See which panelsget the film.

The four packages, plainly

Impact covers the leading portion of the hood, the leading portion of the fenders, the mirrors, and the bumper. It is the cheapest way to stop the damage that actually happens, because the overwhelming majority of rock strikes land in the first eighteen inches of the hood and on the bumper. Its weakness is cosmetic: there is a film edge across the hood, and on a dark car in direct sun you can find it if you look.

Full front takes the film to the natural panel edges — the entire hood, entire fenders, bumper, mirrors, and headlights. Nothing terminates mid-panel, so there is no visible line anywhere, and the whole front end is protected rather than most of it. This is what the majority of owners choose and what we recommend for anything driven on I-15.

Track pack is full front plus rockers, A-pillars, and the leading edge of the roof. Those are the surfaces that get sandblasted by your own front tires and by whatever the car ahead throws over its roof. If you drive canyons, tow, or spend time behind gravel trucks, this is the package that stops the damage nobody expects.

Full body is every painted panel. It is the right answer for a car you intend to keep pristine or sell at a premium, and it is a genuinely large job — five to seven days, because every panel is plotted, applied wet, and edge-wrapped individually.

How to choose

• Freeway commuter, mainstream car — impact or full front. Full front if the paint is dark or the car is new enough that a chipped hood would bother you.
• New truck or SUV — full front, and consider adding rockers. Trucks catch more debris low, and rocker paint is expensive to fix.
• Canyon miles or towing — track pack. Little Cottonwood in winter and construction gravel in summer will find your A-pillars.
• Performance or collector car — full body, usually with a coating over the top.
• Lease — impact package. It protects you from turn-in charges at the lowest cost, and it comes off cleanly.

Add-ons worth the money

Door cups and door edges are $99–249 and stop the two most predictable pieces of damage on any car: fingernail scratches behind the handle and paint chips where the door edge meets a wall or a neighbouring car. The luggage lip on the rear bumper is the third, because that is where a suitcase gets dragged over the paint. None of these are visible after installation, and all three protect spots that are annoying to repair.

Film or coating — and the honest answer

Film and ceramic coating are not competing products. Film is roughly eight thousandths of an inch of self-healing urethane that physically absorbs an impact. Coating is a few microns of chemistry that does nothing against a rock but stops etching from bug guts, bird droppings, hard water, and road salt, and makes the car far easier to wash. The default build here is film on the front-end impact zones and coating over the whole vehicle, film included.

Coverage on your specific car is measured on your actual panels, not from a generic kit, which is why the tool shows ranges rather than one price. Aftermarket body kits, repainted panels, and exotics are quoted in person. Full tables are on the paint protection film page.