car paint protection film on a new car, and then removing car paint protection film after five years. Will removing car paint protection film peel off the paint? Many people think it is impossible, but in fact it is possible. The reason is simple: for some car models, the original factory paint on plastic panels does not include primer, such as the bumper, door handles, rearview mirrors, and similar parts. Therefore, even original factory paint may have relatively weak adhesion. At this time, if the shop that applied car paint protection film five years ago had higher standards, they would have applied wax or coating in advance on these areas before applying car paint protection film. In that case, removing car paint protection film would be relatively safe and the original paint would not peel off. But if this was not done, then removing car paint protection film may peel off the original factory paint. The second situation is when there has been repainting on the body panels. In this case, it is very likely that removing car paint protection film will also peel off the paint, which is quite common. The worst situation is when you choose cheap and low-quality car paint protection film. This type of car paint protection film may “merge” with your car paint due to hydrolysis. In this case, if you go back to the shop that applied car paint protection film, the shop may no longer be in business. Then if you find someone to remove car paint protection film, the cost of removing car paint protection film may even be higher than the cost of applying car paint protection film, and your car paint may also be ruined. Therefore, my suggestion is: when applying car paint protection film, do not choose cheap options! Do not choose cheap options! Do not choose cheap options! Also, make sure to ask clearly about the warranty period of the car paint protection film. Generally, it is 5 to 10 years. No matter how long it is, you should return to the original shop or an authorized shop of the car paint protection film brand within the warranty period to remove car paint protection film. Shops or brands with higher standards and quality will usually remove car paint protection film for free during the warranty period. If it is difficult to remove car paint protection film, then it is also a quality issue of the car paint protection film.
The fourth risk of applying car paint protection film is that car washing may damage car paint protection film.
Many people apply car paint protection film in order to reduce the frequency of car washing. However, this leads to a problem: each time the car is washed, it is very dirty, especially at the seams of the body panels. If the car wash worker does not notice that your car has car paint protection film, and uses a high-pressure water gun aggressively on these seams, it may cause the car paint protection film to bulge. At this point, it becomes awkward. Asking the car wash worker for compensation is unrealistic, as they only earn a small amount for washing a car, while reapplying car paint protection film may cost hundreds or even thousands. Most likely, both sides will argue, and in the end you will have to accept the loss yourself, which makes the situation even worse. However, this is still a relatively mild case, because car paint protection film that has just been lifted by water pressure can still be repaired at a relatively low cost.
A more troublesome situation is when the car wash worker causes the car paint protection film to bulge but does not inform you, and temporarily fixes it so you cannot notice it. By the time you discover it, dust has already entered, and that entire piece of car paint protection film must be replaced. At that point, you do not know whether it was due to improper edge finishing during the application of car paint protection film or caused by the car wash. If you go to the car paint protection film shop, they will not admit responsibility; if you go to the car wash shop, they will not admit responsibility either. In the end, you have to bear it yourself. Several of my friends who applied car paint protection film have encountered such problems. Therefore, after applying car paint protection film, the safest place to wash your car is the same automotive detailing shop that applied car paint protection film, because they will pay special attention during washing. Even if car paint protection film is damaged during washing, you will not need to pay again for repairs.
The fifth risk is that some shops, in order to pursue better results, will use a large amount of adhesive promoters.
Of course, this is relatively rare in the field of applying car paint protection film, and is more common when applying window film. This is because there are many convex and concave edges on the body panel lines. Convex edges are raised panel lines, while concave edges are recessed panel lines. When applying car paint protection film on concave edges, there is a problem: there is a high risk of bubbling, because the film on concave edges does not have tension like the film on convex edges to hold itself in place. Therefore, in theory, if you want to ensure that car paint protection film at these positions will not bubble at all, it is necessary to apply adhesive promoter in the concave edges. A small amount of adhesive promoter is acceptable, because adhesive promoter can be removed by certain methods when removing car paint protection film. However, the problem is that some shops, when encountering cars with more pronounced panel lines, in order to save effort, improve efficiency, and avoid future bubbling, will use a large amount of adhesive promoter, especially on the front and rear bumpers. In this case, when removing car paint protection film, your car paint will look very bad, and there is a high probability that removing car paint protection film will also peel off the paint. In the end, the car owner suffers. Therefore, as mentioned before, to avoid this situation, you must have the shop that applied car paint protection film remove car paint protection film for you within the warranty period. Do not hesitate, because in this case, if damage occurs during removal, it is a problem with their installation or their car paint protection film, and has nothing to do with you.
The last risk of applying car paint protection film, and also its biggest disadvantage, is that I strongly recommend: if you can only park your car outdoors during the day, then I suggest you do not apply car paint protection film, and also do not apply window film.
Do not believe some shops that say applying car paint protection film can prevent paint aging. Yes, the car paint may not age, but car paint protection film will accelerate aging. Car paint protection film that is exposed to sunlight for a long time will develop surface hazing, and this cannot self-repair, gradually turning into a matte-like car paint protection film. If your car is white, you will find that it becomes severely yellow. As for window film exposed to long-term sunlight, it may crack directly and eventually stick to your car paint, making it impossible to remove completely. Therefore, responsible shops will ask clearly about your parking environment before applying car paint protection film or window film, especially daytime parking conditions, and will inform you in advance of potential issues based on your situation. This is because many car paint protection film products that claim a 5-year, 8-year, or 10-year warranty have a prerequisite: the car cannot be parked outdoors for long periods.
The thickness of car paint protection film is also very important. It is best to choose car paint protection film with a thickness of 8.5 mil. Car paint protection film that is too thin is actually unnecessary. MINTY only sells 8.5 mil car paint protection film. Why do we not sell 7.5 mil or even thinner car paint protection film? Because based on our many years of experience in the automotive aftermarket industry, thinner car paint protection film is the least beneficial to consumers. Since you have chosen to use car paint protection film to protect your car, there is no need to use thinner car paint protection film with lower protection performance.
In this article written by MINTY for consumers and purchasers, have you learned more about car paint protection film? If your automotive modification shop happens to need a high-quality car paint protection film with your own logo, and we happen to be looking for customers like you, please click below to contact us.