Lotus PPF ??

I messaged Customer Support about a few things including any thoughts they’re having around offering PPF and/or Ceramic coatings. This was their reply, I thought it was worth sharing. Apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere

Very interesting.

Both points in that email reply are interesting.

Fingers crossed they offer these 2 options

Honest feedback on PPF from my perspective is: It absolutely has to be 100% manufacturer installed (from factory) at build or its a hard no for me.

Israel_7 said:

Honest feedback on PPF from my perspective is: It absolutely has to be 100% manufacturer installed (from factory) at build or its a hard no for me.

Click to expand...

Can you please explain why?

I would be a bit concerned having PPF applied on a car with fresh factory paintwork before the paint has a chance to properly "gas off" and cure over at least a month or so. Removing factory applied PPF later could potentially damage the paint.

digilotus said:

Can you please explain why?

I would be a bit concerned having PPF applied on a car with fresh factory paintwork before the paint has a chance to properly "gas off" and cure over at least a month or so. Removing factory applied PPF later could potentially damage the paint.

Click to expand...

Sure. No problem.

The very point you make is my concern. I just don't want anyone other than Lotus doing that kind of work on the car. Which is why it is highly unlikely I'll go with PPF in the first place. I'd rather send it back to Hethal to be re-painted before having (fill in the blank) remove the body panels, add PPF, and then repeat that process in 5 to 7 yrs at (fill in the blank) dollar amount.

To be clear, I'm suggesting the only way I would even consider PPF is if the manufacturer did it at build (understanding they know not to add PPF until the paint has been allowed to bond, cure, etc), and would then offer the ability to service the film after delivery. If that's what Lotus is planning I'm all ears. Can't be a 3rd party or anything like that. It has to be them with their techs trained to uphold their tolerances. Then I'd listen and be open to it (again depending on process).

factory fitted ppf will presumably make it impossible to correct any imperfections if PDI misses anything

simonb said:

factory fitted ppf will presumably make it impossible to correct any imperfections if PDI misses anything

Click to expand...

Yes. This. Same goes with an aftermarket installer. I agree. Its not something that can be guaranteed to be without flaws. Also, exposing the body panel measurement tolerances to a local shop is...well...thats a no for me. Like I said...this a very interesting topic. I'm curious as to what Lotus may come up with but also in what other Emira owners decide to do and how they go about it (what results they get etc).

I was thinking if PPF but the cost is more than I realised. Last week I was showing her indoors the final spec and she noticed the FE cost is much above the base price I mentioned last summer. I haven’t even mentioned the cost of a new garage door needed due to the width of the car.
I think I’m just going to go with the basic finish and enjoy it forever, accepting the usual patina of roadwear.

Every high end installer will do paint correction before ppf. Ppf from factory will be low end.

simonb said:

factory fitted ppf will presumably make it impossible to correct any imperfections if PDI misses anything

Click to expand...

Surely it would be noticed, we have had Xpel on the front of our 981 for over five years now and it has done a brilliant job, the car has in excess of 30K miles on it but none of the chips that our unprotected car has with the same mileage, a no-brainer really for me.

It's quite a dilemma for me. Factory fitted PPF saves the hassle and delay of getting it done after PDI. And let's face it, I want to get out and drive it ASAP after all this wait! But for all the care Lotus will take, they are not professional PPF installers and will be training a new team to do this. Unless they subcontract it to a nearby installer, but why would they do that and pay commercial rates? And volumes may be too big for a local outfit.

The panels could have been painted several weeks before build of the car, so off-gassing may be less of an issue. The new electrostatic paint system may also mean less solvent and gas in the first place.

Lotus did some selective PPF in high wear areas on the Evoras and mine has been OK in that area. The rest of the car was filmed by a specialist with Xpel and is still excellent after 10 years (helps that the car is garaged and low mileage).

I'm leaning towards getting my local installer to do it, as they will do paint correction, place film on the specific panels where I want it and will overlap the edges. But I'm still anxious about that adding 3-7 days to the day I can drive the car. That might seem a trivial wait, but I still only have "June" as a delivery date and really want to take the car to Goodwood on 23 June!

My experience has been that the best third-party PPF installers are a better bet than factory-installed PPF.

As TomE said, this just isn't core business for the factory. There's the prep work that goes under the PPF, there's the quality of the installation itself, and then there's the quality of the film they use (will the factory really pay for Suntek, Xpel, etc?).

High-end detailers roll their eyes at the factory paint and polishing work that comes out of even Bentley or Aston Martin . . . why would PPF be any different?

To be fair, Lotus have said they intend to use Xpel or 3M for film plus Gtechniq for the ceramic coating, so not no-name cheap stuff. But the other points are still relevant.

Most dealers will have a relationship with a good local specialist and will handle the logistics. If you're OK with a few days extra wait that's probably the best option.

It will be interesting to see how the price of Lotus applied PPF compares to a third party. For convenience, especially if collecting from factory, Lotus PPF would be ideal

Always like the idea of PPF but unless it's a guaranteed keeper it seems like you are just throwing money away to compensate for a bit of OCD (and yes I am a little..)
I'd spend up to 500 quid on the high impact areas, but any more and not worth it to me. Never get that money back

Leonard said:

Always like the idea of PPF but unless it's a guaranteed keeper it seems like you are just throwing money away to compensate for a bit of OCD (and yes I am a little..)
I'd spend up to 500 quid on the high impact areas, but any more and not worth it to me. Never get that money back

Click to expand...

You might get the bonnet PPF’d for £500 but that would be it

Daz said:

You might get the bonnet PPF’d for £500 but that would be it

Click to expand...

I think it's just the rear 3/4 arches and possibly the sills that are a concern being so big.
Bonnet is an easy touch up or respray if something went terribly wrong

I've got a preliminary quote of $4,995 for full body PPF, but I don' t know that I really need it on the back of the car as much as the front and sides.

This photo of a white test car shows where the areas of wear and tear are going to be, and it's clear the sides are going to take a lot of it. PPF for front and sides would be a must I think.