JoeG1320

I took the front plate off my ‘05 997 because a car this beautiful just shouldn’t have that plate spoiling those lines and Utah allows me to delete it. Whew! I going to have the holes filled and the front re-sprayed due to that and plenty of very minor highway chips. Obviously I’m considering a clear bra to maintain the soon to be new pristine paint. Anyone been there done that with some advice?

okbarnett

its a must. and theres plenty of very good materials to use. The main objective is to find a really good installer. If hes good, hes using the best products. Ask your dealer

North Shore 911

Hey Joe,

I just did this on my 2010 4S Cab this summer here in the Chicagoland area. I initially priced it out with a shop up my way that I suspected was overpriced (they do all the paint work for the Porsche dealer just up the road), so I reached out to this crew for some suggestions for alternatives. In the end, the RL Forum crew pointed me in the right direction to use a much better option at a much better price point. Here is the list of work I had done:

1) Full front respray (bumper, hood, and both fenders)
2) Repair front license plate holes (the PO drilled the license plate holder into the front bumper, I pulled it off and used BumperPlugs)
3) Full front Expel Ultimate film application (including the mirrors)

Total Cost came out to $3,600, versus the original estimate of $6,100 (which is literally highway robbery...). I’m really happy with the full front end respray and the Expel Ultimate has been great so far. If you’re interested. here is the thread that I started when I was seeking advice on this, which spawned a lot of good discussion on respray and film applications: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...and-expel.html

Good luck with your work and keep us posted on what you get done!

n1gels

Metropolitan Detail in Bellevue, WA did a full front installation of XPel Ultimate on two of my cars. They did a fantastic job. They're not exactly in your neck of the woods, but I mention this because they've since switched to STEK DYNOshield. Since they do such great work, I'm assuming they switched for a good reason. So you might want to check it out. I've not seen the STEK product installed, so I can't tell you how it compares.

Make sure you give the new paint time to cure before installing the clear film. Otherwise you risk the adhesive bonding a little too well to the paint, and you'll have an issue removing it without damage in the future.

This is a job for a company staffed with perfectionists. The difference between a professional installl and an amateur is night and day - speaking from unfortunate experience.

jhbrennan

If you can, make sure you let the paint cure before you have the film installed. Your paint guys can tell you how long - usually at least 30 days. Install film too soon and you risk paint damage if you later remove the film.

JoeG1320

Thanks for the advice. I hadn’t thought of the cure time. I have a friend who owns a body shop so the paint part will be very affordable. It sounds like the clear bra is a must. I’ll have to leave it parked for most of those 30 days.

tomc_mets

Another vote for Expel Ultimate.
T

Tcc1999

This, This, and a thousand times This. It's been said by smarter people than I, but it's not the product that you should pay for but the expertise of the installer. That said, if you were in, or found yourself in, LA or the SF Bay Area, the Gold Standard (in my opinion) is Premiere Mobile Group. They cost about 25%+ more than everyone else but their work is, well, a work of art!