I'm about to pull the trigger on paint protection film for my new SUV, but before I hand over a significant amount of money, I want to be realistic about what it can actually do because I've seen some marketing claims that sound almost too good to be true. I do a lot of highway driving between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the amount of debris that gets kicked up by trucks on the E11 is genuinely terrifying, I've had to replace my windshield twice in the last three years and my front bumper is absolutely peppered with tiny chips that make me cringe every time I wash the car. From what I've read, good quality PPF is around 8 mils thick, which is about five times thicker than a typical ceramic coating, so it should provide genuine impact protection rather than just chemical resistance, but I'm wondering whether it actually stops stones from damaging the paint or just reduces the severity of the damage. I've also seen demonstrations where the film self-heals from light scratches and swirl marks, which would be a game-changer for me because I'm obsessive about keeping my car looking good but I hate the constant battle against washing-induced marring. I came across a breakdown of Reliable PPF scratch and stone chip protection for cars in Abu Dhabi, which gave me a realistic picture of what the film can and can't do, but I'd still like to hear from people who've actually lived with it. Has anyone here had a significant stone strike that would definitely have chipped the paint, and found that the film absorbed the impact without any damage to the paint underneath? And on the flip side, has anyone had a strike that was so severe it went straight through the film and still damaged the paint? I'm trying to understand whether this is genuine protection or just a layer that makes minor damage less visible. Any honest feedback from people who've been through this would be massively helpful.