Paint protection and tint

kheeney · July 19, 2016

Just picked up a 2016 Silverado LT2 Z71... I've read a ton of people recommending the PPF because the bumper gets shredded with rocks.

I got quoted $660 + tax for the bumper, grille, mirrors, 16" of hood and partial fenders. They also said they would do the windshield brow tint for free since I'm doing the whole front end.

Two questions:

1) Definitely worth getting the PPF? My color is Tungsten Metallic... I don't want to regret it down the road. I do 20k+ mostly highway miles a year.

2) What percent for brow tint? 5-35? I want to be able to see at night just block the sun during the day (I wear glasses usually) and don't want it to look stupid. Has anyone had this done?

Thanks!!

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muddkatt · July 19, 2016

Post 11 shows my eyebrow. Its a 5% that stops right below the mirror. It blocks the sun at sunrise and sunset, and does not interfere with night time vision.

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/188633-hardwire-radar-detector-in-2016-sierra/

camcamaro1991 · July 19, 2016

PPF, absolutely worth it you'll chips in just a week or 2 from highway driving, btw I did partial hood and fenders to start...... took it back for the full hood and fenders.

PPF, the entire front, full hood and front fenders & the normal entire front bumper (no grill as mine is chrome) & door pockets, it cost me about $1,200. Can't even tell it has PPF since its about 99% full coverage on the hood and fenders.

Tint, 18% front and I believe the rears are 35%ish... to make it look matched. did not get the brow, but I would guess go dark as possible.

slj2008 · July 19, 2016

whole grill , 6" on hood , bumper , fender's front , minor caps , lower half of truck (under trim line) , door still & tint . P.S. lower half is cheaper then Line-X

kheeney · July 19, 2016

Thanks guys. I think I'll do the 5 percent brow. As for the PPF, I'm already spending more than I want. The line on the hood won't bother me, I just want the rock protection. Think I might have them do the rockers in a month or two before hunting season. Maybe need mud flaps for now

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kheeney · July 19, 2016

Can't do front windows in Iowa so it isn't something I want to do just yet. Weather tech floor liners are on the front porch and the tonneau will be here tomorrow. I'll do line x by the end of the year and I'll be pretty happy. Tried to post a picture but Tapatalk crashes

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kheeney · July 19, 2016

whole grill , 6" on hood , bumper , fender's front , minor caps , lower half of truck (under trim line) , door still & tint . P.S. lower half is cheaper then Line-X

Is the 6" on the hood enough for protection? The 2016 has a pretty mean hood so I think it could be enough. Maybe do 6" there and do the rockers under the trim line (at least for front doors?)

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Silverado Steve · July 19, 2016

Definitely get PFF. I would get the bumper, fenders, hood, A pillars and Front of roof. I have 8 inches of my hood done along with all the parts I mentioned. While you might shudder at the upfront cost, you'll get that money back in spades come trade in time or if you sell. The paint on these trucks chip and scratch easily.

I wouldn't bother getting the rockers done, PPF will just peel off that area; it did on my Tacoma and Silverado. Either get mud flaps and nerf bars or plasti dip that part.

Silvern Sentry · July 19, 2016

Personally I am against paint protection. Personal choice but I prefer carnuba wax. I have also seen some terrible paint protection jobs start to 'yellow' and look real bad. Also GM does not do a 3500 grit wet sand and polish / buff every vehicle rolling out of the factory and every factory car/truck has some orange peel in the paint if you look closely. I spent 2 days wet sanding the entire thing and then polishing and buffing and just my opinion but it is 10x better than factory paint now. I could not have done that if I had the paint protection applied. You will never see a silver metallic paint job on a lot that looks like my avatar and I think the results speak for themselves.

This is an untouched hi res image from a $2500 canon camera my neighbor took.

As far as tint goes you should check local laws, some have restrictions. I do not know what you mean by 'brow tint' is that a slang? I did once have 5% tint on my 06 charger and had real issues seeing out and backing up at night. I would not recommend 5% for anything except like a show car as it really is not very functional and just for the looks.

my 2c anyway but do whatever makes you happiest as always.

seamus2154 · July 19, 2016

PPF is a must. These trucks chip up horribly for some reason. Paint quality or thickness. Also PPF has come a long way since years ago. It doesn't yellow or crack anymore. I use suntek on my cars and truck and the new stuff has a factory paint shine, and can even be buffed it you get light scratches on it. Great stuff.

kheeney · July 19, 2016

Definitely get PFF. I would get the bumper, fenders, hood, A pillars and Front of roof. I have 8 inches of my hood done along with all the parts I mentioned. While you might shudder at the upfront cost, you'll get that money back in spades come trade in time or if you sell. The paint on these trucks chip and scratch easily.

