yes that would be great of you don't mind. I was impressed with them, never bought from them before but it was certainly a good experience.

 

The main choice should be who's the best installer you can afford...because no two are the same.

Then, when it comes to film, have the installer put a few demo pieces on a panel and you look at it under shop lights or sun light. XPEL over 3M for sure. Suntek is the more clearer film out of most I've seen. For our OCD clients, ones who are against PPF because of what they've heard or had done in the past, Suntek is what we use. For difficult panels that we push the envelope, we use Suntek because of the more user-friendly adhesive. Everything else, XPEL Ultimate rocks!!

 

I had Xpel Ultimate on my Alpine White M5 for two years. When it was installed I then had the whole car Opticoated. I never once hand washed the car, taking it through multiple automatic washes, and only once placed a coat of 'wax' over the Opticoat. The Xpel was still perfect even with all the abuse and had shown no evidence of yellowing when I traded the car two weeks ago.

Oh, and the installer most times is far more important than the film, although obviously a perfectionist is only going to install the best quality film(s) for you.

BTW, I am leery of having a dealership perform the install. One it will cost more as they are taking profit from the deal, and two, you need to find out who they use. Much better to enquire of the local PCA/BMW CCA clubs to find out whom members would recommend.

Bish

 

How do these films' clear-coat hold up against the car's own when they are detailed regularly? I have seen a few dark cars with different types of film on them and to me they definitely did not have the same glossy & reflective look you get from surface that doesnt' have them. The cars I have seen were newly purchased and were detailed prior to applying any film, therefore the prep work was definitely done. Do you actually get the same results when you apply a high quality carnauba wax for example?

 

A coworker had the 3M film installed on his 350Z several years ago. It's his DD, and after 8 (?) years it started to crack a bit. Once it gets this bad, it won't peel off, it breaks when you try to remove it. So it cost him several, many hundreds of dollars to pay some poor shmuck to spend an entire day removing the old film. It did damage the paint in one spot.

I suspect that the longevity and performance of these films varies, as STG958 suggested, if the car is a DD versus a garage queen.

So you may want to plan to have the film removed and replaced after a few years.

I had 3M on my 993 and it started to look poor after a while with dirt on the leading edge, marks from rock chips, etc.

 

Please clarify You optic-coated over your clearbra?
Wouldn't that make your clearbra permanent like a bee stuck in sap - amber?

I would love to have the best of those three worlds; protection, shine, and minimal maintenance.

I made the mistake of having my front and bumpers done by the dealer when it was delivered. Reading the forums now makes me fear they probably didn't "prep" the car properly (analy: hand wash with care, color correct, clay, wax, etc). Too much knowledge is bad in hindsight.

I have yet to wash and wax my car and hope some of you can give some advice on the proper way to take care of the bra'd and painted surfaces. What products for the clearbra? What about wax getting under the clearbra edges?

I have the geyser grey and I've noticed dirt already under the edges and don't know if anything can be done about that. Otherwise the color of the car is what I would imagine yellowing to look like.

I plan on keeping this car for posterity so I'd like to treat it as well as possible in stock form, is opti-coat permanent?
911/50 991 C2S

 

If you apply a nano coating to the film, the durability, shine, and protection is further improved. You don't want to wax the film with carnauba. To maintain, use a nano spray sealant such as CQuartz Reload. Film quality matters also. The two films we recommend are XPEL Ultimate and Suntek Topcoated

 

Mo,

I think you put Suntek on mine (lol, I would definitely consider myself one of your OCD clients

I'll start by saying I'm happy so far with the looks and performance of the Suntek. But what specifically would drive the decision to use of Suntek vs XPEL on a given installation?

I think what you are saying is that Suntek is a little easier to work with on difficult shapes etc. But if the two are comparable in terms of looks/performance (after installation is completed) then why would XPEL be better in other cases? Is it that some colors look better with one or the other, performance or material cost differences? Or is it simply a coin toss and the differences are irrelevant?

 

I resisted protection film as well and finally had SunTek installed because it was the clearest available out of the big three. In terms of maintenance I called SunTek directly and here's their advise.

• Treat as paint and wash regularly
• clay bar or nanoskin like paint to remove contamination
• Use paint cleansers and not abrasive polishes - personally I've only applied by hand and not with my DA.
• no wax, clear sealants only such as CarPro Reload, BFCS or similar. I'm not a coating guy so I didn't ask the question.

 

Going on almost one year for Xpel ultimate for bumper, full hood, full front qtr panels, rear view mirrors. Not a single issue. Put 3M on a white Range Rover nearly 5 yrs ago, not nearly as invisible and does yellow.

 

Glad you're liking the Suntek we installed a while back.

The reason why I'll opt for XPEL or Suntek on an install is actually the technical level of the install AND client's OCD level. The two ARE noticeably different in orange peel and clarity. The only way to actually see the difference is to lay a small sample piece down side-by-side on a panel, then look at the reflection. They're both amazing products. But for panels, such as bumpers, that are complex, like 991 GT3, and we want a custom 1-piece with as few relief cuts as possible, I choose Suntek. If it's a dark car, or guards red, and client wants something matching close to existing paint, I choose Suntek. The cost isn't any different.

But, the film that originally got me sold on PPF because of looks, durability, and ease of care....XPEL Ultimate.

 

How come no talk of nano fusion clear bras? Any opinions?

 

It's a good film. I like how the top coat behaves. Installers like to work with it. The orange peel, compared to Suntek or XPEL Ultimate, was the main reason for not using it.