In discussions on various boards, many are under the impression that clear braing the headlights will result in delamination of the delicate UV coating that is on the new generation 911.

Since we specialize in Porsche, and have been clear braing for years, I wanted to show you what SAFELY removing the film from clear bra entails, and also, in extreme case, what happens should you need to repair the headlights if delamination occurs.

In our two decades of being in business and countless cars we've clear bra'd, we've applied the film to headlights in about 99.5% of the installs. These are very expensive headlights, around $4k per set. IMHO, you want them to be further protected and to also keep them looking new for years to come. I simply don't see the up side to not applying film, only to have headlights pitted with chips and scratches.

Here's a video of the film being removed:



Here's a photo of film applied to headlights:



In the extreme case that headlight delaminates, the process is the same as yellowing headlights where the headlight clear coat has failed.





Headlights will need to be sanded with several grits of sand paper, compounded, and polished back to OEM "look". In this photo, top headlight is complete, and lower portion has only been sanded



Clear bra will need to be applied to the headlights to protect the repaired surface of actual headlight





Headlight restoration is complete. We also apply a nano coating to the clear bra applied, for further protection and ease of cleaning



Hope this thread help many as I know many discussions are floating out there.

 

Moe, great work & post. Especially on the 996 lights.

 

Doing those expensive headlights is a no brainer. My guy (Extreme Colors, NC) does the same. And in climate controlled, washed every day, dust free rooms.

 

Great post!
Not sure if you're part of the Obsessed Garage community on facebook or not, but this would be great to share there as well. In particular, it might give Matt Moreman a little less anxiety about putting PPF on his new GT3RS headlights

 

As shown, the key is the skill of the person using the steamer and knowing how much steam to apply and using the right technique for pulling the film up.

One thing I would like to clarify is that if a delamination of the factory coating does happen, sanding and polishing doesn’t get the same original finish back. It may look fine, but the factory coating is sprayed on somehow and I’m sure has a UV coating. It’s pretty much a very hard clear coat on the lenses.

It’s ok for old headlight restoration, but something you’d like to avoid on new lights. If taken off correctly like shown by Moe, this risk for delamination should be very low. These headlights chip very easily from stones hitting them and PPF does help.

Moe, does film remove that easily if 5-10 years old??

 

Hi, I have a somewhat off topic question, but it's related.

Traveling between New York and Boston this past weekend, something either kicked up off the road or fell from above and hit the passenger side headlight on my 911. I only saw it for a brief second, but it almost seemed like a small piece of wood like a very short section of tree branch. Here's a picture of the damage that was done:





The impact area (which are really 2 patches) are quite rough, with a lot of the damage you can see being actually raised, not gouges (which is weird). The front of my car is wrapped in PPF, but the headlights are not. I know the lens can most likely never look like new again, but this headlamp is super expensive to replace and I'm interested instead to try to improve its appearance as much as possible. I already have a variety of wet/dry sandpaper ranging from 400 to 2000 grit (as well as sanding stones of similar grits) which I have used to sand and then polish paint chip touch ups. I also own a variety of polishers with compounds, etc. One option is to just leave it as is and live with it, but I've typically not been very good with that approach! Any advice or input would be much appreciated.

 

Okay, I’m sold. See you Monday Moe.

 

I wish I had a Moe local to me

 

Good question. The Xpel on my 991 headlights is 4 years old.

 

Awesome. See you tomorrow

LOL...if I had a nickel for every time I heard that...

on these 991s, hard to tell since they’re so new...by about now, the first generation cars are getting to an age that the film might need to be replaced...I will keep you guys posted as we start redoing applications

 

Thanks, I really appreciate this.

 

Moe, the longer the film has been on the harder to remove correct?

What is the max amount of time you’d suggest keeping film on before replacing? Regardless of condition.

 

it all depends on the condition car is kept in...the longer film is left on AND exposed to elements like the sun, then yes, you’d want to keep it on a for a few years, then remove. So, a daily driver, might need replacing more often since film gets chipped up.

If driving only a few times per week or month, then you might go longer between changing film because it’s garaged more and probably will have less imperfections due to fewer driving miles.

does that make sense?

i would simply say, unless you NEED to replace the film, better to leave it on. Glue on most films out there isn’t super aggressive like it use to be. And if in hands of the right installer, risks can be minimized

 

"XPEL ULTIMATE also comes with a full 10-year warranty against yellowing, discoloration, peeling, cracking and hazing. If it fails, we’ll replace it—labor included"

http://www.xpel.com/xpel-ultimate-pa...otection-film/

I see nothing in there about depending on the condition the car is kept in or anything else.

 

as it relates to the paint, I believe you are correct...within reason. Common sense care and maintainanace is a pre-requisite.

as it relates to headlights, topic of this thread, I’m not sure those rules apply considering there is a disclaimer on our side as installers of the delaminatiom issue. I’ll have to check with xpel...that one might be a gray area, but I don’t want to speculate.

ill get back to you on that and where xpel stands on headlights