Paint Protection Films
02-20-2012, 08:53 PM
#16
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Have a close look at the kit you want. Make sure the cuts match you car. I've left several emails, and phone messages with NO response on an error for the kit that they show on their web site for a 2009 997. I've installed several kits from them in the past, and all was well, but their communication is NOT good. Buyer beware.
02-20-2012, 09:54 PM
#17
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Call XPEL at 800.447.9928 and ask for an authorized installer in your area. Kits are usually made at the plant and sent to the installer so getting a kit should not be an issue. Film should be installed indoors in a climate controlled clean room and the car should be kept over night. This is film not window tint and should not be allowed to sit in the direct sun to bake!
03-11-2012, 07:32 AM
#18
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This is a replica posting from a thread I wrote on another forum, I thought I would share it here too:
---
There have been a number of discussions about PPF (Paint Protection Film) including the upsides/downsides of filming a car in the first place. This thread is not to discuss the merits of whether to film or not to film - there are benefits to making either choice. If you regularly enjoy concours events where freshly polished raw paint is unbeatable for shine and brilliance, then clearly PPF is not going to be a good choice. If you want protection from stone chips and scratches during your car ownership, however, PPF offers benefits at the sacrifice of ultimate paint brilliance/shine etc. Urban/street parked vehicles or aggressively driven/tracked cars tend to be more prone to stonechips/scratches than those living a pampered life in rural areas only taken out of covered storage to car shows/events/etc. DIfferent owners will clearly have different appetite and benefits from PPF. I live in an urban environment, I dislike the appearance of stonechips, and I want to retain the original factory paintwork, so PPF was my choice. The question is, which one?
I have had silver, grey, and now a Basalt Black car. Light colours (silvers) or strong bright coloured cars such as Speed Yellow/Guards Red/Viper Green colours can hide PPF film flaws quite easily. The colour that shows up the MOST imperfections in PPF is, without a doubt, black. You see every flaw that might be, and PPF works to accentuate flaws - in either the film itself (more on this later) or the paintwork.
Which brings me to the point of this thread, and that is to share my experience of the different PPF products as I have had personal experience of Armorfend, 3M ScotchGuard, Ventureshield Ultra, and most recently XPel Ultimate film.
Armorfend
Armorfend is, imho, very old school technology: This was installed on my silver grey M3 CSL a few years ago - it was very thick, it was obvious, and it went yellow after a while. Was it effective at doing its job? Yes, but it was a relatively crude product. I am unsure if it can be sourced today, so it is safe to eliminate this as an option for anyone thinking about it. I eventually had the Armorfend replaced.
3M Scotchguard
3M ScotchGuard was touted a few years ago, and I also had my Polar Silver GT3 filmed in this about 5 years ago. It was a complete frontal kit with other selective areas filmed including the doors, sills, rear spoiler, bumper etc. It was one of the earliest 911s to be filmed in the UK, and the overall quality of 3M was superb: it was shiny, it was very durable. The only downside was that it could not quite cover the entire bonnet in one piece because 3M did not manufacture it (initially) in a wide enough film to cover the entire width of the 996 bonnet as it approached the windscreen. Against Polar Silver, the film disappeared completely and you could only see it when you looked very closely and knew where to look. It was durable, and despite many trackdays the film never let a stone through.
Ventureshield
Recently, I decided to try Ventureshield Ultra on the recommendation of many friends who had had their cars filmed in VS. The most remarkable aspect of Ventureshield is how thin it is. It is noticeably thinner and more pliable than 3M, and it is this quality that allows it to be easily applied and 'wrapped' around body panel edges making for what should be an invisible application. This time the donor car was a Basalt Black 911 and the car was to have a complete wrap front to rear, and there were no film 'joins' anywhere on the car. This was going to be a challenge! The quality of the install was ok with all edges wrapped, but the film itself fell far below my expectations.
Ventureshield film is reasonably glossy, but probably less so than 3M Scotchguard. Not great then. Importantly, the film evidenced flaws: both in the film itself as visible particles, and because it is so thin, the film showed stretch marks which looked unsightly and very obvious on a black car. Worse yet, the film failed on it's primary purpose: protection. Because it is so thin, a stone went straight through the film and marked the paint underneath shortly after it was installed. Despite being highly recommended, the product is mediocre at best, and I decided to have the VS film removed.
XPel
XPel Ultimate is the latest product in PPF, and is touted as the world's first 'self healing' film. XPel demonstrate the self-healing properties on their website -
, and I can attest to trying that test myself (on a test patch of XPel, not my car!) and seeing the scratches disappear in front of my own eyes. It was remarkable. After being disappointed with Ventureshield, I decided it might be worth trying XPel. Full coverage too, so the results can be a direct comparison to Ventureshield.
