12C Paint Protection Film - key areas to protect?

[moochofun]

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice from owners (past or present) on PPF please. Paintshield do a full frontal paint protection kit (wings, bonnet, bumper, lights etc) for the 12C but are there any other areas that are prone to chipping on the car i.e. in front of the rear wheels?? I thought it'd be best to ask you, the owners! Any advice most welcome

Ta in advance...

[Shmee]

On the 12C you definitely need protection on the lead edge of the side fenders; the body painted exterior part as opposed to the 'inside' turning vane.

[GRBF430F1]

moochofun said:

Hello,

I'm looking for some advice from owners (past or present) on PPF please. Paintshield do a full frontal paint protection kit (wings, bonnet, bumper, lights etc) for the 12C but are there any other areas that are prone to chipping on the car i.e. in front of the rear wheels?? I thought it'd be best to ask you, the owners! Any advice most welcome

Ta in advance...

Just been with a company talking about my 650S Spider and they have done many 12C's.

Personally I'm not a big fan of film as I religiously clean, polish and wax my cars anyway however I do feel some protection would be good on a brand new car of this value

Having spoken to them in detail and seen examples our combined conclusion was :

Front valance ( pre wings and bonnet )
Front and rear wheel arch inner
Tuning vanes and pre rear wheel arch panel

You could do half bonnet but personally I think the line looks awful so then you are into full bonnet and wings if you want to double the price

I was quoted £5,500 full car, £2,000 Full Frontal and £1,000 for 3 items above which is probably as far as I will go

[TP321]

The bonnet is a must - all of it and front bumper. The front wings not as much. Also the panels between the vanes and the rear wheels. Finally, the whole of the section of the door that turns in under the car - what a stupid design idea that was...!!

[GRBF430F1]

TP321 said:

The bonnet is a must - all of it and front bumper. The front wings not as much. Also the panels between the vanes and the rear wheels. Finally, the whole of the section of the door that turns in under the car - what a stupid design idea that was...!!

I did wonder this, but its knowing where to draw the line. If I do the full bonnet I'm inclined to do the wings as well as they are all in view at the same time and I can notice the difference between a filmed and non filmed panel

Good point re the door bottoms but I'm sure there was film under there as standard on the 650s but will have to look again now as car is still at Manchester. That would look awful everytime you open it up

What makes you think the wings would be ok but not the bonnet ?

Unless you do the whole car, which I will not be doing, its sod law you will get a chip 1 cm the wrong side of the film cut off

To film or not to film, that is the question. £2,000 would cover front end respray as and when necessary

[mb1]

TP321 said:

The bonnet is a must - all of it and front bumper. The front wings not as much. Also the panels between the vanes and the rear wheels. Finally, the whole of the section of the door that turns in under the car - what a stupid design idea that was...!!

Not sure why you keep coming to a forum where you do not seem to appreciate the cars being discussed. Every single of your post seems aimed at bringing them down. Everydoby is entitled to make their opinions known but please...
I know a lot of posters here are the other way around, me included but it would be nice not to have every single thread with the same content for once.

I love the 12C door design. And yes you see the underside of the door that sweeps under the car. Since when is that stupid.

Bottom line is that the 12C and 650S are superb cars in many respect. So are 458 and others for very different reasons. And people buy them for many conflicting motivations.
Come on move on and accept that people are not made from the same mould as you.

[GRBF430F1]

mb1 said:

Not sure why you keep coming to a forum where you do not seem to appreciate the cars being discussed. Every single of your post seems aimed at bringing them down. Everydoby is entitled to make their opinions known but please...
I know a lot of posters here are the other way around, me included but it would be nice not to have every single thread with the same content for once.

I love the 12C door design. And yes you see the underside of the door that sweeps under the car. Since when is that stupid.

Bottom line is that the 12C and 650S are superb cars in many respect. So are 458 and others for very different reasons. And people buy them for many conflicting motivations.
Come on move on and accept that people are not made from the same mould as you.

I'm presuming he is an owner so its not in his interest to constantly brings these cars down.
I think he has a point about not putting film underneath the doors rather than the doors themselves

[Slickhillsy]

GRBF430F1 said:

TP321 said:

The bonnet is a must - all of it and front bumper. The front wings not as much. Also the panels between the vanes and the rear wheels. Finally, the whole of the section of the door that turns in under the car - what a stupid design idea that was...!!

To film or not to film, that is the question. £2,000 would cover front end respray as and when necessary

I'm also in this camp, add the film and it makes for a poor shine compared to good paint work plus the cost of the film would most likely cover a front end refresh...

