Paint Protection Film - Yes or No?

I am about to purchase a new ORP and one of the accessories that Toyota offers is Paint Protection Film for the hood, mirror backs, and door cups. My 2012 Tacoma has a few chips on the hood and since it is white, the paint is fading. I thought the film might help. Anyone with experience with this product?

 

Had it on my wife's white 4Runner, I believe it was installed at the factory because we bought her 4Runner the day it came off the truck with 1 mile on it. The paint protection film was already on the there with the transparent Toyota Logo engraved on the side. I took it off after a few months because it turned yellow and on white paint it was totally noticeable.

 

I installed the paint protective film on my 4R Pro (Front bumper, fog and headlights). I recommend Expel PPF.

 

I've heard a lot of owners complaining about the paint on their 4 runners. Seems it chips and scratches easy?
Others will chime in ,I'm sure.

 

I am 100% kicking myself for not getting it put on my 20 Pro. After 8000 miles it has several deep rock chips that are down to metal..... and the obligatory rich white girl door handle cup scratches compliments of my beautiful wife.

 

It was on mine when I bought it. I don't know if it's factory or dealer installed. I like it and it surely protects the areas it covers. If it yellows a bit it probably won't be noticeable with the Nautical Blue. It is a bit of a pain getting rid of the "line" when you wax it but with a bit of rubbing and running a finger nail or toothpick lightly along the edge it pretty much gets rid of it. It has not scratched at all so far.

 

The technology of PPF has came a long way. The stuff that’s on the market today is nothing like what it use to be. You can still get the fog lights and headlights done...

 

No need to even think about it. Just do it, especially if from factory. Otherwise You’ll have many small rock chips on the sides of the front of your hood after only a few thousand miles.

 

I have only used the XPEL products and would totally recommend them. My 4Runner is parked outside all day under an oak tree. And Like TRDPro916 said, the protection film has come a long way. I would not recommend the stuff that came with factory just because you don't really know much about the quality.

 

I got my vehicle ceramicly coated. I passed on the xpel film though. I didn’t think it was worth it imo. As the vehicle will more than likely get trail rash. In the grand scheme of things, the ceramic coating was probably a waste as well. However it adds a little extra protection and makes dry washing a breeze. And will help against rock chips.

however I hate my paint. As I’ve had several flakes already and the quality is shit imo. I have a white 4runner. Just wanted to complain about that.

at the end of the day though, it’s all up to you. Yes it will help against chips. However it’s not bullet proof.

 

Yep the front end gets chipped up pretty bad if you do a lot of Hiway miles. You really just need the film on the front bumper if you have a hood/bug deflector. I like the AVS regular profile deflector- it’s still pretty low profile. Barely see it from the drivers seat.

And if you go that route, no need to worry about slight fading, as you won’t end up with a two-tone hood. If the bumper discolors slightly in a few years, it will barely be noticeable. And you won’t have a wax line on the hood either or faded paint if you ever remove the film from the hood.

Bug deflector and ppf on the bumper. That’s my vote. You can even skip the mirrors, but they’re probably cheap.

 

Ceramic coating isn’t gonna do anything for rock chips on the front end. It’s microscopically thin. But it does make washing much easier.

 

Yup I agree no matter how much paint protection you put on your vehicle, it will eventually get some kind of scratch or ding either on the highway or off road. My wife's 4Runner had the Paint Protection Film a huge rock flew off a truck bed and hit the hood and put a dent on it, right where the Paint Protection Film was. That's why I didn't bother putting any film protection on my 4Runner TRD Pro. I just ceramic coated and that's it. Yes it's gotten lots of rock chips already but I think it looks cool.

 

I had Xpel on the hood and front, ceramic on the sides. I wish I would have just gone with Xpel on the sides too and skipped the ceramic. Ceramic is nothing compared to Xpel.

 

Mine came with it. In my opinion, save the money and get it done somewhere else that will do a full bumper and full hood cover. The bullshit spots Toyota put it on hasn’t saved my paint from anything

 

As far as scratch/chip protection, there’s a misconception surrounding ceramic coatings. At the very most, they *might* help prevent some swirls when washing/drying. They’ll do nothing to prevent chips and scratches.

Think of them as a very long lasting and glossy paint sealant.

 

My Tacoma was ceramicly coated. About 4 or 5 other Tacoma’s and myself went out wheeling. We went thru a dense wooded and forestry area and had tree branches and vegetation against our vehicles. Everyone got trail rash, however my rig was very minimal compared to everyone else’s. While it’s not going to protect like a wrap or film. It does offer more protection than wax or nothing IMO.

 

I was going to do the whole package like I did my 19Z06 but because of the cost I plan on just having my Pro ceramic coated. I know all about these products and did enough research on them. I had my Black Corvette paint corrected and then full wrapped with Suntex and ceramic coated. It still looks the same way the first time I picked it up. Put over 2000 miles to trip to NC and no marks or Road gouges on it. With black being such a pain in the ass it is so easy to take care of now. Don’t need to worry about touching the paint and seeing a scratch on it after you touch it.

 

In my opinion the best paint protection for your vehicle is........ just garage it and don't drive it. It's also free.

 

Just goes to show you no matter how much paint protection you put on the front of your 4Runner. You can spend hundreds of dollars for a good film protection for the front of your vehicle. At the end eventually those rocks will find another way to get to your vehicle.
That chip on my door happened this morning on the freeway. A car passed by me and a rock from its tires flew and hit the side of my door. I heard hit and it was pretty loud. I thought maybe someone in the car threw something but all the windows were closed as the car passed me.

 

I bought this and installed it on the rear bumper of my 4Runner. Toyota should have extended the unpainted area further down on the bumper because it gets scuffed so easily if you aren't really careful putting stuff in and out. Even a cardboard box will leave a mark. I cut a 3" strip and only covered the center area inside of the slight "bends on each end. This should help.

$20 XPEL Clear Paint Protection Film Roll, 6" x 60" - Polyurethane Vehicle PPF Wrap Protects from Chips, Scratches, Dings, Road Debris - Safe for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Bicycles, Boats & More

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748QWY99/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

That’s true! Most of mines typically end up on the windshield and bumper. I got tired of touching up rock chips so I ended up installing PPF on the bumper and headlights only. I’m sure I got some chips elsewhere on the 4R.

 

Damn. That hurts

 

Expel retailers sells pre cut pieces to fit the entire panels of the cars. I just did the bumper and headlights/fog lights.

 

Can’t wait for my unpainted CyB3RtRcK

 

I’ve got several paint chip right above the windshield. I just have to learn to accept that you cannot keep any vehicle away from chip, dent, and scratches. Unless you just garage it and not drive it at all.

 

Which one you getting? The 1, 2, or 3 motor.

 

It came on my super white 2019 OR, I worked for Toyota and it is actually put on at the point of entry not at the factory. It turned yellow in less than a month. The service manager and sales manager both agreed that it had turned a yellow tint but they couldn’t do anything about it until a district manager took a look at it. 6 weeks until a district manager would be in the area to make a decision. Fortunately there was a good body and paint shop attached to the dealership, I gave one of their guys a case of beer to take it off, wasn’t going to wait. The sales manager said he would never have it put on any of their new cars again. Supposedly it’s the adhesive that causes the yellow tinting, and there is mixed opinions on quality film not yellowing.
So my opinion, if you are getting white don’t get the film, and if your getting the film don’t get the crap Toyota uses.

 

2 motor. The extra $20k for 3 motor seems a bit steep, but I’d upgrade to the 3 motor if I somehow manage to earn a lot of money over the next couple years.

 

Have the Toyota film on my silver 18.......haven't had any issues so far.