XPel is thicker than VS, and it has a much smoother and more even topcoat than VS. It is glossy, and it is very even. The film has negligible flaws in the film itself - in fact, across the entire car, I can't see any flaws in the film itself. Unlike VS, it does not show any stretch marks, so the films is invisible against the paint. The combination of being a thicker film (compared to VS) and the very smooth/even topcoat suggests that it will be more resilient to marking and stone chips than VS. The application itself is superb, and 'full coverage' is genuinely full: everything is covered - more than Ventureshield covered - and they also covered the rear louvred spoiler. XPel does not cover the car in one piece, in particular from A-pillar through the rear quarter. There is a join, but you really need to look for it very very carefully to see it. When I first looked for it (and knowing where to look), I could not find it - it required a second and more detailed look to find it.
The headlights are also covered, but in a different XPel Headlight film that is much thicker especially designed for headlights. http://www.xpel.com/dealer/member/documents/mkt3042.pdf
Despite this lengthy post, I took some photos today to show you the results covered in XPel. It is, imho, the best PPF product I have encountered. Remember - the entire car is protected.
Thanks for reading.
---
There have been a number of discussions about PPF (Paint Protection Film) including the upsides/downsides of filming a car in the first place. This thread is not to discuss the merits of whether to film or not to film - there are benefits to making either choice. If you regularly enjoy concours events where freshly polished raw paint is unbeatable for shine and brilliance, then clearly PPF is not going to be a good choice. If you want protection from stone chips and scratches during your car ownership, however, PPF offers benefits at the sacrifice of ultimate paint brilliance/shine etc. Urban/street parked vehicles or aggressively driven/tracked cars tend to be more prone to stonechips/scratches than those living a pampered life in rural areas only taken out of covered storage to car shows/events/etc. DIfferent owners will clearly have different appetite and benefits from PPF. I live in an urban environment, I dislike the appearance of stonechips, and I want to retain the original factory paintwork, so PPF was my choice. The question is, which one?
I have had silver, grey, and now a Basalt Black car. Light colours (silvers) or strong bright coloured cars such as Speed Yellow/Guards Red/Viper Green colours can hide PPF film flaws quite easily. The colour that shows up the MOST imperfections in PPF is, without a doubt, black. You see every flaw that might be, and PPF works to accentuate flaws - in either the film itself (more on this later) or the paintwork.
Which brings me to the point of this thread, and that is to share my experience of the different PPF products as I have had personal experience of Armorfend, 3M ScotchGuard, Ventureshield Ultra, and most recently XPel Ultimate film.
Armorfend
Armorfend is, imho, very old school technology: This was installed on my silver grey M3 CSL a few years ago - it was very thick, it was obvious, and it went yellow after a while. Was it effective at doing its job? Yes, but it was a relatively crude product. I am unsure if it can be sourced today, so it is safe to eliminate this as an option for anyone thinking about it. I eventually had the Armorfend replaced.
3M Scotchguard
3M ScotchGuard was touted a few years ago, and I also had my Polar Silver GT3 filmed in this about 5 years ago. It was a complete frontal kit with other selective areas filmed including the doors, sills, rear spoiler, bumper etc. It was one of the earliest 911s to be filmed in the UK, and the overall quality of 3M was superb: it was shiny, it was very durable. The only downside was that it could not quite cover the entire bonnet in one piece because 3M did not manufacture it (initially) in a wide enough film to cover the entire width of the 996 bonnet as it approached the windscreen. Against Polar Silver, the film disappeared completely and you could only see it when you looked very closely and knew where to look. It was durable, and despite many trackdays the film never let a stone through.
Ventureshield
Recently, I decided to try Ventureshield Ultra on the recommendation of many friends who had had their cars filmed in VS. The most remarkable aspect of Ventureshield is how thin it is. It is noticeably thinner and more pliable than 3M, and it is this quality that allows it to be easily applied and 'wrapped' around body panel edges making for what should be an invisible application. This time the donor car was a Basalt Black 911 and the car was to have a complete wrap front to rear, and there were no film 'joins' anywhere on the car. This was going to be a challenge! The quality of the install was ok with all edges wrapped, but the film itself fell far below my expectations.
Ventureshield film is reasonably glossy, but probably less so than 3M Scotchguard. Not great then. Importantly, the film evidenced flaws: both in the film itself as visible particles, and because it is so thin, the film showed stretch marks which looked unsightly and very obvious on a black car. Worse yet, the film failed on it's primary purpose: protection. Because it is so thin, a stone went straight through the film and marked the paint underneath shortly after it was installed. Despite being highly recommended, the product is mediocre at best, and I decided to have the VS film removed.