[TP321]

GRBF430F1 said:

I did wonder this, but its knowing where to draw the line. If I do the full bonnet I'm inclined to do the wings as well as they are all in view at the same time and I can notice the difference between a filmed and non filmed panel

Good point re the door bottoms but I'm sure there was film under there as standard on the 650s but will have to look again now as car is still at Manchester. That would look awful everytime you open it up

What makes you think the wings would be ok but not the bonnet ?

Unless you do the whole car, which I will not be doing, its sod law you will get a chip 1 cm the wrong side of the film cut off

To film or not to film, that is the question. £2,000 would cover front end respray as and when necessary

You will dearly regret not FULLY covering the bonnet - as for the wings, they are not as vulnerable as they may appear - don't know why. All this of course depends on which colour you have - the Elite paint is the most vulnerable and impossible to touch up or blend in. So that little shone chip on the bonnet will mean that you will have to paint the whole bonnet, and maybe the bumper and the wings to ensure there is no mismatch of coloured panels - very expensive.

Edited by TP321 on Saturday 10th January 16:28

[TP321]

mb1 said:

Not sure why you keep coming to a forum where you do not seem to appreciate the cars being discussed. Every single of your post seems aimed at bringing them down. Everydoby is entitled to make their opinions known but please...
I know a lot of posters here are the other way around, me included but it would be nice not to have every single thread with the same content for once.

I love the 12C door design. And yes you see the underside of the door that sweeps under the car. Since when is that stupid.

Bottom line is that the 12C and 650S are superb cars in many respect. So are 458 and others for very different reasons. And people buy them for many conflicting motivations.
Come on move on and accept that people are not made from the same mould as you.

The problem with door design is that the bottom section of the door actually wraps under the car. This ensures that it will get stone chipped and whenever you open the door, you are greeted by the filthy underside of the door. This section of the door is wrapped by the factory, but there are gaps between the two sections - and they will get chipped. Not so clever design.

[mb1]

TP321 said:

The problem with door design is that the bottom section of the door actually wraps under the car. This ensures that it will get stone chipped and whenever you open the door, you are greeted by the filthy underside of the door. This section of the door is wrapped by the factory, but there are gaps between the two sections - and they will get chipped. Not so clever design.

ok. Fair enough. Mine are wrapped and after 10k miles in perfect condition.
I can see your argument about being greater by the filthy underside.
But I like the feel given by these large sized doors and even then the ease with which they move and operate.

[GRBF430F1]

TP321 said:

You will dearly regret not FULLY covering the bonnet - as for the wings, they are not as vulnerable as they may appear - don't know why. All this of course depends on which colour you have - the Elite paint is the most vulnerable and impossible to touch up or blend in. So that little shone chip on the bonnet will mean that you will have to paint the whole bonnet, and maybe the bumper and the wings to ensure there is no mismatch of coloured panels - very expensive.

Edited by TP321 on Saturday 10th January 16:28

Ok thanks for the advice. My car is Volcano Red Elite paint so as a pearlescent I know its a pain to respray. Don't know how hard or soft McLaren paint is but I believe it has a ceramic lacquer ? so should be better than some cars.
I will have to have a rethink but I'm still inclined to do the wings if I do the bonnet

[TP321]

GRBF430F1 said:

Ok thanks for the advice. My car is Volcano Red Elite paint so as a pearlescent I know its a pain to respray. Don't know how hard or soft McLaren paint is but I believe it has a ceramic lacquer ? so should be better than some cars.
I will have to have a rethink but I'm still inclined to do the wings if I do the bonnet

Volcano Red is a must to get wrapped. Shows chips very easily, and the paint is very soft. Also impossible to match exactly and will look different to the adjacent panel under different light. The reason for the bonnet needing it is because its so low, stones tend to bounce off the bumper and on to the bonnet and windscreen. Will save you a lot of heartache especially when you are following cars at speed closely (before overtaking of course..)

[GRBF430F1]

TP321 said:

Volcano Red is a must to get wrapped. Shows chips very easily, and the paint is very soft. Also impossible to match exactly and will look different to the adjacent panel under different light. The reason for the bonnet needing it is because its so low, stones tend to bounce off the bumper and on to the bonnet and windscreen. Will save you a lot of heartache especially when you are following cars at speed closely (before overtaking of course..)

