Grip It and Rip It: One Racer’s First Go at PPF

Annika Carter, a racer, builder, and self-taught mechanic, takes on the sticky challenge of PPF–and learns a thing or two along the way.

Q: For those who don’t know you yet—who is Annika Carter?
A: My name is Annika—pronounced like Monica without the “M.” I am originally from New England, but currently reside in Georgia. I am an all-around automotive enthusiast. I got my start in the automotive sphere through racing, beginning with track days and eventually graduating to Spec Miata in 2018. I am a fully YouTube-taught mechanic—meaning I don’t really know what I’m doing…fake it ’til you make it, right?!—and build my cars in my garage at home. Currently, I own a 2006 Miata and a 1992 Miata. With the exception of the machine work on the engine and the tune, I did everything else on the 1992 myself, including the wrap.

Q: What first sparked your love of cars, and how did that evolve?
A: Honestly, it started as a bribe. My parents offered me a car if I stayed in-state for college. I didn’t know much about cars, but I knew I didn’t want something boring—so I talked them into a V6 Mustang. I started modifying it because I didn’t want it to look like everyone else’s… and I was too cheap to pay for labor. That snowballed into car meets and new friends. After I put new coilovers on my car, my friends started giving me a hard time: He said, “You can’t spend that much on suspension and not take it to the race track!” So I did, and the rest is history.

Q: You’re a DIYer at heart. What pushed you to get hands-on with the mechanical side of cars?
A: I learned the technical side of cars just by doing. I use YouTube and other online resources when I am a little unsure of what I am doing, but I am hands-on at the end of the day. I learn from my mistakes! For my first engine build, though, I called on my friend to assist because I didn’t want to do that wrong! That would’ve been an expensive mistake.

Q: Let’s talk about PPF. You tackled it yourself—why take on something so notoriously tricky?
A: I have more experience installing vinyl wrap than PPF, and I originally wrapped my ’92 Miata because the paint was in rough shape. It was time-consuming but not too difficult. Plus, I call my wraps “five foot wrap jobs” because they look good from about five feet away, but don’t get too close! My first wraps were definitely more than five-foot quality…maybe 15-foot quality! Then, last July, I got to try my hand at PPF. I thought my vinyl skills would carry over… they did not! My black hood wasn’t a disaster, but it was far from perfect!

Q: What was the hardest part when first learning PPF?
A: Definitely retraining my habits. PPF behaves nothing like vinyl—different materials, different techniques. Apparently, I even hold the squeegee wrong! My vinyl muscle memory doesn’t do me any favors here, so breaking those habits has been the hardest part. I’m still figuring it out!

Q: Any major mishaps or lessons learned while working with film?
A: Oh, absolutely. With vinyl and tint, I’ve had to rip entire panels off and start over. The first time I tried tinting, I nailed one window but couldn’t get the second to shrink right. After hours of frustration, I found one obscure forum comment that said tint is directional—that was the missing piece. I finally got it done, only to roll the window down too soon and ruin it. Lesson learned: some things are better left to the pros!