cellg8

Hi all,
Love the UX (atomic silver). Do you think it's necessary to put a protective/clear film over front bumper/nose/hood to prevent rock chips? thank you.

tofuprod

It's relative, some people feel they want/need it, others do not. For a daily? Why not, it also comes down to price/quality of the film you get.

Funny thing, I have yet to put it on my UX, yet I have it on my s2000 that hardly sees any road time.

I've personally run XPEL Ultimate for years on nearly all of my vehicles (and before that it was VentureShield), no complaints.

E46CT

I'm of the camp that feels PPF is unnecessary.

It yellows, you can see lines, and it allows the applied areas (hood, trunk, etc.) to fade at a different rate than the rest of the car. I've seen this cause nightmares on cars when the PPF is visibly faded at 5-10 years then it comes time to peel it off and when they do the paint under is darker than the rest of the car. Then a body shop needs to come in and basically repaint half the car to match or apply very heavy paint correction which would exceed the cost of the PPF by far.

I'm a detailing nut and have been rocking my cars for almost two decades without PPF. I think cars are meant to be enjoyed and not covered up. It's sort of like applying seat covers or steering wheel covers... yes... technically you're "protecting" your steering wheel or seats... but from what? What's the point of protecting something if you can't enjoy it as it was intended to be enjoyed.

The film to me would just stick out like a sore thumb as it fades and as dirt gathers around any edges. You'll have a dirt line. It just looks plain horrible. Sort of like having a slight tan line on your forehead.

BTW I have firsthand experience with this. I paint-corrected (personally) a friend's yellow corvette after having peeled his 5 year old PPF on it. Took me a whole day. What a nightmare.

zoomzoom

Its well worth getting. We had it on our two prior Lexus, ES350 & IS300, 9 yrs on the ES350 and no color changes and no stone chips, the IS300 only 3 yrs and still looks good on the front end and mirrors. I had it on my Miata as well and works great, my prior miata didn't have it and the front end and mirror had so many stone chips due to highway driving. The dealers will quote $1000 for it and we were able to talk them down to $500.

MikePotter

I agree is worth it my first Lexus. Don't know why so many small rocks on freeways here in SLC. Thought worth protecting the door panels 3/4 way up too. Only drawback is the condo complex where I live bans washing cars by hand when my UX only takes as much water as a 5min shower every other week. Meanwhile neighbors have 8 kids use a lot of daily bath water and I shower at the gym. Typical Utah logic.

Herexs Lexi after first wash and carnauba wax

Freds430

If you plan on keeping the UX for long term than I would get it for sure. I have had it on my vehicles for the last 15 years. Never had any yellow. You have to keep it waxed just like the paint. The atomic silver is a beautiful color but impossible to ever match with touch up paint.

hdoerr

I wish I had covered my hood with a protective film. A few years in cold, snowy New England did a really ugly number to the front of my vehicle to the point of it needing to be re-painted (if it were a newer model). I decided to get the film for my next car for sure.