Wicked Auto Films Paint Protection Film
Paint Protection Film in Lowell, AR
Clear urethane over the panels that take the damage. The film gets chipped instead of the paint, and the paint underneath stays factory.
- Film line 3M Pro Series — gloss or matte
- Self-healing Yes
- Warranty 3M's, ten years, registered to the vehicle
- Typical turnaround 1–5 Days
A stone off the road does not scratch paint. It chips it, through the clear coat and the colour, down to bare metal, and that is not something a polish puts back.
Paint protection film is clear urethane, laid over the panels that get hit. On most cars that means the front. It takes the hit and it can be replaced; the paint under it cannot.
What it does not do
- It does not change how the car looks. That is the whole idea — done properly you should have to go looking for the edges.
- It is not a coating and it is not a wax. It does not make the car easier to wash, and it does not make it shinier on its own.
- It will not fix paint that is already chipped. Film goes over what is there and seals it in, so anything that needs correcting is corrected first or it is under there for good.
What it actually gets you
The front of the car stops chipping
Bumper, hood edge and mirrors take every stone off the road. Film takes them instead of the paint, and paint is what a buyer looks at.
Light marks heal themselves
The top layer flows back together with heat — a summer afternoon, or a hot towel. Swirls from a wash brush go away rather than building up.
It comes off
When it has done its years it is removed and the paint underneath is the paint the car left the factory with.
It is covered for ten years
3M's warranty, registered to the vehicle at install — not ours to give and not ours to take away.
How much of the car
Coverage is what moves the price here, far more than what you drive. The usual conversation is how far back from the bumper you want to go.
Partial front
$800–$1,200
Full front
$1,500–$2,000
PPF removal
$125
Living with it
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First wash
Leave it a week before the first proper wash, and never put a pressure washer directly on the film — that is the one thing we ask of every PPF customer.
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Washing
Hand wash and a pH-neutral soap. Avoid blasting a pressure washer straight at an edge, which is the one thing that will lift film that was fitted correctly.
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Bug and tar
Get it off sooner rather than later. The film is protecting the paint from it, but acidic mess left baking on the front of a car all summer is still worth removing.
What happens to your car
- Before anything goes on — the surface is stripped and decontaminated. Skipping this is why cheap work lifts at the edges in two summers.
- Cut to your vehicle — patterned and trimmed to the panel or the glass, not to a rough shape.
- Laid and worked — squeegeed, heat-shrunk where the shape needs it.
- Out — typical turnaround 1–5 days. Booked in advance for anything longer than a day.
Warranty: 3M's, ten years, registered to the vehicle. Ask for the paperwork before you pay anyone, anywhere.
The other three films
Vinyl Wraps
A new colour without touching the paint, or one panel done in something the factory never offered. It comes off again, and the paint under it comes out the same as it went in.
Ceramic Coating
A hard, slick layer bonded to the paint. It holds gloss for years instead of months and it makes the car dramatically easier to keep clean.
Window Tint
Cuts the heat, kills the glare, and stops the interior fading. Cut to the Arkansas legal limit, because the alternative is a fine and stripping it off at your own cost.