badabing

I'd post this on the Audi forum but quite honestly I like the people here much better.

I have a 2010 Audi S5 in Phantom Black Pearl (not quite as "black" as jet black and has metallic flake)

Thanks to a confluence of idiotic motorists and just a lot of bad luck, my car was "bumped" while parked not once, not twice, not thrice, but four friggen times in the span of a couple of weeks. One moron backed into me, put 'er in park and actually walked away and left the cars touching. 2 other aces clipped each of my front fenders while trying to parallel park in a spot in front of me. (PS not one person left a note, I had to track each one down, which I did)

Ok rant over.

The damage is requiring respray of of the front fenders and front bumper cover and while I'm at it I'm gonna have the rock chips on the hood resprayed. Then (after sufficient cure time) I'm going to have the entire front end clear bra'd (leaning toward xpel ultimate.)

Finally the question. The body shop estimate includes blending the fenders into the doors. I'd rather not have the perfectly good factory paint on the doors messed with but I don't want a clown car either. What is the consensus, since I am fully covering the fenders with paint protection film, would blending into the doors be unnecessary?

badabing

Does anyone have experience with this?

aviography

The trick is to find an excellent body shop, see my experience last year in this thread https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...has-begun.html

With proper attention to details, the shop I used matched the paint on the repainted area perfectly so they did not have to spray the doors to match, all they had to do was give the rest of the car a proper polish to remove the swirls and bring out the color.

I then had Xpel Ultimate flm done, full custom coverage with literally no visiable seams except a very few spot such as the corners of the lower bumper openings where the material just can't stretch that much, people are always amazed to find out there is actually a layer of film on the hood, fenders, and bumpers because all edges are tucked under the perimeters of the panels, including the headlights too.

badabing

Thanks for the reply. Your car looks great. How long did you wait after paint to apply film?

Since I have to have fenders and bumper cover replaced, I'm thinking of having them painted and filmed off the car.

I plan to use a high quality body shop for sure. Just need to find the right one. Was originally going to go with one that is Audi certified (they also have certification from (Porsche and BMW certified. I'm not sure if that means anything though. Might keep looking.

davidwilson11

I had paint protection on my exige and it was wonderful, expect to replace it as it discolours after a while but it really looks after your paint .

993KT

I had my techno voilet M3 repaired at a quality shop once and it came out perfect. They did do some blending but that's no way I could tell. One of the key is that they took off all the trim and plastics. Quality shop is the key. I have seen many, many crappy paint jobs with over spray and runs. Good luck. I'll be doing a respray for my 993 soon and am looking for a good shop in the Detroit Metro area.

aviography

I waited a month before the film was applied, it's a good thing that was during the winter time, else not driving the car while the weather was good would have been painful.

As for painting off the car, I'd say the bumper cover is best painted off the car to allow best coverage, but the hood and fenders can be painted on the car to avoid damage from handling after the repaint.

Applying the clear bra film is still best done on the car, there is some force applied to the film during installation to stretch the film, making it difficult to handle if the body pieces are not firmly located on the car.

XPEL

Bada Bing, it is best to wait about a month before applying film, allowing the paint to "breathe" and release all of the chemicals. When you put your nose up to the affected area and don't smell chemicals, you are ready for film!

David Wilson, with today's technology in the film industry, discoloration is avoidable. Films come with different surfaces and durabilities. Some films you can neglect or abuse without harmful effects, while others require the use of very specific products and a routine maintenance schedule to maintain a like-new appearance. Next time you have film applied, drop us a message and we'll be happy to show you what to look for in a film to get the best results (XPEL or others).

msw

xpel...

what routine maintainance do you recommend for your xpel ultimate self healing film?

tia

badabing

part of the reason i was thinking of having all parts painted off car is so i could have them baked at highest temp feasible. will this cut down the cure time? i dont want to drive the car until its filmed but its my DD and i dont want to wait 30 - 90 days as i've seen before applying film. my other choice is a 2002 chevy trailblazer, blech...

anybody got a reco for a top quality body shop in the north nj / nyc area?

SSTAR

I've been told by many shops to wait 30 days after paintwork.

This being said, I have filmed bumpers that have been baked after waiting only a few days and I've removed the film down the road (year plus) without any issues. One bodyshop said they used a "catalyzed" clearcoat. (I have no clue what, if anything, this means)

I may recommend calling Detailing Dynamics in Mineola (Long Island) a shout. I've had them film a few of my cars and have been pleased with their work. They may have a bodyshop rec in the area. No affil.

Good luck!

davidwilson11

Xpel, superb stuff. Chances are it could have been something I had done.

Do you sell kits?

XPEL

XPEL Ultimate is one of the few products in the PPF world that doesn't require any special maintenance. Most films are quite susceptible to waxes and polishes containing naphtha or kerosene (which are very common ingredients), but Ultimate is not. Just wash normally and wax or seal when you care for the rest of the car.

Absolutely. Increasing the temperature causes the solvents to evaporate faster.

30 days is kind of the standard answer that most bodyshops give because they know it is absolutely safe to say. As you pointed out though, 30 days is not the only answer. Most of the time it takes far less just as with the "catalyzed" clearcoat you mentioned. Catalyzed just means it uses a chemical reactant to cure and harden the clear rather than waiting for old fashioned evaporation.

We do, although we recommend having them professionally installed.