Hi Rennlisters

I've spent quite some time searching the forums for a clear bra installer near NYC. I ended up going with Joe from xtremecarbra.com because I came across a few endorsements and got a reasonable price. He installed Xpel Ultimate on my white 991S and I am very happy with the results. He is also a true car nut, a racer and a Porsche owner, and I truly enjoyed chatting with him during the install. So I just wanted to spread the word. ... and no, I am in no way associated or profiting from recommending him.

 

Hey SB
I had to take my car back to my installers to re do the hood.
Once i got it home and had a closer look i was disappointed to discover that the corners of the hood, up near the windscreen, you can see where they have tried to fold the film. To my mind it really looks bad but im wondering if im just to ****.
Could you snap a pic of your install so i can see if im being too fussy or not?

thanks a lot

 

I didn't wrap the whole hood, but I can still take a look what my corners look like. I do remember seeing on one car that corners do not fully wrap around.

 

thank you sir
when I return home I will take a pic and post

cheers

 

I checked and my film on the hood wraps around up until about 1/4 inch from the upper corners. So it must be a standard thing as my film was pre-cut on the special printer.

 

That's unfortunate with the 1/4" gap on the upper corners of the hood, XPEL makes wide enogh rolls of their Ultimate film which should have allowed 100% converage.

For the full custom install on my car (yes it's a 996 and not 991), my installer ordered what he was shown listed in their industry vehicle film install database for the raw film he needed, only to find out the film was short by about 1/4" at the top corners of the hood, he was not happy, nor was I.

However, with the experience of my installer who has had 10 years experience and did everything by himself in my garage, he was able to stretch the film sufficiently to not only cover the 1/4" shortage, but also do so while still wrap the film edge to underside of the hood, leaving absolutely no edges what-so-ever to be seen from the outside, he did the same with the fenders and front bumpers too, it was a truly amazing job that I was 100% happy with.

 

Zero gap on my hood. It wraps right under the corners. I used ACAP out of Manheim PA. He cuts all his own film right there in the shop.

 

OK, i will be home tomorrow and put a pic of mine up, looks like i will have to go back to the installer again...

 

Just to clarify, I do not have a full hood wrap, but rather a "bikini cut" pattern, which was cut on the special printer-like cutter. I don't think the edges have anything to do with film width in my case, but rather a style of the kit.

 

Pre-cut kits (or at least ours) should not leave any exposed paint. There are just some limitations on the edges that wrap. This one, for example, protects every bit of the outward facing painted surface, and wraps every edge with the exception of the sharp corners at the back of the hood. If you notice in the picture, it still covers all the way to the tip of the radii, but doesn't wrap around there. If we were to wrap the corner, there would be wad of bunched up film on the back that may not adhere properly over time.

As a note, normally when we do installs, we remove the crest cutout and remove the badge on the hood before installation. I left it in for this diagram for reference.

Hope this helps.

XPEL Technologies Corp

 

Here is a picture of a corner from my install. Keep in mind that this is a macro shot, so the unwrapped piece is only about 1/4 in and not noticeable unless you know its there and look closely at it.

 

So the lower portion is the hood, upper portion is the fender, and front of the car is to the left side of the image?

Looks like the edge of the film is wrapped around the edge of the fender correctly and most of the hood except the area in question in the picture

I really don't know why there is a step cut like that, the line from the hood should have extended straight through and wrapped under the hood just like the fender film was, that film edge with a pointed corner is likely going to catch the washing mitt, drying towel etc. and lift sooner or later, if nothing else it will collect dirt and grime to make it more visible.

 

The owner of iWax Auto Detail, Jose Larralde, sent me the following link.

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/...a-install.html

I am planning to have Xpel installed on my Gallardo this Saturday.

And, for anyone looking for what I consider to be one of the best detailer's in the area, please give Jose a call.

 

I took my car but to the installers and they fixed. As per expel technologies post they had attempted to wrap it around the sharp point. They trimmed it and now it is invisible.
cheers