Re: PPF and Tint through Porsche or third-party?
Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 10:27 am
@Spyder Scott
Firstly, I work for XPEL Corporate. I've been a customer of theirs since 2000 and have had a front row seat to how PPF has changed over the years. I was USAF for 11yrs and am a retired detective for a large PD. I've been with the company managing our installation markets coming up on 7yrs.
With that out of the way there are a LOT of misconceptions and half truths about PPF. In brief from reading your post I'd suggest you get what we call a "Full Front" & the Rockers done. The full front includes the front bumper, entire hood & fenders and mirrors. I also do the headlights as I do not like pitted plastic. Here in south Texas we've rock quarries everywhere as well as it being a rocky environment thus people will get a rock chip driving 2 miles. The Rockers are the entire painted area along the bottom profile of the car and continuing on to behind the rear wheels. I would do this as a minimum. Not only on most cars, but sports cars especially.
My '20 GT4 is wrapped entirely along with being completely ceramic coated. I do this A. because of where I work B. because I like the peace of mind PPF brings not having to worry about minor damage anywhere on the car and no worries from abrasive towels etc. Ceramic coating is like adding teflon in a pan. On paint it provides resistance to bird droppings, environmental concerns (sap, etc.), adds a deep gloss to darker paints and lastly makes it easier to clean. We also apply it to the glass, all trim and the face of the wheels unless asked for wheels off. Again, for true protection you need a physical barrier. XPEL has long had a standard 8mil film for typical highway speeds. We've also a 10mil for "enthusiasts". The market for this film are often track folks and off-roaders. However, when I track my GT4 (I've 10mil on the front) I also apply our temporary film called Trac Wrap for additional protection to not damage the PPF.
@Tom , your comments are somewhat misleading. There's two types of PPF installs. Bulk or Pre-cut kits by a computer. Bulk is highly dependent on the skill of the installer and these are few and far between. When done professionally & by someone well experienced, the film is laid down 'bulk' style and hand cut OFF the car. I know of a few places where they can bulk everything, but again these shops are in the minority. Inexperienced folks will actually lay the film down and cut the film ON the car. This is where you get 'cut marks' as they're cutting into your clear coat or paint. Pre-cut kits or Templates are perfected by pattern designers to where the edge of the patterns are within a millimeter of the vehicle body joints (ie. bumper to fender etc). It is done this way not only for efficiency, but leaves out the need for a blade to be on or near the car. The expertise here comes again, from the installer being able to properly align the film & this takes a lot of practice to be exceptional. The other key aspect is on body joints/seams the edges of the film are perfectly straight. Hand cut is incomparable as the installer has a heart beat, breathing etc. therefore on especially long seams you'll see a waviness to the "straight cut".
Also, ANY edge to PPF will allow dust, dirt, road grime to accumulate so you must clean it & not let it build up. This is rather simple. Wipe the edge. It comes off very easily. I have never had a customer vehicle or one of mine where it turned black and would not come off. Not challenging Tom, I've just never witnessed it. We'd a couple that towed their car behind their RV and had complained about the edges. We took a micro fiber, put a little acrysol on it and the accumulated road grime came off like butter. However there's a lot of people that just take their cars through car washes and never physically manipulate their cars. I highly doubt there's anyone in Carpokes that's like this however...?
Shops complaining about thicker films are right. However they're just not used to it. Due to the corporate installation shop in San Antonio being near our Product Development team as well as our Production facility they're frequently tasked with testing new products. They always balk at something new, but then adapt. What installers across the globe have discovered is the 10mil is actually easier to install and is more forgiving once they've acclimated to it.
The comment about an object penetrating PPF is partially correct. PPF is like a bullet proof vest. It'll stop all blunt objects. Anything with an edge will cut right through it no matter the thickness. This is why officers have a steel shock plate dead center of the vest. This is intentionally (and obviously) not openly shared.
I could continue and write a book about PPF, Tint and coatings, but I think I've already typed a brief novel as it is. I'm not on social media much so please feel free to email me at cwhite@xpel.com I can also make recommendations around the globe for top-notch XPEL authorized PPF installation shops. Lastly, as I'll always say and has been repeated in the posts in this thread, the installer is far more critical than what brand of film.