You only ever see cars in the rear view mirror of a 650s

"Chews up and spits out a 458" :

[moochofun]

Thanks for the input, advice and opinions guys, much appreciated... I got quoted similar price to you GBR430 for the Paintshield full frontal kit...

My car is the elite pearl white and has the standard McLaren fit film applied on the low side of the doors - noticed it when I first saw the car with the drivers door opened at the dealership, as it makes the paint have a yellow tinge to it where its fitted. You can't see it when the door is closed though so not too fussed about it to be honest.

I know the argument about paying for a front end respray rather than paint protection - I chose to go down the respray line of thinking with my GT-R, which is a nice easy solid red colour, which has softer than soft paint... I'm not sure if a front end pearlescent respray could be had for circa £2k and how easy it would to be matched.... Or is it all hype with these types of paint? Worth considering again for the 12C me thinks...

I'm also now considering going down the full wrap route as per Shmee did with his 12C, which weirdly is less of an expense than the clear film! I do love the pearl white though.... I've seen a GT-R via Google images wrapped in pearl white and it looks good in the pics - just not sure what a wrap like that looks like up close - I guess its not as nice as an effect as the original paint but is it that far off? One for Shmee to comment on (or anyone who has their car wrapped in a metallic/pearlescent!)? I also do like the McLaren orange colour too though...

[duggan]

GRBF430F1 said:

Just been with a company talking about my 650S Spider and they have done many 12C's.

Personally I'm not a big fan of film as I religiously clean, polish and wax my cars anyway however I do feel some protection would be good on a brand new car of this value

Having spoken to them in detail and seen examples our combined conclusion was :

Front valance ( pre wings and bonnet )
Front and rear wheel arch inner
Tuning vanes and pre rear wheel arch panel

You could do half bonnet but personally I think the line looks awful so then you are into full bonnet and wings if you want to double the price

I was quoted £5,500 full car, £2,000 Full Frontal and £1,000 for 3 items above which is probably as far as I will go

I'm in the process of getting quotes on protection film on mine before I pick it up (12C). when you talk about the three items above (Front Valance/Front & rear wheel arch inner and Tuning vanes/pre rear wheel arch panel), how is that different fron "Full Frontal" - I take it just wings & bonnet?

I've been quoted £1,950 + VAT from a Mc dealer for front end + undersides/sides of doors and just want to understand if that's VFM....

Cheers - can't wait to pick it up now!

[mpbcs]

duggan said:

I'm in the process of getting quotes on protection film on mine before I pick it up (12C). when you talk about the three items above (Front Valance/Front & rear wheel arch inner and Tuning vanes/pre rear wheel arch panel), how is that different fron "Full Frontal" - I take it just wings & bonnet?

I've been quoted £1,950 + VAT from a Mc dealer for front end + undersides/sides of doors and just want to understand if that's VFM....

Cheers - can't wait to pick it up now!

I had my new 650 venture shielded and that cost £2600 all in for the whole front(including A pillars), areas around the turning vanes, underside of the doors and area infront of the rear wheels. This was done before I collected the new car and was arranged by Mclaren London. I think this is essential as those areas are very prone to chipping... especially important if you have lots of carbon.

[Anjum]

The latest generation of paint protection is "self repairing" - well you need a heat gun..... I've got my aventador roadster covered everywhere - and I've just blow dried the front carbon splitter (it had a couple of grazes) - and hey presto - it's like new again! worth investigating. I hated the original protection (1/2 a bonnet just meant a line going across half way across and looked awful to my OCD eyes.......).

I will be covering my entire 458 Speciale when it arrive.

As I understand it - in the US - you can get a clear film for your windscreen - which I will look into - because you always get tiny impacts on the windscreen - especially if you track of vMax your car - or just use it on the roads.....

[GRBF430F1]

Gone full circle on paint protection now. Don't like the compromise on paint finish and almost feel you have to do the whole car or nothing

The car is there to be used and driven not wrapped up in cotton wool. Lambo front is lower with steeper bonnet and has picked up a few very minor chips and a bit of road rash but only on close inspection, most people wouldn't notice it or even care
Car will be worth exactly the same in 3 years time on a p/x so the only real beneficiary is the next owner

Going to put a ceramic coating on it day 1 and enjoy polishing and waxing it regularly thereafter something the film never gives you to the same extent with depth of shine and residual lines on joins

[mrloudly]

I coated the exposed edges of the arches with three coats of clear "Plasti-dip" paint. You can't notice it, it has protected the arches and is easy to peel off and replace. Best bit, it cost less that £20 all in :-)