Then your experience was way better than mine.

Of course there is a lot of marketing in the statements. It was described to me, that much like the Terminator movie, it will 'reconstruct' itself. None of that happened even on small rock chip area around the high impact zones (e.g. side vents, mirrors, rocker panels).

Now that my commando GT4 #2 has similar miles to condomized GT4 #1, I can honestly say I saw more noticeable damage on the 'protected' car, which bothered me (perhaps to be expected as the film is softer than the paint itself).

I am following AP's recommendation for both break in, as well as leaving cars as they came out from the factory

 

You are right as far as marketing. Just in my experience clearguard does resist stains and scratches self heal , damage from rocks heading at you at 100mph is another story. Thats why I mentioned xpel tracwrap.

 

As I understand from a buddy of mine that installs the film in his tint shop, this happens with every film and is due to circumstance more than anything.
He showed me one of his vehicles a 4runner and it had a couple of nicks on the hood piece.
I didn't even know he used the stuff and he uses quite a bit and it looks awesome! He uses both films and likes them both.

 

The self-healing only applies to light scratches in the film and IMHO is more for cosmetic improvement than anything else. Several modern films claim to be self-healing, and heat seems to have something to do with it since they all say to leave the car outside in the afternoon for it to happen. But if something puts a pit or tear into the film, that will definitely NOT heal, and I don't believe any film's marketing material indicates otherwise, though admittedly I haven't researched this deeply. I just found an installer I trusted and went with his choice, which was Suntek. Turned out he was part of the team that actually developed Suntek and had done some ungodly number of wrap jobs. Confidence in him is actually what prompted my last-minute decision to have the headlamps covered, which I had been adamantly opposed to doing before. No complaints over here, though I'm also nowhere near as Car OCD as some around here.

 

Isn't the whole point of PPF to be a sacrificial barrier that can be easily replaced while maintaining the OEM paint in near new condition? I've removed 12 yo ppf from a DD and I can say without question the paint underneath was perfect. This was a Washington state car where they use volcanic rock on the roads in the winter so it really doesn't get any worse. Areas that were not protected looked awful and I question why the original ppf didn't cover the entire bumper.

My PPF is 6 years old and when I change it I will have a car that looks new again without a trip to the body shop.

Another note, you don't really see the medium sized pitting on paint primarily because the areas around it are also mildly pitted so it looks uniform to the eye. When you polish the paint the smaller pitting will buff away and you'll then notice the deeper pits. It's especially noticeable on darker cars.

 

Where can you buy xpel tracwrap?

 

http://www.xpel.com/xpel-tracwrap-temporary-ppf/

Maybe good solution for headlights...

 

Directly from their website. I am not sure where you are but if you are near OC I would be happy to cut off a small amount of 6" or 12" wide so you could try it before purchase.

 

Yeah, that'd be great...just enough to cover the headlights which don't have any film on them. You can give me the pieces at Chuckwalla.

 

Yup, exactly what I was thinking of using it for...it'll beat the blue painters tape.

 

Hey Martin, looks like I may not make chuckwalla. However , willing to meet you half way somewhere in OC and bring what you need. Just let me know.

 

Aww man that sucks. I'll drive down to your area...gotta put miles on the RS anyhow. Weekends work best for me since I work in LA during the week.

 

This.
Suntek on my GT4.. had Expel on the 911 S. Both great products, the installer is the difference.

 

In my limited Sampling:

- 997.2 had 3M...twice. After 3 years, 20K+ miles and a ton of track days, it was beat to ****. When it came off, the paint was nearly flawless as it was when it was wrapped at 2k miles. I can't say the same for the front nose screens or windshield which were sandblasted so bad I replaced them. I re-wrapped the car again with 3M and it's still serving it's current owner well. Paint is excellent without any damage.

- GT4, I tried Suntek on the recommendation of a friend. For all but a garage queen, I would never use it again. It is by far the clearest and most glossy of the bunch but it is so much thinner that it does not provide the same level of protection that 3M did. I had several small stone hits that punctured straight through to the paint. Car had 11K miles and about 8 track days when I sold it and did not provide near the protection that 3M did.

If the goal is to protect your car and you track or drive in the mountains, go with something thicker. When I re-wrap the RS, it will be 3M or Xpel.

 

i completely agree and have been saying the same thing .... 👍