I picked up the coupe with 20k miles with a mild to moderate amount of blemishes on the front bumper area, most noticeable on the gloss black bits (front valence is it?). Is it worth applying PPF to this?

I'm currently not really bothered by it. Just wondering what the effect will be once film is on. The installer I talked to claimed the film would hide a lot of it.

On the other hand, I was super bothered by the blemishes on the gloss black wheels, and had those powder coated immediately. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Oh and the installer claimed the film would last the life of the car, whereas other advice I've been reading say that you need to replace film every 6-8 years. Which is right?

 

The latter.

 

I also purchased a lightly used one with 17k miles. I replaced the lower front valance for just over 220 dollars and my car is currently in having The PPF applied and then ceramic coated with “Ceramic Pro”

The paint correction should be done prior to the film being applied which will help to remove most of the blemishes.

You can purchase touch up for any large chips from Dr. Colorchip. If you follow the direction it works superb.


After paint correction and prior to PPF.

 

+1 on the Dr. Colorchip. Works very nicely without leaving a "scab" like the brush-on paint pens. Also, I use ceramic coatings that leave a deeper depth of shine than I could get with wax.

 

If it's only the gloss black parts on the front you're concerned with, vinyl wrap would be way cheaper than PPF and buys a few years before possibly being redone depending on how much abuse it takes.

PPF makes more sense on the painted surfaces.