Polish and Aston with PPF yes or no?

[phil 5 aston]

I have a delightful Silver 2012 vanquish completely wrapped in clear paint protection film.
There are lots of advice out there regarding PH neutral shampoos to use but the recommendations regarding polish greatly differ. Some say not to use polish on PPF others say use a soft Polish that will not effect the repair ability of the film.

Is anyone out there using Polish on their PPF and if so which polishes?

[bogie]

I had 2 cars with PPF in the past, never used polish for fear of putting swirls into the PPF. I did occasionally put some wax on it.

[cayman-black]

I would phone someone like Topaz and enquire.

[Riddochg]

I have a wrapped Vantage and you can polish it.

You need to be careful however. Needs to be completely clean as even small particles can mark it when you are applying polish, or indeed drying after a wash.

On which subject, my roof is black and after a year was showing a lot of swirl marks. Spoke to the guy that wrapped it and he said they would machine polish out! Did a bit of research and set my polisher to minimum & gingerly tried it. Came up like new!

[phil 5 aston]

Luckily I have no marks on the PPF.

Which polish have you used without the machine polisher?

[Riddochg]

I've tried a range of polishes. Conclusion is something light.

What I'm currently using is excellent. Meguiars ultimate fast finish. You spray some onto a microfibre cloth and lightly wipe it on. Give it about 10 seconds, flip the cloth over and buff. Works really well.

[Moonpie]

I would check with the manufacturer of your specific film.

What may be ok with a 3M product may cause harm to another brand.

[cayman-black]

one of the downsides of ppf imo there is nothing like polishing or waxing a lovely paint.

[HDPete]

I have just clarified this with my detailer, as I have swirls I need to get rid of. He said to never use a polish on PPF (XPel self healing) because it can remove the top layer which is the UV coat, which in turn may yellow over the years. The recommendation is a hot wash.

[V8V Pete]

My car has PPF on the front, sills & rear arches and is ceramic coated elsewhere (all done 5 years ago). It lives outside but is well loved. I've never polished it but wash it carefully and usually dry it. It comes up a treat and still looks fantastic after 5 years and 30,000 miles (40K in total). I'm going to get Paddy over to give it a refresh sometime next year but does it really need it? Probably not but he did such a good job 5 years ago he deserves the return trade

[vpr]

I PPF wrapped the front of my black V12v and somehow managed to scratch it. Looked like Torvil and Dean had skated on it.

Left it in the sun and they completely vanished.

Most modern PPF’s are self healing. I did ceramic coat it too. There’s a specific one for PPF’d

[AlexT]

Use a quality detailing spray on the PPF. That is what I use and it works a treat. Ive tried many and I found Ultima Acrylic Waterless Wash Concentrate (diluted to detailing spray concentration) the best.

[Ed50]

For what its worth Tom at the now sadly lost Paintshield always advised me to apply a clear high quality carnauba wax polish to the film after it had thoroughly settled and to continue that process as a matter of maintenance.

Its also advisable to make sure you only use a clear wax as I did have a incident way back in the early days when a pink haze tinted the film on my Lightening Silver V12 Vantage which subsequently had to be replaced.

We live and learn.........

Stay safe all,

Ed.

[phil 5 aston]

Moonpie said:

I would check with the manufacturer of your specific film.

What may be ok with a 3M product may cause harm to another brand.

Unfortunately the car already had the PPF fitted prior to my purchase with no reference as to who provided it, rather annoying I must say.

[phil 5 aston]

HDPete said:

I have just clarified this with my detailer, as I have swirls I need to get rid of. He said to never use a polish on PPF (XPel self healing) because it can remove the top layer which is the UV coat, which in turn may yellow over the years. The recommendation is a hot wash.

Thanks for checking that out for me.

One of the earlier quotes was to ask Topaz Detailing. Their website does say you can wax but with good quality neutral wax! Hence as I said before there seems to be different messages out there!

[bignoise]

I was told not to polish as you will induce marks etc. Topaz site says you can wash and wax but if wax contains petroleum based ingredients they can harm the film

https://topazdetailing.com/care-instructions-ppf-p...

I use a ph neutral wash such as Autoglym UHD wash followed by either Gtechniq C2V3 as a detailer/drying aid or Kamikaze Overcoat,Thanks Paddy, and looks v good

I do miss waxing a car though

[V8V Pete]

You lot need to get some better hobbies. How is waxing a car fun?

[GingerMunky]

phil 5 aston said:

Is anyone out there using Polish on their PPF and if so which polishes?

Don't polish PPF.

[cardigankid]

V8V Pete said:

You lot need to get some better hobbies. How is waxing a car fun?

Come along! You don't know what you are missing!

Try clay bars, MOP's and a wide range of different polishes. Get your car so smooth and shiny that you can't feel the least resistance with your fingers, and a silk scarf just falls off it, wherever it is dropped, a bit like Kevin Costner's Jap sword in the Bodyguard. Then of course the car likes it and runs better afterwards. I'm serious.

To that extent, PPF is a bore, though it is nice that you don't get paint chips.

I was going to ask, a top quality clear carnauba wax? Like what, for example.

[Neil1300r]

V8V Pete said:

You lot need to get some better hobbies. How is waxing a car fun?

You can't beat waxing your rim(s)