[RamAir02]

I'm dropping my new ZLE off for paint correction & PPF on Friday morning. I've spoken with the shop a couple of times on the phone already and we've been discussing where we should PPF for optimal protection of high impact areas. We'll make a final call in person on Friday at the appointment, but I wanted to ask your opinion of recommended areas to cover since you all know this car better than the shop will!

Here's what we're thinking of doing:

• Full Hood
• Front & Rear Bumpers including Splitter
• Full Front Fenders
• Mirrors
• Rocker Panels
• Partial Rear Quarters (behind wheels)

Do you recommend adding any additional coverage? Do you recommend removing anything from the list that is unnecessary? If money was no object, I'd PPF the whole damn car, but I'm not ready to drop $5k+ after just purchasing this vehicle. Any insight is much appreciated.

[RideWithDanger]

I was considering it, but its a car and its going to get a little damage. Im just doing DIY ceramic for now. I can't justify spending that much to try and protect that car when that money can go towards fun/cosmetic mods that make me happier. I'll let the car be a car.

Granted, mine is a daily driver V6 so its not super important to me or need to be car show ready all the time.

[Yanniz]

Originally Posted by RideWithDanger

I was considering it, but its a car and its going to get a little damage. Im just doing DIY ceramic for now. I can't justify spending that much to try and protect that car when that money can go towards fun/cosmetic mods that make me happier. I'll let the car be a car.

Granted, mine is a daily driver V6 so its not super important to me or need to be car show ready all the time.

Yep, same here ��. Heck mine has a couple of chip’s on the roof!

If you want to spend the $s, do the obvious areas, front, hood, areas by tires etc.

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by RideWithDanger

I was considering it, but its a car and its going to get a little damage. Im just doing DIY ceramic for now. I can't justify spending that much to try and protect that car when that money can go towards fun/cosmetic mods that make me happier. I'll let the car be a car.

Granted, mine is a daily driver V6 so its not super important to me or need to be car show ready all the time.

Originally Posted by Yanniz

Yep, same here ��. Heck mine has a couple of chip’s on the roof!

If you want to spend the $s, do the obvious areas, front, hood, areas by tires etc.

Thanks. I plan on keeping this car for a long while, so I do want to provide a decent amount of protection. And the ZLE .R compound tires are sticky as all hell, so will kick up a good amount of gravel & rocks. Thus, I'm willing to invest a couple of grand in protection, but not ready to splurge for a full car wrap.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Here's what we're thinking of doing:

• Full Hood
• Front & Rear Bumpers including Splitter
• Full Front Fenders
• Mirrors
• Rocker Panels
• Partial Rear Quarters (behind wheels)

Do you recommend adding any additional coverage? Do you recommend removing anything from the list that is unnecessary? If money was no object, I'd PPF the whole damn car, but I'm not ready to drop $5k+ after just purchasing this vehicle. Any insight is much appreciated.

Add to this:

• Rockers up to the body line on the door (where it sticks out). This area will take hits.
• IN FRONT OF the rear wheels -- this area will take a LOT of hits from the front tires kicking up rocks.
• Headlights if not included with the front bumper.
• Windshield surround -- takes a lot of bug hits. This can be pricey if they use an entire windshield sized sheet of material and don't have a pattern cutter and use the same sheet for the mirrors, headlights, etc.

Additional suggestions:

• Have them remove the heat extractor and emblems before installing the film so you have no visible seams (which will show on the black bits).
• Have them oversize all the patterns so they can wrap and tuck all the edges.
• You can have them also remove the bumpers if you want to go extreme with the "no seams" look, but that's a fair bit of extra time and $$$. I didn't and it's not really noticeable unless you look VERY closely.
• Use an installer that has experience doing 6th gen ZL1s. The front bumper is a b!tch to get right.

Glad to see you're doing the rear bumper, as our cars collect a lot of dust on the back (and sand in my case).

I'm thinking of going back to my installer this summer (2 year mark) to have them replace the front splitter film (has taken a couple rock hits), film the rest of the car, and refresh the Gtechniq EXO hydrophobic coating on the entire car and wheels.

Not having to worry about swirling the paint when washing is a big plus for me (mine is a show/weekend car). Hydrophobic coatings on top of self-healing PPF are the ultimate miracle of modern car care technology. Soooooo easy to keep everything looking perfect!

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Add to this:

• Rockers up to the body line on the door (where it sticks out). This area will take hits.
  
• IN FRONT OF the rear wheels -- this area will take a LOT of hits from the front tires kicking up rocks.
  
• Headlights if not included with the front bumper.
  
• Windshield surround -- takes a lot of bug hits. This can be pricey if they use an entire windshield sized sheet of material and don't have a pattern cutter and use the same sheet for the mirrors, headlights, etc.
  

Additional suggestions:

• Have them remove the heat extractor and emblems before installing the film so you have no visible seams (which will show on the black bits).
  
• Have them oversize all the patterns so they can wrap and tuck all the edges.
  
• You can have them also remove the bumpers if you want to go extreme with the "no seams" look, but that's a fair bit of extra time and $$$. I didn't and it's not really noticeable unless you look VERY closely.
  
• Use an installer that has experience doing 6th gen ZL1s. The front bumper is a b!tch to get right.
  

Glad to see you're doing the rear bumper, as our cars collect a lot of dust on the back (and sand in my case).



