911sanantone

I have Xpel on the full front of my 991. Xpel informed me that their film would not work well on the headlights because of the curved shape of the lens.
I tried Lamin-x but it would not sit properly.
Has anyone found a protective film that works?
Thanks

LexVan

Read up. Don't do it. Not the curves, it's the UV coating already there.

STG

Avoid it at all costs. Search headlight delamination and you'll understand why.

There was also some recent discussion about it here on a paint protection film post

I know the GT3 forum has a long post about it as well.

911sanantone

Shall do.
Thanks very much....

mmaturo

Yup...just had both my headlights f'd up by this. If the installer needs to shift or stretch the film at all it can pull the coating right off and it does. Porsche also says directly not to do it but they are concerned about heat build up from the LED lights according to the tech who looked at my car with me said that they are told to keep the rubber fender covers they thrown on the cars during service off the headlights too. Though is it heat buildup or do they know that even the rubber mat will adhere enough to pull off the coating...

amfp

As mentioned don't do it on the 991s. And do listen to folks that did it and had no problems, yet. Live with the chips on headlights, as they will look worse when the UV clearcoat peels.

Vise

Well that would have been good to know.

I thought I had read everything there is to know about the 991 before getting my car but apparently not. That said the film on my headlights looks fine so sounds like as long as I don't mess with it I'll be ok?

STG

The risk comes removal time. Say the PPF gets damaged and you want it replaced. Hope that day never comes. It will eventually, but it depends if you still have the car or not. Usually film should get replaced every 5yrs depending on how much the car gets used and how well maintained.

Worst case scenario, you buy new headlights.

Vise

Cool, good to know. My car will be low mileage and garaged at home/work but it will get exposed to winter. That said it is of course very well maintained, washed every weekend whether it needs it or not.

And if I still have the car after 5 years (hopeful but unlikely) I can deal with it then.

MoeMistry

This has been a hot topic for some time now. I'd say we've done hundreds of 991s by now and almost all have had our ppf service. Almost, 99%, have had the headlights done. My personal experience: 1. During installation, a capable installer will not have any issues installing the film over headlights. It takes me about 15 minutes to do a custom installation on both headlights 2. The film will actually help against rock chips, yellowing of headlights, and fading/hazing of headlights 3. Headlight material will actually get heat issues such as weird waves and haze over time. It's the material manufacturer is using, so the film doesn't have any adverse affect. 4. As delamination goes, it's not the end of the world and you don't need new headlights. Should the unfortunate happen, say down the road you need to replace the film, you may remove the topcoat of the headlights. The lights are acrylic, so all that needs to be done is a proper sanding of entire headlight surface, and a proper polishing, and the appearance is right back to factory. You'll no longer have the UV coating, but that's irrelevant, since you'll be putting ppf/clear bra over it which DOES have UV coating depending on which film your installer uses. We use XPEL Ultimate and Suntek top coated....both have excellent UV coating and self-healing 5. I don't know which is worse in my book. Pitted and hazy headlights w/ OEM coating which most definitely need replacing over time due to wear and tear, or having a film protecting the headlights from rock chips, road debris, track debris, or the inevitable havoc caused by Mother Nature. At least with the ppf option, your headlights are protected and will look great until the day you remove them...and even then, it's a roll of the dice if the coating comes off headlights So far, I have had to redo a few headlights, and none have delaminated on 991....we did do a 997 headlight that DID delaminate, and we performed the sanding/polishing to the headlights, installed new film, and there's no evidence of delamination. Hope this helps put you at ease and give you some insight from my perspective

dogshyne

that sounds like it makes sense.

ipse dixit

+1 to everything Moe said.

wreck

Venture Shield by 3M no problem at all. Have my complete from done. If in Md pm me.

Slantnose!

What do all the race teams do to make their headlight lenses yellow?

twlai

This thread come at the perfect time, as I am back and forth about
putting film on headlight or not.
Now I can sleep at night after reading your post.

THANK YOU!