Chip/scratch prevention preferred method?

[R32driver]

My preferred method is to not give a $%!# about chips and such…

^This...it's just the way it is if you actually drive your vehicle. Get a few years and 10's of thousands of miles down the road and those clear wraps look awful covered in chips and marks, no better than chipped paint IMO. I'm much more worried about door dings at the grocery store than little rock chips on my hood but at least I have some control on where I park

 

[Pro299]

^This...it's just the way it is if you actually drive your vehicle. Get a few years and 10's of thousands of miles down the road and those clear wraps look awful covered in chips and marks, no better than chipped paint IMO. I'm much more worried about door dings at the grocery store than little rock chips on my hood but at least I have some control on where I park

Well, to a minor degree, this may be true, but a protective wrap will stand up waaaay better than paint and quality wraps are self-healing to a degree. My last vehicle was a G8 GT and everyone on the forums complained about how the front quickly got covered in dings and nicks. I covered the front and a few other surfaces when new and after 12 years I only had one spot that was nicked where something obviously large got through the wrap. The rest was unmarked and still is. I know because I passed the car on to a family member and see it frequently. Even today you can hardly tell the wrap is there and the paint underneath is near perfect. That experience lead me to wrap the Yukon front as quickly as I could.

 

[91RS]

Clear bra AKA paint protection film (PPF) is the only way to protect against rock chips. Ceramic coating does not provide any protection at all against rock chips.

 

[vcode]

I talked to the ppf guy for a few minutes and he said new vehicles 2018+ the paint is thinner. I’ve been leasing trucks every other year 2015, 2017, 2019 all Silverado’s and my 19 HC is so bad, gotta be 20 stone chips front bumper/hood. 2015 and 2017 were nothing like that

Geez, not sure where you guys drive. My 2010 Tahoe has a few minor chips in the front of the hood and nothing but bug stains on the bumper. And my road sees 100+ dump trucks a day in the summer.

 

[91RS]

^This...it's just the way it is if you actually drive your vehicle. Get a few years and 10's of thousands of miles down the road and those clear wraps look awful covered in chips and marks, no better than chipped paint IMO. I'm much more worried about door dings at the grocery store than little rock chips on my hood but at least I have some control on where I park

False.

 

[AWSMBLU]

I had the expel film installed on my 2015 Denali . Has saved me from a ton of rock chips. Entire front clip headlights full hood lower quarter panel and door edges door handle cusps mirrors.

 

[Xander]

I did the Xpel on the first 18" of my truck (starting at the front bumper). It was around $1250.

 

[ljn21]

^This...it's just the way it is if you actually drive your vehicle. Get a few years and 10's of thousands of miles down the road and those clear wraps look awful covered in chips and marks, no better than chipped paint IMO. I'm much more worried about door dings at the grocery store than little rock chips on my hood but at least I have some control on where I park

Except at the point you are ready to sell/trade, you just peel off the PPF and the paint is chip-free. If the PPF gets chips and marks, you can also just replace that piece down the road too.

 

[Polo08816]

PPF is the way to go. Has anyone done the entire vehicle and how much did it cost?

 

[Bowzer]

I’ve had xpel on the front end, mirrors and door edges for two years on a 20 Silverado. Paid $950. Still looks good and somehow really does self heal. There are less expensive products but shop that did mine said that xpel has the most precise patterns which makes a big difference with the coverage and appearance.

 

[JGinLA]

Get a price on the windshield also.

 

[Banks22]

Get a price on the windshield also.

Already had that replaced for $100 by insurance. Wife had new 21 Tahoe for about 2 weeks and got crack in windshield

 

[JGinLA]

Already had that replaced for $100 by insurance. Wife had new 21 Tahoe for about 2 weeks and got crack in windshield

They have film for it. It will prevent a lot of damage. I'm trying it now. If we look up with our polarized sunglasses, we see a slight rainbow effect, straight ahead is fine.

 

[R32driver]

Except at the point you are ready to sell/trade, you just peel off the PPF and the paint is chip-free. If the PPF gets chips and marks, you can also just replace that piece down the road too.

We’re 10 year purchasers so rock chips and resale values aren’t a huge concern. Rock chips are like battle scars you lived to tell about

 

[91RS]

That’s all the more reason to keep it protected. Why would you be ok with the paint looking like crap if you intend to keep it for 10 years? $1000-$1500 in PPF protects a $5000 front end.

 

[Stbentoak]

Because I protected it for 10 years so I can peel it off and get 500.00 more for a vehicle worth 15 K. In 10 years, a fuel drive vehicle will be a dinosaur that less and less people will want. I'm at a stage in life that I don't "Save" things for later.... Later is now for me...

 

[91RS]

That attitude is exactly why it’ll be worth $15k in 10 years. If you want it to last 10 years, you have to take care of it. I never mentioned resale value anyway. I’m just talking about keeping a vehicle you intend to own for 10 years looking good. That paint will look like garbage in 3 years unless you don’t do any highway driving. Why would you want something you spent $80k on to look like shit before you’re done owning it when you can spend $1000 and have it look brand new for 10 years. Who said anything about peeling it off? Why would you do that? Good quality PPF looks better way longer than paint does (Xpel, 3M, etc.). This isn’t the 90s any more.

I had the full front end of my SS done when it had 3k miles because rock chips are already starting to accumulate noticeably. I used Sun Tek film at the time and over 5 years later it still looks just like it did when I had it put on and the headlights aren’t yellowed at all when all the other ones I’ve seen the same age are yellowed or starting to even if garage kept. Based on the small trim pieces they couldn’t do, this front end would look so bad at this point the front bumper would need to be replaced and then the paint would no longer be original and probably wouldn’t match. Well worth the $1000 because I’ve also kept the head lights, hood, fenders, and leading edge of the roof protected rather than just the front bumper.

I guess all the nay sayers are the people who only use automatic car washes, never wax/coat/seal, and generally just don’t GAF about the things they own. I can’t fathom spending so much money on a vehicle, claiming I want to keep it for 10 years, and then say I’m not going to waste money taking care of it.

 

[Stbentoak]

18 year old Ram.Washed and waxed with 2.00 Turtle Wax and bucket. No PPF. No rust. Mega miles. Turned down 30k offers for it...Nuff said ....

 

[91RS]

Lol. Where 80% of front end is metal and chromed plastic. Hardly an apples to apples comparison.

 

[Banks22]

So one thing I mentioned that the ppf guy told me is that starting in 2018 the paint on vehicles is thinner. I’m in my early 30’s so I havnt had a ton of vehicles, mostly newer. 2015 and 2017 Silverado’s black and silver, never noticed chips put 30,000 miles on both those leases. Wife’s old 2018 black Tahoe I think has 1 chip so maybe that was an early year make and had good paint? Who knows? My 2019 Silverado 34,000 miles is bad, I would say 15-20 stone chips front bumper and hood. My wife’s 2021 Tahoe has 1 so far but she does less driving. I will almost 100% get my new 22 Silverado done with ppf.