rop3

Anyone do any research on the different suppliers?

3M
X-Pel
Venturesheild
Avery

There was a great article in recent Total 911 magazine on a white GT3. The company doing the install in the UK was Paintsheild. The author raved about the clarity shine etc. he mentions 3M premium film. Yet if you look at the website they are advertising X-pel.

Each installer has a different take on which product looks better etc. I believe 3M does not make the width to do the full hood. Anyone see these products in person?

Thanks in advance.

Tedster

X pel uses same film as 3m. I used it on my 996 GT3 (carrara white) and Audi s4 (black). There has been some yellowing visible on the GT3 but not on the S4. Nothing has gotten through the film to cause paint damage.

Doug23

3M and Ventureshield are the 2 best ones available. Primary difference is the 3M is thicker and some say a bit more robust. The Ventureshield is easier to install, shows less "orange peel" and comes in longer lengths so you can do the entire hood without any seams.

I think the answer really depends on what you are planning on doing with your RS. If your looking for maximum protection at the track or on the road - the 3M may be the better option. I've had 4 cars done and swear by it.

If you don't plan on driving the car on the track much and want it to look as "invisible" as possible - than Ventureshield could be the better choice since it shows less orange peel and you can do the entire hood without any seams.

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Jon70

I have 3M on my white RS. I've been happy with it so far, no issues.

lawjdc

Ventureshield is not supposed to yellow as badly as the 3M product. Mine hasn't yellowed yet, but its only been on for 6 months. They were able to do the hood in one piece, so you forget that its even on there. This is of some importance on a white car, as a seam line would collect dirt and show against the white.

PogueMoHone

There's 3M..... and then the rest. If you want premier protection 3M, if you don't want protection, anything (or nothing) will do.

The economics are such that if you pay more than $1400 per car (for all the bits you want covered, doors, hoods, lights, mirrors, fenders etc) you're probably better off (than getting ripped off) with a respray it you need it.

This, is a personal opinion, I've developed after covering dozens of cars (YMMV).

You can venture some places, and it is no better than food wrapping!

mooty

how long had you had the film before it started yellowing?

carrering

based on my experience with it, the 3M film doesn't yellow (at least not the more recent formulas). It is however not truely clear but its close. It actually looks very close to invisible on carrara white. It shows up more on BMW's alpine white which is closer to true white. on a black car you could never tell this. i became a dealer and installer of 3M's ppf just so I could put it on in germany when I picked up my car. I can't speak for venture shield but 3M put about 20 years of research into it and are constantly improving the film. Its one of the thickest in the industry and its fairly easy to install. I would go with 3M.

rop3

I found a little more info but not exactly sure. It sounds like X-pel does use 3m's film but modifies it or maybe a proprietary formula, can't be exactly the same as it comes in wider rolls.

If so I would think this is good cause everyone likes 3M re: quality. I have been told by one installer X-pel and ventureshield are the clearest a bit clearer than 3M which seems the concensus here. X-Pel is extending the warranty another 2 years to 7 in total.

My car will be orange, I did see an orange RS done with Venturshield, It's that 911 article ( could be just hype) got me thinking that the X-pel product might look a bit more invisible also many US installers have not used it yet since it is new and more expensive. Although I have not seen it or 3M in person. Hoping to talk to a rep this week. Or maybe get some samples of each against the car when it arrives.

H20NOO

I can only speak to Ventureshield as that's what's on my car. I paid top dollar for a custom wrap front end, full hood cover and extra bits. It's been installed since Sept 06 and the hood is deteriorating quickly. The color comes through fine with no yellowing but, the surface is very dull and has little life in it. I've waxed it a dozen times with Meguire's Gold Class wax and Mother's pure carnuba, to no avail. Oddly, the other covered parts are still looking very good and maintaining a good shine. I wonder if the installer may have used a different roll on the hood.

I've seen the 3M product on Colm's cars and another friend who used his installer. I know what product I'll be using next time.

MC

C.J. Ichiban

so the only limitation of the 3M ( i have that on my TT and blue GT3) is that it comes in smaller sizes so you can't do the entire front end?

I'd like to do the entire hood length on the RS...I just don't trust paint matching with orange as much as I would with a more common color like silver, that's the only reason why I would go the extra distance

John Boggiano

That was my feature in Total 911 and here's the deal as I understand it -

Paintshield uses (and in fact is partly responsible for creating) the Xpel pattern database. PS is not contracted to any film supplier and has a free rein to use whatever they see fit, but they choose 3M (which is the same that Xpel supplies) because it is the best and is continually being further improved. The only drawback it that it doesn't quite cover the trunk lid, leaving a tiny extra piece at each corner, but 3M has recently bought Ventureshield, so expect this to be resolved very soon.

I'm still very happy with the film on my white GT3 (the entire bodywork). There are some really very minor areas of dirty edges. To be honest, there are so many edges on my car with the full coverage that I'm just too lazy to attend to them all as fully as I perhaps should. When your car is new and the paint is flawless, you attack every little mark, but after a while you learn to relax a little and get a life. Stand two feet back from the surface and you wouldn't know my car's paintwork wasn't virgin paint. Carefully examine the edges from a couple of inches away and you'll see some dirt here and there.

But then think how much more visible stone chips would be by now and that kind of puts the whole thing in perspective.

Perhaps the best surprise for me was the completely colorless nature of the film. Unlike the Porsche-applied film, it is not yellow at all. If you were to look through a stack of the film an inch thick, my impression is that it would look slightly gray, but at the thickness of a single sheet, it's just clear.

mooty

i repainted my hood, there goes my resale value, LOL.
orange is far easier to match than silver, any silver.

C.J. Ichiban

well dude I shall not concern myself too much then...

Kevinlpl

I used to own a company which installed clear bras. Over the years we were the most pleased with 3M. Installation and longevity.