rodH

I say "currently" because I know that these things change as technology improves. I have had lot of 3M in the past, seems to show stretch marks, have more orange peel and cracks after 4-5 years (this was several years ago on 3 cars, and so they have probably improved). Recently had Xpel on my M3 E46, and it was much more clear, better shine, less orange peel and "self healing". I have been told that Xpel has some issues over the past year though. Then it sounds like Nano-Fusion was a great product, until they sold and people say that isnt as good as it was a few years ago. Haven't learned a ton about Suntek yet.

What is everyones unbiased opinion? I ask here, because calling each installation company, they are going to push their own product. I am not doing the whole car, Just the front bumper since it is so low and in the front and will have new paint.

TIA

mike cap

Just this summer had my 997.2 C4S done here in Rochester NY. Full nose, side mirrors, door sills, rear bumper and replaced factory right and left stone guards.

It was was a perfect install and I literally cannot see where the protection ends and bare paint begins. They used Suntek and I was amazed at how transparent it is. It has no texture like the 3M or XPEL products I've used and seen.

I was reluctant at first because I'd never heard of Suntek. The installer convinced me it was the only way to go and it would be invisible. He was right. Very impressed with the product.

911Finally

I had EXPEL installed last July on the front nose, full hood, mirrors, headlights, behind rear wheels and half fenders. from 3 feet away you can barely see the half fender line. Love the product. But in all seriousness it's not always about the product but about the installer. All my clear bra is wrapped underneath parts. There are no seams, or edges. Nothing that could peel up from washing or wind. paid around $1400 in NNJ. Very happy.

rodH

Suntek has been doing window tint for a long time. My Xpel had much better gloss and less orange peel than my OLD 3M. Now I am hearing that the suntek is even more clear and less orange peel. The people that don't carry suntek say it has an inferior adhesive though. The guy that did my Bros 991 uses Xpel and 3M and prefers 3M based on the company being better to work with, and I would like him to do my car, but I am leaning toward Suntek as well.

mike cap

My installer is certified and trained Xpel and prefers Suntek. Like I said, had never heard of this product name. They said it's better with UV and invisible. Don't know about the UV but it sure as hell is invisible. I've used the others on my 993 and you can always tell it's there. On the 997 no one can believe it has paint protection. I would use Suntek no question.

Auto Armour Inc

Hi There, my name is Joel.
We have used Xpel, Suntek and 3M films. Xpel is my personal brand of choice because it's been the most consistent for Quality Control. I've only been personally involved with installing these films for about 3 years, but the shop I work at (Auto Armour) has been doing this for 10 years. I've had my cars wrapped with Clear bra for years though. Let me tell you my opinions both as a consumer and the installer:


Before you make any decisions, think about what color your car is and what you are planning on doing with the car. You are more than welcome to PM me and I'll be happy to give you more details about the films.


Xpel ULTIMATE is great. There's not doubt about that. It has a 10 year warranty, realistically looks good for about 6 years for most people and was the first to market the self healing technology. It's a thicker film (8.2 mils thick vs Suntek 6.4 mils), so theoretically it protects marginally better. NOTE** I've put both films on my race car at the same time to simultaneously test them and they looked like they performed about the same. Xpel is "virtually" invisible, but you do see more orange peel when applied to some of the nicer factory paints out there. Porsche is not the nicest paint from factory, but it's definitely not a bad paint (look at Aston Martin paint, it's terrible). Because of this, most people with Porsches don't notice panels that are covered versus ones that are not unless you only partially cover the panel; think half hoods and fenders.


Suntek PPFC is a clearer film. You will not see as much orange peel. It has a 5 year warranty, but I have found that the film generally does not look good after 4 years unless it's a garage baby. If the car is white, DO NOT use Suntek. It starts to show the yellowing and hazing after about 6 months on white cars. Dark colors there are few to no issues with hazing and yellowing until about 4 years.



I am NOT a fan of the new 3M Pro Series. We've been testing the film out for 3M since it's infant stages and they have made great improvements from a year ago, but it's not up to my standards yet. It is getting better and they have given it a 7 year warranty, though. I would not recommend this film unless you just want the name.

You should know that Xpel's 10 year warranty and 3M's Pro Series' 7 year warranty are only warrantied through the manufacturer for the first 5 years. After that we (Installers) have to go through their insurance company (with the manufacturer's assistance) to warranty the film. It's not a bad process, but it is another step. Usually as an end user, you don't have to worry about this as much as the shop does that's doing the warranty labor for you. Because of this, now I tell all my clients to replace their film around 5 years no matter what. Also, note that warranty is non-transferable with any and all automotive films (window tint, vinyl wraps and paint protection).


Joel Allen

rodH

Car is Guards Red, bumper is Aerokit front bumper that is being sprayed right now, so I am not sure how the orange peel will be, but I was able to slip the actual painter a couple $20 bills, so hope he spends a little extra time with matching paint and color sanding. Since it is only the front bumper a tiny bit more orange peel for the sacrifice of a little thicker, might be a better idea for me to consider Xpel vs Suntek. Assuming it looks good on red?

Domer911

Xpel Ultimate here, great stuff, and I agree with the comment above--it's all in the installation!

