Any feed back would be great, on products. Free hand or pre cut?
First installer is trying to sell me on xpel and pre-cut is this a good way to go?

I want to do entire hood, fenders,rockers, mirrors and door handles any other suggestions?

Also how about taking care of it once its done

Thanks.

 

3m is pretty standard i think. that's what i have on my cars.

 

I happen to have 3M original on my hood (partial) and mirrors. Then I called a few installers regarding the bumper,and decided to go with Ventureshield (note--recently purchased by 3M company!).

Ventureshield is smoother, and also less likely to discolor. (Although the only color car I have ever seen discoloration be a problem is with a white car.) The installers tell me it's way more flexible, so was really recommended for the bumper. Computer pattern cut, by the way.

One interesting feature of Ventureshield. If you do end up with minor scratches from some source, you can actually use a heat gun to carefully melt them out. I did this myself. (Does not work on the layered 3M material).

Both films are nice. I would probably went with Ventureshield for the complete installation, but the 3M I have is certainly good enough to keep until replacement is needed.

Once it's been on for a while, I was told just to wash and wax with the rest of the car.

 

Has anyone installed this materials themselves? 3M has a pretty good video, and I think I could do it myself. But, I'd like to hear from someone who's done it.

 

takes a lot of patience. i don't think it's difficult to do technically.

 

i spent a grand and got it done by pros that didn't use the patterns. they did a great job and they gave a lifetime warranty even though it only has a 5 yr. with 3m. they did an excellent job and it was worth the coin

 

I saw Expel on display at the last SEMA show in Las Vegas and that will be the one I'll go with. They had it on a black Boxter(including fenders, hood, et al) and you couldn't tell it was there. The other one's-3M, etc. that I looked at were orange peely and I don't care for that. JMO.

Roger B.

 

I have Venture Shield on 2 of my vehicles. They use pre-cut patterns and give a lifetime warranty against yellowing. http://www.ventureshield.com/dealers.asp#Results

 

On the precut patterns, you will see a lot more edges. On the free hand applications, they generally wrap the edges so you see a lot less of the lines. If you do the whole hood, you will see no lines.

 

you can't be toooo **** about things like this since however which way you cut it, you can see it.

with that said, i'd go with venture as i understand this material is thinner and while it's not orange peely, you can see lines instead that go horizontal, but again, you can't be super **** since you can see the thing on period if you decide to "look" at it.

i'd never run a car i like without this type of protection. paint chips suck. plus this thing protects from scuffs as well.

 

You can see the hood lines on both of mine. It really isn't very noticeable unless you are looking for it. Compared to the protection offered, it is a minor consideration.

 

I also saw Xpel at SEMA. They were right down from the booth I worked. Amazing stuff. Id do pre-cut patterns in heartbeat. Im sure you could call the company and find out how the pre-cut pattern was designed(wrap around or not). I dont want anyone near my paint with a razor

David

 

+1 on pre-cut. I'd prefer a thicker material, as long is it doesn't yellow. However, the video example on the Venture website is REALLY impressive (where the BMW hit scraped the wall). I've watched the 3M installation video and the Venture video. I think I can do it and save some $$$.

 

We've been doing PPF for the last 8 years and only custom cut for the last 6 years; but in my opinion X-Pel (aka Invisishield and Reflex) does have the best pre-cut kits. Up to last month, X-Pel used 3M film but at SEMA came out with their own version of a clear-coated film. The film itself is more delicate thatn the others - softer squeegees and milder application solutions have to be used. I have it on my M5 as well as 3M Scotchgard and Ventureshield clear-coated film to test out their durability in the real world. I gotta be honest, once applied on the car the difference in orange peel as well as gloss is virtually indistinguishable between the three films. They were all waxed with the same sealant - DyNA Brilliance paint sealant. Here is a diagram showing which pieces were done with which film. I will update on the results as time goes by.

As far as installation is concerned, all things being equal, custom cut is always better in that it allows more complete coverage as well as eliminating many of the seams and relief cuts. Just make sure that the installer is experienced and proficient in installing the custom kits and trimming the film on the paint. You should have some very good installers in your area as it is the busiest as far as film installation goes in the country.

Matt

 

so long as the installer is reputable, pre-cut, custom cut whatever cut will be just fine.

it's one thing if you guys had two cars of the same type to compaer to everyday to say oh damn mine's better.. but for most normal people who don't have ocd, you're not going to look at the damn plastic cover everyday before you set off to drive.

ask around the local guys and set up the appt with whoever the vendor/installer is. i know of one in seattle that's good.