XPel
XPel Ultimate is the latest product in PPF, and is touted as the world's first 'self healing' film. XPel demonstrate the self-healing properties on their website -
XPel is thicker than VS, and it has a much smoother and more even topcoat than VS. It is glossy, and it is very even. The film has negligible flaws in the film itself - in fact, across the entire car, I can't see any flaws in the film itself. Unlike VS, it does not show any stretch marks, so the films is invisible against the paint. The combination of being a thicker film (compared to VS) and the very smooth/even topcoat suggests that it will be more resilient to marking and stone chips than VS. The application itself is superb, and 'full coverage' is genuinely full: everything is covered - more than Ventureshield covered - and they also covered the rear louvred spoiler. XPel does not cover the car in one piece, in particular from A-pillar through the rear quarter. There is a join, but you really need to look for it very very carefully to see it. When I first looked for it (and knowing where to look), I could not find it - it required a second and more detailed look to find it.
The headlights are also covered, but in a different XPel Headlight film that is much thicker especially designed for headlights. http://www.xpel.com/dealer/member/documents/mkt3042.pdf
Despite this lengthy post, I took some photos today to show you the results covered in XPel. It is, imho, the best PPF product I have encountered. Remember - the entire car is protected.
Thanks for reading.
03-12-2012, 07:28 PM
#19
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So the next question is, can XPel be waxed and sealed like normal paint? And do the results improve?
Today's weather has given me the chance to wax and seal the Film using the same process as I have done on all my cars. As this is the first time waxing the film, I like to use a good quality wax as a 'base layer' which also gets sealed. Once waxed properly the first time, subsequent 'top ups' can be much lighter/faster and does not require the lengthy waxing process.
After washing and drying the car, my choice of wax is Zymol Vintage: a great wax which I've used the past 5 years.
This gets smeared on using my hands, and it takes about 1 hour to do the whole car. My neighbours do think I'm a bit strange, but hey ho.
After another hour that the wax is allowed to bond to the film, the buffing starts...
Then a light spray sealant is misted over, and lightly buffed down to reveal the waxed and sealed XPel Film.
Then out to the harsh 3pm sunshine for some photos in the park. I am quite happy with the results. Is it the same as raw paint? Not quite. But neither does raw paint have protection like a PPF'd car.
Thanks for looking
Today's weather has given me the chance to wax and seal the Film using the same process as I have done on all my cars. As this is the first time waxing the film, I like to use a good quality wax as a 'base layer' which also gets sealed. Once waxed properly the first time, subsequent 'top ups' can be much lighter/faster and does not require the lengthy waxing process.
After washing and drying the car, my choice of wax is Zymol Vintage: a great wax which I've used the past 5 years.
This gets smeared on using my hands, and it takes about 1 hour to do the whole car. My neighbours do think I'm a bit strange, but hey ho.
After another hour that the wax is allowed to bond to the film, the buffing starts...
Then a light spray sealant is misted over, and lightly buffed down to reveal the waxed and sealed XPel Film.
Then out to the harsh 3pm sunshine for some photos in the park. I am quite happy with the results. Is it the same as raw paint? Not quite. But neither does raw paint have protection like a PPF'd car.
Thanks for looking
03-22-2012, 12:10 AM
#20
Drifting
I am excited to come across the two posts above as I am scheduled to have the XPEL Ultimate film installed on my car on Sunday if everything works out, it's being done at my garage so I will make sure to pressure wash the floor a couple of times and dry it out before the installer come.
I'm opting for a full hood, full fender, full front bumper install as well, will see how this turns out as the installer came highly recommended by the paint shop which just repainted the front end of my car.
Can't wait to get this done so I can finally get the car on the road!
I'm opting for a full hood, full fender, full front bumper install as well, will see how this turns out as the installer came highly recommended by the paint shop which just repainted the front end of my car.
Can't wait to get this done so I can finally get the car on the road!
03-24-2012, 11:26 PM
#21
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From my experience, haven't found anything that even comes close to the Xpel Ultimate.
Shiny, durable, self healing and can be waxed, etc.
Pricey, but you get what you pay for. Make sure you get a GOOD installer.
Shiny, durable, self healing and can be waxed, etc.
Pricey, but you get what you pay for. Make sure you get a GOOD installer.
03-25-2012, 03:27 PM
#22
Drifting
The installer has been working on my car for several hours, what an amazing film, he has nothing but good things to say about it, this is his first time using the EXPEL Ultimate film and he is very impressed so far, so am I!
He's got the hood, fenders, and 95% of the bumper done, the bumper work is just a piece of art with no seams what-so-ever, he'll do the mirror next which I think it's going to be the biggest challenge, he knows what my expectations are and we'll see how "invisible" can he make the mirror covering.
He's got the hood, fenders, and 95% of the bumper done, the bumper work is just a piece of art with no seams what-so-ever, he'll do the mirror next which I think it's going to be the biggest challenge, he knows what my expectations are and we'll see how "invisible" can he make the mirror covering.
03-25-2012, 06:31 PM
#23
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Sounds promising AV, be sure to post some pics up when finished! I have just returned from 1000 miles to Germany, 2 days blatting around the Ring, and back. The Xpel film cleaned up perfectly and the gloss/shine was just as superb as before. Bugs clean off effortlessly, and everyone who saw the car was not aware it was filmed at all until I mentioned it to them and they were astonished.
