Paint Protection Film

[Dionysus]

I would be grateful for feedback on long term use of the latest 'self-healing' PPFs (2-3 years +).

How well do the latest films resist bug splatter, bird droppings, etc? Should individual panels be considered as 'consumables', i.e. expect to replace after x months of normal use?

Any best practice advise, such as avoid lifting edges with pressure washer jets, and use of waxes, sealants, or hybrids on top of film.

Has anyone had PPF applied to the whole car? If so, any lessons learnt?

Any recommended brands (xpel, Suntek, stek, etc)?

[E F10 M5]

Had Suntek and Xpel. Both brands are great, what matter is the installer. Make sure find a great installer near your area. Also when you bring your car in, make sure the car is free of wax, to achieve great adhesion with the PPF. Pressure washer is fine as long the PPF is fully cured and I recommend using the XPEL film sealant.

[Fast400]

Anyone have to remove 2+ yr old PPF

[Phatcat]

I have matte Xpel film (xpel stealth) on my frozen brown M5. It works great so far but I'm curious on what will happen to the paint if I ever have to remove it.

I have heard horror stories on the film will take the paint off during removal but my installer told me it only happens to bad colored wrap.

[stealth.pilot]

Originally Posted by Phatcat

I have matte Xpel film (xpel stealth) on my frozen brown M5. It works great so far but I'm curious on what will happen to the paint if I ever have to remove it.

I have heard horror stories on the film will take the paint off during removal but my installer told me it only happens to bad colored wrap.

It won't take the paint off. The only issue is that if there is a lot of residue they will have to remove it with APC or some other adhesive remover and cannot use an orbital or polish to remove the residue, so it is a lot of elbow work.

I don't know anyone who has removed it to be honest, but I understand it is a lot of work to remove and replace but can be done. There is a guy who did it successfully here:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1331121

[Phatcat]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

It won't take the paint off. The only issue is that if there is a lot of residue they will have to remove it with APC or some other adhesive remover and cannot use an orbital or polish to remove the residue, so it is a lot of elbow work.

I don't know anyone who has removed it to be honest, but I understand it is a lot of work to remove and replace but can be done. There is a guy who did it successfully here:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1331121

Oh wow, thanks for the link! Very informative.

[Dionysus]

Thanks to everyone for your responses; the frozen M3 in the link in Stealth's post above does look scary! Glad it worked out for the new owner. Raises new questions around effects of long term extreme heat/UV exposure on the PPF and/or adhesive.

Some further research on XPEL suggests ensuring the installer uses the XPEL adhesive as it is expensive and some installers use cheaper alternatives; not sure how practical it is to do this though.

I have also been told that older PPFs had issues with lifting clear coat on removal. Apparently new PPFs don't have this issue and removal is recommended after heating the film. I would assume resprayed panels are more likely to suffer from clear coat failure, especially if they're not give sufficient time to gas before the PPF is reapplied.

Anyone have feedback on staining/etching the new self healing films? I guess one answer (water spot etching) is only to wash with deionised water, etc?

Originally Posted by E F10 M5

Had Suntek and Xpel

How did Suntek & XPEL compare (texture/orange peel, self healing, chemical resistance, etc)?

[E F10 M5]

Originally Posted by Dionysus

Thanks to everyone for your responses; the frozen M3 in the link in Stealth's post above does look scary! Glad it worked out for the new owner. Raises new questions around effects of long term extreme heat/UV exposure on the PPF and/or adhesive.

Some further research on XPEL suggests ensuring the installer uses the XPEL adhesive as it is expensive and some installers use cheaper alternatives; not sure how practical it is to do this though.

I have also been told that older PPFs had issues with lifting clear coat on removal. Apparently new PPFs don't have this issue and removal is recommended after heating the film. I would assume resprayed panels are more likely to suffer from clear coat failure, especially if they're not give sufficient time to gas before the PPF is reapplied.

Anyone have feedback on staining/etching the new self healing films? I guess one answer (water spot etching) is only to wash with deionised water, etc?



How did Suntek & XPEL compare (texture/orange peel, self healing, chemical resistance, etc)?

I have the new Suntek film now and to be honest its hardly visible, its glossier compare to XPEL. I believe Xpel is a tad thicker, thats why the clarity is not as good as Suntek. As far as self healing or chemical resistance I think they are the same.