Firstly, I work for XPEL Corporate. I've been a customer of theirs since 2000 and have had a front row seat to how PPF has changed over the years. I was USAF for 11yrs and am a retired detective for a large PD. I've been with the company managing our installation markets coming up on 7yrs.
With that out of the way there are a LOT of misconceptions and half truths about PPF. In brief from reading your post I'd suggest you get what we call a "Full Front" & the Rockers done. The full front includes the front bumper, entire hood & fenders and mirrors. I also do the headlights as I do not like pitted plastic. Here in south Texas we've rock quarries everywhere as well as it being a rocky environment thus people will get a rock chip driving 2 miles. The Rockers are the entire painted area along the bottom profile of the car and continuing on to behind the rear wheels. I would do this as a minimum. Not only on most cars, but sports cars especially.
My '20 GT4 is wrapped entirely along with being completely ceramic coated. I do this A. because of where I work B. because I like the peace of mind PPF brings not having to worry about minor damage anywhere on the car and no worries from abrasive towels etc. Ceramic coating is like adding teflon in a pan. On paint it provides resistance to bird droppings, environmental concerns (sap, etc.), adds a deep gloss to darker paints and lastly makes it easier to clean. We also apply it to the glass, all trim and the face of the wheels unless asked for wheels off. Again, for true protection you need a physical barrier. XPEL has long had a standard 8mil film for typical highway speeds. We've also a 10mil for "enthusiasts". The market for this film are often track folks and off-roaders. However, when I track my GT4 (I've 10mil on the front) I also apply our temporary film called Trac Wrap for additional protection to not damage the PPF.
@Tom , your comments are somewhat misleading. There's two types of PPF installs. Bulk or Pre-cut kits by a computer. Bulk is highly dependent on the skill of the installer and these are few and far between. When done professionally & by someone well experienced, the film is laid down 'bulk' style and hand cut OFF the car. I know of a few places where they can bulk everything, but again these shops are in the minority. Inexperienced folks will actually lay the film down and cut the film ON the car. This is where you get 'cut marks' as they're cutting into your clear coat or paint. Pre-cut kits or Templates are perfected by pattern designers to where the edge of the patterns are within a millimeter of the vehicle body joints (ie. bumper to fender etc). It is done this way not only for efficiency, but leaves out the need for a blade to be on or near the car. The expertise here comes again, from the installer being able to properly align the film & this takes a lot of practice to be exceptional. The other key aspect is on body joints/seams the edges of the film are perfectly straight. Hand cut is incomparable as the installer has a heart beat, breathing etc. therefore on especially long seams you'll see a waviness to the "straight cut".
Also, ANY edge to PPF will allow dust, dirt, road grime to accumulate so you must clean it & not let it build up. This is rather simple. Wipe the edge. It comes off very easily. I have never had a customer vehicle or one of mine where it turned black and would not come off. Not challenging Tom, I've just never witnessed it. We'd a couple that towed their car behind their RV and had complained about the edges. We took a micro fiber, put a little acrysol on it and the accumulated road grime came off like butter. However there's a lot of people that just take their cars through car washes and never physically manipulate their cars. I highly doubt there's anyone in Carpokes that's like this however...?
Shops complaining about thicker films are right. However they're just not used to it. Due to the corporate installation shop in San Antonio being near our Product Development team as well as our Production facility they're frequently tasked with testing new products. They always balk at something new, but then adapt. What installers across the globe have discovered is the 10mil is actually easier to install and is more forgiving once they've acclimated to it.
The comment about an object penetrating PPF is partially correct. PPF is like a bullet proof vest. It'll stop all blunt objects. Anything with an edge will cut right through it no matter the thickness. This is why officers have a steel shock plate dead center of the vest. This is intentionally (and obviously) not openly shared.
I could continue and write a book about PPF, Tint and coatings, but I think I've already typed a brief novel as it is. I'm not on social media much so please feel free to email me at cwhite@xpel.com I can also make recommendations around the globe for top-notch XPEL authorized PPF installation shops. Lastly, as I'll always say and has been repeated in the posts in this thread, the installer is far more critical than what brand of film.
I like to help others. As I said in my post there's a lot of misinfo out there about...well shoot...any industry lol.