I wouldn't bother getting the rockers done, PPF will just peel off that area; it did on my Tacoma and Silverado. Either get mud flaps and nerf bars or plasti dip that part.

Great, I'll skip that and see if I can do the shorter hood for some of the roof and a pillar

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kheeney · July 19, 2016

Personally I am against paint protection. Personal choice but I prefer carnuba wax. I have also seen some terrible paint protection jobs start to 'yellow' and look real bad. Also GM does not do a 3500 grit wet sand and polish / buff every vehicle rolling out of the factory and every factory car/truck has some orange peel in the paint if you look closely. I spent 2 days wet sanding the entire thing and then polishing and buffing and just my opinion but it is 10x better than factory paint now. I could not have done that if I had the paint protection applied. You will never see a silver metallic paint job on a lot that looks like my avatar and I think the results speak for themselves.

This is an untouched hi res image from a $2500 canon camera my neighbor took.

As far as tint goes you should check local laws, some have restrictions. I do not know what you mean by 'brow tint' is that a slang? I did once have 5% tint on my 06 charger and had real issues seeing out and backing up at night. I would not recommend 5% for anything except like a show car as it really is not very functional and just for the looks.

my 2c anyway but do whatever makes you happiest as always.

Thanks, I hit back roads and a lot of highway driving during hunting season so I think I'm going to do PPF. Comes with a warranty as well... I've hear you don't notice yellow color on dark paint? Maybe not true. As for brow, I mean the windshield tint strip. Front windows are illegal in Iowa so I'm in no hurry to do those.

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Silvern Sentry · July 19, 2016

ah gotcha brow = top of windshield that makes sense now.

Honestly I do not think you 'need' to really there is not a lot of glare n stuff from there like in older vehicles. I want to put a badass sticker across mine but have no found the right one yet.

I also hit a lot of back roads, but do have the chrome bumper so that helps a lot. Not a fan of the painted ones for that reason, I could see wanting to do that. Personally and just me here I would rather re-paint the hood/front valence every few years. Only because I have the know how and tools available and friends that would help / loan a paint booth, I can see how that would be overwhelming to some.

kheeney · July 19, 2016

ah gotcha brow = top of windshield that makes sense now.

Honestly I do not think you 'need' to really there is not a lot of glare n stuff from there like in older vehicles. I want to put a badass sticker across mine but have no found the right one yet.

I also hit a lot of back roads, but do have the chrome bumper so that helps a lot. Not a fan of the painted ones for that reason, I could see wanting to do that. Personally and just me here I would rather re-paint the hood/front valence every few years. Only because I have the know how and tools available and friends that would help / loan a paint booth, I can see how that would be overwhelming to some.

I see why you would rather do the repaint. Lol. I don't know how and don't have the tools to do a perfect job, so I'd rather do the PPF. I had the factory blue tint in my Jeep and it was way better than nothing in my 13 Sierra. I think I'm gonna go for it since they're throwing it in for free, and if it sucks, I'll take it out.

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SouthPawCO · July 19, 2016

Personally I am against paint protection. Personal choice but I prefer carnuba wax. I have also seen some terrible paint protection jobs start to 'yellow' and look real bad. Also GM does not do a 3500 grit wet sand and polish / buff every vehicle rolling out of the factory and every factory car/truck has some orange peel in the paint if you look closely. I spent 2 days wet sanding the entire thing and then polishing and buffing and just my opinion but it is 10x better than factory paint now. I could not have done that if I had the paint protection applied. You will never see a silver metallic paint job on a lot that looks like my avatar and I think the results speak for themselves.

This is an untouched hi res image from a $2500 canon camera my neighbor took.

As far as tint goes you should check local laws, some have restrictions. I do not know what you mean by 'brow tint' is that a slang? I did once have 5% tint on my 06 charger and had real issues seeing out and backing up at night. I would not recommend 5% for anything except like a show car as it really is not very functional and just for the looks.

my 2c anyway but do whatever makes you happiest as always.

I agree. Look up clear bra problems under google and you will see all the issues they cause. I have just come to terms that it's a daily driven truck so it is going to show some wear. Since my truck is black, I have considered do plasti dip about 3" up the hood and around the fenders. I have already done the bumpers and grill to get rid of the chrome but also preserve it for resale value.

As far tint goes, I went 5% all the way around (front windows, back windows and rear). I left the windshield alone because in CO, that is an easy way to get pulled over because any tint on the front windshield is illegal. 20% is the darkest tint they allow but I have never been hassled for it in any of my vehicles. It does however get really dark and night but the backup camera/sensors help a lot.