OKB

I just got some new xpel and its just fine, my installer has used everything and he says its the best

997driver

I've had 3M before and currently Xpel ultimate on my white Mercedes for almost 3 years now. Its very glossy, does have slight orange peel, but it is color stable, which is important on my white car. There is virtually no difference in hue or value between the covered and uncovered panels on my car.

TimAD

To preface, I do not believe there is a "one size fits all" solution in terms of vehicle protection. There are a TON of options out there to chose from, and almost all do something right better than the others.

SunTek offers a clearer less orange peel finish than Xpel, but does sacrifice some in terms of durability. Unfortunately, film "thickness" is something that is up for debate.

We currently carry three lines of film, Suntek, Ultimate and ClearGuard Nano SR. ClearGuard Nano is simply put, the best looking film on the market. It offers 8.2mils of thickness, a hydrophobic high gloss top coat and self healing properties. We currently recommend this on the majority of our clients vehicles.
Hope that helped answer some questions!

Auto Armour Inc

All of the films I've seen talked about here will be fine with red paint. I agree and would go for one of the thicker films just so there is no question you have the best coverage you can. Honestly, you probably won't notice a difference between the hood and bumper as far as clarity. Just make sure that whoever is working on your car is a Porsche factory trained and certified paint and body shop. And ask them if they bake the bumper after it is fully painted. Baking the paint will help to cure it faster. All the new paints have a gassing off period where little bubbles of air travel from layer to layer and eventually are released at the surface. If you install PPF too early before the paint is done gassing off, you will have fun starting over.


Every shop is different, but these are my recommended "Best Practices" when it comes to repainting then applying PPF to a car. This is biased for a bumper because paint bonds differently to the plastic of a bumper than the metal of a fender, roof, etc.


Paint NOT baked: wait 30 days before having PPF installed. sure, you can do it earlier, but there is a higher chance that clear coat or paint can peel during the install while trimming, and almost guaranteed to pull the paint off if you have to remove the PPF down the line for any reason.


Paint Baked once: I prefer to not work on the car for about two weeks. If it still smells like fresh paint, DEFINITELY don't work on it yet.


Twice Baked: Kind of like baking a whole potato. They are good baked once, but better baked twice. This is what has to be done if you are rushing the PPF being installed. Most body shops won't bake twice, but if they do, I have installed ppf 3 days later and not had issues. I'm not going to guarantee every installer has the same luck (because rushing anything is all about luck).

bdmridgback

I install Nano-Fusion PPF in my shop, I have also installed Suntek, Clearshield, & 3M. I have tried Creed, and a couple others. I do RV warranty claims for factory for Nano-Fusion and Suntek. Nano-Fusion is the best looking, best hiding, most stain resistant and easy to install for the durability of the film compared to all the other top films. Suntek does not hold up well in florida. It gets brown stains showing up on it after 3-4 years down here and is harder to install do to the light tac adhesive and the top surface is sticky and rubbery feeling. The Bano-Fusion brand you can write on it with a permanent Sharpie marker and leave it in the sun and wipe it off days or weeks later with rubbing alcohol. It's amazing when it comes to stain resistance!

groovzilla

3M clear bra was installed on my 05 997S in 2010 - Still looks great

QATD

Yeah I know I'm quoting a very old post, but I want to make sure all of the info out there is correct. For starters 3M carries a 10 year warranty, like other competitive films. Will it last 10 years? It most likely will if you care for it. However, if you ignore your paint for 10 years, it's going to look weathered, and PPF is no different. People tend to think that it's invincible and that it takes the place of proper vehicle maintenance, but regular washing and waxing are still a necessity. As far as the warranty process, I cannot speak to Xpel's warranty, but 3M's warranty process is probably the easiest warranty you will ever deal with. 3M has 7 distributors across the country that handle all returns and warranty claims (https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/post-fac...-a-distributor). You (the installer) contact them, and they deal with 3M. That's why they are there. In many cases our installers have already installed the replacement film before we (the distributor) even finish our warranty claim process with 3M. That's how confident we are in the process. In all of the years we have been a distributor, we have NEVER had 3M deny a claim, even at the tail end of the warranty period.

You will also hear a lot of marketing buzzwords out there (nano and hydrophobic to name a couple), but the reality is this film was designed with one main purpose, to protect your paint from rock chips. Nano simply means really small. That's why the films are so clear nowadays because they use nano technology to make every layer of the film, from the clear coat down to the adhesive, optically clear with virtually no orange peel. Hydrophobic just means the film repels water. The big three: 3M, Xpel, and Suntek are all hydrophobic, some more than others. However, many companies are doing ceramic coatings over their installs anyway, which create that hydrophobic effect. A good synthetic wax will also give you some hydrophobic properties. Again this goes back to the point I made about paint protection film replacing proper vehicle maintenance. It doesn't and probably never will.

As far as the installer goes, find one you trust who has a good reputation for not only quality installs but also customer service after the install. Talk to others who have had it done in your area, and don't be afraid to ask the installer a ton of questions. It's also okay to ask the installer if you can see their work up close. If they are a good installer, they will be proud to show off their work. Look at the fitment of the install and especially the edges. Seams, if any, should be very well hidden and virtually invisible. I've seen a lot of good recommendations on this forum, and the major manufacturers have installer locators on their websites. 3M's dealer locator can be found here: 3M Dealer Locator.

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions about the film. We've been installing paint protection film almost since the beginning, so we can try and cut through some of the misinformation that's out there.