I'm thinking of going back to my installer this summer (2 year mark) to have them replace the front splitter film (has taken a couple rock hits), film the rest of the car, and refresh the Gtechniq EXO hydrophobic coating on the entire car and wheels.



Not having to worry about swirling the paint when washing is a big plus for me (mine is a show/weekend car). Hydrophobic coatings on top of self-healing PPF are the ultimate miracle of modern car care technology. Soooooo easy to keep everything looking perfect!

Awesome. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Thanks so much!

[hawk02]

I would recommend covering the entire rear bumper. I had the impact areas in front and behind the rear wheels covered on the first go around. About 9 months later I went back and had the entire rear bumper covered.

A lot of road debris gets kicked up on the back of these cars during normal driving. This increases the risk of scratches when getting stuff in and out of the trunk. My rear bumper, especially around the trunk opening, took a beating during those 9 months without film. Adding film to that area has been well worth it.

[camaroJD]

Originally Posted by RideWithDanger

I was considering it, but its a car and its going to get a little damage. Im just doing DIY ceramic for now. I can't justify spending that much to try and protect that car when that money can go towards fun/cosmetic mods that make me happier. I'll let the car be a car.

Granted, mine is a daily driver V6 so its not super important to me or need to be car show ready all the time.

What DIY ceramic are you going to use? I want to do the same but I'm overwhelmed and somewhat confused by all the options.

[RLem619]

I did everything on yours and Gunkk's list, plus the door cups and door edges. These cars have very long doors and I can see them bumping something in the future. Had the lifetime Ceramic coating applied also.

[wrankin]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

I'm dropping my new ZLE off for paint correction & PPF on Friday morning. I've spoken with the shop a couple of times on the phone already and we've been discussing where we should PPF for optimal protection of high impact areas. We'll make a final call in person on Friday at the appointment, but I wanted to ask your opinion of recommended areas to cover since you all know this car better than the shop will!

Here's what we're thinking of doing:

• Full Hood
• Front & Rear Bumpers including Splitter
• Full Front Fenders
• Mirrors
• Rocker Panels
• Partial Rear Quarters (behind wheels)

Do you recommend adding any additional coverage? Do you recommend removing anything from the list that is unnecessary? If money was no object, I'd PPF the whole damn car, but I'm not ready to drop $5k+ after just purchasing this vehicle. Any insight is much appreciated.

I have my entire rockers covered.

I also had a narrow PPF strip place on the rear bumper on the sort of vertical area to align with the trunk opening. That area seemed to get really scratched a lot. I have caught my wife and myself setting things there when opening the trunk.

For the front end, I have a Novistretch Bra that works pretty well. If I were to have the PPF place on it, I would need to have it repainted because of the marks from the previous owner.

Bill

[RamAir02]

Dropped the car off yesterday for paint correction and PPF. The costs were getting out of hand, so I had to pare back the coverage a bit and focus on the highest impact areas.

Here's what we ended up doing in the package:

- Front Bumper including Splitter
- Full Hood
- Headlights
- Mirrors
- Partial Fenders
- Rocker Panels up to the protruding line on the door
- Panel in front of the rear tires
- Partial Rear Quarter behind tires
- Door Cups / Door Edge / Door Sills

I didn't opt for ceramic coating at this time, again, to keep costs in check.

I'll pick her up end of next week.

[Gunkk]

Originally Posted by RamAir02

Dropped the car off yesterday for paint correction and PPF. The costs were getting out of hand, so I had to pare back the coverage a bit and focus on the highest impact areas.

Here's what we ended up doing in the package:

- Front Bumper including Splitter
- Full Hood
- Headlights
- Mirrors
- Partial Fenders
- Rocker Panels up to the protruding line on the door
- Panel in front of the rear tires
- Partial Rear Quarter behind tires
- Door Cups / Door Edge / Door Sills

I didn't opt for ceramic coating at this time, again, to keep costs in check.

I'll pick her up end of next week.

Good choices. You will be happy with this.

To complete the job and stay on budget, go get yourself some Gtechniq EXO v4 and do the car and wheels yourself... best car care money you will ever spend.

https://www.autogeek.net/gtechniq-ex...t-coating.html

Tons of vids on youtube for how to do the prep and install. If you go this route, let your film installer know so they don’t put any sealants on the car when they’re done with the film.

[camaroJD]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Good choices. You will be happy with this.

To complete the job and stay on budget, go get yourself some Gtechniq EXO v4 and do the car and wheels yourself... best car care money you will ever spend.

https://www.autogeek.net/gtechniq-ex...t-coating.html

Tons of vids on youtube for how to do the prep and install. If you go this route, let your film installer know so they don’t put any sealants on the car when they’re done with the film.

Is this best for bare paint and PPF? I'd like to do something like this but getting overwhelmed with all the sealants/ceramics, etc.

[RamAir02]

Originally Posted by Gunkk

Good choices. You will be happy with this.

To complete the job and stay on budget, go get yourself some Gtechniq EXO v4 and do the car and wheels yourself... best car care money you will ever spend.

https://www.autogeek.net/gtechniq-ex...t-coating.html

Tons of vids on youtube for how to do the prep and install. If you go this route, let your film installer know so they don’t put any sealants on the car when they’re done with the film.

Thanks. Your previous post was very helpful in discussing with the shop and putting the package together.

I'm going to order the product for the wheels now! Appreciate the tip.