beaverlake

Hats's off to TintPros for nailing it. We still have a few days until our sponsorship is processed and I still plan to augment the excellent points that were made (I won't do the quote thing here for the sake of brevity).

Two main points that TintPros made and that I will highlight - PPF has come a long long way and investing time to find and use a good installer is worth the effort. One source of referrals would be local PCA members.

R_Rated

or the community PPF thread here.

JawJuh

Thank for the videos and comments guys. I was researching film comparisons for my car, and all videos I found seem to lead to same theme that 3M holds up better than XPEL or Llumar. Would love to hear your thoughts on film of choice, as I am trying to decide which film I should get.

mtony

I have SunTek on my car, and after 4 years, couldn't be happier with the clarity and shine of my SunTek film. If you want to check it out in person, send me a PM and I can meet you somewhere near the northern perimeter.

I had my film installed by Derek at http://www.atlantaprotectivefilms.com/

He came highly recommended and his work is much better than the guys who install for the Porsche dealers.

StormRune

I don't have a dog in this fight.... but just out of curiosity and checking for fairness, I looked up ASTM G155 used in the 3M weathering test. It calls for 2000 hours of repeated cycles of used simulated sunlight to heat the panel to 145 degrees fahrenheit (63 centigrade) for 102 minutes followed by 18 minutes of water spray while the light is still present. This works out to 1000 cycles.

While it is interesting that the 3M film held that much better in this test, I would have to wonder if it is a cherry-picked test that their film did well in (although their film does seem to do well in many tests). But you might be able to cherry pick tests of other films that do better in other unrealistic tests for our cars too. If mtony's Suntek film in the previous post looked anything like that video after his 4 years I don't think he would be quite as happy as he is.

So for those of us that leave our cars parked out in the sun for several years in repeated hot sun and rain episodes, I guess this test means something. For the rest of us, I think that reports from the contributing pros and those of us members with the various films for multiple years have more meaning than that video.

The other interesting thing with the 3M film is I was thinking I might switch to that next time. However, at this time their website shows no installers using 3M within a 100 miles radius (max search) of Austin at this time. I can't find any with Google search either. Why aren't more installers picking up on this film?

Edit: Actually, watching the second video from JawJuh may give the answer to my last question.... he says the 3M film is considered the hardest to install. The installer I use in Austin had said one of the reasons he prefers Suntek is it is easier to work with than some of the others, resulting in less rework, stretch marks, etc... resulting in more customer satisfaction and lower installation time and costs.

Keadog

Looking forward to more information. Had Suntek on my Boxster GTS and have Xpel on my S550.
Still researching what to do when my Targa is delivered this summer, both in terms of PPF and coatings.

TheTintPros

My main recomendation when researching films is to try and get as recent as possible data and improvements. For example, Llumar recently released their Platinum PPF which is even a good amount better compared to the previous Llumar PPF. It brings out the brilliance in the paint a little more and easier to work with on installation. In addition to this they upgraded their warranty from 5 years to 10 years and that protects agains yellowing, bubbling or cracking. For us we only want to carry the best so we are only carrying this now. With better product, you get better looking installations as well.

I would even ask the shop to feel samples. A customer brought in some product he bought online and it felt so much different than our product. After comparing the two he decided to take a loss on the product he bought online and went with ours because you could actually feel the difference in the quality.

We had a customer with a 2016 M4 he had gotten PPF done somewhere else and it was already yellow, not even 2 years after install. After doing his hood when he got a new carbon fiber one, he is now going to redo the entire front end with us because it was a noticeable difference between the two. I will try and find out what material he had installed previously to give everyone a heads up.

One of the main reasons we use Llumar is the parent company Eastman is the largest film manufacturer in the world. We have actually gone to their plant to see how all the film is made and all of the materials that go into the film is made in house and are not outsourced from other countries or companies. They are continuously working to improve their products and get feedback from us that work with the product every day, their commitment is noticeable. Again this is just our preference and what we have found from trying all different films, not trying to say anything bad about other films.

Detailed Designs

Take this for what it's worth. 3M Pro Series PPF is not a quality fit for a fine automobile PPF installation in my opinion. Not because it does not work. But because it is not possible to get the same level of a refined installation that other films can allow.

3M's adhesive is super aggressive. This means one gets more work marks and distortion. It has a lot of texture as well.

It is ideal for a dealership environment that is looking for fast installations that stick and don't come up easily.

Can it meet someone's needs for being an acceptable installation? Yes. All other things being the same(installer-wise), the 3M will not look as good.

Many people get hung up on the film being used and sure, there are differences in the films. But the absolute most important factor in your being pleased with a PPF installation is the company doing the work and standing behind it(or not....).

Kennethjk

I have expel on front bumper, full hood etc., side view mirrors and good part of panels behind the doors. Has saved a lot of paint chips in the one year its been on. Almost wish I had it on the whole car. Cost of what I did was only $1,800 is NY area. On top of that I had opti coat put on the entire car. super easy to wash.

Yes I would do it again. Looks great on silver car, hard to notice it.

1809

There's a really reputable shop in my area that I think regularly does PPF with a Modesta coating on top. They deal with a national clientele and do a lot of high-end cars so they definitely know what they're doing.

Gary JR

I have Xpel Ultimate on full front, fender areaa, door edges and 2 coats Ceramic Pro full car. Windows, mirrors, headlights, wheels, top have the appropriate Ceramic Pro product applied. I use a weak solution of car wash in a pressure washer with a safe force and and microfiber wash mitt and dry cloth. The water mostly rolls off the entire car.

Kennethjk

+1

Detailed Designs

Thank you for the kind words. We have our videos that just shows off our work but I make a real effort to also provide genuine educational content as well. In my opinion, if people are well-educated in the technology they can more easily spot a quality professional for taking care of them. This is good for the industry professionals that give a great service and it weeds out the hacks.

GT3FZS

Great thread on PPF, things have changed alot since my early Boxster days and the (relatively) primitive films then available, 2000-2004.

I am interested in applying PPF to the bumper, hood, mirrors, maybe front fenders on my new (to me) 2013 Coupe. Paint is in excellent condition, did have PPF previously, which the dealer (Hennessey in Atlanta) removed saying they do that to all cars 3-4 years old in order to qualify for CPO. ?

Anyway I thank all the previous RL posters sharing their experience on films and installers.....and agree that THE most important variable is the installer. That being said, I am asking for recommendations on installers in western Maryland, SW Pennsylvania, and eastern West Virginia...basically a triangle from Pittsburgh to Morgantown WV to Frederick MD.

Any suggestions or personal experience with nearby (100-200 miles) would be appreciated!

shaytun

So my OCD has me split on wether I want a clear bra on my next car. The first is the idea of someone taking your car apart (doors, wing, rear emblem etc) to do a solid coverage. How do you get under the rubber window and door seal? Do they come off? So there's that part. The other OCD side of me says if I don't I'll get microchips that will bother me and I may have to respray the front of the car years later. I'm assuming cost difference is nil. I remember a lot of proponents of "enjoy car and respray later" on these forums, but they seem to be less vocal now.

I'm also curious, for anyone who's wrapped a white car with Xpel, is the difference noticeable if you just do the front? And if you do the whole car, do they no longer put a separate rear fender piece like the factory or is that still placed on top of the bra?