Reading a PPF warranty: what is covered and what is excluded

Two warranties, not one

The film brand’s warranty covers the film: the material failing at its job. The shop’s warranty covers its own workmanship: how the film was prepared for, fitted and finished.

They are different promises from different people. Before you book, ask the shop what each one covers, and for how long.

What the ARK warranty covers

Faults in the film itself. Each one is the material failing, not the film doing its job.

• –Yellowing. A colour shift in the film you can see without instruments.
• –Cracking. The top coat or the film splitting under normal use.
• –Blistering. Air or moisture pockets forming under the film after it has cured.
• –Peeling. An edge lifting on its own, not from a wash or an impact.
• –Delamination. The film’s layers separating from each other or from the panel.

What it excludes

These carry the same weight as the covered list, and they are worth reading as carefully. Most of them are the film doing exactly what it is for.

Film does not stop hail. It takes chips, scuffs and light scratches; hail dents the metal underneath, and no film changes that.

• –Impact. A stone, debris or a collision damaging the film.
• –Chips. A chip in the film is the film having taken the hit.
• –Stains. Etching from droppings, sap or chemicals left on the surface.
• –Wash abrasion. Marring from brush washes or abrasive pads.
• –Accident. Damage to the film from a collision or a repair.

The terms

The term is 10 years on every film. A covered claim pays for replacement film, and the labour to take off the failed film and fit the new one.

The warranty transfers to the car’s next owner, so it moves with the car when you sell it.

A covered claim pays for what is listed above, and this site promises nothing beyond it.

How a claim works

You contact the shop that installed the film, with photos and your registration details. The shop looks at the film and opens the claim with ARK. ARK decides it.

Register the warranty online once the film is on, and keep your invoice and the lot number from the roll label: a roll traces back to its batch. Register a warranty, or read the full warranty page.

What is still open

Two things are not decided yet. They show as pending rather than as a likely answer.

• –Whether registration has a deadline after installation: ⟨ pending ⟩.
• –Who you contact if the installing shop has closed: ⟨ if the shop closes · pending ⟩.